Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1860-01-07

was followed by subsequent acls of a SINH
lar character, 70 which need specially re-
fer. Such @ero tile principles and such the
practice Of cur ancestors more than fifty
years age.
Il did not occur to lie feSefed patriots
who had Teen delegates to the convention
and afterwards became members of con
grcss, that in passing these laws they had
violated the constitution which they had
framed with so much care and deliberation.
They supposed that to prohibit congress,
in express terms, from exercising specific
power before an appointed day, necessarily
involved the right to exercise this power
after that day had arrived.
IF this were not the case, Tic trainers
of the constitution had expended mach
labor in vain. lad they imagined that
congress would possess no power to pro-
hibit The trade either before or after 1903
they would not have taken so much care
to protect the States against the exercise
Of this power before that period. Nay,
more, theysswould not have attached such
vast importance to this provision as To-
have excluded from the possibility of fu-
ture repeal OF amendment TO which other
portions of the constitution were exposed.
it would, thep have been wholly unneces-
sarv 10 engfait on tho fifth article of the
the constitution, prescribing the mode Of
its own future amendment, the proyiso,
that no amendment which may Ue made
prior TO the year 1908 shall in DO manner
affect the proyisionin the constitution
securing 10 the States the right to admit
the importation f African slaves previous
to that period,
According u ,le adverse construction,
the clause itsalf, on which SO much care
and discussion had been employed by the
members of the convention, was en- abso-
lutte nulliy from. the beginning, and all
that has since been done under it mere
usurpation.
1t was well and wi TO confer this
power on congress, because had it been
left to the States, its efficient exercise
would have been impossible. In that
event any one State could have efectually
continued the trade not only for itself but
for all the other slave States though never
so much against their will. And Why -
Because African slaves, when once bro't
within tie limits of any one State, IN &C.
cordance with its laws, cannot practically
be excluded fom any other State where
slavery exists. And egen all the States
had separately passed laws prohibiting the
importation Of slaves, these laws would
have failed of effect for want IL L naval
force to capture the slaves and TO guard
the coasts. Such force no StaIo.can
employ in time of peace without the con-
sent Of congress.
Thcs, acts d Congress, il IS believed,
have with very fare and Insignificant ex
ceptions accomplished their purpose. For
a period Of more than half century there
has been no perceptible addition to the
number Of our domestic slaves. During
this period their advancement in civilizs-
tion has far surpassed that of any other
portion Of the African race, The ligll,
and the blessings of Christianity have
been extended to them, aud both thei.
moral and physical condition has been
greatly improved.
Reopen the trade, and il would be diff
fcult to determine whether the effect
would be more deleterious to the interests
Of the master or on those Of the native
born slave. OF the evils to the master,
the one most to be dreaded would be tn.
introduction of wild, heathen and igoor-
ant barbarians amoug the sober. orderly
and quiet Slaves, whose ancestors have
been on the soil for several generations
This might tend to barbarize, demoralize
and exasperate the whole mass, and pro-
duce the most deplorable consequences.
The effect upon the existitg slave would
if possible, be still more deplorabe. All
present he is treated with kindness and
humanity. He is well treated, well cloth |
ed, and not overworked His condition
is iucomparably better than that of the
coolies which modern nations Of hign civ
il,zalion have employed as substitute for
African slaves. Both the philanthropy
and the self-intcrest of the master have
combined to produce this humane result.
But lot this trade be re-opencd, and what
will be the effect9 The same, to a con-
siderable extent, as on a neighboring is
land-the only spot now on earth where
The african slave trade is openly tolerated Il
and this Ia defiance Of solemn treaties with
a power abundantIy able at any moment
to enforce their execution. There, the
master, intent upon present gain, EFFORTS
from the slave as much labor as his physi-
cal powers are capable ofenduring know
ing that, when death comes TO lis relief,
his place can be supplied at price redu-
ced TO the lowest point by the competition
of rival African slave traders. Should
this ever be the case in our country II
which | do not deem possible--the present
useful character of the domestic institution
wherein those too old and too young to
work are provided for with care and hu-
mainly, and those capable of labor are not
over-tasked. would undergo an unfortunate