The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1860-03-29

government TO control as to slavery in the
Federal Territories. Thus the twentv-three
acted and as actions sperk louder than
words, so actions under such responsibility
speak still louder. Two of the twenty three
voted against Congressional prohibition of
slavery in the federal Territories, in the in
stances in which they acted upon. the ques-
ton. But for what reasons they so voted is
not known. They may have done so because
they thought proper division of local from
Federal authority, or some provision or prin-
cipe IF the Constitution stood in the way
or they may, without any such question,
have voted against the prohibition, on what
appeared to them to be sufficient grounds of
expediency. No one who has sworn to sup
! port the Constitution can conscientiousy
/ vote for what he understands to be an un-
con 'titutional measure, however expedient
he may think it but one may and ought to
| vote against measure which he deems con-
stitutional, if, at the same time, be deems it
ineXpedient 1t, therefore, would be unsafe
/ to set down even the two who voted against
the prohibition, as having done so because
in their understanding, any proper division
of local from Federal authority, or anything
in the Constitution. forbade the Federal
Government to control as to slavery, in the
Federal Territory. ......
The remaining sixteen ofthe "thirty mine"
so far as | have discovered have left no
record Of their understanding upon the direct
question Of Federal control of slavery in the
Federal Territories. But there is much rea-
son to believe that their understanding upon
that question would not have appeared diff.
terent from that of their twenty-three com
peers, had it been manifested at all. For
the purpose of adhereing rigidly to the text,
| have purposely omitted whatever under
standing may have been manifested by w
person, however distinguished, other than
the thirty-nine fathers who frame the org
inai Constitution; and, for the same reason,
| have omitted whatever misunderstanding
may have been manifested by any of the
"thirty-nine' even, on any other phase of
the general question ofslayerv. five should
look into their acts and declarations on the
other phases, a. the foreign slave trade, and
the morality and policy Of slavery generally,
il would appear to us that on the direct uues-
ton Of Federal control of slavery in Federal
Territories, the sixteen, fthey had acted at
all, would probably have acted just as the
twenty-thr1e did. Among that sixteen were
several Of the most noted anti-Savcry men
Of those timeS-as Dr.. Franklin, Alexander
Hamilton, and Govcrnur Morris-while
there was not one now known to have been
otherwise, unless it may be John Rutlcge of
SoHth Carolina. The sum Of the whole is,
that Of our "thirty-nine' fathers who framed
the original ,'a4s$titution, twenty -one-a
clear majority Of the whole-certainly under
stood that no proper division Of local from
Federal authority, nor any part of the Con-
stitgtjoH, forbade the Federal Government to
control slavery in the Federal Territory I;
W lie all the rest probably had the same un-
derstanding. Suci; unqueStionably, was the
understanding OF our fathers who framed
the original Constitution and the text at
! firms that they understood the question
better than we.