M'arthur Democrat. (McArthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1853-1865, 1860-01-12

Our history proves tnat tne fatAers
Of the Republic, in advance Of all 9th,
er nations, condemned the African
slave. trade. Itwas, Notwithstanding,
deemed expedient 10y the trainers Of
the Constitution to deprive Congress
of the power to prohibit ''the migra-
ton or importation of such persons AS
any of the States now existing shall
think proper to admit" "prior to tue
year one thousand eight Hundred and
eight"
1t will be seen that this restriction
on the power of Congress was confined
to such States only as might think
proper to admit the importation oI
slaves. 1t did not extend to the States
or to the trade carried on abroad. L.
Accordingly, we find that so early ae
the 22d OF March, 1904, Congress
passed an act imposing severe penal,
ties and punis hments upon citizons
ana residents Of the United States
who should engage in this trade be.
tween foreign nations. The provis,
ions Of this act were extended and en-
forced by the act Of 10th May, 1900.
Again: The States themselves had
a clear right to waive.the constitution.
al privilege intended for their ben
elit, and to prohibit, by their own
laws, this. trade at any time they tlo't
proper previous to 1903. Several OF
them exercised this right before that
period, and among them some conrair
ing the greatest number of slaves -
This gave to Congress the immediate
power to act in regard to all such
States, because they themselves had
removed the constitutional barrier
Congress accordingly passed an act or
2Sth of February, 1905, Ito prevent
the importation Of certain persons in,
to certain States where, by the laws
thereof, their admission is prohibited
In this manner the improved portion
Of African slaves into the United State;
was, for great extent, prohibited
some years in advance OF 1903.
As the year 1903 approached, Con
gress determined not to suffer this
trade to exist even for a single day at
ter they had the power to abolish it,
On the I'd of March, 1907, they pass
ed an act to take effect "lrom and af
ter tie first day of January, 18OS,'
prohibiting the importation of African
slaves into the United States. This
was followed by subsequent acts of a
similar character, to which need not
specially refer. Such were the prin,
ciples and such the practice OF our an.
ceStcrs more than fifty years ago in re
gard to the African slave.tradc.
1t did not recur to the levered pat
riots who had been delegates to the
convention, and aItcrward became
members Of Congress. that in passing
these laws they had violated the Con
stitution which they had framed will
so much cre anc delbCration. The,
supposed that to prohibit Congress il
express terms, from exercising a spe
Gifted power before an appointed day
necessarily involved the right to exer
else this power after that day had ar
rived.
lfthis wero not the case, the fraln
ers of the Constitution had expended
much labor in vain. Had they imag
ined that Congress would possess Ne
power to prohibit the trade either be-
fore or after 1903, they would not have
taken SO much care to protect the
States against the exercise ofthis pow
er before that period. Nay more, they
would not have attached ST. cli vast i'm
poriance to this provision as to have
excluded it from the possibility Of fu.
lure repeal or amendment, to which
other portions OF the Constitution were
exposed. 1t would, then, have been
wholly unnecessary to engraft on the
filth article of the Constitution, pro.
scribing the mode of its own future
amendment, the proviso, ".hat nc
amendment which may be made prior
to the year one thousand eight hun
dred and eight shall in any lnanne:
affect" the provision in the Constitu-
ton securing to the States the right
to admit the importation OF African
slaves previous to that period.
According to the adverse construc.
ton, the clause itself, on which SC
much care and discussion had been
employed by the members of the Con.
vention, was an absolute mliity from
the beginning, and al that has since
been done under it mere usurpation.
1t was well and wise to confer this
power on Congress, because, had it
been left to the States, its efficient ex
ercise would have been impossible =
In that event any one State cod have
eftctually continued the trade, moi
only for itself, but for all the other
slave States, though never so much
against their will. Aud why} Be.
cause African slaves, when once Lro't
within the limits Of any one State, in
1
accordance with its laws, can not prac.