The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1859-10-13


The selfgovernment man says, am fol
that" Another says, I will prescribe the
Jurisdiction Of Justices of the Peace Popn
lar sovereignty says, /" L am for that"
And SO they go on drawing up the rules
You come to the Slavery question. One man
| says the free States are more prosperous than
| the. slave States. He draws a comparison be-
tween New York and Virginia, and finds that
the land in the former is worth ten times that
in the latter State. He finds Slavery democrat
izing, that labor is better respected, and that
the poor mar occupies better position in so.
ciety, where he has no negro labor to compete
with. He says, ~ will draw up rule exclu-
ding Slavery from these places where and my
children are to 60" +" All, but you cannot do
this" is the answer. That violates the prin-
ciple of selfgoYernment Now, the selfgov-
eminent man is shocked The moment you
tell him he must not reduce another man to
Slavery, you violate the first principles of self
government. The idea is, you must have a
right TO make slave of somebody, or you can
not govern yourselves. If had not great
deal Of charity, would think these selfgovern-
ment men not sincere. Applause.
What does the Constitution say? 1t says
Congress shall have power to make all needful
rules and regulations respecting the Territory.
All means, among other things, rule to keep
negro slaves from being brought into the Ter
ritory. With Congress the power to do this
rests. All, but" says the stakeholder, II have
another objection. This Territory is the COM
mon property of the United States, acquired by
the common blood and treasure of the people
of all the States. l will go there with my negro
slaves" Sixty other free white persons rise
and say we do not want Slavery there it
is prejudcial to our interests we are going
fhora 70 h,,u CO.., a.a1 L,n a c,.I
sixty acres each will be worth ten dollars an
acre if you do not go there with your negroes.
But if you do it, it viii not be worth three dol
lars. We want emigration to 90 there, and
know if you go there with your negroes, foreign
population and people of the free States viii
stay away. Your institution is debasing and
demorahzing, politically, morally, and every
other way" Another one says: "The thing is
wrong. We have Slavery in the States, it is
true; we do not propose to interfere with it
there but don't believe there is slave State
which would introduce Slavery if it were now
| free" A white man from the South whe owns
no slaves comes up and says: l see the peo-
! pie who do not own slaves get along better than
we of the South and | do not want slaves in
| the Territory" So nineteen-twentieths Of the
people of the South, and the whole population
Of the North, are opposed to extending Slavery
ihIO INC new 10AiltOIyJ seeing Chdt VIC are noL
to be benefited by it, Now, the rule comes to
be fixed. How shall we fix it? You popular
sovereignty men say we viii fix rule for the
benefit of one man, and we are called hard
names because we want to legislate for the bene-
fit of ffty-nine. How can you refuse to adopt
a rule which shall conserve the interests of the
fifty.nine?
would like to ask you who are living here
in this fourishing State-this wealthy and great
State-who have been blessed with prosperity
ever since the Territorial Government was
formed, and who have built up these large cities
ulJen the border of the State, whether there is
a man Of you who can lay his hand upon his
heart and say, 1" / am sorry that Jefferson,
Washington, and those old patriots, excluded
Slavery from Ohio2" Is there man who
would dare to say it? Is there man here
who would rise and heap such curses on his an
cestors for keeping Ohio Free as he is,rEa~.,,--'
ready to heap upon Republicans ~ ~
keep Kansas free for his ifdren as his fathers
fePt ONO if ss- 81 81 him? If you believe your
H1.ysss'Sere right in preserving this great
to Freedom, how dare you do less
for your children than your fathers did for
you? ! dare not. l never will. Applause.
Slavery is no domestic question. 1t is a
matter affecting the whole nation Are we not
all interested in the prosperity and growth of
this great country? Is it not of importance to
you, citizens of Ohio, whether the fertile plains
and beautiful villages of the West shall be set
tied and inhabited by millions Of freemeD, and
saved for the benefit of free labor; or whether
they shall be covered over with the black pail
of negro Slavery? Is it of no importance to
you whether we shall have fourishing States
like Illinois and Iowa, or whether those States
shall 60 TO ruin and decay, as the Carolinas and
Virginia? | take no pleasure in referring to
these things. / would thatthe Carolinas were
as prosperous as Michigan, Illinois, or Ohio.
Yet the great fact stands ont that they are not.
They have been blessed with fertile soil, and
why is it that they have not prospered as the
States with which they have been contrasted
! Under what policy have we grown to the great
ness to which we have attained? / ask you
under what? Was it not under the policy Of
settling our Territories with free mea and in.
creasing the number of free States? 1t is true
slave States have been admitted into the Union
! but these were framed from Territories which
were slaveholding at the time of acquisition.
! Here the speaker said let me correct a mis-
take which occurs in the statements made by
Judge Ranney, who is a candidate for Governor
of Ohio. / do this, not from any desire to In
terfere in your local politics, but simply to sci
correctly before the people the historical fact
referred to. Mr.. Ranney states that Virginia
in ceding the Northwest Territory to the Uni
ted States, provided in her deed of cession thai
that Territory should be free. Now, this is
wholly incorrect The deed of cession provided
that the inhabitants should be secure in all theil
rights and privileges and indeed it was thought
by many that this provision precluded Congress
from keeping Slavery out. 1t was the ordinance
of 1887 which excluded Slavery from the
Northwest Territory.
1t is under this policy of dedicating the coun
try to Freedom that we have grown to our pres
ent magnitude. The territory of the United
| States is now several times as large as it wa.
at the peace of 1888. The number of States il
almost three times as great as it was at tina
period, and the population is nearly ten time.
as numerous as it was at the close of the Revo
lutionary war. We have made this great prog
ress in about eighty years; and l ask why
under the same policy, the Republic might no
be still further extended, if we were wise enough
to adhere to the Constitution as our father.
made it, to preserve all its checks and balances
to keep intact the powers of the Federal and the
State Governments, and all their subdivision.
of power.
This is the policy of the Republican party
The popuar-sovereignty principle has beer
tried in Kansas, and has resulted in strife
bloodshed, and connection.
Do you want to continue this strife? WIZ
did you, popular-sovereignty men, intervene t.
disturb the Slavery question in 1854? All, bu
you say you are for non-intervention now. 1t i.
a very different thing to be in favor of non.in
tervention now, and when you pledge yourselves
TO it. Slavery was then excluded by law from
all the Territories of the United States. Yor
have broken down the barriers, and now vol
modestly cry out, Non-interventon Hav
ing entered and taken your neighbours house
by violence, you modestly step to the door and