Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1860-12-26
SECESSION No. XI.


SOUTH CAROLINA, But THE Durfxs MUST BE
PAID AND THE FORrs DErESpKp-THK PoLrcY
OF THE Executive" The FEDERAL UNION
MUST BIZ Preserved" 80 =
To hs People of ths North and South.
Obviously the first thing necessary to peaceful
solution Of our present difculties IL to satisfy the
conservative men Of the South that there Is no
fixed determination In the North to deprive their
property Of the protection which IL guaranteed by
the Constitution. Now Il this to be done !. The
first step towards Il is concerted effort Of all the
conservative elements of the North to repeal the
so-calsd ''liberty laws'' wherever they have been
enacted The republicans themselves admit them
to be unconstitutional, and under ordinary cir
cumstances IL might be safely LEFT to the Judiciary
to declare them void. But their passage and un-
repealed existence evidence Of hostility to
the South which nothing but their repeal can
efectually rebuff
As to the rendition Of fugitives from labor, the
following Is the provision Of the Constitution viz
"No person held to service or labor In one State
under the laws thereof, escaping into another,
therein, be discharged from such service labor;
but shall be delivered up claim Of the party to
whom such service or labor may be due"
1t seems to me impossible to provide for the
rendition Of fugitives more effectually than Is
done In this provision az IL now stands The
power Of Congress to pass all laws necessary to
effect the Objects absolute; and while the attempts
OF states to embarrass the execution Of those laws
| are In degree analogous to the secessionism of
South carolina, they leave all the citizens or such
States subject to the laws and authorities Of the
United States In the full plenttude Of their power
II, therefore, the existing laws are not adequate
to the object, let them be amended. Let fine and
imprisonment be imposed upon those who shall
resist their execution, and II Il be done with arms,
let the guilty wretches be hanged az traitors.
The territorial question il Of little practical
importance. The Constitution was made for
country In which the slave question was al
ready settled. BY the ordinance Of 1887, slave
~ had been excluded from all the territory
north OF the Ohio, while the country south of
that river was left open to that institution No
serious question on that subject could ever have
been raised but for the acquisition Of territory out
side Of the original limits Of the United States and
outside Of the provisions Of the Constitution IL
would have seemed but fair that the precedent
already Set should have been followed and the
new territory divided In like manner; and so far
as related to Louisiana, 1t was ATTEMPTED bv the
Missouri compromise. The objection to that
| mode Is, that to maintain the principle the line
might have to be modified upon every new acq ui-
sition Of territory
There Is another principle more general and lust
In Its application, and more congeniaI with the
philosophy Of the case, which, IL carried into a
constitutional provision, would settle the questio
forever In all past and future acquisitions What
enable objection can there be to an amend .
ment OF the Constitution somewhat In the follow.
ing form,
II shall be lawful for all citizens and residents
Of the United States migrating into anv Of The
territories thereof, to carry with them ali proper
" and all persons held to service or labor under
me laws OF the States from which they emigrate,
ana sald laws shall govern their gh Of property
and claims to service or labor aforesaid in said
Territories until the same shall be admitted into
the nion, any thing In the legislation Of Congress
withstanding"
such provision would be In harmony with the
general plan Of the Constitution, and would leave
the people Of each territory free to settle the ones
ton permanently for themselves In framing their
State constitution
Tnese three points seem TO me all that is neces-
say 10 settle for the purpose Of satisfying the con-
sefvatve men Of the South, and remove every
plausible pretext for disruption of the Union:
ISL The repeal Of the liberty laws so called, of
some of the northern States
I'd. Such notifications Of the fugit We slave law
as may be required to give IL more efficiency. and
at the same time render It, IL possible, less OBJ
noIious to northern sentiment
Sd. nnal settlement Of the territorial slave
question by an amendment Of the Constitution.
But by what means shall these ends be brought
about? There are three men whose enyiable no.
sition enables them to give a turn to public opin
Ion and political action which will rescue their
country from the perils which surround II. Let
Messrs Bell, Breckenridge, and Douglas, throw.
ing behind them all antipathies and all personal
ambition, meet together on the platform Of the
Union, and by an united effort save their country
IL Is madness toquarrrl about the future command
OF sinking ship. Let their only emulation be
which shall do most to save It, and the crew will
hereafter know how to reward him who NAV
have been most active and devoted Il requires
ouf an effort OF these men to organize a DEMO-
CRATIC UNION PARTY which shall sweep over the
country ike an avalanche, burying abolitionism
and disunionism beyond the hope of resurrection.
III was the insidious arts Of the disinionists
dividing aud distracting the conservative vote of
the country, driving multitudes into the Repub |
Iican ranks and keeping other multtudes from
the polls, which secured victory to the Republi |
cans In the late Presidential election There {. |
the best evidence Of which the nature Of the case
Ii susceptible, that a large proportion Of the 3.
publican party In thorouA bly, conservative and 4.
prepared, In concert with the conservative Of |
otnef parties to concede to the South all that the
Union men Of that section really desire. What
can resist combination composed Of these ele. |
ments, united in cause as holy az that which
aciuated Washington and his com patriots in I7ss,
do not speculate upon the course which NAV
De pursued by the new administration after the |
sth OF March next, because it 10 still matter of
doubt 1t seems to me that, a. a matter of neces.
MY and hope Of choice, it must be conservative
but IL IL be not, 1t will be more powerles, than
any which has preceded It,
The course which any President of the United /
states who regards his oath must pursue in two |
important particulars, is pointed out by Mr.. |
Buchanan In bis last annual message.
He must collect the Federal revenues.
He must defend the forts and other property Of
he United States.
Ihese duties he must perform, any ordinance,
sses's'o" TO he contrary Hottciths tandinx. But
Is not necessary for him to be the aggres,or in
my acts OF violence
II a s'a'e chooses to withdraw her representation
n Congress, let them 90.
II the Federal judicial officers within State
esign, and none can be found to all their plac.s
cannot be helped
he