Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1860-06-14

ruin in all events.
This, plainly stated, is your language to
US Perhaps you would say the Supreme
Court has decided the disputed Constitutions
q! question ih your favor. Not quite so
liu, rving the lawyers distinction be-
tween dctum and dec 'on, the Courts have
decided the question for you in sort Of a way.
The Courts have substantially said, 1t isl
your Constitutional right to take slaves into
the federal territories, and to hold them as
property.
When cay the decision was made in
surt Of q way, mean il was made In divi.
De- Court 5y bare majority OF the Judges
aud they not quite agreeing with one an
other IL the reasons for making it; that 1t is
so made as that its avowet supporters disa
gree with one another ab out it's meaning;
aud that 1t was plaiuly based upon mista-
ken statement Of fact the statement iE the
opinion that "the right VI property In q
slave is distinctly and expressly affirmed in
the Constitution"
An inspection Of the Constitution will
show that right Of property in slave is
not distinctly and expressly affirmed in IL.
Bear in mind the Judges do not pledge their
political opinion that such right is implied.
ly sfirmed in the Constitution; but they
pledge their veracity that 1t is distinctly and
expressly affirmed overwhelmingly" that
is, not mingled with anything else-"ex-
pressly" that is, in words mean ing just that
without the aid Of any differences, and sus-
cep,ible Of no other meaning.
II they had only pledged their judicial
opinion that such right is sfi med in the in
strument by implication, IL would be open to
others to show that neither the word slave
nor slavery is to be found in the Constitu-
tion, nor the word property" even, in any
connection with language aluding to the
things slave, or ;lsverey, and wherever In
that instrument the slave is alluded to, he is
called "persoR;" and wherever his masters
legal right in relation to him is alluded to
it, it is spoken Of as "service or labor DUE"
AS a "debt" payable in service or labor. Al
so, It would be open to show, by contempo.
rnneous history, that this mode of alludiDg to
slaves and slavery, instead of speaking to
them, was employed on purpose to exclu de
from the Constitution the idea that there
could be property in nan.
To show all this is easy and certain.
When this obvious mistake Of the Judges
shall be brought to their notice, Is it not
reasonable to expect that they will with
draw the mistaken statement, and reconsid-
er the conclusion based upon 1T
And then 1t is to be remembered that tour
fathers who framed the Government under
which We ve''-the men who made the
Constitution decided this same Constitu-
ton decided Tins same constitutional ques-
ton IN our favor. long ago-decided II with
OUT division among themselves, when
making he decision; without division among
themselves about the meaning of it after it
was mode, and 50 far as any evict nee is left
without basing ii upon any mistaken state
msnt OF facts.
Under all these circumstances, do you re
ally feel yourself justified to break up this
Government, unless such Court decision
as yours 10 shall be- at once submitted to as
4 conclusive and final rule of pol.tical &C
tion.
But you will not abide the election OF q
Republican President. u that supposed
event. you FAY. you will destroy the Union;
sndih you say, the great crime Of having
destroyed it will be upon US!
That 10 cool. A highwaymen holds a
pistol to my eur. and mutters through his
teeth. "sland aud deliver, or | shall kill you,
and then you will be murterer"
To be sure what the robber demanded of
me-my .money-.was my own; aud had Il
clear right to keep it, but II was no more
my own than my vote 10 my own; and the
threat Of destruction to the Union, to exori
my vote. can scurcely be distinguished in
principle.
Afew wordO now to Republicans. 1t is
exceedingly desirable that all parts Of this
great ConfedeIacy shall be ut peace, aud in
harmony, one with'another. Let us Repub-
licans do our part to have II 80. Even
though much provoked, let us do nothing
through passion and i'll temper. Even though
the southern people will not somuch as listen
to US, let US calmly consider their demands
snd yield to them II, in our deliberate view
Of our duty, VIZ possibly can. Judging by
oil they say and do, and by the subject and
nature OF their controversy with us, lot US
determine, II we can, what will satisfy
them
WIll they be satisfied If the Territories be
pnconditlonally surrendered to themi We
know that they will not. 10 ali their pres
cat complaints against us, the Territories
are scarcely mentioned. Invasions and in.
snrrections are the rage now. Will 1t sat
sfy than II, "a the future, we have nothing
to do with lnvasions and Instructions! We
know it will not. We 80 know because we
know we never had anything to do with in
vssiohs and insurrecilons; and yet this total
sustaining does not exempt US from the
charge and denunciation.
The .questioa recurs, what will satisfy
,hemi Simply ihis. We must not only'le,
them alone, but We nust. somehow cony.
ince them that we do let them alone. This,
We know by experience, Is no easy task.
We have been 80 trying'to convice them,
from tho very beginning Of our organization,
but with no success. In oil our platforms
and speeches we have Consistently protested
our purpose to let them alone; but this has
no tendency to convince them. Alike IN.
awaiting TO convince them is the fact that
th0v hsve never detected N man nj M In