Cedar Falls gazette. [volume] (Cedar Falls, Iowa) 1860-1895, 1860-12-14
,od reason for immediate dissolution of the

ed in great haste, an act over the veto Of the
Governor, declaring that slavery is, and shall
be forever prohibited in the territory. Such
an act, however, plainly violating the rights
of property secured by the Constitution will
surely be declared void by the Judiciary
whenever it shall be presented in legal form.
Only three days after my Inauguration, the
Supreme Court Of the United States solemnly
adjudged that this power did not exist in a
Territorial Legislature. Yet such has been
the factious tempe, of the times, that the cor
rectness of this decision has been extensively
impugned before the people, and the question
has given rise to angry political conflict thro'-
out the country. Those WHO have appealed
from the Judgment of our highest Constitu-
tional tribunal to popular assemblies, would,
if they could, invest Territorial Legislatures
with power to annul the sacred right Of prop
erty. This power Congress is expressly for
hidden by the Federal Constitution to exer
else. Every State Legislature in the Union
is forbidden by its own Constitution to exer-
else it. 1t cannot be exercised in any State,
except by the people in their highest sover-
eign capacity, when framing or amending
their State Constitution. In like manner, it
can only be exercised by the people of the
Territory represented in a convention of del
cgatcs for the purpose of framing constitu-
ton, preparatory to admission as State into
the Union. Then, and not until then, are
they invested with power to decide the ques-
ton whether slavery shall or shall not exist
within their limits. This is an act Of sover-
eign authority, and not Of subordinate terri
torial legislation Were it otherwise, then
indeed would the equality of the States in the
Territories be destroyed, and the rights OF
property in slaves would depend, not upon
the guarantees of the Constitution, but upon
the shifting majorities of an irresponsible ter
ritorial legislature. Such a doctrine, from its
intrinsic unsoundness, cannot long influence
any portion of our people, much less can it
afford good reason for a dissolution of the
Union The most palpable violations of con-
stitutional duty which have yet been commit
ed. consist in the acts of different State Leg
islatures to defeat the execution Of the FGgi-
tive Slave Law. 1t ought to be remembered
that for these acts neither Congress nor any
President can be Justly held responsible;
having been past in violation of the Federal
Constitution, they are therefore null and void.
All the courts, both State and National, be-
fore whom the question has arisen, have from
the beginning declared the Fugitive Slave Law
to be constitutional. The single exception is
that of State Court in Wisconsin, and this
has not only been reversed by the proper ap-
pellate tribunal, but has met with such uni
versal appreciation that there can be no dan
ger from it as precedent The validity of
this law has been established over and over
again by the Supreme Court of the United
States with perfect unanimity. 1t is founded
upon an express provision of the Constitu-
cl,voc oo,
in service from one State to another, shall be
delivered up to their masters. Without this
provision, it is a well known historical fact
been adopted by the Convention. In one
1850, both being substantially the same, the
Fugitive Slave Law has been the law of the
land from the days of Washington to the
present moment Here, then, clear case is
presented in which it will be the duty of our
next President, as it has been my own, to act
with vigor in executing this supreme law
against the conflicting enactments of State
Legislatures Should he fail in the perform
ance of this high duty, he will then have
manifested disregard of the Constitution
and laws, to the great injury of the people Of
nearly one-half of the States Of the Union
But are we to presume in advance that he
will thus violate his duty? This would be
at war with every principle of justice-of
Christian charity. Let us wait for the overt
act
The Fugitive Slave Law has been carried
into execution in every contested case since
the commencement OF the present admins
tration, though often it is to be regretted,
with great loss and inconvenience, and with
considerable expense to the Government. Let
us trust that the State Legislatures will re-
peal their unconstitutional and obnoxious
enactments; unless this shall be done with
out unnecessary delay, it is impossible for
any human power to save the Union. The
Southern States, standing on the basis of the
Constitution, have right to demand this act
of Justice from the States of the North
Should it be refused them, the Constitution,
to which all the States arc parties, viii have
been willfully violated by one portion of them,
in a provision essential to the domestic secu-
rity and happiness of the remainder. In that
event the injured States after having first
used all peaceful and constitutional means to
obtain redress, would be justified in rcvolu-
tionary resistance to the government OF the
Union. .-s
have purposely confined my remarks to
revolutionary resistance, because it has been
claimed within the last few years that any
State whenever it shall be her sovereign will
and pleasure, may secede from the Union in
accordance with the Constitution, and with
out any violation of the constitutional rights
Of the other members ofthe confederacy, that
as each became parties Of the Union by the
vote of it's own people assembled in conven-
ton. so any one Of them may retire from the
Union in a similar manner by the vote OF
such convention. In order to justify Sc
cession as a constitutional remedy, it must
be on the principal that the Federal Govern.
ment is mere voluntary association OF
States, to be dissolved at pleasure by one Of
the contracting parties. If this be SO, the
confederacy is a rope of sand, and to be sep
arated and dissolved by the first adverse
wave Of opinion by any of the States. In
this manner our 33 States may resolve them
selves into as many petty, Earring and hostile
republics, each one retiring from the Union
without responsibility whenever any sudden
excitement might impel them to such course;
by this process Union might be entirely
broken into fragments in few weeks, which
cost our forcfathers many years of toll, priva-
ton and blood to establish. Such princi-
ple is wholly inconsistent with the history
1 A. all