The daily press. (Cincinnati [Ohio) 1859-1859, 1859-03-07
THE PRE- S.
HENRY REED, Editor.
inoinnati. Monday, March
opcp,ng of the slave Trade.


The editor of the GAINESVILLE Aurora, in
Il series of articles upon the right OF prop
ertv in man, reaches the conclusion that
CONGRESS. has not the constitutional power
70 nrobibit the slave trade on the high
seas The editor of the Ohio State Jour
nal comedies the correctness of the con-
clusicn, provided the premises be ad-
mitted-thc right Of property in man at
ALL "If it exists" says the latter, "and,
as the supreme Court held, has all the
rights of other property, and is protected |
1v the Constitution in all the national do
main, then Congress can no more prohibit
commerce in it, than in wheat, corn or
potatoes"
"The uenstrosity," says the editor Of
the Journal, "is in the premises" the
establishments of which he seems to charge
upon the makers of the Constitution and
the Supreme Court of the United States:
| the former in tolerating slavery Temporal
rily "as an existing local wrong" the
lat ter in giving construction to the ma
tior,al compact, in conformity to such toll
Grafton. Now, it may be asked, whether
the liberation Of the makers of the Con
situation, or the construction Of the Su-
prelne Court, have, in reality, any thing to
do with the premises in question" the
right of property in man" Slavery ex-
listed, in every practical respect, as it is
now, before either Court or Constitution.
The latter did not create, it only did not
abolish; the former did not guarantee, ii
1 only did not outlaw In the case Of both
: there is implied pre-existence in fact
$ Slavery, as it was practically in being be
D fore the Constitution and judiciary, would
: not, in any way, be affected, if the on
=. were annulled and the other disbanded
3 The editor of the Ohio Statesman, 70
; whose benefit this discussion seems t
n have arisen, thinks that to traffic in thos
q who are already slaves under our laws
% is allowable; while to bring new negroe
@ from Congo, and trade in them upon tn
e. high seas, would be piracy. If slavery
" a creature of positive law, constitutions
st legislative or judicial, that law has ce
e tain iurisdictional limit, either persons
s. or territorial outside of which it does nj
et exist; in which case the doctrine of til
: Statesman may be correct, for if it
y = within the power of government to max
vet it is also within its power to control it, !
/. lust such rules as it sees fit to devils
- But there is not particle of evident
w that slavery is creature of positive la
et eTs On the contrary, the testimony is unive
ii; | sal that in the case of the human chattC
the proprietary title depends upon pr
for ciselv the same conditions that it does
ow respect to any other article of ownershi
int 1t certainly looks like absurdity f
= Congress to prohibit by stringent PEN
10, ties, the transportation upon the high sc
ner 1Si of a commodity such as is owned a
. traded in throughout half the Unit
Nc, Nc, States-which to hold is no discredit a
65Io; 5h; 10 buy and sell no recognized oifen
Is and it is not easy to discover a princi
dc. dN broad enough to cover things so diver
;a1S ;hlS Logically, the position of the editor of
50 Aurora is the most tenable; but this opC
\ d the slave trade, as it was by permission
lati. wv ,ooo
toin the national compact down to 1908
aim sorrowful conclusion certainly.
= 1t is probable that, before long,
,e;, question in respect to the right of c
'"'' gress to prohibit the slave trade will co
u before the highest tribunal of the Is
Esr Np for adjudication. In that case, the tn
Gin; to be decided will be, not whether slav
@ l22 is great political evil and moral Offer
AT not whether the traffic in negroes u
ten g the Nigh seas is piracy, but whether tn
Ioc are powers conferred, either specifics
Gin, or by necessary implication, upon {
l5aa- = gress, by the Constitution, under whic
nx. NAV be prevented and punished.