Washington sentinel. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1853-1856, 1856-02-19

4 II much TO deceive the northern puDhc. Mere
4 opinions of individual men have been relied
upon as authoritative expositions OF the Constr
/ tuition. Our reply 10 them IS simple, direct
they were not the opinions OF the collective body
/ Of the people, who made, and who had the right
/ to make, this government; and, therefore, they
1 found no place in the organic law, and by that
| alone are we bound; and, therefore, il concerns
\ us rather to know what was the collective will
Of the whole as affirmed by the sovereign States,
than what were the opinions of individual men
in the convention. We wish to know what was
done by the whole, not what some of the mem
bers thought was best to be done. The result
OF the struggle was, that not single clause was
inserted in the Constitution giving power to
the Federal Government any where, either to
abolish, limit, restrain, or III any other manner
to impair the system of slavery in the United
States: but, on the contrary, every clause which
WAS inserted in the Constitution on this subject,
does in fact, and was intended either to increase
IT, to strengthen II, or to protect it. To support
these positions, ! appeal to the Constitution it.
self, 10 the contemporaneous and all subsequent
authoritative interpretations of it, The Con-
sti'ution provides for the increase of slavery by
prohibiting the suppression of the slavetrade
for twenty years after its adoption. ltdeclares
in the first clause of the ninth section of the
first article, that "Me migration on importation
Of such persons as any Of the States nor erist-
ing shall think proper to admit, shall not be
prohibited by the Congress prior to the gear
1903, bit a tar or duty may be imposed on such
importation, not exceeding Ten dollars to3 each
person." After that time it was left to the dis
cretion of Congress 10 prohibit, or not to pro-
hibit, the African slave-trade. The extension
of this traffic in Africans from 1900 TO 1903,
was voted for by the whole Of the New England
States, including Massachusetts, and opposed
by Virginia and Delaware; and the clause was
inserted in the Constitution by votes of the New
England States. 1t fostered an active and pro.
fitabe trade for New England capital and en-
terprise for twenty years, by which large ad-
dilion was made To the original stock of Afri.
cans in the United States, and thereby it in.
creased slavery This clause of the Constitu-
ton was specially favored, it was one of those
clauses which was protected against amend,
ment by article fifth.
Slavery is strengthened by the Sd clause I'd
section Of lst article, which fixes the basis OF
representation according 10 Numbers by pro-
viding that the plumbers shall be determined by
/ adding TO tie achole number If free PERSONS
Including those bound 10 serce for term Of
| years, and excluding Indians not taken three.
.fJihs Of all other persoas.''
| This provision Strengthens slavery BY given the
existing slaveholding States many more repre-
sentatves in Congress than they would have il
slaves were considered only as property; it was
much debated but finally adopted, with the full
understanding OF its import, by great ma.
jority.
The Constitution protects it, implicitly, by
withholding all the power to injure it or limit
its duration, but it protects it expressly by the
Sd ctause Of I'd section Of the 4h article, Jy The
4th section Of the 4th article and Jy the 18TH
clause Of the lSt article. The Sd clause of the
I'd section, 18th article, provides that enc
persons held TO service or labor in one State BY
the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall in
consequence of any law or regulation therein
be discharged from such service or labor, but
shall be delivered up on claim of the party to
whom such service or labor may be due" The
4th section of the 18th article provides that Con-
gress shall protent each State on application
Of the legislature Tor of the executive when the
Legislature cannot be convened) against domes-
tic violence" The 9Th clause of the Sth section
of the first article makes ii the duty ofCongress
"to provide for calling forth the militia to exc
cute the laws of the Union, suppress insmrec.
tionS and repel invasions.p The first of these
three clauses last referred to protects slavery
| by following the escaping slave into non-save-
holding States and returning him 10 bondage,
the other clauses place the whole military power
Of the Republic in the hands of the federal
Government to repress domestic violence -
and " Instructions" Under this Constitution.
If be flies TO other lands, the supreme law
follows captures, and returns him; If he resists
the law by which he is held in bondage, the
same Constitution brings its military power to
his subugation. There is no limit to this
protection, it must exist as long as any Of the
States tolerate domestic slavery and the Consti-
tuition unaltered, endures. None Of these
clauses admit of misconcepiion or doubtful
construction. They were not incorporated into
the charter Of our liberties by surprise or mat
tention, they were each and all ofthem introduced
into that body debated, referred to committees
reported upon, and adopted. Our construction
of them is supported by one unbroken and
harmonious current OF decisions and adudica
tons BY the Executive, Legislature, and judicial
4 Departments Of the Government, State and
/ Federal, from President Washington TO Pres
dent Pierce. Twenty representatives in the
Congress Of the United States hold their seats
TO day, by the virtue Of one Of these clauses
The African slave trade was carried on It's whole
appointed period under another of them
| Thousands OF slaves have been delivered ur
under another, and it is a Just cause O
congratulation to the whole country that M
occasion has occurred 10 call into action tn,
remaining clauses which have been quoted.
These constitutional provisions were gene
rally acquiesced in even by those who did no
/ approve them, until a new and less obviou
\ question sprung out Of the acquisition of terri
tory. When the Constitution was adopted, III,
question Of slavery bad been settled in th,
northwest territory by the articles Of session o
that territory by the State Of Virginia, and a
that time the United States had not an acre o
land over which it claimed unfettered iursdic
ton except a disputed claim on our south
western boundary, which will hereafter be con
sidered IN its appropriate connection. Tn,
acquisition Of Louisiana imposed upon Con
gress the necessity Of its government. Thi
duty was assumed and performed for the gene
raj benefit Of the whole country without chal
lenge or question for nearly seventeen years
Equity and good faith shielded it from citicism
Bot in 1919, thirty years after the Constitution
was adopted, upon application of Missouri fo
admission into the Union, the extraordinary
pretension was, for the first time, asserted by
] maIOrItv of the Observation-Disclosures C.o,oa al 81