Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1860-04-07

TO the Constitution OF the United States. Why
did they put in that last clause | am very apt to
forget it, because have always supposed that all
laws made within this nation, whether by State
Legislature or by Congress, were subject to the
Constitution rs n matter of course. did not sup
pose repeating that could alter the fact Still,
there was q stress laid on that Some gentlemen
have said in the Senate, awe did not think that
the people invested with the power to regulate
this institution in their way, consttutionaly;"
and yet they voted for that bill, with that express
sion in IL.
The honorable Senator from Virginia said, last
session, that he did not believe that Congress had
power to invest the people of Territory with the
authority of lcgslating and settling its institutions
in their own way under the Constitutions; bnt he
agreed to give it to them, subject to the Constitu
tion-meaniRg, thereby, to leave it to the courts.
That seems to me to be q very extraordinary mem
tai reservatou--to vote for law which was, in
the opinion Of the voter, unconstitutional, in order
TO leave the question 10 the courts Congress did
invest the people of the Territory with that power
If they could, subject to the opinion Of the courts
whether they could or not l cannot but say,
though IL may be rather n harsh mode of illus
trating II, that 1t is like the French in6del officer
going into battle, and praying the Lord, if there
was one, to save his soul, IL he had any. Laugh
ter) That is to say. 1--WE give this power, If we
have power to give it; but we do not believe We
have any power to give That is yOsr position.
That was very different bill from the others,
Utah and New Mexico. / know it has been said
since, that really and in fact nothing was meant
by all that rigmarole of words, except that when
the people came to form State constitution, they
could make it a free a slave State, rs they
pleased. Then, that action was very unnecessary.
There is no doubt that if gentlemen desire to
make issue amongst themselves, that is matter
for their consideration. No man can mistake the
expressions Of that bill; and those expressions
were not put in there for any such purpose Us is
now pretended by some; and can tell you why
The very provisions Of the New Mexico and Utah
act, wherein it is provided that they should be adj
mitted either with without slavery, as should be
provided in the constitution when they came to
form State--that very expression was already in
the Kansas-Nebraska act, eight sections before the
other words to which l have alluded. 1t was all
provided for before you came to the repeating pro-
vision. That was not there, then, FOR any such
purpose. 1t evidently does mean, as ii provides,
that the people there, while Territory, and as a
Territory, should settle the matter in their own
way.
l will not now enter into the question whether
they could could not; but that was the power
given. We're they left to form it in their
way? Certainly not. In the very beginning, in
the choosing Of the very first Territorial Legsla-
ture, more than four thousand men under arms
frem Missouri invaded and subjugated them, and
made their election. They never were left free to
act in their own way; and then followed all the
extraordinary laws and means which were resorted
to, and all the violence which resulted; this Gov
eminent saying that it would not correct anything,
and those laws should be carried into effect with
the whole power of the Government; together with
the ravages of war, and bloodshed, and burning,
and desolation, which went over Kansas Territory.
These oil followed your act. Did you think they
were worse than other people? What were you
attempting to do You were attempting to have
a Territory that should be slaveholding Territory
nd Tarri NJ t,a finn and
could not make it go through In the nature of
things it cannot. The people supposed their ter
ritorial government was to settle the question:
The Mssourians went over, and chose the terrific
rial government, because they understood it was to
settle it. All understood it so at that time. That
was an entirely different thing from the New Mex
leo and Utah bills. That was new experiment at
tempted.
How has it worked! Is anybody so much salts
fed with the results and effects of that experiment
that he desires to push it further! l do not be-
lieve there are many. The people of the North be-
lieve that was all wrong; in the first place. be-
cause it contrary to the original policy of the
Government In the next place, they do not be-
lieve it is beneficial to the country to it
to the people. the plains OF Kansas, to fight out
subject Of this kind in which the nation is inter-
ested 1t never was tried before, and trust will
never be tried again.
But, Mr.. President, it is said great danger will
result from the action of tho Republican party, if
they should really apply their principles; if they
should re-establish the Missouri compromise line
md stop the spread Of slavery in the Territories,
which the repeal of the line attempted to effect
We propose to do nothing more and nothing less
than restore the Missouri compromise by excluding
slavery from the Territories; and if we should car
ry it out, does not that make pretty fair division
Of this country? We have, in round numbers,
about one-third of our people in the slaveholding
States. We have about two-thirds of them in the
free States. We have about three million square
miles, in round numbers. 1t does not differ hun
dred thousand from that. 1t is very fully shown,
from the bestevidence and the best information las
collected and collated by Professor Henry, and to
be found in the agricultural report, in 1856, that
there is @ little more than one-third of this whole
country that is incapable of settlement. We may
be unwilingto acknowledge that to ourselves; but
that is the fact. AS stated by the Senator from
Georgia, and which l believe is true, the slave
holding States now have within their territory,
(and they are ia the occupancy of eight hundred
and fifty thousand square miles, almost one mil
lion, of the best part of the country. They
about one-third of the people There will be left,
then, for the other two-thirds of the inhabtable
part OF our country, one million one hundred and
fifty thousand square miles. Have they not much
the larger part' Havethes not got the best part
Can gentlemen say now, that we declare they
shall be and ought to be confined to that, we are
trying to smoke them outi It is the other side
that Is In trouble. The Tree people, with their in
stitutons, according to numbers, are about to be
restricted to less than their proportion of the
country, and they are to be smoked out or starved
out, il either.
Whet, then, should prevent from doing this
justicei What is there unprecedented in it q
What is there unjust in it? Certainly nothing
But still it will not do, they say to have Repub
can President chosen; it will be n cause of disso-
luton. Why! Because they say some of the free
States have passed unfrendly laws tothat provision
Of the Constitution about fugitiyes from labor
Mr.. President, in relation to those laws, l would
call gentlemen's attention to this it certainly is
the exclusive duty and Obligation as well as prv-
lege, Of every State to protect the liberties and
lives and property of its own citizens. say it is
exclusively their duty within their own territory.
not very unfrequently, especially among un-
lettered people, hear it asked, why Congress can
not abolish slavery and l cannot but say that
| think at times there have been some mistaken
notions. like those suggested by the Senator from
Texas. abeutthis being a consolidated Government,
and talk Of that kind. Take the planest case i'm
aginable Here is a man, il you please, in
northern State, confined by another as a laborer
in his cellar, chained for years. The whole power
of the United States Government cannot affect it.
They have no power to grant any relief Just so