The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1856-01-10

sitting the voice of Northern Representatives
and Northern constituencies; at the same time,
demanded laws from the free States, making
the discussion of Slavery within their limits a
penal offence; offered rewards for citizens of
the free States, prominent for their opposition
to Slavery; and undertook to subject the United
States mail to a detestable censorship Since
then, they have been constantly insisting upon
| their right to carry their slaves with them into
the free States, passing through them, soiourn-
ing IN them, or using their ports for purposes
OF shipment-thus attempting to violate the
free institutions of those States. This is not
all; they have passed an infamous act for the
recapture of fugitive slaves, which in its opera,
ton involves the denial of the habeas corpus
and jury trial-vital institutions in the free
States-and now impudently denounce' these
States, in the language of the President, as
disregarding their constitutional obligations to
the Republic, because, falling back on their re-
served State rights, some of them have made
laws to remedy the mischiefs and perils grow.
ing out of that infamous act All the while.
this same Oligarchy, ruling through the Execu
tive Power, administered by Franklin Pierce
and his predecessors, has been using the re.
sources OF the Union, the larger portion of
which is drawn from the free States, to foster
and propagate sectional institution abhorrent
to their feelings and repugnant to their inter.
ests, and which has no claim upon them, except
to exemption from interference where confined
within State Jurisdiction.
And yet these quiet, harmless People, we
are assured by this Presidential creature of
their will, are famous for minding their own
business, and permitting other people to mind
theirs
The President then proceeds to argue the
whole case for them, attempting to show that
they have never committed an aggression,
never manifested any sectional feeling always
have acted exclusively for national purposes
that the Ordinance of 1887 was an extraordi-
nary concession by them-that it was not in
tended to be a precedent-that it was set
aside by the Constituton-that the Missouri
Compromise was against their will, and a vio
lation of the Constitution the Compro
prises of 1850 established the true doctrine
which was, the abrogation of all restriction on
Slavery, leaving it at liberty to go where it
might within Federal Territory-that'the Ne
braska bill was but the logical consequence of
those Compromises-an that the principle of
it is the high ground on which the friends Of
the Constitution may rally for triumphant
struggle
We have not time or space for further CON-
ment. The mere presentation of the points
of his argument is enough. The whole ques-
ton was submitted to the People, and every
free State but one pronounced against him, re.
turning to the House of Representatives
large majority, pledged to announce their YER
dict of guilty against Franklin Pierce and his
associates. His special pleading at this late
day will not save him, or induce them to re-
verse their decision.
eas- The Speech of Mr. Hale was delivered
after the first part of this article was written.