The Tiffin weekly tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1859-1868, 1859-10-07
TuEORDN4NcE or ~.

THE ORDINANCE or W.
AA
There is a part Of Mr.. Lineoln'sspecch
delivered in Dayton aud al Cincinnati, In
relation to the influence Of the Ordinance
Of 1887 in excluding slavery from Ohio,
and other States Of the West, and North
West which for the historical information
It contains, as well as for its reputation
Of an on repeated declaration Of senator
Douglas, deserves an attentive considera-
ton. We copy from the report Of the
Cincinnati Gdsette. ......
Il may appear little cpisodicul Cor me
% mention the tonic of which I shnIl
sPeak now. Il IL favorite proposition Of
Douglaa's that the interference ofthe gen
eral government, through the ordinance of
ST, or through any other act, never has
modo or ever can make Free State, that
the Ordinance Of 's7 did not make ffeo
States Of Ohio, Indiana or Illinois. That
these states are free upon his great prin-
ciple of Popular Sovereignty, because the
people Of those several States have chosen
to make them 40, or probably here he un.
dertook 10 compliment the people that
they Themselves have made the State of
Ohio free aud that the Ordinance of 'S7
was not entitled In any degree TO divide
the honor with them. ! have no doubt
that the people of the State Of Ohio did
make her free according to their ownwill
and Judgment, but let the facts be rcmem-
bered, --.-....... ..-......
In 1909, ] bclicve, Il was YOU that in-
troduced the clause prohibiting slavery,
and you did Il reckon very nearly unan-
imously, but you should bear In mind THAI
you-speaking of you as ono Of the peo.
plc-that you did 80 uhembarrassod by
the actual presence of the Institution a.
mongst youi that you mudo Il a Froo
State, not with the embarrassment upon
you Of already having among you many
slaves, which ifthey had been here, and
you had sough, to make free State, YOU
would not know what to do with. Ifthey
had been among you, embarrassing diff
eulties must probably have induced you to
tolerate slave constitution instead Of a
free one, as indeed these very diilioultioa
have constrained every people on this
continent who have adopted slavery.
Pray what was il that made YOU free 7
What kept you freel Did you find the
State free when you came 10 decide that
Ohio lhould be free Statcl II is import
ant to enquire by what reason you have
found II sol Let US take an illustration
between the States OF Ohio and Kentucky
Kentucky is separated by this Ohio river
not mile wide. A portion of Kentucky
by reason of the course Of the Ohio, il
further north than this portion Of Ohio in
which we now stand. Kentucky is en-,
tirely covered with slavery-Ohio is en-.
tirely free from &C. What made this dif
ferencel Was il olimatel No. A nor.
ton of Kentucky was further North thar
than this portion of0hio. Was II soil
No. There is nothing in the soil of the
one more favorable TO slave labor than the
other. IL was not climnte or soil that
made one side Of the limo 10 be ontrUfy
covered with RlRvery aud the other side
free from IT, Whit was III Study over
il. Tell us, If you can, in all the range of
conjecture, IL there be anything YOU can
conceive ofthat made that difference, 9th.
er than that there was no law Of any sort
keeping i out of Kennokyl Aud the
Ordinance Of 'S7 kept Il out Of Ohio. II
there is any other reason than this, / con-
fess that il is wholly beyond my power 20
conceive of il. This, then, offer TO com
bat The idea that that ordinance has new
or made any State free. ...f..
don't stop at this Illustration. I como
tofhe Stute Of Indiana; and what / have
said as between Kentucky and Ohio / re-
peat as between Indiana and Kentucky;
Il is equally applicable, One additional ar
gument is applicable however 10 Indiana.
In her territorial condition she more than
once petitoned Congress to abropate the
ordinance entirely, or at least 10 lar as 10
suspend It's operation for a time, In order
that they might exercise the "Popular
Sovereignty" of having slaves If they
wanted them. The men then eontroli-
ing the government, initiating the men of
the Revolution, 80 far as intelligence was
concerned, refused Indiana that privilege
and so we have the evidence that Indiana
supposed she could have slaves, If il were
not for that ordinance; that she besought
Congress TO put that barrier out of the
way, that Congress refused TO do so, and
Il all ended at last In Indiana being Free
State. Tell me not, then that the Ordl.
nance Of 'S7 had nothing TO do with max
ing Indiana a Free StHte, when we find
some men chatting against that barrier.
Come down again 10 our State Of Ilh-
nois. When the great Northwest Ter
rltory, including Ohio, Indiana, Illinois,
Michigan and Wisconsin was acquired,
first | believe by the British Government
from the French. Before the establish
ment Of our independence, II become a
part Of Yirginiai enabling Virginia after
wards to transfer II 70 the general gov
ernment. There were French settle
ments in what is now Illinois, aud at the
same time there were Frenehsettlements
Ia what 10 now MissouFi--in the tract Of
country that was not purehas cd till about
1903. In these French settlements ne
gro slavery had existed for many years
perhaps more than a hundred, II not as
much a. two hundred yosrs--at Kaskas-
kia in lllinoisi and az St. Geneyie, or
Cape Grardeaui perhaps, in Missouri
The number of slaves was not very great,
but there was about the same number In
each place. The were there when we
lcqnired the territory. There was ne Of.
fort made TO break up the relation Of mas
Ter and slave, and even the Ordinance Of
1857 was 80 enforced as to destroy that
slavery IN Illinois, nor did the ordinance
apply 20 Missouri at all. $500
What want 10 AJAX your attention 10,
1t this point is that Illinois and Missouri