Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1857-01-27
pIyp1IC SENTIMENT ABROAD.


in an admirable romance, with the title OF "Ihe
negro, by exhibiting the still greater degradation aud
dsstituton of the laboriug classes in Europe.
In the North suoh men AZ DIR. Lord, Dir. lnsersoI!,
and others of equally meritorious service have dis
cussed the slavery controversy by the light Of reeson
and in the interest Of tho South. But this sigma!
change Of opinion and feeling is more conspicuous in
the columns of the daily press. The following article
shows the presspt position OF the more enlightened
writer's 10 the North. in respect to the CONSTITUTIONAL
relations Of slavery. The Day Book We may re-
mark, is equally philosophical and satisfactory IN
discussiuo tho moral sanctions of the Institution.
From tho Now York Day Book.l
DOES THE CONSTITUTION CARRY SLAVE
KY" INTO 1HE TERRlTORlES'
The "anti slavery" press and the "ant-slavery"
orators, either desgnedly carelessy msrepressnt
this attitude OF the Southern people In respect to
s.yery" in the territories. They represent them as
claiming the right to occupy the territories with their
negroes or"slave" property as right gwen them oy
ihe Constitution. This, We are quite confident, Is
not the position Of Southern mon generally, though
some among them may have used term. that would
admit OF such construction The right to occupy
tho common territory Of all the States dos5 NOT ori.
Rinae u the federal Constitution nor in the fedora
4 -
tit:ons character il preexistent, innate aud inhe
rem, in the nature and necessities Of Southern soce
~ and State sovereignty. and the federal Con'ii'u:
tiou simply confirms il. That ia the position OF
Southern Democratic, indeed, will be the position Of
all Democrats, North and South, when they have ex
arnned the subject and really formed an opinion CO
IT,
The South" has an inferior race In lts midst, and
its political and social formulas adapted to the
agencies of Its mixed sociey-to the wants and well
fare Of this inferior race we'll as to their own.-
And when the federal government was organised, 1t
WIS designed 10 the welfare Of this sOcietyto
guard and project all existing rights. moi TO create
them Or any of them, but to confirm ths,R aH No
doubts the right Of the New Yorker settling in Kan.
sas TO his wife, to his children, his appr.ntioe
bis right be- protected In the enjoyment Of his pro-
perty. Why? Because these rights are Inherent In
the nature Of things, and spring spontaneously from
the necessities of human existence They do not
originate in the Federal Constitution-that only con.
firms them. Why. then, should the right Of the
Southern man to his negro be Questioned or his right
Of property in the labor OF this negro be eoparded
Because it is said that his righ over his negro 10
local as we'll a. unnaural-thst 'savery." or theex
isng relation, 10 dependent local law and cannot
exist beyond the sphere OF that law the State isom
whence he comes.
what nfalble authority thus decides the rights and
deiermines the wants and directs the necessities of
American societyf Why, torsooth, British Judge
decided, long time ago, that tine relation between
pendent ON local law, and therefore cannot exist n
The territories or any where ese without such las
laci But this decision sf European monarchls'
however worthy the regard OF an American Demo
crst in other respects 10 absolutely and beyond doubt
utterly baseless-there being no single instance Oh
this whole continent where such local law can be
found, and oDe single "save" OF the four millions
IN our midrt held by any such tenure. Ii "a ciear
matter, and the source Of the masters right 10
his "slave" is just exactly that which We
have stated, aod exactly parallel with tie Sew
Workers. "rght to his wife or child, and there are
local or State laws prohibiting the former, while the
latter 10 universally reeognized. il is b,cuuse M gh-
~ itnposture hR. been imposed on the American
mind, and which, sooner or later ike all other iies,
10 bound to perish.
