Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1859-08-29


time slavery was in 1t, az one Of its domestis in~
slilutions. / say they had right by the terms
OF the treaty under which we acquired t to
come into the Union with slavery, for Napoleon,
the first consul would not sign the treaty unless
that was in IT, Slavery being in Louisiahs, Con.
gress thought, by the terms Of the treaty that
they had no right to expel il. The treaty was
the supreme law Of the land; the faith to the
nation required that they should come in, but
IN the meantime they were Territory. Now
you will observe that by the Constitution, the
Slave Trade was allowed to 90 on for twent,
years, within a State, but iu 1904, getting hold
Of this Territory culiarly interested in the
Importation Of negroes, Congress believing
slavery ought not to be extended, passed law
prohibiting the importation Of slaves into the
| Territory Of Louisiana Many men were in
Congress that year that hell ped to make the Con
stitution. What they understood by Congress
making rules and regulations for the Territory
was that Congress should mske laws. They un-
derstood that and practced upon IT, and prohib
/ ted Louisiana ftom importing slaves. They did
not say TO the Territory Of Louisiana, you have
"Squatter Sovereignty" DO as you please, did
| theyl Such thing never was thought Of.
| There was not even demagogue wild enough
to utter such thing. The old men that made
that Constitution were there and they knew
they were present to confront him. They en-
acted a law, saying that any man who took
negro into that Territory for sale. should pay
| fine Of three hundred dollars, which was then
about the value of a negro. They did not do
that in State; they did not pretend to do il
but they had omnipotent power over he Terri
tories, and acted over the Territories as if they
were in legislative capacity, making laws for
a State in the State.
! MONROE AND HIS TINES.
| That they did in 1904 s. They had also
some little experience at later date This
same Territory Of Louisiana forms a Slate and
calls it Missouri. Their Southern line was de-
scribed by saying it should be n Sc deg. 80 min
that it was the Southern line OF the State Of
| Missouri, a part of this Louisiana purchase
This was about the year 1920 You know who
was then President. IL was during one Of those
hacyon periods of our country to which all Of
us so much love to refer; we had gone through
the second war with Great Britain, and although
not always triumphant we had vindicated our
right to demand Of Great Britain that she
should not impress our seamen and compel
them to serve in her navy We made peace
upon honorable terms at last Mr. Madison
had retired from the Presidential Chair and it
was filled by Mr. Monroe. Missouri was told
by the vote ofCongress that she must take hel
constitution back and expunge from it the arti-
olo concerning slavery. The country was then
in a state of great agitltion 1t was then held
that Congress might OF might not admit q
State as she pleased.
THE CABINET DECISION.
Well, in 1922, Mr. Monroe, being Presi
dent, this law came TO his cabinet for his sig.
nature. There had been violent controversy
and all the problems that could cluster around
and between the interests Of the free and slave
States, the contradictory interests of tho two
the rights of the free and slave States, had
been discussed ty some of the ablest men in
the world Mr.. Monroe asked his cabinet ia
give him, every man, their opinions upon thi,
! question, HAS Congress the power to prohibi
Slavery in the Territories north of SO deg. 81
! min .
Who were in this cabinet Let US sec /
they were equal to the men who have preache,
, this modern idea--I speak of all the men con
I cerned in prOFagating this doctrine, Johl
Quincy Adams was Secretary of State vii
liam II. Crawford, STAKEHOLDER of Georgia
Secretary of the Treasury; John G, Calhoun
G my Democratic friend my partner, my brother
j. you that believe in "Squatter Sovereignty
was not John Q. Calhoun man of considerable
head, and was he not great friend to slavery
as much as any of you can be The was Secre
= tary of War. William Writ wonder if th
young lawyers IOWA days who adopt this new
luNh VI tDHuubitf bhNtitlBulN -1hunH kon
tlemen only let loose from school yesterday
70 and who in course of study have looked 81
far as to read Espinasse's Nisi Prius, two q
three chapters in Blackstone's Commentaries
Swans Treatise on Justices of the Peace, au,
WilcoX's Forms-ceTtainly they know more o
d this thing than MIR. Writ, a man who was born
3 in a Slave State, and as the Tennesseeans Soy
j 'rGred" up in a slave State, educated TO th
highest point OF qualification of the humal
. faculties, with heat open as charity itself I
. every impression, and with cultivated heat
, y as have said, the like OF which has rarel
. appeared among the most distinguished of Gu
II urists and statesmen; he was Attorney Genera
J. s. l. Southland, of New Jersey, was Seeretar
u of the Navy. Jonh Mclean was POstmaste
} General, but at that time that office was not
y Cabinet office Do you remember these men
u Do you know anything about theml II yo
III do do you see no evidence Of the decadenc
'e that takes place in public men of our timesl-
y Write down those names, read their biogri
le phies, and then write down the names Of IN
le present Cabinet, and then compare them TIL
ie one generation has gone away. say nOthiH
IL disIespectfully of these men; / think that the
- are about the best Buchanan could get, but {
70 course those gentlemen nearer TO the time whe
10 the Constitution was made than we are, woul
III know a little better what was meant by it tina
'k we would Monroe himself did not en- ertai
II doubt upon the subject (and be was somethin
os of a mani that il any Legislature could exp,
or admit Slavery into the Territories, COngres
re could do IT, There was no other legislaty
ie function to be performed by any body, and n
le body to perform it. Mr.. Writ, Mr.. SouthaTC
y Mr. Adams, Mr.. Calhoun, Mr. Crawford, all {
I0 them agreed. Some of these gentlemen ha
~ the honor 20 know, aud do not know Of ihos
., who hold TO the doctrines Of the Dred Scott d,
h, D. ho ali
VI or the equal of any Of them
q 1t wOs settled then in 1903, in 1905, in 1872
a. q; in the great Mississippi restriction, by III
y, judgment solemnly given Of an entire Cabine
~ one of the profoundest lawyers we have know
- - in the country being Attorney General.
he WISCONSIN AND MICHIGAN
IS, But what else did you do about it ! tell yo
at you did right on the same thing till the yei
10 1922. In the year 1886 Wisconsin came in
~ Territory; you organized her. Miohlga
n came in as a Territory and your organized he
he and YOU provided in that organic law tn
at while the Legislature might make laws an
1l- send them 10 you, il Ongresa disapprOved
Io those laws, they should be null and void. Pre-
to ident jackson signed bills Of this kind. ID
to not "Old Hickory" know a thing or two abo
he this matterl-President Adams signed such
by bill-both the Adamses signed such bill
e Monroe signed such bills, Madison signed
re. bills All Of those bills involving that que
N, ton, and deciding them one way, and even
IN, 1850, in that compromise az II was called, II
te, enacted that New Mexico and Utah sha
ng send their laws to Congress- and if Congre
re- disapproved Of them they should be null al
lev void
10 Now, my brother Democrat, what becom
Ia. Of your "Squatter Sovereignty" Do u
for know more than all those menl Are you eg
lie. tistc enough to believe that you understand {