The weekly Mississippian. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1859-1864, 1860-06-20
REMARKS
OF
HON. A. G. BROWN, OF MISSISSIPPI.
In the o. S. Senate, on Protection to Slave
Property IN the Territories, April I'd 1860.

Mr.. BRowS.--It is we'll known, Mr.. Pres
dent, that l have demanded protection f
slave property in the Territories by co,
gressional enactments, and that l have denie
the authority OF Territorial Legislature. !,
non-action unfriendly action, or direct actio,
to destroy or impair the value of slave pre
perty. 1t is further known that have ar
pealed to Congress for immediate and dire,
interpoSltion for the protection of slave pre
perty in the Territories.
These positions OF mine have subjected m
to the charges of having departed from tn
old landmarks, and Of attempting to inferno
late new theories into the administration
the Government.
/ Propose, very briefly, to vindicate myse
against these charges, and TO show that bav
asked nothing new.
As far back as 1892, Congress. by direct act
set aside, and declared null and void, CERTAIN
ordinances of the Legislative Council of tn
then Territory Of Florida. Congress wen
further, and ordered certain sums of none,
| which had been paid under those ordinanance
| to be refunded 1t may be more satisfactor,
To Senators to show the law ITSELF 1t will b.
found on page 6S5, Statutes at Large, volum,
three:
An act to relieve the people of Florid:
from the operation Of certain ordinances.
BE 1t enacted by the Senate and House o.
REPRESENTATIVES Of the U1tited States in Con
oress assembled, That an orllnace numbered
three, made and passed on the 18th of July
1921. by Major General Andrew jackson
Governor of the provinces of Floridas, emit
tied AN ordinance providing for the naturali.
"a ion of the inhabitants OF the coded Terri
tory, and an ordinance passed by the city coun,
ell of st. Augustine, on the 18th of October
1921, imposing and laying certain taxes on
the inhabitants and all other laws, ordinances
OF resolves, SO far as they ENFORCE or confirm
the same, be, and the same are hereby, re-
pealed, and declared null and void.
''SEC. 2. lind be 1t further enacted, That il
any person shall attempt to enforce any oil
said laws, ordinances, or resolves, by demand
ing and receiving any tax, imposition, or as
| sessment authorized or prescribed hereby, such
| person SHALL on conviction thereof, be punished
by fine, not exceeding $500, or by imprison-
ment not exceeding SIX months, either or both
Of said punishmentS-
"SEc. g. Ind he 1t further enacted, That
the President OF the United States shall, in
/ such manner and under such regulations as
ne may direct and prescribe, cause to be re-
! funded to any person any sum of money
| which he may have paid under or by virture
/ of either OF said laws, ordinances, or resolves
| SEC. 4. ARdbe it further caactei That this
act shall be in force force from and after the
! LIST day OF June next
/ approved May Z, 1922"
! What claim is, that the legislation of the
Territory was overthrown by positive act o.
/ Congress and that Congress went further, and
substituted Independent legialation in its place
declaring that the man who undertook to as.
sess and collect those fines should subject
himself to the penalties of fine and mprison.
nent and that it went TO the still further ex-
tent OF directing the President Of the United
States to return the money which had been
unjustly exacted from the parties who had
been fined by the territorial authorities Thus
1t was asserted that Congress was bound 10
protect private rights in the Territories and
1t was thus ASSERTED even against the ordnlan
ces of Andrew jackson himself, the man Of
iron nerve and iron will, who was then Gov
ernor of Florida.
