Arkansas true Democrat., 1861-02-14
MORNING, FEBRUARY II, 1861.

E54uu graph of the second section of the first article If the constitution; and no amendment shall he ,oa1a ~ ue constitution which shall authorize or y;,,o t congress any power to abolish or interfere ,v;tb savery Tn any of the States, by whose law it ia or may De allowed or permitted.
 And whereas, also, besides those causes of dis. Senslon embraced in the foregoipo amend,,onts proposed to the constitution of the Tinted stn.as 'nere are others which come within the jurisdiction oi congress, and may be remeded bv it's eosslat;vo power; and whereas it is the desire of Conorass s 'ar as is power will extend, to remove olI ;ust ciuse % Tor the popular discontent and aaitafion whlch now disturb the peace of the country. and threaten the stability of it's institution tbcrsfr
 l. hesoeeea dy the Ssaa'e and House of Renresen talieeS Q he ORied States Of Ameyica in Conoress a@entOted, That the laws now in force for tbe re. eo!efy of fugitives in strict pursuance of the p'an aiiu mandatory provisions of the constitution. .hu nave been sanctioned as valid and const;tn tional by the judgment of the Supreme Conrt of sne Ote states; that the slaveholding States are ehtlea to the faithful observance and execution of .uose ia"s, and that they ought not to be reneaed or so modified or changed, as to impair their eff eieneyi ana That laws ought to be made for the punishment Of those who attempt by the resn,a of the slave, or other illegal means, to hinder or de- ieaI t1e II, due execution of said laws.
 <. mat all State laws which conflict with the fugitive slave acts of Congress, or any other con sututiohal acts of Congress, or which in their onn ta'ioi ipede, hinder or delay the free course and que execution of any of said acts are null and void by the plain provisions of the con stituton of tbe United States; vet those state laws void as they "re' nave gwen color to practices, and led to con1 @ % hinh ha,re- .nntad tho d, tfa'ioh ana execution of acts of Congress, and esPeciany the acts for the delivery of fugitive slaves, and have thereby contributed much to the dlscord and eommotion now prevailing. Congress, Glefeioe Ill the present perous juncture, does not deem IL improper respectfully and earnestly to re- commend the repeal of those laws to the several states winch have enacted them, or such legislative corrections and explanations of them as may nre- vent thelrbeing used orperverted to such mischev- ous purposes.
 ,. That the act of the 18th September 1850, commonly called the fugitive slave law, ought to )e so amended as to make the fee of the conmis- sioner' mentioned in the 6.h section Of the act, equal III amount, in the cases decided by him. whether his decision be in favor of or against the caimant And to avoid misconstruction. the last clause of the fifth section of said act, which author !zes the pecson holding the warrant for the arrest or detention of fugitive slave, to summon to hisS ad the posse comtatus, and which declares it to be the duty ot all good citizens to assist him in it's execution, ought to be amended 80 as to expressly limit the authority and duty to cases in which there shall he resistance or danger of resistance or res cue.
 4. That the laws for the suppression of the Afr can slave trade, and especially those prohibiting the
 o e'ttioit oi saves i'll tAe United States ought to De nude etfectual, and ought to be thoroughly exc cuted and all further enetments necessary to those ends ought to be promptly made'
 am not welded to this particular plan, but think it the best that has been offered. If better one is offered, would not hesitate to accept it. think It tenants all we ought to demand, and would set tie the question of difference forever, and restore harmony and fraternal feengs-I would accept not1ng tess If accepted, it would do more for our peace and future prosperity and the welfare of ma1kind, than the possession of all the riches of the world. If rejected it would afford conclusive evidence that our northern brethren were resolved no longer to live with us under one government as equals. We would stand before the world in the true light, and what is more important, will be without dissensons among ourselves.
