Year: 1860

plause. He was a Georgian, too. Re-
newed applause and laughter. The true
number of those of the thirty nine !"
whom have shown to have acted upon
the question, which, by the text, they
understood better than we, is twenty
three, leaving sixteen not shown to have
acted upon it in any way. Here, then,
we have twenty three of our "thirty-
nine" fathers, who framed the Govern
ment under which we live, who have,
upon their official responsibility and their
corporal oaths, acted upon the very ques-
ton which the text affirms they Gun
derstood just as well, and even better,
than we do now" and twenty-on of
them-a clear majority of the whole
" thirty-nine so acting upon it as to
make them guilty of gross political i'm
propriety and willful perjury, if, in their
understanding, any proper division be-
tween local and Federal authority, or
anything in the Constitution they had
made themselves and sworn to support
forbade the Federal Government to con
troll as to slavery in the Federal Terri
tories. Cheers. Thus the twenty
one acted and as actions speak louder
than words, SO actions under such res
possibility speak still louder.


Two of the twenty three voted against
Congressional prohibition of slavery in
the Federal Territories, in the instances
in which they acted upon the question.
But for what reasons they so voted is not
known. They may have done SO because
they thought proper division of local
from Federal authority, or some provis
ion or principle of the Constitution, stood
in the way or they may, without any
such question, have voted against the
prohibition on what appeared to them TO
be sufficient grounds OF expectancy. No
one who has sworn to support the Con-
stitution can conscientiously vote for
what he understands TO be an unconsti-
tutional measure, however expedient he
may think it but one may and ought TO
vote against a measure which he deems
constitutional, if, at the same time, he
deems it inexpedient. 1t therefore would
be unsafe to set down even the two who
voted against the prohibition as having
done so because, in their understanding,
any proper division of local from Feder-
al authority. or anything in the Consti-
tuition. forbade the Federal Government
10 control rs TO slavery in Federal terri
tory. Laughter and prolonged applause


The remaining sixteen Of the "thirty-
nine, SO far as | have discovered. have
left no record of their understanding up
on the direct question of Federal control
of slavery in the Federal territories. But
there is much reason to believe that their
understanding upon that question would
not have appeared different from that OF
their twentythree compeers, had it been
manifested at all.


For the purpose Of adhering rigidly to
the text, | have purposely omitted what
ever understanding may have been man
Tested by any person, however distin-
guished, other than the thirty faith
ers who framed the original Constitution ;
and, tor the same reason, | have also
omitted whatever understanding may
have been manifested by any of the
4" thirty nine" even, on any other phase
of the general question of slavery. Ii
we should look into their acts and declar
atons on those other phases, as the for
eign slave trade, aud the morality and
policy of slavery generally, it would APP
pear to Us that on the direct question of
Federal control of slavery in Federal Ter
ritories, the sixteen, if they had acted at
all, would probably have acted just as
the twenty three did Among that six
teen were several of the most noted anti
slavery men of those times-as DR..
Franklin, cheers, Alexander Hamilton.
and Gouyerneur Morris-while there was
not one now known TO have been other
wise, unless it may be John Rulledge, OF
South Carolina. Applause The sum
OF the whole Is, that of our /" thirty nine
fathers who framed the original Consti-
tuition, twenty one--a clear majority Of
the whole-certainly understood that no
proper division of local from Federal au
thority, nor any part of the Constitution,
forbade the Federal Government to con
trol slavery in the Federal Territories,
while all the rest probably had the same
understanding. Such, unquestionably.
was the understanding Of our fathers who
framed the original Constitution; and
the text aflirms that they understood the
question better than we. Laughter and
cheers.


But. so far, | have been considering
the understanding of the question man
itested by the trainers Of the original
Constitution. In and by the original in.
strument, mode was provided for amend
ing il and, rs have already stated, the
present frame of government under which
We live consists of that original. and
twelve amendatory articles framed and
adopted since. Those who now insist
that Federal control of slavery in Fed
eral Territories violates the Constitution.
point Us 10 the provisions which they
suppose il thus violates and, as | un-
derstand, they all fix upon provisions in
these amendalory articles, and not in the
original instrument. The Supreme Court,
in the Dred Scott case. plant themselves
upon the fifth amendment. which pro-
yldes that no person shall be deprived
of property without due process Of law
while Senator Douglas aud his peculiar
adherents plant themselves upon the