Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1860-06-15
The Republican Party Vfndicated--
The demands Of the South EX-
planned.
SPEECH OF
HON, 4BRAHlM LINCOLN,
OF ILLINOIS,
OF ILLINOIS,
at the Cooper Institute, NJ. 2. City
FEBRUARY, 1860.

MR. President AND FELLOW CITIZENS OF
THE Cry OF NEW YoRK.-Tke facts with
which shall deal this evening are mainly old
and familiar nor is there anything new in the
general use / shall make of them. if there
shall be any novelty, it will be IN the mode of
presenting the facts and the inferences and
observations following that presentation. La
his speech, last autumn, at Columbus, Ohio, as
reported in the New York Tunes, Senator
Douglas said -
sour fathers, when they framed the govern
meut under which We live, understood this
question just as we'll, and even better, than We
DO now"
fully endorse this, and adopt it as text
for this discourse. (Applause.l | SO adopt 1t
because it furnishes precise and an agreed
starting point for a discussion between the Re-
publicaus and that wing Of the Democracy
headed by Senator Douglas. 1t simply leaves
the inquiry-W What was the understanding those
fathers had of the question mentioned2 What
is the frame of government under which we
live The answer must be-the Constitution
of the United States. That constitution consists
of the original, framed in 1857, land under
which the present government first went iatO
operation, and twelve subsequently, framed
amendments, the first ten of which were franz
cd In 1889.
THE FATHERS OF THE CONSTITUTION.
Who we're our fathers that framed the Con-
stitution! suppose the "thirty-uine' who
signed the original instrument may be fairly
called our fathers who framed that part of the
present government. 1t is almost exactly true
70 say they framed it, and il is altogether true
to say they fairly represented the opinion and
sentiment of the whole ration at that time
Their names being familiar to nearly all, ard
accessible to quite all, need not now be re-
peated. | take these tsthirty-Dine," for the
present, as bcing sour fathers who framed the
government under which we live. What ii
tho question which, according to the text,
those fathers understood as well and even bet
ter than we Go now2 1t is this :-"Does the
proper division of local from federal authority,
Or anything in the Constitution, forbid our
Federsl Government to coLtrol as to slavery in
our Federal Territories
DOUGLAS AND LINCOLN.
Upon this Douglas held the affirmative, and
Republicans the negative. The affirmative and
denial form an issue; and this issue, this
question, is precisely what the text declares
our fathers understood better than We. (Cheers.)
Let US bow inquire whether the ''thirty-nine," !"
or any of them ever acted upon this question,
aud if they did, how they acted upon it-how
they expressed that better understanding. In
l7S4, three years before the Constitution, the
United States then owning the Northwestern
territory, and 10 other, the Congress OF The
confederation had before them the question of
prohibiting slavery 10 that Territory aud four
of the "thirty-nine" who afterwards framed
the Constitution were in that Congress, and
voted on that question. OF these Roger
Sherman, Thomas Mifflin and Hugh William
son voted for the prohibition, thus showing
that, il their understanding, no line dividing
local from federal authority, nor anything else,
properly forbade the Federal Government to
cOntrel as to slavery in Federal Territory
The other of the four james McHenry voted
against the prohibition, showing that for some
cause he thought it improper TO vote for it
In 1887, still before the Constitution, but
while the Convention was in session framing
it, and while the Northwestern territory still
was the only territory owned by the United
States-the same question of prohibiting slave
~ in the territory again came before the
Congress of the Confederation and three
more of the "thirty- who afterwards
signed the Constitution were IN that Congress
aud voted on that question. They we're Wm.
Blount, VIM. Few and Abraham Baldwin, and
they all voted for the prohibition, thus showing
that, IN their understanding, no line dividing
local from federal authority, nor anything else,
properly forbade the Federal Government to
control as to slavery in Federal Territory.
THE ORDINANCE OF 1887.
This time the prohibition became a law, be-
iug part of what is now we'll known as the
Ordinance of 1887. The question of Federal
control of slavery 10 the Territories seems not
to have been directly before the Cnventien
which framed the original Constitution and
hence il is not recorded that the ssthirsy ynine,' .
or any of them, while engaged on that instru-
ment, expressed any opinion on that precise
question. In 1850, by the first Congress
which sat under the Constitution, an act was
passed to enforce the ordinance of 1877 inelud-
ing the prohibition of slavery in the North
western territory. The bill for this ac. was
reported by one Of the ssthrty.nine," THOMAS
FITzsIAMoNs, then a member Of the House of
Representatives from Pennsylvania. 1t went
through all its stages without word of op-
position, aud finally passed both branches
without yeas and nays, which is equivalent 70
unanimous passage. tCheers.l In this Con-
gress there we're sixteen of the "thrty. nine'
fathers who framed the original Constitution.
They were -
John Lahgdou, Abraham Baldwin,
Nicholas Gilman, Rufus King,
V q. ;. Johnson, Vim. Patterson,
1logeF Sherman, Richard Bassett,