Demoine courier., 1856-12-11

WV NS1ARA Diahes s&'e' At VII ReAN VI VIZ " tAS
entity violating the compact, II compact there Was.
Tbercupon, this enactment ceased TO have blnain,
W., u.' Ser,h a. "a ! II srcr. !, nas pna,sa - nn nnrsn o.
zion of the aami,sion Of the Sote 81 californis an
me oryanisat,on of m. Territories Of New Nexico
I.tah and Wssiinyton 9uch vas tbs xtate ~ ri,
| Question v hen the tim. arrived for the .ryan,s,t,,, ~
the Territories II Kansas and Nchrassa. In the pro
,ress OF Constitutional irouiry and rejection. Il ha,
now Ut length come to Ne elrsrsy se,-n That Couyres.
does not po,xsss Coustitutiona, now m imnos, rs
trictiops al tbis charact,r unon any tr...nt a. f,tur.
state of the Union.
In a long series of decisiops on the fullest ARGUMENT
and ns.r IN, mnst d.lil,erat. rc,,sidsra,;on The sn
prr,ue Court Of the Initcd sta,,s mad rnally d.,erm;n
ed this npiu. in every form undrr Which the ou.st;or
ssonli arise yb.,her n q asc,,ins nnbUc r. nriyat,
rights or questions of he nublic don,nin or reIiaion. o
navigation or ser,itude. The several States Of the
mestic legislative oowrr Conyrcss cannot change n
law Of domestic re,atian In the stat. NJ NIa;no. mo- NOR
than it can IN the state Of Missouri
,ity; II takes away no rieht-it confcrs none. If Il re.
main on the statute book unrepeaied. II remains there
only "A a monun,e,to ~ error ana , hn,eon M warning
10 tbr lepdsia,or and The stotes,nan 10 rspeaI viii he ON.
ly TO remove imperrcciion from the statutes without AZ
fectjng either In the sense of ,rrmjs,iop or OF probibi.
ton In the action Of tho states or of their citizens
still. when ihe nominal resurrection of this nature. al.
ready a dead letter In law, was repealed BY the last
cop,ress h a clans. ~ the trt rrnniripy thc Terri.
toriss Of Kansas and Nehrasla tbe r,neai was maze
The occasion of a v ide sprcad and danoernus agitation
II was alleged that the original enactment being a com
pact of perpetual moral obligation. lis repeal con,ti.
tuted an odious breach Of faihl An act Of Congress-
while 1t is unrepcaled. more especially If il be ccns,i,
tutionally valid i'm the Judgment of those public fupc.
tionarirs. whose duty IL h 10 pronounce on that point.
/, undoubtedly binding ON the conscience of every
good citizen Of the Nauublic. hut I'm what seps. can II
ed with pcrpetuity. and entitled TO respect of A solemn
compscty between whom was the COMPACT? no distinct
contcnding power ofthe go vernment-no separate Sec
tions CT the Union. treating as such entered In the
treaty stipnlatiops on the -. icet.
1t was q mere clause of a,y act Of Congress. and ike
any other controverfed matter of legislation received
"a.
dieting opinions or sentiments of the members Of Con-
gres.: hut III II had moral authority over met,'s con.
Sciences. 70 whom did this authority attach Not To
thos. OF the North who had repeatedly refused to con.
firm II by extension, and who had seduonsly striyen to
establish other and incompatible regulations upon the
subject, and Il. as il appears. the supposed compact
had no obligatory force. A. 10 the North. of course II
could moi have had any as TO the south, for all sucl,
compacts must be mutual and Of reciprocal obligation.
IL has nat upfreauently hanpenpi that law yi yer.
with undue estimation Of the value ~ M. law thew
give. or In the view OF jmpartiny n II peculiar strength
make Il IN perpetual terms. hut thew can't TINS hind The
conscience. the Judgment and IN. win of those who
NAV snc,.eed them Invested with similar rasnopsihilj.
ties and clothed With equal authority. More careful
Investigation NAV prove The law msorud in principl.