The truth, absolute truth of this assumption this
equal right of the Southern man to take his slave
into the territories, that the northern has take
hs wife or child, and the equal r,sh! TO be protected
in the enjoyment Of his save property that the for
sr Ia in his property Of any kind, in other words,
the equal right Of southern sociey 10 exist and to be
protected by the federal government in the common
territories OF the Union that claimed for the society
and people Of the North, is 30 obvious indeed, un.
dissent form IT, were it not for the wide spread mis-
conception and deplorsble deluson that prevails 10
regard to the real specific character OF the negro
Ii there should be dissolution Of the present
Union, aud the 80 called slave States were to form
new oonfederacy and afterw ards acquire territories
where there had been legislation whatever on the
subject, will any presume 10 say that the oilizeBs
of the States Of thi. Union could rot hold
their "slavea" or would not be protected in their
"slave" property in these terrltories Or will any
one say that they would recognize such nonsense as
popular sovereignty" n this territory, that hand
full OF squatters settlers could Ihut ont The citizens
of sovereign States or confscate their "save" prop
erty il they veutured iuto III Such Supposition, of
course involves an absurdty-the supremacy Of the
governed over the governing-oi colony over lite
founders.
Now, il is historical fact that such condition Of
things existed at the tune the present Union was
formed and the Constitution adopted Twelve Of the
thirteen States actually had "slaves," and doubtless
that one recognized the same general laws which
then prevailed over the whole American continen! on
this subject or In respect to the relations OF white
men and negroes. The country is vastly changed
since them and many Of the "Od thirteen" have be-
come Stree s,a,es"jD but the Constitution is now
what it was when slavery" was the general law
And, as We have said in regard to suppositious
Southern confsderscy who VIII doubt or could dosct
the universal recognition OF the "rgat OF al cli
rie, without regard to the sickly sentimenal'ty or
gingerbread morality set up by British writers and
adopted by their dupes since that time
II is utterly absurd to suppose that Firginian or
New Yorker. on settling in federal territory with
his Slaves" would no longer be able to retain them
or no longer have hs property protected; and We
repeat as the Consultation 10 what it was then,
il 10 evident. indeed unavoidable, that Southern men
have the right TO enter Kansas with their "sisves,
and to be protected In their "savs" property by the
federal government ITSELF ii these "rights" are neg
lec<ed by tha local authorities. Nothing s more
clear certain or more demUnstraole than hs equa
night Of Southern cltizens to occupy the common tor
HIories With their slaves" and to bs protected by
the federal Constitution; and yet, strange, indeed,
Northern rnen almost universally, and considerable
number even at the South. including euch men as
Clay, Benton. Underwood, and Others almost as dis.
tingushed, deny this right, and hold that 'slavery"
creation al Law a
slocal law anywhere on tho American continent
What an anomaly! What contradiction! What
dsyraceful dependence on European precedent and
monsrchical dctation,
At the time the Constitution WAS adopted, negro
"slavsry" prevailed universally on this continent
All the negroes that came from Africa were Of course
"slaves" There never wers any negro immigrants,
and the rare instances Of fres negroes we're those
that had been emaneipased-thus, the general usage
or the common law presumed all negroes. to be
"slayes" just rs the common law or the common
usaye presumes all white men to be free men. Such
was the state Of things when the Constitution was
sdonted and the Union formed. But the establish.
ment Of Democrats institutions on this continent
demanded q change Of policy on the part Of European
governments. especially that OF England, and the
theory setu that slavery Or or sociai sanordi
in contradiction to the tBrtshl common Law rule
which prssumes all men to be free men nntn proven
.laves Aud this theory. directly IN the iace Oh Ja'
tfor we repeat 'savery" Of the negro was lue gene
perseverance, of the monarchical propaganda in our
indst,) has become the generally received opinion
of the Northern people, and, as already observed.
that of considerable number at the South. i'nI u
will be reversed and must be reversed, or WI VOTE
out the destruction not merely Of the URion OUT Oh
Rspublioanism.
There are now ten or twelve millions Of negroes On
the continsat and islands, and there will soon
be twenty or thirty millions Of these people, ana 70
apply 10 them the common law rule applicable alone
to the white race would end of course, In mighty
African barbarsm right in the heart Of the continent
whose presence would not only conflict With our pot'
tieal system, but in all reasoaabe probability prove
fatal to our civilization. And the time has come
when the mighty imposture that Europe hss imposed
on "a must be exposed and exploded. when We must
Do governed by the facts Of condition and torn