The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1861-01-12
AN EXAMINATION
Power and Duty of the Governing Power
. or THIS NATION
In the Present Crisis.
By HON. JOHN G. cHAMpL1N


The time has now come, when the dan.
gers which menace a dissolution of the
Union, make it the duty of every citizen
to contribute whatsoever is in his power TO-
wards averting that catastrophe In the
discharge of my part Of that duty, pro
pose to present to my fellow citizens, &C
cording to the best of my ability, a state
ment of the questions with which, upon
that subject, they now stand confronted !;
and of the duties and remedies which the
crisis demands
In order to comprehend our position
and duties, it is necessary to possess our
selves of clear understanding of the ma
! ture and origin Of those causes which are
now threatening the Union with destruc-
! ton
In my judgment they are not Of poll
tical character. Nothing that the govern
ment of the United States has ever dora
or has failed to do; nothing that they are
now invoked to do or to forbear from do
| ing, has brought US into the presence OF
! the dangers that confront
| 1t would be IA useless waste of time and
argument to examine all the political
! questions that have been assigned the
C; uses OF our present position, and demon
| strate that they are not so. Two. and
those the most prominent, will suffice
! The non execution of the fugitive slave
/ law is one the omission of Congress 10
/ pass law for introducing and uphoding
! slavery in tie Territories of the Cni,sd
/ States is another
| The non-eXecution OF the fugitive slave
{ law Remembering that this law-the
{ 1870 part OF its conceived III terms Of
Insult and contumely towards the people
among whom 1t was to operate, or is be-
/ iieved by them to be so-what law, State
+ or National, North or South. was ever exc
cuted with equal fidelity? Have the laws
against the slave trade been equally so ?
Has that other provision of the Constitu
ton, that citizens Of each State shall be
/ entitled to all the privileges of citizens of
/ the several States been executed at all
and has it not been long and constantly
violated by the people. if not the States OF
/ the South, IN their cOnEscatiOEs OF the
property, IN their lmprl-onncntS. eXlies,
and murders Of citizens OF the North =
The fugitive slave law of lojU has been in
operation ten years Can any man poIut
out ten cases-!n average OF ole year
IN which IT, execution ha. been successful
" re-lsted-the resistance remaining un-
punisHedH Is 1t not truc, that in every
state, IN every year. the laws i ,aiust muir
, der have been violated with an !mpunity
/ greater than the impuuity attending the
execution Of the fugitive slave law III ten
I years Yet the law Tor the punishment
/ Of murder Is one ordained by the people
OF the States themselves. for the protrc
ton Of their own lives, and is in perfect
harmony with their feelings and sruti-
ment-. The other i a law which they
justly regard a. insolelt ~ IL provisions
aud IN The objects II seeks to accomplish,
abhpTreut to their feelings And Yet this
l-w has been executed 10y Northern nIa2is-
trates and Northern jurics. with equal
probably greater, fidelity than the other
. " hcre!orcl Let no man mistake the
reason Let every man pause long. and
ponder well, before he answers for IN that
answer there is :, moral and political sig
niiicance, tkat lies 1T the founds,joa sf al
the affairs OF men Look
the Constitution wIEIvI MS I..tB
the Nny.!iern citizen sees there, in this be-
/ i.aiI, lis DUrY pointed out And looking
to the circumstances under which this du-
~ was eujoinrd, he sees that IT'S perform
ance Is commanded by that other -entI-
mcnt without which States cannot exist
the sentiment of UoEoE- If these thinSs
are true and believe their truth cannot
De uupu-uei let no man hereafter say
that the magistrates, the iurles, the peO
pie OF the North have failed in tie per
lormarce Of a duty, however painful. or
have not .viuced, in its performance, that
to them honor was sentiment that out
weighed the care and preservation OF life
And now, let the position OF the other
. question be cNam.ned-tae omission by
Congress TO pass a law establishing and
maintaining slavery in the Territories-
and 1t will e;Iually Ice found that THAT i
=, e 81.
The POWER and the DUTY OF Congress in
this regard is not now to be argued That
question has been submitted TO the Amari-
can People, and their verdict thereon
stands recorded. BY that verdict it stands
established that Congress possess that
power, but that no political necessity i'm
poses the duty, or declares the justice OF
exercising it, Against the justice and po
Icy Of exercising that power, stand the
voices of all those Hho voted for the Re
publican candidate for President, and
these constitute a majority OF the electoral
vote, and a ma jor.ty OF the States OF the
Union. With these are Joined, also, the
voices of al those who voted for Mr.
Douglas; and these joined with the other
constitute a majority OF the people OF the
United States. That verdict will not be
reversed, and cannot be resisted without
destroying the principles upon which Re
publican Governments are founded MOI
is there any just ground to desire its re
versal on the part of any portion of the
people, or any CEe or more of the State
of the Union, even il its reversal could be
attained without q sacrifice of either prin
ciple or eXpodiency. For all men know
;h&t the statas OF the Territories Of Kansas
Washington, and Nebraska, is already de
termined, beyond the power OF any legis
: lation by Congress to modify or alter it
And all men know, or may know, why it j.
so. II is not the legislation of Consres:
that secures freedom, or tastens slavery
upon a Territory but the character ID al.
: emigration which establishes Its settle
ment Since the year 1850, there has beer
, but one Territory, present or prospective
4 in regard to which the character Oh that
! emigration could be doubtful That Ter
: rtory was Kansas. With two slave States
:, interposed between its frontier and EIat O
= freedom; with soil and climate bes'
adapted, Of any portion of the pubic 90
main, to the productiveness of slavepabor
it seemed that here. indeed, the interests
of slavery mis- ght be maintained Jut IL
spite of the legislation OF Congres-ir
: spite of whatsoever else there il tina,
D patriotism would wish to blot frdn the
d page of history, Kansas is free. Ut,h and
l. New Mexico, with slavery sanctloled 10y
Territorial Legislative enactments, ae not
yet slave States. Examine their climate
s soil, and productions-fanked b. the free
5 State OF California n one trontie', and the
> free State of Kansas on the otler-IS /,
ID doubtful whether they will eva become
so? These questions are alreay settled
then, by laws superior to thoe OF Con
gressional enactment or the aIctum OF
whatsoever judicial tribunal 10 political
action Of the government, in his behalf
q; remains to be exerted, either q the inte
D. rest Of slavery or in the interest Of free
A. dom And now, where is the retence fol