The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1858-10-30
The Ordinance of 'S7.

which allusion to the ordinance of 1857 has
net been made, and yet it is astonishing
what an amount of ignorance those croakcrs
this famous act Judge Champin expended
a great deal of time and wind, the other
evening, upon this subject. In his attempt
| to prove that the fathers OF our country
were determined to limit the institution OF
slavery to the States in which it existed at
the close of the Revolutionary War. He
| referred some twenty times to this ordi-
| nance, repeating over and over that it was
| the spirit of antagonism to slavery which
induced Virginia to consecrate the North
western territory to freedom.
A person not acquainted with the history
Of that cessiCn, is, indeed, quite liable to be
led into an erroneous conception of the
causes and motives which governed the Fee
deral Congress which passed that ordinance;
bu. it is hardly to be presumed that Judge
Champlin-a man who lays some claim, at
least, to being acquainted with the history
Of his country-should be so totally igno.
be, the other evening, in his display before
the Republican Club. No. we are unwilling
| to admit that he is as great Ounce as he
made himself appear in this part of his re-
marks. We rather think the Judge relied
more upon the gullibility Of his audience for
| the desired effect Of his remarks, than to
their intelligence. That in his tricky way
he preferred 10 deceive rather than tell the
whole truth.
For our part, we never could see how the
Republican and Abolition parties could ever
quote the ordinance of 1877, as an argu-
ment in favor Of a single doctrine entertain
ed by them.
The history OF that act is simply this
After the revolutionary war was over, the
colonies were greatly reduced in their
means. They were extremely poor, and
deeply involved in debt This Northwestern
territory belonged to Virg,nia; it was a
splendid piece of property, but it was over
run by savages, whose hostility to the
whites was too well demonstrated during the
struggle which had just ended to allow the
idea of settling this country, without main
tanning an army within its limits for a mo-
ment to be entertained. Virginia was too
poor to maintain sufficiently strong army
then to protect even what settlers had gone
there from her own limits, much less those
from other States, scattered as they were,
from the lakes to the Mississippi. Many
others were anx: ous to 60 there, but the I'M
dertaking was regarded as utterly impracti-
cable without a strong military force, sta
toned at various points, to suppress the
predatory excursions constantly being made
upon the settlers by the savagrs.
The scheme, therefore. of donating this
territory to the General Government, who
should keep stron: army there to hold the
Indians in subsection, was a popular one,
and Virginia consequently made it freely
but, really, not quite so periodically and
disinteres,edly as Judge c. chose to give her
credit f.r. She was interested in having an
army there to protect her brave pioneers,
and yet she too poor to maintain one
there herself 1t was under such circum-
stances the ces>iop was made in l7Si.
The General Government Immediately es-
tablished military posts all over the terrific
~, and immigration began topour in. Viz
ginia at this time had but limited number
of slaves. Her people needed more to carry
on the vast amount of labor before them
that Of telling the forest and cu,tivat;ng the
soil-than they really had. Hundreds OF
slaves were yearly carried into this vast ter
ritory, and slave property soon began to
rise in value at such a rate that the people,
not only of Virginia, but those of all the
States, became alarmed. 1t was to check
this rush of slaves to the West that led to
the adoption of that famous Ordinance. The
spirit of anti-slavery had nothing to do with
it. The act was conceived to be one Of self
protection, and for that purpose alone was II
passed by the Congress Of the Confedera,
ton. And the proceedings OF the Constitu-
tional Convention show that the same view
of it was taken in that body when the sub
jec: was attended to there; and again, when
the act was affirm ell by the first Congress
that was held under the constitution.
This is the history of that act. The
causes which led to its enactment are not
such as Judge Champiin represented them
10 be. They do not prove that the grea,
for the slaves than j. c. Calhoun, Henry
Clay, or any other good man Of The south
has more recently entertained.
Had there been a superabundance Of
slaves in the States at that time, as there
now is in the Southern States, it is hardly
probable that the ordinance of 81 would
have ever found a place on the statute book
TO say that, therefore, the passage of this
ordinance is proof that the trainers of the
conSt itution anGthc people Of Virginia were
laboring for the final extinction of slavery, is
not sustained by the facts in the case. l,
proves nothing Of the kind. And when the
thousand and one Republican stumpers, who
, are now perambulating our State, talk large
~ and wisely about the ordinance Of 81 be
ing conclusive proof that Washington and
jefferson, and all the rest of the founders O
the great Democratic party, entertained tn,
same views on the slavery question that the
Republican party do at the present day, tie
, them they either wilfully pervert the facts
or that they are grossly ignorant
Catholics, Read.
1t appears Judge Douglas and Lady stayed
last Sunday at Peoria-Ie happened on the
I ba y. ~.
. was there and administered the rite of con