The Wyandot pioneer. (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1853-1868, 1856-04-17

ssSlayery---Daniel Webster's Opini Ons.
The opinions of the great ''Conslitu-
tlonal Expoander" upon the subject ol
Slavery will be read just atlhis time with
peculiar interest. We lind the following
extrsets taken from speeches his deiv
liyered at different periods ofhis life, in
an exchange paper, and We cannot re-
tfrain. from giving them, to our readers
If any man desires our sentiments upon
this vexed question, we cannot DO better
than to refer him to these sextraets--oul
ideas in regard to The extension of the
1@apeeuliar-a@in insiltuton"- are -enlbodied
in alhe Language .ef Mr. Webster In, II
work published in 1897, Mr.. Webster
says: $ e3.7ts'sF etaii1 8"eafs4 a7
''"Slavery as il exists in the States, is
beyond the reach of Congress. 1t is "a
concern of the States themselves; they
never have submitted tito Congress-, and
Congress hasn no rightful power overit -
| shall concur therefore in no act, no
1 measure, no menace, no indication oi
purpose, which shall interfere, or threa-
ten to interfere with The exclusive author
ity ofthei several States over the subject
Of slavery as it5exists within their respec-
1--WE limits. All this appears to me to be
amatter of plain and imperative duty
But when we come to speak of admitting 9
new States, the subject assumes an en-
tirely different aspect. Our rights and
duties are then both different. The free
States and all the States, are Mea at libey-
ty TO aceeptoi' reject. When tits proposed
to bring new members into the political
partnership, the old members haveairisht
tosay, on what terms such'new partners
shall eome-in. and they are to bring
along with them."7 " Z s5sg,t ,.le ers
In the year te45 in the hSenatey Mr..
Webster spoke as follows: %@lpat ~
-a"WRile hold with as muck Integrity,
ftrust, and faithfulntss as any citizen OF
:his country, to all the original amend
ments and compromises under which the
constitution was adopted, never would
and never can persuade myselfto be in ia :
| vor of the admission of other States into
| the Union as slave States, with the ine-
qualities Which were allowed and awar-
ded by the constitution of the slave hol-
ding States then in existence. | do not
think thatthe free States ever expected,
or would expect that they would be called
on to admit more slave States, having the
| UNEQUAL advantages arising to them from
the mode of apportionng representalio on,
under the existing constitution. Sir, |
have never made an effort, and never
propose to make an effort, | have never
countenanced aneffort, and never mean to
countenance an effortto disturb the ar.
ranyements as originally made, by which
the various States came into the Union. =
But | cannotavoil considering it quite
| different question w hen a proposition i:
made4to admit a new State, and III; it be
allowed to come in with the same adyan.
tages and INEQUALITIES, which were a
greed to-in regard to the old. Il may bt
said, that according to the provisions o
the constitution, new States may be ad
mitted upon the same footing as the old
States. II It may be SO; but it does not fol
low atall from that provision. that every
Territory or portion of country may a
pleasure, establish slavery, and then say
we will become a potion Of the Union
and bring with US the principles which W,
have thus adopted, and must be received
on the same footing as the old States. l
will always be question whether The
old States have not the right fand thinl
they have the clearest riglt) to require
that the State coming into the Union
should come in upon an equality; and i
the existence Of slavery be an i'm Jedi
ment to coming in on an equality, ther
the State proposing to come in, shoule
be required to remove that inequality by
abolishing slavery, or take the a.terna,iv,
Of being excluded. Published writing ;
VOL 5, 81.
Extract from a speech in the Senate i,
l848: e
'tGentlemen who advocate the cas-,
which my honorable friend from Georgi'
sustans with so much ability, declare tha
we invade their rights, that we depriv
them of a partieipa ion in the enjoymen
I of territories acquired by the common
service and common exertion Of all. /
this true? How deprive? OF what d
we deprive them? Why, they say W
l'deprive them of the privilegesof carryin!
their slaves as slaves, intoanew territories
Well sir; what is tile amount of that?-
they say that in this way we depriv
them OF the opportunity of going int
}, these newly acquired Territories with thei
i property. What do they mean by thei
property? We certainly do not deprv
Il hem of the privilege of going into til
} newly acquired territ ories with all thai
5 in the general estimate Of human society