New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1856-03-01

Eo1 roferfed q
rress That should tend 70 the emancipation Of say~'
6sprress vas thus prevented from prohibiting Slavery
h hsse new States by the action Of the old States ous
sf which they had been formet But a. soon az the
ssnstitnonal limitation upon Its power over The ssies
Aen existing had expired, Congress prohibited py
feaYfal penalSes the addition by importation OF sin-
g3e slave to the numbers already in the country:
The trainers Of the Constitution, although the MS
eercal record of their opinions that ney were
earnest and undivided in their dislike o. slavery,
ssd in their conviction that hostile In ts nature
sAd tie influence 10 Republican Free dom aiter takhg
hese steps to prevent its increase ' no' .a
vhh Il further in the States where II tnen existed.
Tkoee States were separate communities, jealous OF
sheir sovereignty, and unwilling TO enter INTO any
I,ague which sboud trench in the least degree upon
nj, ovn control over their affair This sentiment
A. ftamers OF the Constitution compelled TO
meet and they accordingly left Slavery as they lett all
Sker local interests to the control of the several States
But no who reads with care the debates and the re-
corded opinions Of that age can doubt that the ut
nate removal Of Slavery desired by the people Of
NE whole country and that Congress bad been EN-
powered 10 prevent it, increase, with view to its
gradual and ultimate extinction. Nor didthe period OF
emancipation remote. Slave labor, employed as
was in agriculture, was less profitable than
Ne free labor which pouring in TO take It's
plaee. And even in States where this consider
stion did not prevail, other influences tended 70 tne
same result. The spirit Of liberty was then young,
generous, and strong. The men Of the nation nad
made sacrifices and waged battles for the ylnication
Of their nalenabe rights 10 life, liberty ana inc pur-
kuil OF LHppInefs, anu IL Wao NV Po9o'c.~ W.
sit down IN the quiet enjoyment Of blessings thus
achieved without feeling the injustice as wen as the
inconvenience Of holding great numbers OF their EEL
hw-me in bondage. In ali the otspes, tneIel o'
there existed strong tendency toward emancipation
The removal Of 80 great evil was felt TO be wor-
Thy object Of ambition by the best and most sagacious
statesmen Of that age; and Washington, Jefferson,
Franklin and all the great leaders and representa-
t;yes OF public opinion were active and earnest in
devising measures by which it could be accomplished
But the great change produced in the industry OF
the Southern States in the early part OF the present
century by the increased culture OF cotton the intro
Sucton OF new inventions to prepare for USE and
II growing importance 10 the commerce OF the coun-
try and the labor Of the world by making slave labor
more profitable than it had ever been BEFORE checked
Ills tendency toward emancipation and soon pat an
end TO it al ogether AZ the demand for cotton In
creased the interests Of the cotOngrowlng States be-
came more and more connected with Slavery; the
spirit Of Freedom gradually gave way oelore . .pe
spirit of gain; the sentiments and the language OIL the
Southern States became changed and all attempts az
emancipation began to be regarded, and resisted as
assaults upon the rights and the interests OF tne
sayeholding section Of the Union. For many years
however, this change did not affect the political
relations Of the subject. States, both free ana
slaveboldiDg, were successfully added to the
Confederacy without exciting the fears OF either
section. Vermont came into the Union IN l79l
with Constitution excluding Slavery. Ken
tucky formed out Of Virginia was admitted IN l792;
Tennessee in 1896; Mississippi in 1917, and Alasama
IN lel9-s Slave States, formed out OF territory be-
longing to Slave States, and having Slavery estab-
hshed in them at the time OF their ormati0n On the
ether hand Ohio admitted IN ls0j Indiana IN
1915 and Illinois 10 1915 having formed state Gov
srnments under acts Of Congress which made 1t
fundamental condition that their Constitutions should
contain nothing repugnsnt 10 the ordinance of 1881
or In other words that Slavery should be prohibited
within their limits forever Ia all these occurrences,
a. in the admission of Louisiana in 1872 there mad
been no contest between Freedom and Slavery for II
lad not been generally felt that the interests OF either
Werc seriously involved.
THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE.
The first contest concerning the admission OF new
Ssste which turned upon the question of Slavery,
cured in 1919, when Missouri, formed out OF tern
tory purchased from France IN 1908, applied 10 Con-
xress for admission TO the Union as slavehoidng
State. The application strenuously resisted by
the people of the Free States. IL was everywhere
felt that the decision involved consequences OF the
hst Importance to the welfare OF the country,
and that il the progress OF Slavery was ever 10 De AT
rested that was the time to arrest 1t. The savehod-
ing interest demanded its admission as night, and
denied the power of Congress TO impose conditions
spon new States applying to be admitted INTO the
Confederacy The power rested with the Free
States, and Missouri was denied admission. But
the subject wa reviewed. The slaveholdlng interest,
with characteristic and timely sagacty, abated
something Of its pretensons and settled the oonr9-
versy on the basis of compromise Missouri was adj
rniti ed into the Union by act bearing date March
6, $50, in which il was also declared that : IN az
"that Territory ceded by France to the United
States under the name of Louisiana, WIN n Hes
north of SO deg. 80 min. of north latitude, not
81 included within the limits OF the State OF mis-
sour SLAVERY AND INVOLUNTARY sERvIrUDE other
wise than in the punishment OF crimes WHEREOF the
~pares shall have been duly convicted SHALL BE- AND
els NEREBY FOREVER PROHIBITED" In Zach House of
Congress q majority OF the Members from slave
holding States voted in favor OF this bill with THIS pro-
vision thus declaring and exercising by their votes
the constitutional power of Congress to prohibit Sa
very even in territories where 1t had been permitted
by the law of France the date of their ceSson to
The United States. A Slave State, Arkansas,
a. - .lxruf annfh
formed out Of that portion OF this territory lying south
of 80 deg 30 min. TO which the prohibition was not
extended, was admitted To the Union IN 1885, Two
Slave States thus into the Confederacy by virtue
Of this arrangement; while Freedom galned no'hihg
by Il but the prohibition of Slavery from vast region
which Freedom had made no attempt to penetrate
Thus ended the first great contest OF Freedom ana
Slavery for position and power in the General Govern
ment. The savsholding interest had achieved VIZ
tual victory II secured all the immediate results for
which struggled; il acquired the power of ofsetting
in the Federal Senate two of the Free States OF the
Confederacy and the time could not be foreseen when,
In the fulflmen of its compact, would yield any pos
tive and practical advantage to the interests ofkree-
DOM Neither then, nor for many years thereafter,
did any statesman dream that when that period should
arrive the slayehoding interest would trample on Its
bond and fling its faith to the winds.
quarter Of century elapsed before the exatlon
of Texas. Slavery hsd been active, meantime IN las
tening its hold upon the Government IN binding poht-
cal parties TO it's chariot and in seeking In Congress
TO ste the right of petition and to crush al freedom
of speech aud of the press. In every slaveholding
state, none but Shareholders those whose interests
are identified with Slavery, were admitted to NJ any
office, or exercise any authority, civil or political
Free whites not Shareholders in their presence or in
the midst of their society," reduced to vassage
little less degrading than that of the slaves themselves
Even at this day although the white population of the
slavehoding States Is more than SIX millions Of whom
but 347 525 or less than oReseveRtecnA the own
en- of slaves none but Shareholder, or one who viii
ACT with exclusive reference to Slavery is ever allowed
To represent the State in any National Convention IN
49, kr.nch &c Congress or in ANY high position of