Litchfield enquirer., 1859-09-22

rid of it, but not let it extend further"
 There was no difference among the men 0
 the Revolution-the patriots--the Wings o the Revolution-on this point. Every ma'
 knew that the Declaration of Independence was manifesto which bore not more directI, ae ainst the King of Great Britain, and his ty rannical assumptions of power than against th
 the brutalizing, chatelizing slavery which had
 been established here under the auspices O
 British rule. In fact, Jefferson drafted ant tried to have adopted in the Declaration of In dependence count charging the King of Ct
 Britain with having, in opposition to our inter ests and wishes, persisted in upholding the at rocious African slave-trade and thereby filled this country with negro slaves, to the prejudice and injury of it's white freemen. One or two members objecting, it was left out. But all men knew that the American Revolu tion was, as Congress declared in the memorial to the British people, struggle for the rights of hu- man nature, not for a part or locality, class or race, but for the rights of MANKIND TLey felt that though time must be allowed to get rid of an evil so serious as that of human slavery that 1 time would certainly make all difficulties smooth, and slavery would pass away.
 When, ill the Constitution of l7S9-that under which we now live--it was provided that Congress might, after the year 1908, prohibit | the introduction, or emigration of such persons as it might see fit, it was supposed that that provision, pointing to the overthrow and anni- hilation of the African slave-trade, would be itself means of preventing and suppressiug the existence of slavery among us--would ill time, have that effect know that in the ear Her days of the Republic, efforts were made by men in the several localities to allow the ex- | tention of slavery. Indiana Territory, embo- dying all the States between the Oiho and the Mississippi, except the present State of Ohio, petitioned for the liberty to hold slaves for limited period. Congress, having that right of government. replied by the report of John Randolph of Virginia, himself slaveholder As slavery is an indisputable evil, why wish to take it for limited time, instead of shutting it out altogether, and not be troubled with it? Congress, acquiescing in the report, they were not allowed it.
 Had the doctrine now known as Popular Sovereignty specially vita the glossary, the Dred Scott dccision--prevailed as national law, accepted by our fathers as the true inter- plCCd Ol SOuoIlIuItOu, ull tuC StdttS west of the Ohio would to-day have been slave holding, cursed as Virginia and Marylar are with the difficulty of getting rid of an insttu- tion which has fastened itself upon their vitals. They were saved by Congressional intervention and prohibition, by the power of the nation put forth to guard the Territories of the nation a. gainst the curse of chattezed laboring class. They were saved by the principles affirmed by the Republican party, following the track of Washington and Jefferson, and would not have been saved otherwise.
 We, the children of the men who made these compacts we, instructed by the histoty of later and more disastrous time wherein slavery has stealthily spread itself over Texas and Ar kansas, and recently thrown it's net over New Mexico, determined to make positive resist ance to resist, and Say As all the territory which was slaveholding practically when we acquired it, has been formed into saveholding states-as Tennessee Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Louisiana, and Missouri--as those states, cut off from slaveholding states are to be and have been so themselves, because of the slaveholding tradition and usage under which they came to us, so we demand that the same principle and rule shall be applied to territo- ries which we acquired as free. We demand that those territories already won from Mexi co, and those which may hereafter be won from her, and those that shall come to us on the North and South, shall be the homes of free labor and free men ONLY AND FOREVER. Such is the demand of the Republican party.
 Fellow Citizens, the act which aroused the American people as they had uot been arous- ed before was the passage of what is called the Nebraska Bill. A great struggle had ta- ken place in 1919 aud 1920 on the admission of Missouri. The North insisted that Missou- ri should discard Slavery, while the South de mauded she should be admitted as Slave State. believe there is no considerate Mis- sourian to-day, who does not realize that Con greSs would have doue his State real kind ness, had it voted as the North wished on this question. Had Missouri come into the Union Free State her population would now have equalled that of Ohio her great city would have been the second city of importance and the third iu population of the cities of the l Union. She demanded, ou the score of Popu- lar Sovereignty, admission as Slave State, and Congress, at last, reluctantly conceded this by a majority of barely three votes in the House. But they obtained as a pledge and compact, that if Missouri should be admitted as a Slave State, all the Territories north and west of her should be free only forevermore.- This was the bargain which admitted Mis- | souri.
 When we came to organize Kansas on the west of Missouri, in 1854, then the North, of course, claimed the fulflment of this compact They had paid for the consideration there was our bond give us that for which we had paid. Mir. Douglas, believe, first intended l not to meddle with the Missouri compact l His bill, at auy rate, did not directly touch it.
 But MT. Dixon, of Kentucky, put in provise repeating the Missouri restriction and Doug
 las, after hesitating and taking position g