Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1888-08-23
ORDINANCE OF 1887.
The Important Document Which Is q Con-
slant Subject of Interest.

The Important Document Which Is q Con-
slant Subject of Interest.
The most serious question brought
before the Continental Congress after
the close of the revelution-second to
the ever insoluble one of how the public
debt was to be paid-was that concern
ing the disposition of the vast extent of
unoccupied lands at the West. The
charters of the large States on the
Atlantic coast extended their territory
westward to the South Sea-" and over
this they claimed to exercise full
jurisdiction. In 1870 New York offered
to cede part of its Western territory
for the formation of new States and
few years later Virginia made similar
concession. In 1884 an ordinance for
the temporary government of the
Northwest Territory was passed by
Congress. This ordinance was drawn
up by a committee of which
Thomas jefferson was chairman,
and is known to be mainly
the work of the fruitful brain that de-
vised the Declaration of Independence.
1t recommended that all the Western
territory ceded or to be ceded be
formed into nine States, each extend
ing over two degrees of latitude, the
said States to be named: Chersonesus,
Sylvania, Assenisipia, Metropotamia,
Polypotamia, Pellisipia, Saratoga,
Washington. Michigania and nlinoia-
1t further provided that after the year
1900, slavery should be prohibited in
all these States. The anti-slavery
clause was lost. and some other
change were made in the act before it
was finally adopted. 1t was not how
ever, wholly satisfactory, and further
legislation was attempted. In 1877
Nathan Dane, as chairman of a second
committee on the Territories, reported
an ordinance. which was adopted.
This provided for the organization of
the Northwest territory, and concluded
with six unalterable articles of per-
petual compact. The first provided
| for entire religious freedom; the sec
ond secured to all the inhabitants
| trial by jury, the writ of habeas cor
pus, and the political rights and privi-
| leges enumerated in the "Bill OF
Rights" the third provided for the en-
| couragement of schools, and for good
| faith, justice and humanity towards
Indians; and the sixth provided that
there shall be neither slavery nor in
voluntary servitude in the said terri
tory, otherwise than in the punish
ment of crimes whereof the party shall
have been duly convicted. The OPP
| position that had previously over
thrown this anti-slavery provision was
v11n +aA Inv he oil 81 lott n.
provided always that any person es-
| Gaping into the same from whom
labor or service is lawfully claimed in
| any one of the original States, such
| fugitive may be lawfully reclaimed and
| conveyed to the person claiming his
| or her labor or service aforesaid" This
was the original slave law, and it's
passage represents the concession
made by the anti-slavery men to Sc
cure the consent of their opponents to
,, the ordinance of 1887. Another i'm
portant clause of the ordinance was
one providing that the navigable
waters leading into the Mississippi
| and st. Lawrence, and the carrying
places between the same, should be
common highways free to the citizens
of the United States" The author
ship of this important ordinance has
been usually ascribed to Mr.. Dane. but
it has: been asserted, from the evidence
of letters, that it's principal author
was Massachusetts, clergyman, Rev.
Manasseh Cutler, who had just pur-
chased, as the agent of a colonization
company of his own State and other
parties, 100000 acres in Ohio, and
who was in New York at this meeting
of the last Congress of the Confedera-
tion, endeavoring to aid legislation
concerning the new territory which he
wished to coionize and to shape the
laws, as far as he could, to his liking
Toledo Blade.