The Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, Ohio) 1853-1861, 1860-04-05

With voice of mi ighty volume. deep and loud,
Like pent up thunder speaking from a acioud
"Ye sbjec, nations on the other side,
Groaning beneath the fetters Of my foe
Old Tyranny, II in your hearts glow
Oflight. aiingering spark of Liberty
Gimmer A. i'd the ashes, faint and low,
Come ,'er the deep, assert your rights and be.
In tbs my chosen seat what God designed yeFrce" !"
------~s---
Letter from Hon. Edward Bates.
The Republican State Convention oi Missouri,
expressed preference for Mr.. BaIes for the Pres.
idency, aud for the purpose of demonstrating
that he stood square on the Republican plat.
form, they Intercepted him upon the questions
that divide the parties Of the present day
The following is his reply:
GENTLEMEN: have received your letter pro-
pounding to me CERTAIN estions, seven in num-
Der; which you suppose will cover most, it not
all the grounds OF CONTROVERSY in tue approach.
ing Presidential election.
PRELlMIHARY ExPLANATIoN.
With pleasure | will answer your questions,
Before doing 50 allow me to glance at the pecu
! liar circumstances in which am placed. aud
the strangeness OF the fact that |, u mere pri
vae mau, am called upon to make avowals aud
eXplana lions with any view to take me Fl on he
shades OF private life, and place me at the hea I
OF the Nation. came to this frontier in my
youth aud settled in ST. Louis when it Mas II
| mere village. All my IN inhOud has been spent
III Missouri ani during all this time, have fol-
| lowed profession which left my character und
conduct open TO the observation of society, aud
while II has been my constant habit fr ely to ex-
press my opinion on public measures aud pub
lie men the people OF Missouri OF oil parties,
will bear me witness that have never obtru-
sivev thrust mysell forward in pursuit of ufli-
cia honors. have h.ld no political Office, aud
sOughI none Tor more than twenty-five Years.
Under these CT, cumSanccS confess the gra,ih-
cation which feel in receiving the recent mani.
irstatuns OF the respect ami confidence OF my
fellow citizens FIRST, the Opposition members
OF the Missouri egisIature declared their prefer
ence for me as u candidate. Then followed my
! nomnati tion by a Convention comp Jsed of al
the elements Of the Opposition in this State
And now the Republicans of Missouri, in their
separate Convention just held In ST Louis have
rrafiirmed the nomination, aud proposed, by
their delegates to present me TO the National
Convention, soon to b. hell at Chicago. as h
candidate for the first Office in th4 nation.
These various demonstrations in my own
State doubly gratifying 10 ma, because they
aiford the strongest p1oot that my name has breL
put forward only in ii spirit of harmony and
with hope of preventing all division aud con
troversy among those who, tor their own safety
and the public good, ought to be united in thei
action.
For this am deeply grateful; and so far u.
concerns me personally | must declare, il
simple truth. that If the movement go no far
ther, and produce no persons resu!s, still | an
paid and overp4d for life of labor, and TO
whatever OF re ,lous effort aud patient watching
have been able to b'stow in support OF lin,
of government policy which believe to be TO
the present and permanenI good of the coun
} try.
Now. gentlemen, proceed to answer you
questions; briefly in Iced, but fully, plainly anC
with ull possible frankness ana | do TINS tn,
more willingly, because have received from in
div,duals many letteis--too many 10 be sepa
rately answertd--and | have seen many public
journals articles m king urgent calls upon M
for such statement OF my views.
FIRsr-- Slavery and its Extension in the Ter
ritories.
On this subject, in the States and in the Tel
ritories, have no new opinious-no opinion
formed in relation TO the present array OF par
ties. | am coeval with the Missouri question
of 1880, having hegun my political lie il
. j. The midst of that struggle
AT that time my position required IN
TO seek oil the means of knowledg
i principles involved with oil the power
y Of my mind, and | arrived at the conclusion
which no subsequent events have induced m
. 10 change. The existence of negro slavery il
our country had its beginning in the early Tim
OF the coloIes, and was imposed bV the mothe
country. against the will of most of the colo
nists. At the time of the Revolution, and lon
! after, 1t Was commonly regarded as an evil, TEN
pOrary IN its nature, and likely TO disa ppear il
the course OF time; yet while it continued,
misfortune to the country, socially snd poltli
Ral | tanJ m hu ya,, A
our Government, aud neither the new light O
modern civilization nor the discovery of a ney
u system vi constitutional law eud social philosu
. ply has enabled me TO detect the error OF hei
tea aching.
Slavery is a social relation, domestic inst
J. tuition. Within the States 1t exists by the locd
law, and the Federal Government has no cor
e troll over it there. The Territories, whether ac
quied by conquest or peaCedble purchase, ar
subject and subordinate, not sovereign, like tn
d States. The nation is suprems over them, an
the National Government has the power 10 per
init or forbid slavery within them. Entertain
ing these views. am opposed 10 the extensio
OF slavery and in my opinion the spirit aud tn
! policy OF the Government ought 10 be sgains
= it's extension.
SEcoND-- Does the Constitution Carry SlausY
!. into the Territories
answer no The Constitution of the Unite
States doesnot carry slavery into the TerritC
rles. With much lnIre show of reason may
be said that it carries slavery into all the States
But IL does not carry slavery anywhere. 1t onl
acts upon it where il finds it established by I'll
loca law. In come clion with this point, al
asked 10 state my views OF the Dred Scott case
aud what Was really deter mined by the Suprem
Court in thai case. II ismy opinion, CAREFUL
considered, that the Court determined one sil
- gle point OF law only. That is. that Scott, tn
plaintiff, being negro, Of African descent nj
necessarily slave, could not be a citiz N
Missouri and therefore could notsu in the F.,
eral Court and that for this reason anl til
alone, the Circuit CJurl had no jurisdiction
Is the cause and no power to give judgment b
tween the DaTtieS The only iurisdIct inn vhif