Smyrna times., 1861-03-07
ISCELLAN EOUS.
The Peace Conference.


This body, whose deliberations have been
watched with so much interest by the whole
country, have al last concluded tn cir labors by
adopting a Get of amendments TO the Coustitu-
zion in substance as follows:
1sts That the present territory of the United
Safes shall be divided by the line OF 80 3d. IN
al above which slavery is to be prohibited. and
in all the present territory south of it the stat
us of persons held TO involuntary serVItude
shall not be changed. That Congress or a ter
ritorial Legislature shall not pass any law TO
hinder or prevent the taking of sIst es TO this
territory, or impair the rights of the owner
while there; But the same shall be subject
30 the cnnRizance Of the federal courts accurd-
ing to the course of the commou law;" and
that when any territory shall have popula-
tien equal to that required for u member of
Congress, it shall be admitted into the Union,
with or without slavery, as its constitution may
express.
I'd. That no territory shall be acquired ex.
cept by discovery and for naval stations, &C.,
without the concurrence of Il majority OF the
Senators from the slave States aud a majority
of those of The free States; nor by treaty, ex-
cept majority OF the Senators Of each class Of
States form part of the two-Ihirds ma lorIty.
Sd. That the Constitution shall not be con-
strued to give Congress power to prohibit sla-
very in any State, nor in the District OF COlum-
bia, without the consent of Maryland and the
owners; nor TO interfere with or prohibit Rep
resentatives or others from bringing their
slaves into the District OF Columbia or taking
them away again; nor to prohibit The removal
of slaves from one State or territory to ano-
Their; nor shall Congress have power to author
ice a higher taxation Of slaves than land.
4th. That the Sd paragraph of the End sec.
lion of the 4th article of the Constitution shall
not be construed to prevent any of the States
frsm delivering up fugitive slaves.
9Th. That the African slave trade is forever
prohibited.
9th. That the LIST, 81, 9Th and Oh sections
ofthese amendments and certain articles of The
Constitution relative 10 slavery, shall neither
be amended or abolished except by the consen
Of all the States.
7th That the General Government shall
compensate the owners for all fugitive slaves
whose re- capture was prevented, or who were
rescued from their owners by the violence 0
inobs and Eioious sssemblages
This is the result. The border slave States
have, by uniiring perseverance and deep hn
initiation, obtained RECON- MENDATION
TO sectional clemency, compromise, indeed
which compromises both the rights aud inter
est of the South. This is the result Tor which
all have so snxiously looked. Ii the Peace
Conference had acted promptly it might have
attained the result for which it was assembled
but u has been made convenience of by tin
Norlherners, who had retarded its progress
that the border States might be kept in sus
pense unIl Lincoln should be inauguratPd.
We admit that we never had much conf
dence in the result of the Peace Congress, 10
we knew that even if they adopted measures O
a Psc nc character they had not the power l.
give stability to their action. And we reiter
ate again our belief that the last hope OF Unio
10 in National Convention. By the conser
vative action of such a power there is yet
slight possibility Of reconstruction, or at ieas
of hulding together the fragments that remain
We have already frittered away too niue
time in waiting for the action of iilegiliInat
and impotent cow entions.