Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1862-04-22


ed gentleman from Kentucky, Ne. Ogltten-
den, contends that this is a most insuspi-
olous time for the passage Of bin toRboliah
slavery In this District. I cannot see the
matter In that light. Why inauspioIousR
The power is conesded even by the gentle
man, [MF. Crittsuden.l Is It because there
is danger Of sxHsperating those now IN arms
against their country that we are called upon
70 reject this cot Of justice to an enslHVed
peoplei Why, sir, can the rebels Of he
Slave States be more exsspefa'ed than they
now ar1 They are doing, and viii DO all
In their power, 10 destroy the Government
and I, for one, do not expect 70 legislate to
please them; they have long since passed be-
vond the pale Of legislation. Nothing will
do them any good now but bullets, bAyones,
and the lOnd-mouthed cannon; and tk6ae
am In favor OF giving them 70 safety. The
LOYAL men Of the South should have the full
protection Of the Constitution; but the rebels
IN aF9ns against our Government have no
constitutional rights whatever, except the
right to be hung.
The propriety of abOlishing slavery In this
District has been subject Of discussion al
most from the origin Of the Government to
the present time. In our earlier history, and
by an our earlier statesmen, without dis
tinction Of party, the power Of Congress over
the subject was fully conceded. No one ever
pretended to question the power, in fact un-
I'll John O. Calhoun conceived the idea Of
building up q great sectional party on the
basis Of slavery. His contemporaries, John
Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, and Martin Van
Bursn, freely admitted the absolute consti-
tutional right of the General Government IN
the premises, but were sVerse 70 its exercise,
out Of Difference 10 the slaveholding States,
and especially to Virginia and Maryland.
But, sir, the plain letter Of the Oong5f-
ton needs no mEn's ingenuity 10 = godno Z.
It In 60 many words doclsrss snas "Oong re-
tbaIl have powsr n exercise exclusive legis-
/ Iotion N sr sassg Whatsoever" over the ten
s.ilss square. The only possible escape from
The inference that this language confsrs the
power 10 abolish slavery, Is found in the di-
abolicsl ethics of John O. Calhoun, who
maintained that the right to hold men in
slavery, and to buy and sell them, has the
same foundation In nature IS that Of proper
y In the brute creation, or in inanimate OBJ
iects. The legitimate fruits of this doctrine
have been treason and rebellion, and It Is to
be hoped that It will no longer find defenders
on this hoor.
But it is urged that the same reasons Of
comfy which withheld John Quincy Adams,
Henry CLAY and Martin Van Buren from the
exercissof this power Establishing slavery in
she District Of Columbia, should still operate
upon uB Of thep,esent day. It is maintained
that COED faith to Maryland, If not to Vir-
ginia, should still withhold the hand Of Fed
oral justice, and still bind in the chains of a
revolving slavery the black men Of this Dis
trict. viii proceed to show that this reason
OF good faith and eomity TO Maryland and
Virginia never had any solid foundation, and
thatit was in Its best days nothing more
than an apology for the moral weakness Of
political parties and their leaders. The argu-
ment rests upon the assumption that the ma.
tionsl capital Wss located hsrs upon slave
holding soil very much against the wishes Of
the southern people, and especially those Of
Maryland and Virginia; thatthese States, In
O spirit of noble self.Eacrifce, and greatly to
their disadvantage, consented TO have the
seat Of Government located upon their bor-
deTs; and hence the high obligation of tie
General Government to consult the peculiar
tastes and interests of their citiBens while
exercising is power OF exclusive legislation.
How far this assumption Is founded In fact,
viii be shoWa by q brief recital of the dis.
susIions upon the subject Of locating the seat
Of Government
The permanent location Of the national
capital was subject Of frequent and earnest
debate in the Continental Congress, and in
the First Congress under the present OonGti-
tuition. The controversy on this subject
shows that the statesmen of that day at
tsched to It the greatest importance, and
those Of the South, ss has been the custom
Of their successors ever since, upon all i'm
pOrtsnt occasions, threatened 20 dissolve the
Union unless their demands were complied
with. They did not sSWe might infer from
the arguments which are urged against the
abolition of slavery In the District of Co.
lumbia, oppose the location OF the seat OF
Government within their borders. If fthey
had done %, they might with some Justice
charge Congress with interfering in their
affairs by the passage Of the bill before the
House. Bat 50 far from opposing, they urg-
ed and insisted, with their usual pertinaclty,
that the capital should stand on southern
soil Maryland and Virginia each made
the requisite grant Of dominion over the ten
miles square which the Constitution had
provided for, and each made liberal dona-
ton to the General Government in money
for the erection of public buildings as an in
dueement and condition of the acceptance
of the proposed cession of territory. This
anxiety about the location Of the Federal
capital was natural. Il was taken for grant
ed on all hands that wherever located, It was
to become the centre Of wealth, intelligence,
and power and each section was naturally
desirous of having such a source of prosper
ity and fountain Of light upon its soil. The
Constitution had already provided that the
ten miles square, wherever located, should
be under the exclusive control of Congress,
Il had already announced that that body
should have the conclusive power Of legisla-
ton, and that whatever State or States
should make the cession must surrender for
ever the right to control the ceded territory,
with all claims, legal or moral, to impose
new or continue in force former laws and
institutions. Yetin full view Of this explic-
It itrequirement Of the Constitution, Virgins
and Maryland made unconditional csssisns
Of territory, and offered large bonuses-
amounting TO near two hundred thousand
dollsrs-to the Federal Government to in
duce Its acceptance.
I might consume much time if were to
cite all the recorded speeches Of the Southern
statesmen Of that day, In which they urged,
with their accustomed emphasis, the propri-
ETY. Of locating the capital Is far south ss the
Potomac. A passage or two from the histo-
" Of the times will set the matter in q clear
Nght HItdrafh in hir u;gtorr "a A., Ti-,tt,5
States says, in reference to the action Of the
First Oongreal on this subject, ct their FIRST
session, that
"Ths New England member, doubtful Of the
result, proposed postponelnent TO the next Ses-