Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1856-02-09

| midnight-for it seems that all of these slave
ry laws must be passed in the darkness of the
night ; twelve O'Clock seems to be the fitting
hour for passing all compromises i'm regard to
slavery, and for repeating them-at least such
is the history Of the country-Mr PIscKsEY.
writing from this hall at the dead hour of the
night, i'm 1890, says:
"DEaH sm: hasten to inform you that this r,oueu.
have carried the question 20 admit Missouri andla
Louisiana TO the southward of $50 80 free of the restric
perhaps eight e5eTs To- fle Senate Of The Unt.d seses
IL Is considered here 5y the sGreotdng States
rRIuMPan
1t was considered by the South at the time
as great triumph. And yet men stand here
aud tell ms that it was forced upon them by the
North. In the Senate of the United States,
on the engrossment and passage of the bill,
twenty Southern Senators voted for 1.-TWO
only against it.
But four northern Senators voted for that
line-eighteen against it. But two southern
Senator's voted against it--twenty for it.
Among the latter were both Senators from
Virginia, Louisiana, Tennessee, Georgia, Ken
tucky, Missouri, Alabama, Mississippi, and
Delaware, with Mr.. SFoKEs, of North Carroll
na, and MIR. GILLIARD, of South CaroIina-leaY-
ing two against it.
Now there is another part of this letter of
Mr.. PIcKSEY's, which is testimony coutempo-
raneous with the passage Of that compromise
which has been so ruthlessly stricken down
TO the north of 80 30 there is to BE- BY the presep.
law restriction, which, you viii by the votes voted
against Bat q Is at Presenf Of moment is vast
which foot of the Indian claim to soil is extinguish
ed and in which, according the ideas prevalent mo land
office trH be opened for great length IF ti1as."
But when a land Office comes to be opened.
you come here and strike down this restriction
strike down everything which the North
thought she had secured by that arrangement.
The gentleman from Kentucky, Mr. MAR-
SHALL said, in the way of interrogatery, that
/ would not agree to extend the Missouri COM
promise line to the Pacific. That is true. He
undertook to say, however, that the North had
not been faithful to the compromise of 1920.
Sir, what was the Missouri restriction applied
to :? To the territory purchased of France
TO that alone, and nothing else 1t was not
applied to any other territory, for there was no
other to apply it to- Then, has it not been
adhered to by the North in its application to
the territory to which it was applied7 Was
it not put on the statute book on the 9th of
March, 1920 {; and did it not continue valid
enactment, without change or alteration, till
the passage of the Nebraska bill by the last
Congress? How then was it abandoned p
Gentlemen complain that when Missouri asked
to be admitted into the Union, the North OBJ
jected to her admission
A MENBEg made suggestion here as to the
opposition to the admission of Arkansas.
Mr. GROW. No, sir Missouri is the cues
ton. The gentlemen rest upon Missouri She
had passed law, prohibiting the immigration
of free bsacks and the ground of the resis-
tance to her admission was, that she could not
enact such a restriction, and not that she toll
Grated slavery. 1t was in that compromise
that Mr.. Clay figured as the originator. He
brought in proposition to harmouize that
question, and it passed Bot there was mo-
question raised, at that time, about the line of
&c deg. ID min-, nor at any other time, so far
as the Lolisiana purchase was concerned, the
only territory to which that arrangement ap-
piled. But when the Government acquired
new territory, to which we were asked to ap-
ply that line, We said "no" And why? Be
cause, while you would hem Us in, in our ter
ritOrial expansion, by this line on the south
and the British possessions ON the north, yoa
would be left almost indefinite expansion on
the south Woald it then have been fair for
the North to have hemmed herself i'm forever
upon twelve and q half degrees Of latitude,
over which to carry free labor aad free institu-
tons while leaving almost indefinite expen-
sion to the institutions Of slavery! Besides,
NJ, We had acquired free territory-territory
in which slavery was abolished by the laws OF
Aexico-aDd We were asked TO make il, by act
Of Congress, slave territory. To such pro-
position | answer the gentleman, i'm the Ian
guage of Kentucky's owa llustrous states
man, | never will Tote, and no earthly pow
er viii ever make me vote, TO spread slavery
over territory where it does not exist That
was the declaration Of your OWN Clay. made
on the 9th of March, 1850 1t was almos.
ms dying declaration, and it win live amoug
the proOdest legacies that he has beqaeathed
to after times Sir, stand with him in declar-
ing that by no act Of mine shall slavery ever
he carried into any territory from which it Is
excluded lg positive law.
Mr.. HUMPHREY MARSHALL. The
gentleman from Pennsylvania viii allow me 70
say, that ttere IS not sOathern Representa-
nFe on tAls floor who will Fote TO spread sla-
very over territory where it does not now exist.
Mr.. GEOW- Bat the proposition to ex-
tend the NiSsOari compromise line through the
acqHiatiofi OF Mexican territory was in fact
the same thing. 1t was saying. by leyisla-
uve act Of this Republic, that slavery might
exist in that Territory, notwithstanding the
laws Of Mexico prohibited it, We were ask
ed to strike OF all restrictions by q positive
Legislative act. II slavery had then gone in
to that Territory, it would have been the act
OF this Government, aS i'm the case Of Kansas
now II slavery plant itself there, VINO is re-
sPoHSble for its TIE roen who struck down
that restriction for, with the Missouri com
promise in force, slavery eoGd BeFer hare gone
there If then il goes there during its terri