Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1860-04-05
Taking up mis- Record.


Taking up mis- Record.
The Cincinnati Commercial digs up soEe of the
past acts Of the "Little Rebel" and throws them
into the teeth Of the Enquirer, the pct organ Of
Douglasism in the West. Read, read
The Enquire, of yesterday pronounces us a 20.
litcal ighoramus," aud says: I" The editor of the
Connnereidl is grossly ignorant of political history;"
and that we made "an exhibit" of our gross ig-
norance in saying that Stephen A. Douglas "yoted
for the Wilmot Proviso" 1t quotes as authority
on this subject. passage from AppIcton's Ency-
ciopcdia, in which informed that Douglas
:. carly took the position " that Congress should
not interfere the side or the other in the ter
ritories on the slavery question. and in accordance
with this principle. "opposed the Wilmot Pro-
viso." The Enquirer then remarks: =" The above
political statements of the COMMERCIAL
Immediately after Mr.. Stewards capital and labor
speech last week, Douglas took the foor, and in
stead of addressing himself to that speech, qtoted
something which Seward is reported to have said
in speech made on the stump IN 1844: Our sug
geStion was that it was unsafe for MIR. Douglas to
examine antecedents far back as lsis. as he had
since that time voted for the Wilmot ProvisO.-
If the Appleton Encyclopedia were the highest
authority in political history, the Enquirer might
be alte to claim that it had the advantage OF us IN
this matter, but we take it, that the public records
as kept in the Congressional Globe, arc competent
for the correction even of an Encyclopedias.
One of the votes of Mr.. Douglas for the wilmot
Provis2, was giten on the 5th Of June, 1850, in
the Senate.
On the 2Sth of May, 1850, Senator Davis, of
Mississippi, introduced an amendment to the Cali.
fornia BILL as follows:
"Nothing herein contained shall be construed
to prevent said Territorial Legislature from pass
Ing such laws as may be necessary for the protec-
ton ef the rights of property of any kind, which
may have been or may be hereafter, conformably
to the Constitution and laws of the United States,
held in or introduced in said Territory
Senator Chase, of Ohio, few days afterward,
offered an amendment to the amendment Of Mr..
Davis, as follows:
"Provided further. That nothing herein con-
tanned shall be construed as authorizing permit.
ting the introduction of slavery or holding of per.
sons as property in said Territory"
On the Sd Of June, Mr.. Davis i'm discussion as
to the bearings of his amendment, and the amend
merit TO the amendment of Mr.. Chase, said: my
endmenf proposes to gire TO the Ndonoi Lccislo-
fure power TO protect property Of eUery kind tohch
may be introduced into the Territory under the laws
and constitution Of the United States: The Sen.
ator from Ohio true to his instinct comics In with
proposition to erclude slaves if that is propt ry
which may be introduced under the constitution and
laws Of the Unitnd States. The distinction be-
tween the Senator from Ohio and myself is--that
he calls upon Congress to intervene against rights
which we may have under the constitution, and to
declare that certain kind Of property held within
the State s not property recognized by the consti
tution.''
A vote was taken on the Chase amendment on
the 9th of June, and ii lost--yeas, 25, nays 80
Mr. Douglas with Chase, Hale, and others voted
TOR the amendment, which was, rs JEFF Davis said,
a call upon Congress- to intervene against the
rights which the South might have under the con.
stitution, to hold slaves in the Territories
A vote was then taken OH the Davis amendment,
which proposed to give the Territorial Legislature
power to protect property of any kind in the Ter.
ritory. under the Constitution and laws, and the
amendment was lost: yeas 25, nays 30-Douglas
voting with Chase, Seward and Hale, against it,
The following is the record Of the proceedings
which followed,
Mr.. Seward-1 now submit the following amend.
ment to be inserted at the 3eth section:
Neither Slavery nor involuntary ser<itude others
wise than by conviction for crime, shall ever be al
lowed in either of said Territories of Utah and
New Mexico.
Mr.. Hale called for the yeas and nays; and they
were taken as follows:
Yeas: Messrs. Baldwin Bradbury, Bright, Chase,
Clarke, Cooper Corwin, Davis of Massachusetts,,
Dayton, Dodge of Wisconsin, Douglas. Felch,
Shields Smith, Upham, Whitcomb and Walker
g..
Nays: Messrs. Atchinscn. badger, Bell. Benton,
Berrien, Butler, Cass, Clay. Clay, Clemens, Davis
Of Mississippi, Dawson, Dickinson, Dodge of
Iowa, Downs, Foote. Hamilton, Hunter. Jones.
King, Mangum, Mason. Morton, Pearce, Pratt,
Rush, Sebastian, SQule, Spruance, Sturgeon, Tw.
ney, Underwood, Webster and Yulec--33.
Mr.. Stewards amendment, for which Mr.. Doug.
las voted. was the Wimot Proyiso. Mr.. Berrien
now moved to amend the tenth section Of the bill
50 as to read
But no law shall be passed interfering with the
primary disposal of the soil nor establishing OK
prohibiting African Slsvery.
This passed by a vote Of 80 to 81, Douglas
voting in the negative.
Mr.. Hale took the alarm and moved an amend
ment which he explained in this wayi
If you do not ADOPT this amendment, you do not
exactly prohibit the Territorial Legislatures from
lcSslating on this subject, because they may say:
We do not prohibit Slavery but to use CONS
mon phrase, Z" we take it as a fixed fact, PEI q,
that it is here" and then they may 60 on legis.
lating fer that admission. Now it is to excluts
Slavery that this amendment is offered. and II
had any doubts heretofore as to the propriety Of
such an amendment, those doubts are entirely re-
moved" 81,
This amendment was lost Yeas 81. Mars 80.
1t an amendment as Mf. Hale said, 70 .r+acf-
iy prohibit the Territorial Legislatures from legisss
ting this subject" that OF slavery; and Bou las
lts
So we see. that on the 5th of June 1850, Ste.
phen A. Douglas voted Will the Free SoileEs Of the
Senate, Chase, Seward and Hale, for the Wilm0t
Protiso; and for an amendment prohibiting he
Legislatures of the Territories Of Utah and New
Mexico, from legslating on the subject Of Slavery.
These facts are upon the public records, and are
of public notorety and the Editor Of the Enquirer
in disputing them, writes himself down . very
gross igfloraHus, indeed, and by quoting q few
vagne senteiices from Appetdn's Encyclopedia. a.
political authority, be adsertises himself -
Ounce.
In the dcbate which took place in the Senate on
the 18th of january, 1861; Senator Clay of Ala
bama, referring to the claim set up by Douglas up
on that occasion. that he had not changed his opn-
ions for eleven years, taunted him with his vote
the WilmoL froviso, as follows:
| stated to the Senator. (Douglas) that when he
made bold to assert, in this presence that he had
never changed his opinion, he either said too much.
or never would have extended to him the right
hand of fellowship as q Democrat. give as my
reasons, that he had voted for the Wilmot Provso,
tn lat he had voted for nm amendment to the Utah
and New Mexican bills prohibiting the Territorial
Legislatures from passing Laws Cor the protection
Of property in slaves"
There is much more in the Congressional Globe.
TO the same effect, but this is probably sufficient
for the present. 3stf
oe-><p>~son----
sss The War in Kentucky Over. -
= IT ef,,kvf LouIsvnix. March 29th.
The Hanson affair arose ffom some slight dif-
fculty with the returning BereaDs, who eaIDe back
,erclv to dsoooc OF Their Kerfuckv suvur~v1v v;>h