Carroll free press. [volume] (Carrollton [Ohio]) 1834-1861, 1858-05-19

ten PfpOcodlugs conuucted,in toe languHQl
in which The laws and the judicial ane
legislative written proceedings Of the Uni
ted States are new published and eoudue
ted: Aud provided also, That The sait
Convention shall provide by 40 ordinance
irrsyocable wiihodt the consent Of the
I United States that The people inba6i,inl
/ the said Territory. do sgtee and declare
that lbey foleyer disclam all right or till.
70 the waste Of upsppicptiaisd lands lyin1
4 witbin The said Territory and tha. tb.
same shall BE and remain at the sole and
entire disposition Of the U0tsd sates;aud
moreover, that each and every tract Of land
sold by Congress shall be and remain *
emptt tfrOm aAy tax !, laid bB. ik5. ofdel
o. under the authority Of the State, ,vheth'
er fOr State county, township, parish, OF
other purpose whatever, foF the tefFr
Of fve.ysafs hom and after The respeCtiv,
days of the sales thereof andl that the land
belobging to eitisens ofthe United States,
residing without the said State, shall ney.
er be taxed higher than the lands belong
Jog to persons residing thsFeiAy and that
no taxes shall be imposed on lands the
4 properly oflhe United Salesiand that The
river Mississippi. and The payjgable rivers
and waters leading into The same or into
the Gulf Of Mexico, shall be common high,
ways and forever free,ss we'll to The iuhab.
itants Of the said State as to other citizens
Of the UOitsd States, without any lax, ,du,
Iy.impOst, or toll therefor imposed by the
said State" .1l 500 ll 5s,..si s..t
lam not here to find fault with the ar
guments Of the learned gentleman from
Maryland, ,EMr DAVIS, | am not here
to follow the gentleman from Georgia. Mr..
STEPHENS, with the new lights be has
discovered in his way to this political
Damascus. The htler gentleman has, II
you pleasebecoms an ally Of the Republi-
cans, ofthOse1he is wont to call Black Re.
publican. He is working (uOtvo ing with
us 70 day, He is agreeing with Us that
Congress is resi- slricted in nothing but its
own conviction and its own judgment, in
regard TO the limitations which it may
fightfully impose, under the Constitution,
upon new States, as conditions precedent
to their admission into the Union,
> To make good my assertion, I need on
y refer specifically to tho limitations i'm.
poied BY the Louisiana act ofl8l1, pro-
yiding for the admission of tie State Of
Louisiana, which l have just read, and
which the gentleman from Georgia ap-
proves, and upon which he takes bis stand.
That statute, l repest, goes as far as ]
have eyer yentured to 60 on this question,
and as far as any gentleman upon this
side has ever yentnred to 60, | beg the
attention Of the House to tie conditions
precedent and restrictions which that act
imposes upon the sovereignty Of Lousian-
nae First there is the condition precedent
that before the people of louisiana, after
the election oftheir delegates TO conven.
ton. should take another step towards the
organization Of a State government, their
delegates. In convention assembled should,
in their behalf declare that they adopt the
Constitution Of the United States, togeth.
er, Of course, with all IFS limitations and
restrictions upon State sovereignty. Hay-
ing first performed this condition precedent
and not before, they might proceed to
forms State constitution provided, says
the statute a.,rrr.
That said constitution SO to be formed
shall be republican shall be ecOnsistent with
the Constitution Of tie United States ;shall
proclaim the fundamental principles of civ.
IL and religious liberty shall secure to ev
cry citizen charged with a criminal offense
atrialrby jurys shall secure, also, the writ
ofhabeas corpus as provided in the Con-
sdtutioh Of the United States; shall pro.
vide that the legislation and judicial action
of said State be conducted in the English
shall surrender The right Of the
State over certain waste lands; also, its
right to tax United States property. aa
% sir.tbis, statute does not stop where GER
tain gentleman upon the other side of the.
House have been telling us that our pow,
er stops, to witi with the mere declaration
that the consultation Of the proposed new
State should be republican. That statute,
Is 1 have shown, goes much further, and
requires that the new constitution shall
conform to all the conditions aud restric.
tions which | have enumerated. This stat.
ute further provides, 10 the fourth section,
that the constitution so framed shall be
submitted to the Congress of the United
States for approval or rejection. For what
purpesea 10 give TO the 0ougress of the
United States the opportunity of judging
whether these conditions precedent had
been complied With; whether the people
shad,by1 their legally chosen delegates, ,adop;
ted the constitution Of the United States;
whether their new constitution, contrary 10
and in contfavention of theiFloca laws
the civil law under which they theh lived
secured the right Of trial BY jury in all
criminal cases; whether the great writ Of
Aateos corpus was secured to the citizens
within the limits of the State; and wheth.
or, in addition, their constitution declared,
asireqhired, the great and Fundamental
principles Of civil and religious liberty. II
Unless these provisions Appeared, Congress,
by this, fourth section. reserved the mower