The Placer herald., 1860-10-20
Black Republicans of the Present Day and
the Sages of 1776.

the partiZans of Lincoln OF this day have
claimed and are now everywhere asserting
that they are, in regard to their vital and
only life giving political sentiment, the true
expounders Of the views Of those patriots,
sages and statesmen who obtained, by their
sacrifices, the independence Of the American
States, and who gave to us our Constitution,
and set in motion our Government under and
by virtue of the same
The second resolve in the national (?) plat
form of this party in 1856 declares "that as
our republican fathers when they had abol-
ished slavery in all our national territory
ordained that no person should be deprived
Of life, liberty, or property, without due pro
cess of law, it becomes our duty to maintain
this provision of the Constitution against all
attempts to violate it for the purpose of es-
tabishng slavery in the United States, By
positive legislation prohibiting its existence or
ertension therein, that we deny the authority
of Congress, or territorial legislature, or an
individual, or an association of individuals,
Iitory Of the United States, while the present
Constitution shall be retained" The eighth
section of their Chicago platform Of 1860
affirms this in substance, end almost in the
same identical language.
The second resolve of their platform in
this State in 1857 declares "that the prohib
ition of slavery in the territories of the Union,
is properly within the control Of Congress"
Their public speakers and leading men are
much more poi ted and emphatic in their
claims upon our great ancestry. Let us
glance at the history of those times and see
if this is true; because if it is false, the fact
should be Understood. In l776 all the mem
bers of the contederacy, except one, had do
mestie slavery as one of lis institutions Did
our republican fathers emancipae at once,
by laws, which it was in their power to pass
and enforce in the different States? Not at
all. One half of those States still are slave
States and those that did abolish it, did so
as a matter OF interest, and gave abundance
Of time and provided opportunity to the
owners of slaves to carry them to a market
and sell them-whi-h, with few exceptions,
they did
The people, the Courts, and all the branch
es Of the governments of the several States,
then and for many years after our existing
form of Federal government WAS formed and
in active operation, continued to act upon
the same policy. These were our republican
fathers. When they met as ambassadors
from these States to form the articles of Con
federation, 10y the authority of which they
sat as Congress, they provided in the anti
cles Of association that the free tnhabi'ants
of each of the States, paupers, vagabonls
anl fugitives from justice excepted, should
be entitled to all the privileges and mmun
ties of free citizens in the several different
States" If any one supposes that they re
terred to manumitted negro AS free in
habitant" he can easily correct himself by
reference to the fifth section of the ninth
article of this same document, in which they
grant to Congress the right to settle upon
and call out, the quota of each State, of sol
diers for the army Of the Revolution, which
was to be sin proportion to the number Of
of chite inhabitants in such State" No in
stance can be found, wherein the State au-
thority of that age authorized er CONCEDED
the African or his descendants, the status of
citizenship. Ah but says one, in 1884, Vir
ginia ceded to this Federal Congress the
Northwest Territory, and these same repre-
sentatves Of all the rest Of the States ac-
cepted it; in which our republican fathers,
provided 10y solemn ordinance, that "there
shall be neither slavery nor involuntary ser.
vtude in the said Territory" Well what of
that? it was all under the sovereign control
of Virginia and admitted to be within her
boundaries, and she might concede it to the
General Government upon such terms as she
pleased, and the Congress having no consi-
tuition then as now, might accept it and
agree to carry out those conditions, without
restraint.
In the same article as accepted by act of
Congress Of 1897, they carefully provide
for the reclaimng of fugitive slaves escaping
into this territory
Virginia certainly had as supreme control
over the subject, within her remaining boun
carries, yet our republican fathers of that
State, as every one knows did not abolish
slavery. but out of her has grown Kentucky
another slave State. Stop, says anothe er
thus ordinance has been practically carried
out by the Government Of the United States
formed and continued under authority of oul
} existing Constitution, and therefore Congress
has power to prohibit slavery in the Terrific
ries. Let us not become bewidered. About
the same time that this Congress was in ses
sion under the authority of the articles o
: Confederation, there was in session in ano
ther Hall the delegates of the different States
acting in Convention and framing the Con
: stitution of the United States. The ole
government had contracted debts in carry
ing on the war of the revolution; it haC
made treaties; and contracted other obliga
tons, among them, it was pledged on it:
part to carry out the terms upon whicl