Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1857-01-31

- ~ oNhhNAAN1 hHth NV hhNtAiNh - ANN
Constitution. The power was, and could be, de-
rived only from the Constitution TO impose this
restriction Manifestly, to impose upon Ohio us
q State, terms, conditions, and restrictions, to
which the States were not subjected.
Those terms, conditions, and restrictions were,
that by her Constitution and Government, Ohio
should forever exclude Slavery from her Territory,
except rs punishment for crime on due conviction
. that no man should, within her limits, be deprived
OF lie, liberty, or property, but by the judgement
of his peers and the law of the land, and that pri.
= waite property should rot Re taken for public use
without just compensation, and that all the in.
lhabltants should always enjoy the benefits OF ha-
Gedr corpus and the trial by jury. If Ohio had
tolerated involuntary Slavery by her Constitu-
ton, or had denied to any man protection Of life,
liberty or property, or trial by jury, her Constitu-
y ton would have been repugnant to the ordinance,
c con :rary to the enabling act Of 1904, violative VI
s the fifth and sixth amendments of the COnsutu-
ton of the United States, and she could not have
+ become a State or have been admitted into the I'M
: ion. Her people so understood it, and framed
e their Constitution accordingly. What was the re-
4 suit of this? That Ohio was admitted by act OF
Congress into the Union, not upon the same terms
with the original States but upon the express
condition that as a State she should not engage
in the foreign or domestic slave traffic, and, as II
necessary consequence. that she should not, like
the original States, have Or be entitled to II slave
representation on this floor. Call you this equali-
ty Of right? Why.was Ohio in the Union five
years prohibited by force Of Congressional enact
ment from engaging in the foreign slave trade,
= which all that time cdS being carried on by the
! original States? The ninth section of the first ar
ticlc Of the Constitution did not oblige Congress
to deny 20 Ohio this privilege; it only restrained
Congress from prohibiting this traffic in the orlgl-
nal States. Why was Ohio prohibited from I'M
porting slaves into her territory from abroad, or
engaging in the domestic slave traic; and why
were all the States of the Union, and the citizens
thereof, denied, by force of this Congressional
Statute restriction upon the institution of that
new State, the alleged imprescriptible right to
traffic in slaves therein ? Most certainly because
no such right is derived from, or sanctioned by,
the Constitution and because new States can only
be formed and admitted upon such terms as will
require of them a full and clear recognition of the
constitutional provision that no person shall be en-.
shaved or deprived of his property or life, but as
punishment fer crime upon due conviction.
By the act of April 10, 1916 approved by Mad
ison), to enable the people Of indiana to form 4
State constitution, and for their admission into the
Union the same terms, conditions and restrictions
which were imposed upon the people of Ohio,
were imposed upon that State. UNITED States
Statutes, vol. 3. p 2SS, sec. A. By The act OF
April Is, 1878 approved by Monroe), providing
for the formation Of a constitution and the admiss
ion of the State of Illinois, the same terms, con-
ditions and restrictions were imposed upon the
people of that State. UNITED States Statutes,
e vol. 3, p. 430, sec. ~ The act organizin the
original Territory of Wisconsin, including WHAT is
now the States of Iowa and Wisconsin, approved
by jackson, and passed April 20, 1896, provides
G that the inhabitants shall be entitled to and enjoy
= all the rights secured to the people of the North
t West Territory by the articles of compact con
tanned in the ordinance passed July 10, lTS7, and
9 | shall be subject ITO all the conditions and restric.
tons and prohibitions in said articles Of compact
imposed upon the people of said Territory
United States Statutes, vol. 70, p. 10, sec. l2)--
!, The act to establish the Territorial Government
of Oregon passed Aug. II, 1913, secures the
same rights to, and imposes the same conditions,
restrictions and prohibitions upon the inhabitants
and future States of that Territory united States
Statutes, vol. 9, p. 800, sec. LAY, with the sanction
of President Polk, and with the advice and con.
sent Of the great godfather. of popular sovereignty
himself.
By the joint resolution for annexing Texas to
the United States, the same conditions and re
: s~trictions, by the approval Of TYLER and the vote
of the reputed author of the Kansas Nebraska
act, are imposed on the future States to be organ
lied within that Territory north Of 96o 30 north
latitude UNITED States Statutes, vol. 5, ?. 1881.
The mere fact that Congress did not, in all instan-
ces of the erection and admission Of new States
i exercise this power of restriction and prohibition,
|" argues nothing against the existence of the power.
> The mere non-user OF n legislative power, in some
instances, works no forfeiture of it. There is a
record, a very strong record, of restrictions inn
:, posed by Congress upon the people OF the Terrific
ries, and upon the Institution of new States. 1t
e these restrictions be violaIive Of popular soyer-
eighty and State equality, Washington, Adams,
: Jefferson. Madison, Monroe, jackson, Tyler and
Polk are guilty of that violation, and were black
very black-Republcans, If these statute re,
. strictions were constitutional, what becomes OF
II this Wanted impreseriptiGle right of equality OF
the several States? If the General Government
If does not possess this power over the institution oil
n new States-if its power is restrained by popular
h sovereignty and State sovereignty as the President
d avers-then we are but the instrument to enforce
o whatever domestic system of government these
e high powers may establish in the Territories, even
though it be a despotism which would make Nero
blush, and put Caligula to shame.
Can it be that the Constitution of the United
IS States is this weak and wicked invention Al
!" your territorial legislation disprOyes it. E5ery
~ organic act extends the Constitution and laws o.
IT the United States over the Territories. YOU
i Kansas-N ebraska act does this. The Constitution
y being in force in the Territories, is the supreme
! law. Whatever legislation, therefore, Of the Ter
u ritorial Government conflicts with the Constitution
u or the national statutes, is void, and subject t.
Is repeal by Congress. The Compromise acts o.
e 1850, of which we hear SO much Of late, and OF
which the gentleman from Georgia Mr.. Stephens
takes his stand, in terms recognizes the power o.
t Congress to prevent the taking effect Of such acts
r by a simple disapproVal OF them.
The President recognizes the force of the Cen
~stitution to restrain the exercise of Popular Soyer
|. eighty in the Territories, and the power OF Con
gress to repeal such laws rs the sovereigns there
r may pass in conflict with the Constitution. ll'
e says that he trusts Congress will see' that no act
e shall remain on the statute book of Kansas. "vio
&c lative of the provisions of the Constitution, or sub
versive of the great objects for which that was or
dained and established"
at Popular Sovereignty and State Equality canno
s, live in the Territories under this power of repea
I'd in Congress. If this power Of repeal exists, wha
ce is its limit2 Nothing but the judgment of Con
gress upon the question, whether the Territorial
ID acts are ~violative Of the Constitution or su5vci
a. sive of the great objects of its creation? The oil
O. iects for which the Constitution was ordained ar
DO written upon its face; and among these object
ne were the establishment Of Justice and the secur
III ty of Liberty. The Kansas acts are subyersiye c
these objects, they legalize injustice, and put Lii
be erty in chains; they deny the right of trial by jury
or the right of habeas corpus, the right of freedom {
ct speech and freedom of the press, and the right
4. personal security. Are not such denials of RICH
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