Who was President then, sir James
Monroe; and it is thus seen that in the DAYS
of 1.-The model President" as he was termed
squatter sovereignty was not recognized at
either end of the avenue. Neither the Presi-
dent and his Cabinet, nor Congress, recogniz-
ed the right oil the people of Territory to
legislate as they saw bit, though they were led
by jackson himself Their legislation was
overt'rown by direct act of Congress- They
were not permitted at that early day to pass
laws in derogation of the rights of the citizens
Of the several States of this Union
Well, sir, proceed step further In 1884,
when jackson himself was President, Com
gress interposed, and its action received his
sanction. On the 3Oth of June, in that year
President jackson approved "An act repeating
certain acts of the Leg slatiye Council Of the
Territory of Florida" | call your attention
to that law, in volume four, page 40, of the
Statutes at Large:
"An act repeating certain acts of the Legis-
lative Council of the Territory Of Florida
| invoke the attention of Senators, and es
pecally of our Republican brethren
BE 1t enacted dc, That all such acts or
parts of acts passed by the Legislative Council
OF the Territory of Florida, as may impose a
higher or greater tax on the slaves on other
property of nonresident citizens, than is i'm
posed OF. the shares otih.ez property of rest
dent citizens of said Tmritory, be, and the
same are hereby, repealed and declared null
and void
Sec. =. Arad be 1t further enacted that i
any person shall attempt to enforce any of the
acts, or parts of acts, passed by the Legislative
Council of the Territory of Florida as afore-
| said, by demanding or receiving any tax, i'm
position, or assessment, authorized or pres
cribed thereby, such person shall, on convic-
ton thereof, be punished by fine not exceeding
~; ~;
month or either OF both of said punishment -
Now, sir, the first idea which is suggested
to the mind of the reader in reference To these
sections is this that Congress speaks Of slaves
as property. Slaves or other property is the
language employed ; slaves being thus dis
tinctly recognized in the Territory of Florida
as property. The next idea is, that 1884 was
a sort of Augustanage in politics. There has
| been, perhaps never Il more remote remarka-
! bic period in our hist Try than in 1884. Gen
eral Jackson was President Martin Van Blu
rem was Vice President Louis McLane, Judge
fancy, General Cass, Mr.. Woo lbury, Mr..
Barry, of Kentucky, and Mr. b. +. Butler Of
| New York, were in the Cabinet; while MI.
| Clay, Mr.. Webster, MTc~cdlhoun, Mr. Silas
| Wright, Mr. Benton, Mr.. Frelinghuysen Mr..
! TaIlmsdge, Mr. Rives, of Virginia, Mr.. South
H.
| in the Senate At that day, the House of
Representatives was adorned by the pres
| ence of such men as John Quincy Adams,
Everett, Willard Fillmore, Horace Binney,
| George McDutfie, John Bell, James X. Polk,
Edward A. flanagan, Andrew Stevenson,
| Richard NJ Johnson Tristan Burgess, and IA
hundred Others scarcely less distinguished -
And yet, sir, the bill which | have read
was passed in both Houses Of Congress, so far
as the record shows. without a dissenting
voice. The yeas and nays were not called,
either in the Senate or House of Represen-
tatives, so far as have ascertained. An act
of Congress overthrowing an act hostile to
slavery in a southern territory was passed,
say again, in both Houses of Congress, with
all these iIlustrous sages and patriots sitting
there, without dissenting voice.
But, Senators, how have We fallen To-
day il is claimed that the whole business OF
Congress is to legislate against property and ],
humble as am, making no pretensions any
| where, am denounced as heretic--as sort
Of political barbarian, for demanding now that
which, in 1894, was yielded by men of all
parties. To-day l stand up in this great
presence, and claim what Andrew jackson,
Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, John G. Calhoun
| Silas Wright. Samuel l.. Southland, John For
syth, Felix Grundy, and all the men whose
names adorn the pages Of your past history,
unhesitatin9iy concedcd. Themen Of the last
generation stood where | stand now, deman-
ding and putting upon the record, that Con-
gress should protect slave property in the Ter
ritories against the encroachments of Terri
torial Legislature. Yet, sir, for making this
denlend, am written down in the Senate, i'll
the House of Representatives, in the newpa.
pers, everywhere, as man who is attempting
to inculcate new theories Sir, | inculcate
the theories of jackson, of Clay, of Webster
of Calhoun, of Forsyth, Of Southland, and tn,
most ilustrious men who have gone before US
| ask nothing new, as have shown, If The
record be not falsely made; and that un.
dertake to say, is impossible
Now, sir, to prove that am not mistaken
in reference to this last propositon-I meal
as to what was the true intent and meanin.
of the law beg leave to call attention to thl
report of the committee who introduced it,
Remember, that is law giving absolute ant
nnSltive Drotecf0n to slova rr>,1o,t,, =. Ia1o-:d