The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1860-01-05


them that species of property best adapted,
in their own opinion, to promote their well
fare. From natural causes, the Slavery
question will, in each case, soon virtually
settle itself; and before the Territory is
prepared for admission az a State into the
Union, this decision, one way or the other,
Will have been a foregone conclusion. Mean
while, the settlement of the new Teraitory
will proceed without serious interruption,
and its progress and prosperity will not be
endangered or retarded by violent political
struggles.
When, in the progress of events, the in
habitants Of any Territory shall have reach
ed the pumber required to form a State
they will then proceed. in regular manner,
and in the exercise Of the rights Of Popular
Sovereignty, to form Constitution prepar-
atorv TO admission into the Union. After
this has been done. to employ the language
of the Kansas and Nebraska act, they ''shall
he received into the Union with or without
Slavery. as their Constitution may prescribe
at the time of their admission This sound
principle has happily been RECOGNIZED, in
! some form or other, bv an almost unanimous
vote of both Houses Of the last Congress.
3" THE AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE. t
| All lawful means Mt nv command have been
employed. and shall continue 70 be employed. to
execute the laws against the African slave trade
! After most careful and vigorous examination
of our coasts and thorough ir vestigation of the
| subject, we have not been able to discover that
| nnv slaves have been imported into the United
/ States except the cargo by the Wande-er, num-
| bering between three and four hundred. These
| engaged in this unlawful enterprise have been
vigorously prosecuted: but not with as much
success their crimes have deserved A num-
Ter of them are still under prosecution. f
| Our history proves that the fathers of the re-
public, in advance Of all other nations. condemned
the African slave trade. 1t was, notwithstanding q
deemed exnedient by the trainers of the Cynsti
! tution to deprive Congress of the power to pro-
| hitit "the migration or importation of such per.
sons any Of the States now existing shall think
proper te admit " Z. prior to the year one thou
sand eight hundred and eight" E s5.& "H a
1t will be seen that this restriction the power
of Congress was confined to such States only as
mis- ht think proper to admit the importation OF
| slaves. II did not extend to other States, or to
/ the trade carried on abroad. Accordingly, we
! find that so early as the 22d of March, 1894
Con gress passed an act imposing severe penalties
and punishments upon citizens and residents o
the United States who should engagein this trade
between foreign nations The provisions of thi:
act were extended and enforced by the act of 10th
May, 1900. .s.. n--..# . ar ......r
| Again: the States themselves had a clear ri isbt
to waive the constitutional privilege intended fol
their benefit, and to prohibit. by their own laws
! this trade Mt any time they thought proper pre-
vious to 1908. Several of them ASar.isod tti,
right before that period. and among them some
containing the greatest number of slaves. This
| gave to Congress the immediate power to act il
regard to all such States, because they themselves
had removed the constitutional barrier. Congress
ac-ortaissly paasad act on 9th February. S03
"to prevent tho importation OF certain person.
into certain States where. by the laws thereof
| their admission Is prohibited" In this manne
the importation of African slaves into the Unite;
States was, to great extent, prohibited som,
/ years in advance of 1908. "r .-#
! As the year 1908 approached, Congress deter
mined not to snfer this trade to exist even fo
sin Gle day, after they had the power to abolish
it. On the Cd of March, 1907, they passed an ac
to take effect from and after the 1stday of Jan.
uary. $685." prohibiting the importation of Afri
can slaves into the United States. Tn was fol
lowed RE spsesssqAspt esq A bsss af similar character
the principles and such the prnctt,.. Saca wer'
cestors more than fifty years ago in regard to the
/ African slave trade. F..
1t did not occur to the revered patriots who had
bee delegates to the convention, and afterward.
/ became members of Congress, that in passing
! these laws they had violated the Consti utisr
which they had framed with so much care ant
deliberation. They supposed that 10 prohb
| Congress. in express terms, from exercising
/
rily involved the right to exercise this power afte
/ that day had arrived.
Tf this were not the case, the trainers of tn,
4 Constitution. h I'd expended much labor in vain
/ Had they imagined that Congress would possess
4 no power to prohibit the trade either before ol
after lS0S. they would not have taken so mucl
care t. protect the st ,tes against the exercise
/ this power before that period Nay more the,
would not have attached such vast in portance /,
this provision to have excluded il from Oh,
possibility of future repeal or amen lment to which
other portions OF the Constitution we're eyposed -
IL wo-,'a then have been wholly unnecessary I,
! engraft on the hrrh e-tiele of the Constitution
/ prescribing the mode of its own future nmendnep
| the proviso, "that no amendment which NAV y
made prior to the year 1908 shall in no name
affect" the provision in the Constitution securin,
to the States the right to admit the importatio,
| of African slaves previous to that period
According to the adverse construction th
1 clause ITSELF on which much care and discus
! sion had been employed by the members of tn
convention. was an absolute nullity from the be
ginning. and all that has since been done unde
| is mere usu patton
1t was well and wise to confer this power ol
Congress. because. had it been left tn the State
| its hcient exercise would have been impossible
In that event any one State could have effectuall
continued the trade not only for itself but for al
| other slave States. though never so much agans
| when once brought within the limits of any oa
State, in accordance with its laws. cannot practic
ally be excluded from any other State where sla
very exists. And even ii all the States had sep
eraiely passed laws prohibiting the importation
Of slaves. these laws would have failed of effee
for want of a naval force to capture the SLAYER
and to guard the coasts. Such a force no Stat
can employ in time of peace without the consen
| of Congress. ~
These acts of Congress. ii is believed. have
with very and Insignificant exceptions. ac
eomplished their purpose. For period Of NOR,
than half century there has been no perceptibl
addition to the number of our slaves. Durin,
this period their advancement in civilization ha
far surpassed that Of any other portion of tn
African race. The light and the blessings o
| Christianity have been extended to them. an,
both their moral and physc condition has bee
greatly improved.
i Reopen the trade, and it would be Difficult
to determine whether the effort would b
more deleterious to the interests of the mas
ter or on those of the native born slave. O
the evils to the master, the one most to b
dreaded would be the introduction of wild
heather and ignorant barbarians among tn
sober, orderly aad quiet slaves, whose sue
cessors have been on the soil for severa
generations This might tend to barbarize
demoralze and exasperate the whole mass
and produce the most deplorable oonsequen
ceS.
The effect upon the existing slave would
ifpossihle. be still more deplorable. At pres
ent he Is treated with kindness and human
| sfu Ha s, xx.oll caI wall olnfbaJ and No