Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1860-01-06

| clgntv to form a constitution preparatory to
admission into the Union. After this has
been done, to employ the language of the
Kansas Nebraska act, they " shall be re-
ceived into the Union with or withoutslave-
ry, as their constitution may prescribe at the
time Of their admission" This principle
has happily been recognized, in some form
or other, by an almost unanimous vote of
both houses Of the last Congress.
All lawful means at my command have
been employed, and shall continued to be
emploved. to execute the laws against the
African slave trade After a most careful
and rigorous examination Of our coasts ana
a thorough investigation of the subject, we
have not been able to discover that any
slaves have been imported into the United
States except the cargo of the Wanderer,
numbering between three and four hun
dred. Those engaged in this unlaw-
| ful enterprise have been rigorou ly
nreSecuted but not with as much
snccess as their crimes have de-
served. 4 number of them are still under
! prosecution.
Our history proves that the fathers OF the
republic, in advance of all other nations,
condemned the African slave trade. 1t was,
notwithstanding, deemed expedlent by the
| trainers Of the constitution to deprive Con-
gress Of the power to prohibit " migration
| or importation of such persons as any OF the
States now existing shall think proper to ad-
| NIT " prior to the year one thousand
eight hundred and eight"
1t will he seen that this restriction on the
power of Congress was confined % such
States only as might think proper to admit
the importation of slaves. 1t did not extend
10 other States, or to the trade carried on
abroad. Accordingly we find that 50 early as
the 22d Of March, 1894, Congress passed an
| act imposing severe penalties and punish
rnents upon citizens and residents OF the
| United States who should engage in this
trade between foreign nations. The pro
visions of this act were extended and enforced
bv the act f 10th May, 1900.
Again the States themselves had clear
right to waive the constitutional privilege
intended for their benefit, and to prohibit
by their own laws, this trade at any time
they thought proper to previous to 1903. Sew
eral Of them exercised this right before that
period and among them some containing
the greatest number Of slaves. This gave
to Congress the immediate power to act in
regard To all such States, because they them
selves had removed the constitutional barrier
Congress accordingly passed an act on 2Sth
February, 1903, "tD prevent the Importation
of certain persons into certain States, where,
bv the laws thereof, their admission is pro-
hibited In this manner, the importation
Of African slaves into the United States. was
to a great extent, prohibited some years IN
advance of 1908.
As the year 1905 approached, Congress
determined not to suffer this trade to exist,
even for a single day after they had the pow
er to abolish it. On tn I'd March, 1907,
they passed an act to take effect - from and
after the first day of January, 1908, pro-
hibiting the impOrtatl. Of African slaves
into the United States. This was followed
by acts Of a similar riaracter, to which
need not specially refer. Such were the
principles and such were the principles and
such the practice Of our ancestors more than
fifty years ago in regard 70 the African slave
trade.
1t did not occur to the revered patriots
who had been delegates to the convention,
and afterwards became members of Congress,
that in passing these laws they had violated
the Constitution which uhoy nau naned
with 81 much care and deliberatiOn. They
supp sed that to prohibit Congress. in ex-
press terms. from exercising a specified pow
er before an appointed day, necessarily IN
v0lved the right to exercise this power after
that day had arrived.
If this were not the case, the trainers of
the Constitusion had expended much labor
in vain Had they imagined that Congress
had pnsseSsed no power to prohibit the trade
either before or after 1908, they would not
have taken so much care to protect the States
against the exercs. of this power before that
period.
Nay more. they would not have attached
such vast importance to this provision as to
have excluded it from the possibility Of fu-
turo repeal or amendment to which other
portions Of the Constitution were exposed.
1t would. then, have been wholly unnecessa-
rv to engratt on the fifth article of the Con-
stitution, prescribing the mode of its own fu-
ture amendment, the proviso, " that no
amendment which may be made prior to the
year 1908 shall in any manner affect the
provision in the Constitution securing to the
States the right to admit the importation of
African slaves previous to that period.
According to the adverse construction the
clause itself. on which so much care and dis
cussiCn had been employed by the members
of the convention, was an absolute nulllty
from the beginning. and all that has since
been done under it is a mere usurpatlon. 1t
was well and wise 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 other State
could have continued the tIade, not
only for itself but for all the other States
though never 50 much against their will
Aud why? Because African slaves, when
once brought within the limits of any one
State. in accor6andance with its laws, can
not practically he excluded from any other
State where slavery exists.
And even If all the States hod separately
passed laws prohibiting the importation OF
slaves. these laws would have failed OF Ell
feet for want of a naval force to capture the
slavers and to guard the coasts. Such
force no State can employ in time OF peace
without the consent of Congress.
Tn, So acts of Congress, it is believed, have
with very rare and insignificant exceptions,
accomplish ed their purpose. For a period
Of more than half a century there has been
no perceptibe addition to the number Oi
our domestic slaves. During this period
their advancement in civiiizuti n has far SUI
! passed that of any other portion OF the Arr
can race The light and the blessings 81
Christianity have been extended to them,
and both their moral and physical condition
has been greatly improved
Reopen the trade and II would be diff
cult 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, heather and ignorant blrbarians
among the sober, orderly and qAi slaves.
whose ancestors have been on the soil for
several generations. This might tend to
barbariz p, demoralize und exasperlte the
whole mass, and produce tn most depl rs-
! BILE consequences.
The effect upon the existing slave would
! if possible, be still more deplorable. At
present he is treated with kindness and
humanity lie is well fed, well clothed,
and not overworkcd. His condition is in
comparably better than that Of the coolies
which modern nations of high civilization
have employed as a substitute for African
slaves Both the philanthropy and the
self-interest of the master have combined to