Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1860-03-23
PARIS, ME-,

- w our lhbiC euuttilHs anu liiiNN Nlat W.
. feel reverence for her dictates - 4" In the
, name of Heaven. can we call ourselves the
{ friends Of equal fr,cdom aud the inherent
q rights ol our species, when wc W ntpuly
pass laws inimical TO each when We rjcct
; every opportunity Of destroying. by silent,
i impcrccpiihle DEGREES, the borrd fabric OF
= individual bondage. rcarcd hy the hand Of
thOsc from whom the Saercd lame Of liberty
received no Devotion -
But Will not further olaborat, n propo-
siti0n which cannot b. successfully denied.
hy quoting additional extracts from the
writings ot early American statesmen.
, .. The hypothesis here 49, up Is proved
! by contemporncous acts Of our fathers.
The provision in the constitution relating to
, the Suppression oC the slave trade after 1903,
is strong evidence TO this point. The enact.
, Ing OF that celebrated ordinance Of 1887, by
which all territory then outside Of the siatCs
was made iorycr irce. is another incontro-
D voriible proof Of their intentions.
} Tho opinions Of the founders Of this
Republic were not only acqui,sccd in and
,ndursed, but taken as authoritative expo
si,iuns of the constitution. hy nearly all the
great statesmen ol the country during the
. first sixty years Of its oxisiAncc.
First. that Consrcs, has power under TIE
Constitution, % prohibit, slavery in the Ter.
ritorcs. The ordinances of lIST. passed
by the fr., Congrr.. under the Constitution
in which were tWcuty members of the Fed.
sral convention winch trained the constii.-
ton. L. a direct exercise OF this power. IL
passed unanimously and was approved by
General Washington. Subsequent acts. In
which tho samc principle "a. directly rcc-
ognIel. were T.s,l. a. iollovs; an act
April .. l1gS, organizing Mississippi Terri.
tory IN a." ,ixih Consr-s, an act organ.
E,ng Indiana Territory an nci March -.
1904, dividing Louisiana into two Terrific.
r rics January ll. lsOi, an act or. ,niEins
Michigan Territory February 3, lsOl, an
ac: cstabli.hins Missouri Territory. March
3. 1917. an net relating - Alrhtmn Terri-
tory March .. lolJ. an aCt establishing
Arkansas Tcrrigmy March D.. lN2O, the
Missouri compromis' was established
March 10. lS.2. an at establishing Flor.
ia Territory; April ~, 1886, an act go
nhlrshins Wisconsin Territory. june II,
!S3S, an act establishing the government, ot
Iowa and March 3. 1913. an act establish
ins the government OF Orrsin.
These different acts r,ccv,d the sanction
oC fourteen different Juusrr,s,-. and the Of.
fciil approval of Presidents Adams. Jsfi,r-
con, Madison. Monroe, Jackson, Van Bu.
rcn. and Polk Al tlr.r acts directly ac.
Acknowledged the cvb.t,tuu"nal Ja,rsr 81
Congress o. prohibit slavery Ia the Terrific
ri,s, and that it Was right and eIpediens 10
s1efcisc 10.
Secondly. until within vory Nv years
tbe opinions or tho ,arly Statesmen that
slavery Was dependent up1U STATE rrrulh.
tions Tor It's existence ana prniectinn--a To-
cal and not national ius'itutiou--has
l.,eu uniformly c1ncurrcd IN hy Congress.
State Legislatures. the Judiciary oi tie
United Sais.. and ui the s',,ml States.
! The proof il found In ,hr acts oi Congress,
VI State 'e.islatur-, and in the numerous
DECISIONS of the United states courts.
Mr Chairman. having hu,ly referred
O. the Constitution. ii1 compromises UPON
the slavery question, the rul,. ,rplIcabls 10
2 h.. r.. handed down to by it' frtmrr'.
aud c1ncurryi IN ~ al th' cr t ,ai''-
. men Of tie country !ur NOR. .i.n "'ii
C,riurv. | now come o. a mhtrF'l. THIHi m
t,.y.d .a this discussion. ~, t.o S'uih
r,,sn-i shat ic. ,im1ta.y h,,..-,I - hgr
. under the Constitution and q. Inrr~ have
. been any sectional agsrs.,ions, iron which
Tatiy have they Gomez
In discussing ihi- matter. ! shall deal in
fats and fsyr0. and not in lnhAmaiory
defamation aud vague ccneraliiios, which
have been - much indulsyd IN By eenile-
. men upon the other tide.
/. Has the South had the property rep
reseniati0n GUARANTEED by the Cpnstitutiuu'
NJ one dcule. u and lie hA. ,s-iay f,rsHiy
R-rrv,sutali,~, upon this illor upon prop
etty Iasi,, while lhc lrec State, have none.
Taking tie censn, oi 1880 u. tho hl'. OF
calculation, SIX million free whites Va the
South have. under this appointment
ninety mcmhcrs, shlrIesn millions In the
North have one hundred and iutty.ssven
members \ ratio equal with the South
would givs the North one hundred and
uiueiy.,isht members.
. The South has always Lad the benefit
Of "A fugitive slave law o. reclaim their run
away slaves. Some uf the provisions oi the
rrc,ent Law arU extremely obnoxious 10 TIE
-, PIE of the free SAt.,. Vet il has been en-
iorcci with a. little difficulty 81. any other
law II doubtful consttutionalliy and made
Tor the exclusive benefit Of particular sec
{ ton of country. II u true, slaves some
b times run away and are not r"cap'ured and
= carried back /, and jus, as long as they pos
ssss the power of locomoiiUn. jus, - long
, more or lCs. Of their number will ah-cond.
4 TIL. very fac, is IA sad commentary upon
. ,hs assertion often made, re.reetiug this
uncertain kind Of property, that tho ARR
, can rrc.crs slavery 20 freedom.
Il -. III flfn Va hnlsa
. suhiact Of negro slavery could be discussed
, upon slave territory, IN the midst OF the
: slave p0pulttion, by southern politicians,
as il ha, been done for several years last
. past. without waking up. Ia the minds OF
some of this degraded race. ideas Of person
al liberty. II these negroes love slavery.
and are contsn,ed. OF course they will rc-
main where they are hut if they get a lat
, lie Of Banker Hill or Yorktown into their
heads. judeius from tho past. they will he
| quite likely 60 suffer their magnetic attrac-
tions e. vihrate in the dirceti ~ Of the north
/. pole. Northern people are not to blame
ior all tins. IL j. ono OF the incidents
which always did and always will connect
: itself with your peculiar institution. Jusi
: ~ long NJ there Is slavery, just ~ long
= there will be runaway. ir0m IL. AL pact
history proves this iagt.
Southern men sometimes complain that
= the people OF tho free States obsIruct the
= due execution OF the Fugitive slave law /;
bu, they are mistaken in this assumption.
In the first place. snme Of the features Of
n the law itself are. by the great mass Of the
n people Of the free States, considered cruel
and unjust, and many Of the best legal
|. minds Ia the North think itunconstiintion-
al. Tren. again. the way and manner IN
which you sometime, undertake to execute
liz are highly excert.onable. Under some
= fraudulent. lalss pretense, the iugiliye il