Democrat and sentinel. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1853-1866, 1856-12-10

nDerty IN the abstract, they do not sto', to ON
IL s'der practicaiy how the objects they would At
% tain can be accomplished, nor to re feet tha,
Is even II the evil were as great as the q deem l.
% they have no remedy to apply, and that it cal
e be only aggravated by their violence and unco-
: shtutional action. question. :rch is one If
II the most difficult of all the problems of soci
institution, political economy and craftsmanship,
they treat with unreasoning iIItemperauce d
thought and language. Extremes beget extremes
Violent attack from the North and its inevitable
Sofseq uences In the growth ct spirit of angry
events we bad reached that co ,,summation which
the voice OF the people has n ow SO poiutedIy re-
puked OF the attempt of p ,rtion of the States,
oy sectional organization and movement to
usurp the control of the go, ycrnment of the Uni
ted States.
confidently believe til at the grea. body of
those who inconsideratel took this fatal step.
are sincerely attached to he Constitution and the
Union. They would, u pom deberation, shrink
with unaffected horror fir m any conscious act of
aisunlon or civil war. But they have entered
INTO pain winch leads nowhere, unless it leads
10 CIVIL war ana disunie nl, and which has 9th
er possible outlet Th,n, have proceeded thus far
III tnat dlfecuou, IN co nSequence of the success
s'e Stages OF their pro gress having consisted of
a series of secondary ssues each of which pro
iessed 10 be conhnei within constitutional and
Peaceiui 1nits, put .hch attempted indirectly
what lew men were willing to do directly, that
Is 10 act aSSresslvet against the constitutional
ilghts OF nearly one half of the thirty States
III the long sores of acts of indirect aggression,
the hrst step was strenuous agitation, by cti-
zens oi the nortie rn States, in Congress and out
VI ~ Oh the quest of negro emancipation in the
southern States.
The second st ep in this path of evil consisted
OF acts OF the people of the northern States and
IN several ins ances of their governments, aimed
10 Iaciltate Ie escape of persons held to service
IN the soutf States and to prevent their extra
dltion whe 4. reclaimed according to law, and in
virtue OF express provisions of the Constitution.
70 prom ote this object, legislative enactments
and othe means We're adopted to take away or
defeat lights which the Constitution solemnly
euarant scd In order to nulify the then existing
act OF Congress concerning the extradition of flu
gltlves from service, laws were enacted in many
States forbidding their officers, under the several
penal' ies, to participate in the execution Of any
ACT OF Congress whatever. In this way that syS-
tenn Of harmonious cooperation between the
thof tiles of the United States and of the several
otat jes, for the maintenance of their common in
st' utions, which existed in the early years of the
re public, was destroyed conflicts of jurisdiction
{ lme to be frequent; and Congress found itself
compelled, for the support of the Constitution,
anc the V1nd1cation of its power, to authorize the
appointment of new officers charged with the ex-
ecution of its acts, if they and the officers of
the States were the ministers. respectively of
foreign governments III st7tc OF mutual hostility,
rather than fellow magistrates in a common
country, peacefully suhssting under the protec-
ton of one well constituted Union Thus here
the attack. upon the Constitution at this point
did not serve to raise up rev barriers for its de-
fence and security.
The third stage Of this unhappy sectional con-
| troversy was IN connexion with the organization
OF territorial governments, and the admission Of
new States into the Union. When it was PROMO
posed to admit the state of Maine, by separation
OF territory from that Of Massachusetts, and the
State of Missouri. formed of a portion Of the ter
ritory ceded by France to the Unitei States. re-
S1r afItAc IN ,.Io 1 y.
sion of the letter, unless with conditions suited to
particular views Of public policy. The imposi-
ton OF such condition was successfully resisted.
! But at the same period. the question was pre-
sentcd OF imposing restrictions upon the residue
| of the territory ceded by France. That question
was, for the time, disposed of by the adoption Of
geographical line of limitation.
In tins connection it should not be forgotten
that France, OF her own accord. resolved. FOR
| sderations Of the most far-sghted saGacity, TO
/ cede Louisiana to the United States. and Thai .
accession accepted by the United States, the 4
latter expressly engaged that 'the inhabitants of
the ceded territory shall be Incorporated in the .
I Union of the United States. and admitted as .
soon as possible, according to the principles OF
! the Federal Constitution. to tie enjoyment of all
the rights, advantages and immunities Of citizens
of the United States and in the meantime they ,
shall be maintained and protected in the free en-
Joyment of their Ebe'r,. property. and the religion
they profess''-that is to saw while il remains in
a territorial condition. its inhabitants are main
tanned and protected in the ree enjoyment of :
F, their liberty and property with right then to ,
pass INTO the condition of States a footing of /
perfect equality with tie original States.
/ The enactment. which established the re- t
/, strictive geographical line, was acquiesced in !
rather than improve by the States Of the
Union. 1t stood on the statue books, howev- /
T, er for number of years land the people of /
the respective States acquesced in the re-en- /
sc:ment of the principle as applied Is, the /
State of Texas; and it proposed to acqniesce |
| in its further application to the territory &C.
quired by the United States from Mckee,
But this proposition was successfully resisted
i by the representatives from the Northern
States, who, regardless of the line, insisted up
on applying restriction to the new territory /
! generally. whether lying North or South of
IT, thereby repeating il as a legislative COM
promise and. on the part of tue North, per
sistently violating the compact, if compact
there was.
Thereupon this enactment ceasel to bave
! binding Virtue in any sense, whether a re-
spects the North or tho South and 50 in ef
feet it was treated on the occas on of the adj
, mission of the State of California. and ',.e or
, ganization of the Territories of New Mexico,
Utah aud Washington.
Such was the State of this question when
the time arrived for the organization of the :
! Territories of Kansas and Nebraska. In the :
progress of constitutional inquiry and re6ec-
| ton. it had now at lenght come to be seen j
clearly that Congress does not possess consti- |
tutionl power to impose restrictions of this