Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1860-12-12

after. 1t will surely be admitted that this
apprehension of future danger is no good
reason for an immediate dissolution of the
Union. 1t is true that the territorial legis-
lature of Kansas, on the Odd of February,
1860, passed in great haste an act, over the
vote OF the governor, declaring that slavery
lis, and shall be forever prohibited in this
Territory" Such an act, however. plainly
violating the rights of property secured by
the Constitution, will surely be declared
void by the Judiciary whenever it shall be
presented in legal form.
Only three days after my Inauguration the
Supreme Court Of the United States solemn
ly adJndged that this power did not exist in
In Territorial legislatures. Yet, such has
been the ~factious temper of the times that
the correctness of this decision has been
extensively impugned before the people, and
the question has given rise to angry political
conflicts throughout the coun ~. These
who have appealed from this judgment Of
our highest constitutional tribunal to pops-
lar assemblies, would, if they could, invest a
territorial legislature with power to anzul
the sacred rights of property. This power
Congress is expressly forbidden by the Fed
eral Constitution to exercise. Every Ssste
Legislature in the Union is forbidden by
Its own constitution to exercise it. 1t Gam
AO0 " u I'LL OtAbS1 N0SOpt III biS
people in their highest sovereign capacity,
when framing or amending their State con-
stltution In like Manner, it can be emily
exercised by the people of a Terr1F0ryy
represented in a convention of delegates for
the purpose OF framing a constitution PHepa-
tory to admission as a State into the Onion.
Then, And not until then. are they irfSested
with power to decide the question whether
slavery shall or shall not exist in their 6lnits.
This is an act of sovereign authority and not
of subordinate territorial legislation. Were
it otherwise, then indeed would the equality
of the States in the Territories be destroyed.
and the rights of property in slaves weuld
depend, not upon the guarantees of tn eCon-
stitution, but upon the shifting majoriEes Of
an irresponsible territorial legislature. SUCH
a doctrine, from its intrinsic unseund-
ness, cannot long influence any consid snable,
portion ofour people, much less can it aifsrdi a.
good reason for a dissolution of the UniUa.
The most palpable violations of con4titu-
tional duty which have yet been comm ftedy
consist in the acts of different States LIE EBla-
lures to defeat the execution of the fugitive,
slave law. 1t ought to be remembered, how
ever, that for these acts neither Congressman
any President can Justly be held respansi-
BILE. Having been passed in violation of the.
Federal Constitution, they are null and wlaa.
All the courts, both State and National, be-
fore whom the question has arisen, lave
, from the beginning declared the fugitive
slave law to be constitutional. The sirzsles
exception is that of a State Court in Wisccn.-
sin and this has not only been reversed bry
the proper appellate tribunal, but has met
with such universal reprobation that there.
can be no danger from it as a precedent. The
validity of this law has been established over
!; and over again by the Supreme Court of the
United States, with perfect unanimity. 1t
is founded upon an express provision of the
Constitution, requiring that fugitive slaves
who escape from service in one State to an
! other, shall be delivered up" to their mas
tiers. Without this provision it is a wei,
a known historical fact that the Constitution
itself could never have been adopted by the
Convention. In one form or other under
= the acts of 1893 and 1850, both being sub
is stantially the same, the fugitive slave Law
has been the law of the land from the day.
of Washington until the present moment
Here, then, a clear case is presented, il
which it will be the duty of the next Presi
dent, as it has been my OWL, to act with vi
go, in executing this SUPREME law agams
!. the conflicting enactments of State Legisla
lures. Should he fail il the perforpaance @
this high duty, he will then have manifesto
,,+ a disregard of the Constitution and laws, t
al the great injury of the people of nearly one
half of the States of the Union. But are W
no to presume in advance that he will thus vic
late his duty? This would be at war wit
'ov every principle of Justice and Christian cha
no ity. Let us wait for the overt act. The fl
-, gitive slave law has be IN carried into exec,
80 ton in every contested case since the cor
or mencement of the present administration
i. though often, it is to be regretted, with gre
nd loss and inconvenience to themaster, and wit
,at- considerable expense to the government
Let US trust that the Stlte Legislatures W
repeat their unconstitutional and obnoxio,
~ e~nactments. Unless this shall be done wit
ise- out unnecessary delay, it is impossible for al
m human power to save the Union.
The Southern States, standing on the bas
of the Constitution, have a right to demal
this act o~fiustice from the States of the Mort
Should it be refused, then the Constitution,
- whicha all the States are parties, will have be
&c wilfully violated by one portion of them in
provision essential to the domestic securi
and happiness of the remainder. In til
event the iniuredSta, es, after having first us
IL all peaceful and constitutional means to obts
,aa redress, would be justified in revolutions
resistance to the Government of the Union.
= Ihave purposely confined my remarks
i revolutionary resistance, because it has be
claimed within the last few years, that a
State, whenever this shallbe its sovereign "
-: and pleasure, may sccede from the Union,
i, accordance with the Constitution, and wit
my out any violation of the constitutional rigl
"a of the other memb rs of the Confederacy.
That as each became parties to the Union
the vote of its own people assembled in c,
.oa La ~vention, SO any one Of them may retire fir
gus the Union in a similaf manner Dy the vote
Ae such a convention.
In order to justify secession as a consti
? . tional remedy, it hurst be on the princi
that the Federal Gov eminent is a mere
! a. untary association of States, to be dissol
80 at pleasure by any one of the contract
80 parties. If this be so, the Confederacy
ene rope of sand, to be per etra,ed and dissol
"a by the first adverse wave of public opin
; I. in any of the States. In this manner
10 thirty-three States mar resolve themsel
DC into as many petty, Earring and hostile
~ publics, each one retiring from the Tn
IN. uae without responsibility, whenever any sud
la Ia excitement might in pei them to sue
49, course. By this process a Union might
non entirely broken into fragments in a
- weeks, which cost our E refathers many y,
~ of toll, privation and blood, to establish.
- tho Such a principle is wholly ~inconsIs
8 'ne with the history as well as the characte
no the Federal Constitution. After it was
Gom med, with the greatest d alteration and c
80 it was submitted to cow entions of the pc
80 of the several States, for ratification.
- !" provisions were discuss ed at length in Il