The Tiffin tribune. [volume] (Tiffin, Ohio) 1848-1859, 1856-07-04
TIFFIN, oHIo, July 4, SIG.

Shall it be met, in tho spirit Of patriotism
which animated our revolutionary fathers,
or must &. eugcndsr an the worst and
most ccrrOdiog passions Of the human
heart. Il must be conceded that slavery
has, With gigantic strides and deep i'm.
press. insinuated itselfint an departments
Of our national government, aud although
i has heretofore by common consent, as
! well az the south as at the north boen
regarded as a state Institution, subject TO
the local laws Of state sovereignty aud
beyond the control of the national Leqis-
la,ure, yet the doctrine Is now boldly an.
nounoed thatit can end must be extended
indefinitely and receive the fostering care
and protection Of the general government
itself Even the Judiciary ofthe United
States. whirb for moro than half cen
tury resisted the eucroaobhents Of this
revolIipg doctrine, now not only sympa-
thiEes with its advocates, but is gradually
paving the way to sustain Il, wll the
people Of the north submit to theee glAr-
ing aggrcssiOus not only upon the well.de.
6nsd landmarks Of the constitution but
also upon the universal principles Of hu-
man liberty. ... i,- vr.., .-
Blythe misohieyous repeal Of the Mis-
souri Compromise, which formed COM
pact explicitly expressed on the subject,
The whole question Of inhibitiug slavery in
tho territories VAS reopenod for agitation.
This was the great wrong, dn-called for
i-7unproyoted and in gross violation OF
phghted faith, II left the questi,t as It
had been prior to the adoption Of that
coihptomise to be solved by the
constitution alone. Without detail OF
metaphysical deductions, the question ol
power in the constitution may be most
nationally and satisfactorily determined
by the opinion OF the Fathers Of that in.
stNmenl and thSir oompoers on the sub
jeot, for they must be presumed to have
undetstoodit And their opinion cannot
be more surely ascertained than by refer.
ence to their official acts Judging from
these il is evident that they understood
the Constitution to possess sovereign
power adequate TO the enactment Of all
needful laws for the government Of the
territories aud OF course TO prohibit there
the institution Ofslavery. Il was, not i'm
| probably, the intention Of the Trainers 81
the Constitution By the grant in ters,
but general terms, to engraft into it the
power Of inhibition so as to anticipate and
chsck all osyil on the subject. This !,
reasonably leduoiblo from the fact thai
the Ordinance for the government Of the
northwest territory received the aoquies
,oenceof Washington aud the Jealous sup
port Of Jefferson and the approval Of de-
cided majority of the most eminent pat
riots Of the Southern States The sam,
doctrine was afterwards recognized as or
thodoE by their successors, as is evident
! by their sanction of the acts admittin,
Iowa and California into The Union an,
establishing territorial governments 70
Minnesota, Oregon and other Territorie
inhibiting this institution Even Jane
X. Polk, with ail bis preoonceptions il
behalf Of Slavery. logically enforced tn,
existence Of thspower in speech mad,
by him in Franklin county, Tennessee
wherein he Is reported to have said; at
obvious that the power to legislate over
tho territories, Of the United States must
reside somsWhsrs and whore shall il be
lodged except first in the inhabitants Of
the Territories; or secondly in the several
states as such; OF thirdly 10 the United
States, Now lstit cannot bo lodged in
the inhabitants Of the territories while
they remain observation-disclosures if it is
lodged in the inhabitants ofthe territories,
they are AZ once BY that fact no longer
territories, but sovereign States--for che
right To- mike laws is the first and high
est prerogative Of sovereignty. 2l. It.
cannot be vestedin the several States, nor
the people Of the several States. 81,
Then il follows of necessity that this
power was lodged by the theory and con.
stitUtion Of our government in the United
States" These several acts 10 which
have referred. contained the inhibition OF
slavery, and were passed under and re-
oeiyed the approval Of different admins
trations Of Acknowledged patriotism
Why did they, acting under the solem-
nifty Of their official obligations, sanction
them il they were unconstitutional 2 IL
is not possible TO believe that they would
be guilty Of moral turpitude so deep and
infamous aud yet We must believe il IL
it be true that they ratified laws which
they knew or believed 10 be uncOnstitu
tional Such was the rational theory and
practice Of the national government while
IN the hands of its founders and such
they continued until superceded by the
novel doctrine u "squatter sOvereignty3i
a doctrine emphatically discarded BY Mr.,