Weekly Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1853-1861, 1856-01-03

taxation was limited 10 purposes OF cOmmo
defence and general welfare, excluding oil
iects appertaining to the local legislation
the several States and those purposes
general welfare and common defense we
afterwards defined by specific enumeration
as being matters only Of correlation betwee
the States themselves, or between them an
foreign governments, which, because of the
common and general nature, could not 1
left to the separate control of each State.
OF the circumstance of local condition, IL
terest and rights. in which a portion Of ia
States. constituting one great section Of ih
Gnioi. differed from the rest. aud from anothe
section, the most important was the peculiarii'
Of a larger relative colored population in ia
southern than in The northern States.
y population at This class. held in subjectiou
existed in nearly al the States, but was NOR
numerous and "i more serions Government il
the South than a. the North. on account of nat
nral differences Of climate and productions; AM
II was ~fOreseeR that, for the same reasons
while this population would diminish, an
sooner or later, cease to exist in some States, i
might increase in others. Th0 peculiar charac
ter and magnitude Of this question Of loca
rights, not in material relations only, bnt sill
more in social ones. caused it TO enter into TIA,
special stipulaiions of the constitution.
Hence, while the general government, rs vel
rs 10y the enumerated powers granted To II, rs by
those not enumerated, and therefore refused Ia
it, was forbidden to touch this matter i'm tn,
sense of attack or otirnse, it was placed unde
the general safeguard of The Union, in the sens,
of defense against either invasion or domestic
violence, like all other local interests Of the sew
cral States. Each State expressly stipulated a.
well for itself as for each ynd all of its citizens
and every citizen Of each State because solemn
ly bound By his allegiance to the constitution
that any person, held To %sctvice or labor in one
State, escaping into another, should not, in con
sequence of any law or regulation thereof, be
discharged from such service or labor, but should
be delivered up on claim OF the party TO whom
such service or labor might be due by the law
OEhis State.
Thus, and thus only, by the reciprocal
guaranty of al the rightsof every State against
interference on the part of another, was the
present form of government established by
our fathers and transmitted to us; and by no
other means is it possible for it to exist. II
one State ceases TO respect the rights Ofanother,
and obtrusively intermeddles with its local
interests,-if a portion of the States assume
to impose their institutions on the others, OF
refuse to fulfil their obligations to them,-we
are no longer united friendly States, but dis
tracted, hostile ones, with little capacity left
of common advantage, but abundant means
of reciprocal injury and mischief.
Practically, it is immaterial whether ag-
g~resSive interference between the States, oil
deliberate refusal on the part of any one Of
them to comply with constitutional obliga.
tons, arise from erroneous c1aviction or blind
prejudice, whether it be perpetuated by direc-
ton or indirection. In either case, it is full
of threat and danger to the durability of the
Union.
CONSTITUTIONAL RELATIONS or sLAvERY.-Plac
ed in the office of Chief Magistrate as the Ex-
ecLtive agent Of the whole country, bound to
take care that the laws are faithfully execu
ted, and especially enioined by the ~constitu-
tlon TO give information TO Congress on the
state of the Union, it would be palpable neg
lect 10 pass over a subject like this, which be
yond all things at the present time, vitality con
Germs individual security.
1t has been a matter of painful regret to see
States, conspicuous for their service in found
ing this republic, and equally sharing its adj
vantages, disregard their constitutional obliga-
tons to it. Although conscious of their inabil-
ity to heal admitted and palpable social evils
Of their own, and which are completely within
their jurisdiction, they engage in the offensive
and hopeless undertaking of reforming the do
nestle institutions of other States, wholly be-
NOnu their control anu dllnOlliN. Ill TIE NdlH
pursuits of ends by them entirely unaitainable,
and which they may not legally attempt to com
pass, they peril the very existence of the consti-
tuition. and all the countless benefits which it
has conferred. While the people of the South
ern States confine their attention to their own af-
fairs, not presuming officiously to intermeddlc
with the social institutions of the Northern
States, too MANY of the inhabitants of the latter
are permanently organized in associations to in
flict injury on the former, by wrongful acts,
which would be cause of war, as between for
eign powers, and only fail to be such IN our sys-
tenn because perpetrated under cover of the I'm
ion.
1t IS impossible to present this subject as
truth and the occasion require without noticing
the reiterated, but groundless allegation, that
the South has persistently asserted claims and
obtained advantages in the practical adniinis-
tratiOn OF the general government, 10 the preio-
dice of the North, and in which the latter hos
acquiesced. That is, the States, which either
promote or tolerate attacks on the rights of per
sons and of property in other States. to dis
guise their own injustice. pretend or imagine.
and constantly aver that they, whose c%onstitu-
tional rights are thus systematically assailed,
are themselves the aggressors. At the present
time. this imputed aggression, resting as it does
only in the vague, d~eclamatory charges Of po-
litical agitators, resolves itself into inisappre-
utnNib u lIit IliitiINN IAu idsiN VI Ailc Io-
litical organization of the new Territories Of
the United States.
What is the voice Of history2 When the or
dinance which provided for the government Of
the territory northwest of the river Ohio, and
for its eventual subdivision into new States was
adopted in the Congress of tbs confederation,
it is not to be supposed hat the question Of fu-
ture relative power, as between the States that
retained and those which did not retain n. mn
merous colored population. escaped notice. or
failed to be considered. And yet the conces-
sion of that vast territory to the interest and
opinions of the northern States, 4 territory now
the seat of five among the largest members OF
the Union. was, in a great measure, the act Of
the State of Virginia aud of the South.
When Louisiana was acquired by the U.
States, it was an acquisition not less to the
North than to the South for while it was
important to the country at the mouth of the
river Mississippi to become the emporium of
the country above it, so also it was even more
important to the whole Union to have that
emporium and although the new province,
by reason of its imperfect settlement was
mainly regarded as on the Gulf of Mexico,
yet in fact, it extended to the opposite boun-
daries of the United States, with far greater
breadth above than below, and was in terri
tory, as in everything else, equally at least an
accession to the northern States. 1t is mere
delusion and prejudice, therefore, to speak of
Louisiana as an acquisition in the special in
terestof the South.
The patriotic and just men, who partici-
pated in that act were influenced by motives
far above all sectional jealousies. 1t was in
truth the great event, which, by completing
for us the possession OF the valley of the
Mississippi, with commercial access to the
Gulf of Mexico, impaired unity and strength
to the whole confederation, and attached to-
gether by indissoluble ties the East and the
West, as we'll as the North and the South.
AS TO Florida, that was but the transfer by
Spain to the United States, of territory on
the East side of the river Mississippi, in ex.
change for large territory, which the United
States transferred to Spain on the west side of
that river, as the entire diplomatic history Of
the transaction serves to demonstrate. More
over, it was an acquisition demanded by the
commercial interests and the security OF the
whole Union
In the meantime, the people Of the United
States had grown up TO a proper CONSCIOUSNESS
of their strength, and in n brief contest with
France. and i'm a second serious war with Great
Britain, they had shaken of all which remain
A .,l,. xavaranra for Hnf.na and ouaprtrpn