Daily national Democrat., 1859-07-10
EXPLAINS the Amendment.


1t will be remembered that we noticed the
fact, at time Of its happening. that the Le'
comp. State Convention, after passing REQ
luton to the effect that Congress had no right
to establish or maintain, prohibit or abolish
slavery in n Territory, receded from the
declaration that it had no right to maintain
slavery, and struck it from the Resolution.
The Resolution stated that any attempt 10y
Congress or any Of the States to establish or
maintain, prohibit or abolish, the relation OF
master and slave in a Territory, would be
departure from the original doctrine of our
American institutions" The Convention
found that this action was going to initiate
against the enactment of ! slave code for the
Territories, the sole object, scope and intent
Of which is to maintain slavery where it al
ready exists or may exist. The dilemma of
the leaders was great and their CONSERVATION
huge when they discovered that they had
put forth non Intervention creed in its fun
est and broadest sense, and left no room for
a slave code at all What were they to do 4?
The only alternative was to take back what
they had done-crawfi from the propos-
tion which they had laid down. and igno-
miuiously retreat from theirposition. Benja
min Ezra Stiles Ely Tor Eli, as he is usually
called by his Leeompton constituency was
fit leader for the occasion, having retreated
from nearly every Democratic position that he
ever took, and he proved himself equal to the
task imposed upon him. The next day after
the passage Of the Resolution, he offered an
amendment to the effect that the word main
tain be stricken from the Resolution The
amendment was adopted with the utmost
aacrity and CONGRESSIONAL INTERVENTION
adopted as the doctrine of the Lecompton
party Of this State.
SO fearful is Benjamin Ezra stiles Ely,
Esq, that somebody may misunderstood the
object of the amendment, that he occupies
column and half of the Express in elucida
ting the true intent and meaning of the same
He says that striking out the word "man-
tain" leaves the power of Congress, to pro-
tect slavery, unquestioned, but that it does
not necessarily follow that Congress must at
once pass a slave code in order to do so.-
Such is not his language but 1t is his mean
ing. He does not desire Congress to pass
slave code now, but he wishes to have it un-
derstood that Congress ought to pass one
whenever the occasion shall seem to de.
mand it.
lie seems to have no regard for the KAN
sas Nebraska Bill at all lie never dreams
that that is in the way of slave code, in any
sense. He pays no attention to the great
fact that the Democratic party of this Ma
ton is distinctly pledged by the enactment
Of that measure to oppose any sort Of legisIa
tion by Congress, on the subject of slavery in
the Territories. All the past action of the
Democracy goes for nothing. If Congress
has the bare right to interfere with the af
fairs of n Territory, it is enough for him and
his party, without stopping to inquire as to
what has been the policy of the Democratic
party on this quest IN. This policy of non |
was adopted by the Democracy,
long before the question of the constitution
ality Of Congressional Legislation on the sub
ect Of slavery in the Territories was decided
by the Supreme Court. The policy was laid
down, without regard to the powers of Con-
gress in the premises. 1t was considered the
true policy, and was therefore adopted 1t
IS the creed Of the Democratic party and ii
IS perfectly idle to argue with any true Dem
'crat as to the powers Of the National Legs-
ature, with regard to the question, in one
way or the other