The elevator., 1888-09-08
DOMINANCE or 1887.

ORDINANCE OF 1877.
81 r.ant Document which is a Con
me lnf stant subject Of Interest.
~. most serious question brought
10 III the Continental Congress alter
Oeio.,, a,osa If the revelution-second to
~ 4. insoluble one Of how the public
s sabt was to be paid-was that concern
RI :sr the disposition ofthe vast extent q
~ n,,nsoccupied lands at the west lhe
u ~ters Of the large States on the
ciih ,lst;c coast extended their territory
A1ie... 1..ea.d To the South Sea, !" and over
,,,;s they claimed to exercise full
.',.,Isdi2tion. In 1880 New York offered
i eede part Of its Western territory
eo M for,nation of new States and a
III I'LL d Taars later Virginia made q similar
concession. u In 1884 an ordinance Tor
M. M temporary government Of the
Nartbwest s.s Territory was passed by
roagress. IN This ordinance - drawn
80 u 1 commit aghich
81 gh8csen w as Chairman,
and is known to be mainly
nv work of the fruitful brain that de-
r;sed the Declaration Of Independence.
II recommended that all the Western
torr;torv ceded or to be ceded be
fo,med into nine States, each extend
mo over two degrees Of latitude, the
ala States to be named: Chersonesus,
Sylyania, Assenisipia, Metropotamia,
polypotamia, Pellisipia, Saratoga,
washington. Michigania and Illinoia.
II further provided that after the year
1900, slavery should be prohibited in
III 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 1857
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-
leres 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 op-
position that had previously over
thrown this anti-slavery provision was
placated by the following stipulation:
.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 herlabor or service aforesaid This
was the original slave law, and it,
passage represents the concession
made by the anti-slavery men to Sc
cure the consent Of their opponents tt
the ordinance OF 1857. Another i'm
portant clause of the ordinance wa
one providing "that the navigabl'
waters leading into the Mississippi
and st. Lawrence, and the carrying
places between the same, should b.
common highways free to the citizen
Of the United States The author
ship of this important ordinance ha
been usually ascribed to Mr.. Dane, bu
it has been asserted, from the evidenc
Of letters, that its principal autho
was Massachusetts clergyman, Rev
Manasseh Cutler. who had just pun
chased, as the agent Of a colonization
ecompany OF his own State and othe
parties, 100000 acres in Ohio, an
who was In New York at this meetin
OF the last Congress OF the Confederf
tion, endeavoring to aid legislatio
concerning the new territory which b
wished to colonize and to shape tn
laws, as far as he could, to his liking
Tnl,a1a PIndo