 To this proposition it has, and will still be ob- jected that it will be rejected It is sufficient answer thit 1t IS worth the trial Our independence was not won without struggle, nor was our match
 less government perfected and putt motion with. ont sore trials. To make the effort to preserve Will not cost tithe of what it cost our revolu- uonary fathers to acquire and transmit And un- worthy or imbecile sons of noble sires must we be IL the purchase of their blood, and the great achievement of their intellects shall pass from our hands withour struggle to retain it?
 But while admit that on the one hand the New England and some of the northwestern States and on the other perhaps some of the seeding States may not accede to this basis of settlement at once they may at some time not very remote, re consider their rash acts retrace their steps and resume their respective places in that brilliant galaxy that has commanded the respect and admiration of the civilzett world. But cast your eye over the map and reflect upon the relations of the States of Indiana, Illinois, o5o, PennsylvaniI and New Jersey to the savehoiung States, and tell me is it probable that they will sacrifice their interests, identified with ours upon mere matter of opinion about an institution, of the disadvantages of which they feel none, and from which they receive noth- ing but benefits. Men now, as in all past ages of the world, unless under the influence of passion, are controlled by their interests. The States named above are the only free States that touch the border of the slave States. New Jersey, true to her ancient renown, as she one of the first to strike for liberty and put forth her hand to mould the government of the Union, still stands firm in it's support-yielding obedience to it's laws and discharging all her federal obligations.
 Indiana, Illinois and Ohio are provision produc- ing States. The cotton States furnish their mar ket; Ohio also supplies with manufactures Pennsyvaeia does the same, besides she supplies us with coal and iron to considerable ox e1t, and besides, and what is more powerful in it's inauence Philadelphia IS the rival of New York for the southern trade, and in u e event of il conlederncv being formed of which she is a member and of which New York is not member, Philadelphia would as certainly suppant the great commercial emporium, as that the waters of the Mississippi flow to the Gulf. This fact would exert a powerful influence upon the State of New York, and pro bably induce her to unite with us under q common government. Another powerful nducement tp the | northwestern States named and Penns,vania to unite with Missouri, Kentucky. Teunes. ee and Arkansls, and come under common government with them, is, that they command to great extent the navigation of the M ssis ipp and Ohio rivers. Then admitting that the seeding States and the New England, and extreme northwestern States, would not accept u ultimatum We would have q Onon of the most powerful States, extending from the As'dntic to the Indian territory the west, embracing the very heart of the nation, having q population of 100000, without New York, and 2l,ooo,ooo, with her, and seaboard containing one or more ot the best harbors on the Atlantic coast, and possessing all the clements necessary to constitute one ot the most peaceful, commercial manufacturing and agricultural nations in the l worlI.
 d rejoice to see the people of every State | eou5ouy to this settlement, and unite again under the Constitution as it is proposed to amend it. But II the extreme northwestern and eastern States, and the seeding States think they can do better to live separate from us, be it so-God speed them. we VII! have done our duty, and we will stand before the world as we should q people striving to uphold the best government the world ever saw, instead of presenting ourselves before it as rebels, striving to destroy it, and driving from them the aid and sympathy of all men outside of the slave holding States when the fact stares us in the face that, Tn the non-saveholding States, there were more than 300,000 more votes cast against Mir. Lincoln, (and most of them in the States border ing on the slave line,) than were cast against him in all the slave States. It seems little less than madness to, by our own rashness, to array in active hostility against Us more than half the men in the world who are willing to tolerate African slavery II We choose the wise part and offer is not acceded to, we will stand united as one man, and if need be buckle on armor and appeal to the God of battles for the justice of our cause. And very probably civil war instead of sprngng up among ourselves, will parayze the arm and waste the energies of our enemies for the conservative people Of the North will not tamely permit their interests to be destroyed by the spirit of fanaticsm when they see that we have done all in our power to remove the cause of quarrel and restore irater nal relations.
 Such is, in my opinion, to be the result of the proposed plan and it's influence upon the slavehold- iDp States Outside Of tha seoadipo, St,4o, AL