The weekly Mississippian. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1859-1864, 1860-04-25

was TeleTTeu oui, Introduced Dy WIN III
Sleeps clothing who crept into the Demo-
cratic party, to repeal the law passed by the
Assembly at its session of 1889, protecting
slave property in this Territory. When he
showed his cloven foot he was requested to
resign his seat as Speaker of the House, which
he was wise enough to do. | have since I'M
derstood that he has resigned his seat in the
House and has gone home, where we hope he
will remain The condemnation of his course
was unanimous, and hereafter, think, will
keep his Abolition principles to himself.
| Yours respectfully,
A NATIONAL DEMOCRAT.
The select committee to whom was referred
a bill to be entitled "An act to repeal an act
providing for the prote "tion of property in
slaves in this Territory" beg leave to report:
| That they have given to the duty assigned
them, a careful consideration, and in now re
turning the bill to the House with the unani-
nous recommendation that it do not pass,
they think it proper to set forth the reasons
which decide their action.
Upon the examination of the laws of this
! Territory, your committee find that the act of
1859, proposed by this bill to be repealed,
was the first and is the only enactment ever
made in this Territory for the protection of
property in slaves. That measure so Just
| in It's object was deferred so long, was occa-
stoned, as youI committee believe, not by any
ndisposition in the people Of this Territory, or
their former Representatives, to afford to this,
as to all other species of property, adequate
and ample securities, but because, owing to
the limited number Of slaves within the Ter
ritory, the necessity of such securities had
not attracted the attention of the earlier Leg
islatlve assemblies. The immediate predeceS-
soIs OF the present Assembly, approaching the
| propriety of such measure, and recognizing
the obligation under which the law-making
power of the Territory lay to this class of
! property owners, to afford them, as we'll as
others, protection in tier rights, passed with
| great unanmity the law now proposed to be
| struck from our statute book Your commit
tee hope and believe that such proposition
will not receive the countenance or sanction
of this House; that on the contrary, this
House will, now and ever, evince its determi-
nation to throw around every class of citi-
zens, and all species Of property, such safe
guards and assurances as shall suffice for their
full complete and perfect protection.
To the details of the law proposed by this
bill to be repealed, no exception has been ia
ken; nor is it pretended that by its operation,
either direct or indirect, any one has been in
jured or prejudiced in his person, his proper
ty, or his rights. 1t is not, then the partcu-
lar act of 1853 which is assailed by this bill;
but it is any and all Legislation, past, present,
or future, which provides means of protection
to the peculiar species of property for whose
benefit that act was adopted. A brief consd
Grafton of the Constitution of the Republic.
and Of the relations which New Mexico bears
to the different. States Of which that Republic
is composed, will make it manifest that the
obligation of the law making power OF this
Territory to protect property in slaves, is as
solemn and as imperative as the similar obi
CATION, universally recognized toward other
species Of property in whatsoever it may con-
sist.
In that Constitution, the obligations of
which, not only in their letter but in their
spirit; are incumbent upon us as upon all 9TH
er citizens of the Union and to the support of
which each member Of this House engaged by
solemn oath upon taking his seat in this body,
the right of holding property in slaves, is ex-
plcitly recognized and sanctioned. So speaks
that Constitution for itself, so it has been Of
ten eXpounded by its most illustrious authors,
and SO it has been adudicated by its most au-
thoritatlye interpreter she Supreme Court Of
tiAS - IitIu DISttSS OltttS. ~ Special
tee for the protection of that identical species
of property is provided by that same Consti-
tuition, IN the section enjoining the rendition
of slaves, who may have escaped or fed from
the service of their owners
The purport and spirit Of that Constitution
being thus indisputably manifested by these
| provisions, and others to the same purpose,
with what pretence of fidelity to that instru-
ment can any legislative power ameEable to its
| jurisdiction refuse to, or withhold from that
species of property reasonable and adequate
protection Every Legislative Assembly
ever convened in this Territory has been so
!i.:.esas, 60 devise I1Icans; for the security or
every other right and every other species
of property. With what show, then, of JUS
tce or consistency can this Legislative Assem-
| bly, abrogate and destroy the only security
provided for that species Of property which, Of
all others, is most solemnly recognized and
sanctioned by that Constitution to which, as
men, we owe. and as legislators. we have
sworn fidelity? Upon what pretext of right
or Of reason, shall We discriminate against
that kind Of property which that Constitution
not only does not discriminate against, but
specially shields and p! otects Your com
mittee, believing that these interrogatories are
unanswerable, and that the reasoning they
simply make upon the constitutional aspect Of
this question cannot be refuted, pass on to the
consideration of the second branch of the
subject, which is involved in the relations
which this Territory bears to the Federal
Government and to the several States of the
Republic.
1t is by purchase that the United States
derive their title to jurisdiction over the Ter
ritory of New Mexico. That purchase was
consummated by the treaty of Guadalupe Hi
dalgo, concluded in 184S with the Republic of
Mexico For the sovereign jurisdiction over
this Territory and California, the United States
under that convention, paid money price and
consideration. That price and consideration
was paid, not by any one Of the States, nor
by any class of the States, whether slavehold-
| ing or acknowledging, nor by any number
of the States less than the whole 1t came
from the common treasury of all the States ::
had been contributed by all, and was the
property of all. Thus, therefore, by the pur-
chase so made New Mexico became the Ter
ritory not of any class or any portion of the
| States, but of all alike and in common. What
ever advantages were expected from its acoui-
sition were for the benefit not of any class or
any portion Of the States or of their citizens,
but for each and all who might avail them
selves of them, without distinction or discrim-
nation. In seeking to avail himself of those
advantages, the citizen of any of the States
had, and has, the right to remove to the Ter
ritory and bring with him his property in
whatever it may consist.
The citizen whose property consists in slaves
has the same right to bring them and demand
protection for them that any other citizen has
to bring his money, his merchandise, or his
N pYDracSlv 1afary,,;,,ol
late as the year 1857 by the Supreme Court
of the United States in the celebrated case
known as the "Dred Scott case" This right
of the owner of slaves being thus incontro-
vertibly established both by reason and by the |
highest judicial adjudication, can the Terrific |
rial Government rightfully refuse to him pro- |
lection for his property when the protection of |
all property, this equally with any other, was |
one of the primary objects of its own institu-
tons Can it rghtfully attempt in this |
manner to exclude a large class of citizens for
whose benefit, and by whose money, equally
as other citizens the Territory itself was ac-
quired and Incorporated in the Union? To
contend that the Territorial Government NAV
do this, is to maintain the absurdity that a
citizen may have the right, which right the
Government may rightfully disregard, defeat
and destroy.
But this Territory was not only acquired
by the common treasure of all the States, but
great governmental affairs have been conduct
ed and administered since its acquisition, at
the common expense of all The Legislative,
the Executive, the Judicial branches of the
Territorial Government the military force,
the Indian affairs, the land surveys and the
mail service have all been maintained and con-
Quoted from the common funds of all the
States of the Union contributed by the citi-
zens of all, and arising from the property of
ALL And so it must continue as long as New
Mexico remains Territory of the Union
Would it be just, then, supposing that we
rightfully possessed the power, to exclude a
large class Of citizens who equally with any
others, contribute their means to these pur-
poses from the benefits of that protection
which is due to their property as to that Of
any other property We answer no.
Common justice then, as well as consttu-
tional duty, requires that the law-making
power of this Territory, so far from destroy
ing or impairing the security of the property
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