The weekly north Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1857-1867, 1860-11-07
Hear Ewing of Ohio.

Hear Ewing of ohio.
You hear from the mouths of Republi-
cans great amount of talk about the mean
ing Of the Declaration of Independence on
the Equality principle and you are also an
noyed by their persistent misrepresentation
relative to 'the normal condition of the
territory of the United States" One might
suppose from reading the Chicago platform
and hearing its supporters talk, that moth
ing is clearer than the statements that the
Declaration was intended to include blacks
in its claims of freedom, and that all the
Territory of the United States was normal
zy free. To prove the fallacy of both pre-
tensions, we quote ron speech ,nadc 10y
Hon. Thomas Ewing, of Ohio, at Chillo
cothe. Mr.. Ewing came out, at the eleventh
hour, reluctantly for Lincoln, but he pro-
tests strongly against the fallacies of the
platform on which Mr.. Lincoln stands Carl
Schurz may be better authority with Booth
and that class of Republicans, but Thomas
Ewing's opinion is entitled to the respect Of
all sohite men. Speaking of the incorpora-
ton of a part of the Declaration as one of
the planks of the Chicago Platform, Mr..
Ewing says:
"The clause adopted is true, in the vague
and general sense in which it was used by
the trainers of tn" Declaration, who were,
three fourths of them, shareholders. And
in that sense it seems to have been taken by
the Convention for if not, it would be in
consistent with their other resolves, which
assert in express terms the absolute right of
States, slave and free, over their domestic
institutions"
But this insertion among the Chicago res
olutons is not Mr.. Ewing's only cause OF
complaint with that platform. Further on
he says:
''I object to the eighth resolution. The
proposition that the normal condition Of all
the Territory Of the United States is that OF
freedom" is not true in point Of fact. The
rule, the norma, which is announced by the
proposition, must apply, if it has any mean
ing, to the Territory as it existed at the
time of the formation Of the Constitution,
when slavery existed under and by the law
Of nearly all the States and in all the Terri
tories, except the Territory Northwest OF
the river Ohio; and as to the after acquired
Territory, the norma or rule must be- APP
Piled to its condition at the moment it be-
came the property Of the United States
And Louisiana, all that is now in question,
was then slave Territory The trainers OF
the Constitution had no conception of this
normal condition."
"When they willed that the North-wes-
tern Territory should be free, it was declar-
ed by the adoption Of the Ordnance Of 1887,
with its prohibitory clause, as binding un-
der the Constitution. The Southwestern
was left to slavery, just where the laws OF
North Carolina and Georgia had held it.
The ships sailing under Abe flag, and car
rying papers under the seal of the United
States, attesting their nationality, are, when
ever they may sail on the high seas, part
and parcel Of the Territory Of the United
States, and under the dominion, pure and
unmixed, of her Constitution and laws
Now who would be bold enough to contend
that prior to the year 1908, while the Con
stitution forbade the abolition Of the slave
trade, the normal condition Of the ships
which bore the slaves was that of freedom =
Surely they had no condition whatever ex.
j cept that which the Constitution and the
laws passed under it created. feel it to be
clear to demonstration, that the PROPOSE
ton as to the normal condition of the Ter
ritories of the United States in its mos
general or more restricted sense, cannot bt
maintained"