e.neriencc may sbaw 4, 10 h. ;,nnarf.rt ;n detail and
imrracticahle /, exac,tior and ,han ho,h r.aso, ond
rirht combine not merely TO instIfy Lut 10 reouir. lis
repeal FF E
The Constitution sunrene as n "a oyer all the de-
nartmpnts Of the Government Legislative. executive
and judicial. Is omen To Amendment by lis terms. and
Congress or the states NAV in their discretio, nronose
amendments 10 its solcmi co,nnar, thougb 4, In truth
is betwes cen the sovereign states of In, Cnion. In the
present instance a political .I,actment which had ceas-
ed to have legal power or authority of any kiud Was
repealed The position assumed thai Coppress had mo
moral rigb, 10 enact snrh rc,aai was strange enoueb
and ,ingularly so i'm view of tbe fac, tb,, the aryu,nent
came from those WIN op,ulv refused nl,.dienre To ey.
listing laws Of the land having the same nonular desig.
nation and quality "a comnromisc acts. nav more
who uueuuiyocably disrerarded and condemned the
most positive and obliyatory iuiunct;ous of The Con.
stitution ITSELF. and songht nv every means within their
reach to depriye a norton AZ tieir feliow.ritizens q,
the equal epioyment OF those riyhts and priyiI.yes
guaranteed alike To All nv the huni,u.nt,i cnmnacf All
9nr Tnion.
Tbi, argumeut ayains, the reneal NJ the s,atu,e I'm,
in question WAS accompanied by another of copgepial
character. and eu,aUy with the fnrn,r destitute nj
the measure originated In the conccption of extendinr
the limits Of slave labor beyond those previously as.
signed 10 IL, and that such was its natural as well as In
tended effect: and those baseless asnn,ntions were
made In the Northern States a ground Of unceasine
assault upon constitutional rights, The repeal In terms
of a statute which was already obsolete and also null,
struct or promote the propagation Of conflicting views
Of political or social institutions.
When the act organizing the Territories of Kansas
and Nebraska was passed, the Inherent effect upon that
portion Of the public domain thus opened TO legal set-
tlen,ent, was to admit settlers from all the States of the
Union alike, each with his convictions of public policy
and private interest, there TO found In their discretion,
subject to such limitation "a the Constitution and acts
Of Congress might prescribe, new states hereafter "a
alike to all, whether the statute of assumed restriction
was repealed or not. That repeal did NOT omen A free
competition of the diverse Opirions and domestic in.
situations Of a field which, wila9ut such repeal. would
have been closed against them. II found that field o.
competition already omen in fact aud in law. All the
repeal did was 70 relieve the statute book Of An obiec
ti6nable enactment unconstitutional In effect and in
furious ia terms 10 u large portion of the States. Is
the fact that In all the unsettled regions of the Unite
States, IL emigration be left free 10 act In this respec,
for itself, without legal prohibition ON either side. slave
labor viii spontaneously 90 everywhere in preference
10 free labor? Is IL the fact that the peculiar domestic
institutions of the Southern States possesses relatively
so much Of yigor that wheresoeyer an avenue Is freely
sion Of those Of the Northern states?
Is II the fact, that the former enjoy, compared with
the latter, such irresistibly superior vitality. indepeu.
dent Of climate, soil and all other accidental circum.
stances as 70 be able to produce the supposed result 10
spite OF the assumed moral and natural obstacles to its
accomplishment and Of the more numerous population
Of the Northern Statess
The argument of those who advocate the enactment
Of new laws OF restriction and condemned the repeal
of old ones In affect AYERS thar their particular views
Ut government have no self.extendipg or self-sustained
now er OF their own and will 90 nowi,ere unless forced
by act Of Congress. And If Congress do but pause for
a moment in the policy of stern Coercion n n venture
TO try the experiment of leaving Iaen To indigo for
themselves what institutions sin best suit them. n II be
not strained up to perpetual legislative exertiou on
this point: il Congress proceed titus 10 act In the very
spirit Of liberty, il Is at once charged with aiming TO
extend slave labor into ali the new Territories Of the
United States.
OF course these imputations Of the Intentions al
Congress in this respect. conceived AS they were In
prejudice, and disseminatedi In passion. are utterly DIES
titute OF any justification In the nature of things, and
contrary TO all the Fundamental doctrines and princi
pies CT civil liberty and selfgoyernnent. While. there
fore, in general, the people of the Northern states have
never at any time arrogated for the federal govern
mcnt, the power TO interfere directly with the dones
tic condition Of persons In the southern States. but on
/ fl $50. $500. 49,