Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1857-10-03
VOL. IX---NO. 10.

N|r'"2' -NVoihSha anu NJ Minnesota so FAR aS
the indian title to the same WAS extinguis-
ed, to any Indians cast Of the Mississirni
river. Any time after 1880 he could have
given to the Chcrokeos, Creeks and Choc.
taWs the country west of Iowa and Missouri
instead CT what he did that west Of Arkan-
Sas.
Each Of these three Indian nations was =
slave holding people Slavery was recor-
nlzcd ty law. The CherOkecs had Il regular
government, republican constitution. y
written body Of laws, two houses Of the leg
l"lature, and regular courts of Justice. 4
! purchase Of a slave from q Cherokee. or 4
Greek. Or Choctaw, was and is vet good
| title anywhere in the Sou h. and their laws
Of d scent and distribution were appealed to
Ill their courts to settle questions Of title to
slaves purchased from them.
| Again on the | Ith day of February. 1888.
q treaty was made with the slave.ho}din~
| thcrokecs, supplemental to the treaty Of
May, 1928, which so defines the boundar;cs
of the seven millions Of acres Of land then
granted, that three of the seven millions of
acres lie north Of the line of SO deg. 80 min.
This treaty also guaranteed an outlet west;
and free and unmolested use of all the
country lying west Of the seven millions Of
acres, & Statute at Large, 4l4,) so that
rrsyy inch of the Missouri Compromise line,
from the western line Of Missouri to the
western limits Of the territory covered bv it,.
has been since February, 1888, and is now
IN the Cherokee nation, and slavery has been
north OF 1t the whole distance by law and
treaty.
Again onthe 2oth day of December. 1885,
another treaty WAS made with the Cherokees
whereby the United States. for a consideraS
Snt n-tb ,t,J
to convey to them. and their descendants. bE
patent m tee simple the further amount Of
eight hundred thousand acres Of land. Tho
whole Of this tract lies north of the main
Cherokee country, and most OF it north Of
the 81 deg. of north latitude. TO this also
the laws Of the Cherokees carried slavery.
4 Statute at Large, 4IS.) This treaty pro-
Vlded that these lands in no future time
without the consent of the Chcrokees. should
be included within the limits of any State
or territory, and for the ''rigE1t OF their ma
uonaI cou1sels to make, and carry into effect
all su&! laws as they may deem necessary
fer the government and protection CT the
persons ard property within their own coun1
try, bc'ohg;ng TO their people or such per-
. .l!s - have connected themselves with
tbasr."
These treaties became the suDran2e 7au OF
the land, and by them the whole Missouri
Compromise line was placed within tho
country belonging in fee simple to IA slave
holdngpcople, actually holding many slaves.
VI hat became Of the prohibition that slavery
should nerer 90 north Of Sc, 80? 1t was
q "u!le1: first by law, ana then by two suc=
crSsiVc solemn treaties.
Men talk about restoring the Missouri
Compromise line. Ten thousand acts Of
Congress could not rest0:e it Or drive slavery
south OF it. 1t belongs to the Cherokees
through lis whole length. Slavery is there
by their laws, which they had a right and
by patent in fee simple. Thus much for the
cAInan's statement ''that slavery existed at
that time OS54) and still exists in Kansas
under the Constitution Of the q. States.''
coma now to what is the most tangible
case of violation in the long list of violations
the extension Of the Missouri boundary.
| will be permitted to quote from him, who
wants no other epitaph on his tombstone
and it is so deeply engraven that time will
not eilacc lt-shan 'he voted against tho
abrogation Of the Missouri C0mprcrise
line" Gn lS5l) ''This was measure oe
great mont to Missouri, and full Of diff
culties. The difficulties were thrcefold-
l. TO make still larger State already one
of the largest in the Union. 2. TO remove
Indians from a possession which mad Just
been assigned them i'll perpetuity. 8. To
alter the Missouri compromise line, in rela-'
ton to slave territory, and thereby convert
free soil into slave soil. In the face of all
these discouraging Obstacles, the two Mis-
souri, Senators, Messrs. Benton and Linn
their operations. The first step
was to procure a bill for the alteration Of
the compromise line and the extension Of the
boundary; it was obtained from the Judics
iary Committee, reported By Jno. NJ. Clay,
ton, and passed the Senate without materi-
Il trent TO tie HJue OF Rep
re'entatiyes, and found there no serious OPP
position to its passage. And this was the
TO the imputed design Of abolishing slavery
in the States! actually extending it and
by an addition cqr al in extent to such States
as Delaware and Rhode Island, and by its
fertility equal to one Of the third class Of
States. And this accomplished by the ex~
process of altering q com promise
line into's}ed to be perpetual and the re-
Of soil that had been slave, and
made free, back again fr IN free to slave"
Now let me ask in all goodness, in view
If these plain historical facts, what fairness
S there in saying that the Missouri Compro.
misc line as line north of which slavery
honld never 60, and wi:ich dedicated the
country north Of it TO freedom forever, had
emained undisturbed and faithfully adhered
% by both North and South. What fairness
n saying that it had continued sacred aud
intact fer more than thirty years; that ii
1ad become time-honored and of dignity
md sanctity eqnal to Constitutional pro-
vision, and that twas erased by the ebras-
sa bill, which was an unwarrantable viola-'
ton of Il compact between the n North and the
South. P. W.