Minnesota weekly times. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1854-1859, 1855-07-31
SATURDAY, JULY 20, 1866.
WHAT THE GREAT MEN OF THE PAST
THOUGHT OF SLAVERY.


that the views Of the great men of the past
should be set prominently before our readers.
There can be no doubt, there never has been
any doubt in our own mind, hut it was the in
tention of those who aided in tie formation Of
our Government, to so cripple Slavery as to
force it out of existence 1t was in the Union
when the conlcderacy was formed-was part
and parcel of the elements of the times, and it
was as utterly impossible to abrogate it at that
period, as it was to frame Republic out of
only part of the shattered fragments of a
weak and struggling People. TO accomplish
the one great aim-the achievement of Liberty
it WAS necessary that there should be unity
of action, and hence while there were some
doubtless anxious to see Slavery abolished, still
they did not press the matter, believing that it
was a minor evil, which in time, would cure
itself. Now to suppose that the trainers of the
Constitution, those who fought for liberty and
endured the hardships Of protractcd war, in
tended by their acQuiescence in the evil at that
time, to perpetuate Slavery, Or that Slavery
should be extended over one inch of free terri
tory, is to suppose what we consider an absur-
dity. The contrary is written in every line of
the Constitution, visible in the language and
acts Of those who, knowing Slavery to be an
evil, sincerely believed as every lover of his
country must believe, that the time will come
when this blighting limb to the tree of Liberty
will be Topped off from the trunk and con-
sumed in the flames of thousand furnaces
Entertaining su,aviews, it is the height Of folly
for men of the present day to insist that our fore
fathers and TIE framersreof the Constitution
sought to perpetuate and extend the limits Of
Slavery Where it existed they We're willing
to leave it TO the States to regulate, tut where
Congress had jurisdiction, there it was their
intention Slavery should not be permanently
established. In confederation of this we have
only to point to the Missouri Compromise,
predecated on the ordinance of 81, which exist
ed prior to the Constitution itself.
That ordinance virtually admitted the power
Of Congress to legislate on the subject in the
Territories, and this admission was acknowledge
ed by the South when they agreed to settle the
agitation of the slavery question by the passage
OF the Compromise Bill. After adhering to
the contract in good faith many years, again
reafrming the power Of Congress over territory
free, a northern doughlace, with the ostensiblc
purpose Of winning the votes of the South, in
troduced his infamous Bill, and the South lent
a helping hand in violating u solemn COM
pact Then, when the citizens of the North,
who had been gradually yielding, and retro
grading from the position taken by their fore
fathers, dared to show their hand, and refused TO
yield any longer tho cry was raised that Congress
had no power over the territorcs-that the
Missouri Compromise Bill was an arbitrary
measure and that the trainers Of the Constitu-
ton and the patriots of '76, believed Slavery
to be National and not Sectional, and that the
People Of this Union had no rig..t to legislate
on the subject We know not how large a
class advocate such sentiments, at the present
day, hut we do know that such men as Patrick
Henry, Washington, Munroe and jefferson,
entertained different views, and these views
arc partially embraced in the following article :
PATRICK Henry wrote: g Would any one
believe that am master of slaves Of my own
purchase? l ain drawn along by the inconve-
nience Of living here without them. will not
i cannot justify it. l believe time will
come when an opportunity will he offered to
abolish this lamentable evil. Everything we
can do is to improve it if ithappens in our day +;
if not, let us transmit to our descendants togeth-
or with our slaves, pity for their unhappy lot
and an abhorance Of Slavery" e. can only
say" wrote WAsHIxcroS, THAT there is not
man living who wishes more sincerely than
| do to see plan adopted for tie abolition of
it, E., Slavery;) but there is only one
proper and effectual mode by which it can be
accomplish and that is by Legislative au,hor-
ty, and this, as far as my suffrage will go,
shall nerer be ,caming' In the earlier and
better days Of JEFFERSON, before sectional am
bition had spoiled him, it was his great and
leading aspiration to set on foot (and in this
Madison sympatl.ized and co-opcratcd with
him) some such legislative measure of cmanc-
patton as that for which WAsHINcroN, in the
letter above quoted, pledged his influence and
his vote And yet we hear the ring even
at the present day -" You can't legislate on
the subject of Slavery-you must let it alone
and if the South desires more Slave Territory,
you must yield OF the Union will be dissolved"
Gentlemen,-you can't lull the North into quiet
ness any longer by such syrcn songs-,be day
has come for action, and the Republicans all
over the country are buckling on their armor
with a fixed unalterabe determination TO Weld
not one more inch Of Gods free land to the ex-
tension and perpetuation Of the curse Of SLA.
VERY.
THAT "HUCKSTER."
An article in yesterdays paper reflected I'M
justly on a gentleman who sells vegetables in
the market, the complaint being, that he disposed
Of his goods before 10 O'Clock in the morning
which is contrary to law. We think that our