Columbia Democrat and Bloomsburg general advertiser. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1850-1866, 1860-12-15


construction of the Constitution on three
special points.
1. All expenses recognition of the right
o property in slaves in the States where
it now exists or may hereafter exist,
., The duty Of protecting this right to
all the common Territories throughout their
territorial cxistance, and until then shall
be admitted as States into the Union, with
1r without slaves as their Constitution may
p.oscribe.
. A like recognition of the right of
The master to have his slave, who escapes
from one State to another, restored and
delivered up to him, and of the validity
OF the Fugitive slave law enacted for this
purpose, together with a declar alton that
all State laws impairing or defeating this
right are violations of the Constitution ,and
are consequently null and void.
1t may be objected that this construc-
ton of the Constitution has already been
settled by the Supreme Court of the Uni
ted States, and what more ought to be
required The answer is, that a very
large portion of the people of the United
States still contest the correctness of this
decision, and never will cease from agita-
ton and admit its binding force uutil clear
ly established by the people of the several
States in their sovereign character. Such
an explanatory amendment would, it is
believed, forever terminate the existing
discussions and restore peace and harmony
among the States.
1t ought not to be doubted that such an
appeal to the arbitrament established by
the Constitution itself would be received
with favor by all the States of the Confed.
eracy. In any event it ought to be tried
in a spirit of conciliation before any Of
these States shall seperate themselves from
the Union.
When l entered upon the duties of the
Presidential office, the aspect neither of
our foreign nor domestic affairs was at all
satisfactory. We were involved in dan
gerous complications with several nations,
and two of our Territories were in state
of revolution against the Government A
restoration of the African slave trade had
numerous and powerful advocates. Un-
lawful military expeditions were counte-
nanced by many of our citizens, and were
suffered, in defiance of the efforts of the
Government, to escape from our shores,
for the purpose of making war upon the
unoffending people of neighboring repub-
lies with whom we were at peace. In ad-
dition to these and other difficulties, we
experienced a revulsion in monetary af-
fairs, soon after my advent to power, Of
unexampled severity and of ruinous con-
sequences to all the great interests of the
@o1-n ant Nf
what was then our condition and contrast
this with its material prosperity at the time
of the late Presidential election, we have
abundant reason to return our grateful
thanks to that merciful Providence which
has never forsaken us as o nation in all
our past trials.
OUR FOREIGN RELATIONS.
GREAT BRITAIN.
Our relations with Great Britain are of
the most friendly character. Since the
commencement of my administration, the
two dangerous questions arising from the
Clayton and Bulwer treaty and from the
right of search claimed by the British Gov
ernment, have been amicably and honora-
bly, adjusted.
The discordant constructions of the
Clayton and Bulwer treaty between the
two governments, which, at different peri
DDS Of the discussion, bore threatening
aspect, have resulted in a final settlement
entirely satisfactory to this Government
In my last annual message l informed
Congress that the British government had
not then completed treaty arrangements
with the republics of Honduras and Mic
aragua, in pursuance of the understanding
between the two governments. 1t is never
theless confidently expected that this good
work will ere long be accomplished. This
confident expectation has since been full
filled. Her Britanic Majesty concluded a
treaty with Honduras on the 2Sth Nov
ember, 1859, and with Nicaragua on the
25th August, 1860, relinquishing the Mos.
quito protectorate. Besides, by the for
lner, the Bay Islands are recognized as a
part of the republic of Honduras. 1t
may be observed that the stipulations of
these treaties conform in every important
particular to the amendments adopted by
the Senate of the United States to the
treaty concluded at London OH the 18th
October, 1856, between the two govern
ments. 1t will be recollected that this
treaty was rejected by the British Govern
ment because of its objection to the just
and important amendment or the Senate
to the article relating to Ruatan and the
other islands in the Bay of Honduras.
1t must be source of sincere satisfac.
ton to all classes of our fellow citizens,
and especially to those engaged in foreign
commerce that the claim, on the part of
Great Britain, forcibly to visit and search
American merchant vessels on the high
seas in time Of peace, has been abandoned
This was by far the most dangerous ques-
ton to the peace of the two countries
which has existed since the war of 1912
Whilst it remained opon, they might at
any moment have been precipitated into a
war. This was rendered manifest by the
oxasporated state ofpublic feeling through
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