Year: 1862

vert Of Maryland and John D. Steel of
New York, members of the House Com


nittee to inquire into the Constitutional
ity and expediency of abolishing Slavery
in the District of Columbia. These gen
tlemen embodied in their report, that
made by a similar Committee Of the
House in 1889, which comprised nine
members-fve from Northern States and
four from slavehOlding States. The argu-
ments presented adverse TO the passage Of
Bill to abolish Slavery in that District
are incontrOvertable. and form one of the
ablest expositionS Of the powers of Con-
gresS and The rights of the States, respec-
lively, under the Constitution, and in ac-
cordance with the spirit of our system of
government, to bc GtSsNesS~ SSSOf>vN. 1ney
are also especially applicable to the lead.
ing measures aud events involved in the
terrible struggle of this day, and ought
!. ~ saM@oNA the. .3SSsNSyON and invite the
CAIN reflection Of every citizen


The rights of the people, and the pow
ers inhibited to the Federal or State Le-
gislatures, is thus cogently set forth:


No republican would tolerate that a
man should be punished by a special sta
tue for an act not legally punishable at the
time of its commission. No republican
could approve any system Of legislation
10y which private contracts lawfully made,
should be declared null and void, or by
which the property Of an individual, law


fully acquired, should be arbitrarily wrest-
ed from him by the high hand of power.


But these great principles are not left for
their support to the natural feelings Of the
Hhm S,vaTi, OF to the Ss,SsDc 'sesftsaa- tik,f>1
Of republican government They are eX-
pres>ly incorporated IN Thea Constitution,
and they have also been recognized and
insisted on by the Supreme Court Of the
United States, which lays down the follow
ing sound and incOntrovcrtahle doctrine
There are acts which the Federal or State
legislatures cannot do without exceeding
their authority. There are certain vital
principles in our free republican govern
ment which will determine and overrue
an apparent and fragrant abuse Of legiSla-
tive power; as to authorize manifest injus-
tice by positive law, or to take away that
security of personal liberty or private pro-
perty for the prOtt whereof the gov
eminent was established. An act of the
legislature contrary to the great first prin-
cipleS Of the social compact cannot be
considered a rightful exercise of legiSla


tive authority. The obligation of law in
governments established on express com
pact, and ON republican principles, must
bc determined by the nature Of the power
on which it is founded. \ few instances
viii suffice to explain A law that pun
ishcs a citizen for an innocent action. or
that was in violation Of an existing law;
law that destroys or impairs the obligation
Of the lawful private contracts OF citizens;
a law that makeSa man a Judge in his own
case; or a law that takes property from \
ald gives it to i. 1t is against all reason
and justice for people to intruSt legiS


ature with such powers, and therefore it
cannot be presumed that they have done
it. l he legislature may enjOin or permit,
iolbid or punish; they may declare new
crimes, and establish rules of conduct for
future cases but they cannot change ill.,
nocrnce into guilt, or punish innocence as
a iiine, OF violate the rights OF an antece-
dent lawful private contract, or the right
ofprivatc property. To maintain that our
Federal or State legislatures possess such
powers evenif they had not been express
ly restrained, would be political heresy,
altogether inadmSsible in our free repub-
lican government Now, every principle
here affirmed by the court applies to and
protects the people Of this District, as well
as the people of the States. The inhabi-
tants of this District are part Of the peo-
ple Of the United States. Every right and
interest secured by the Constitution to the
people Of the States is equally secured to
the people Of the District. Congress can
therefore do no act affecting property or
person, in relation to this District, which
il is prohibited to do in relation to the
people Of the States, without direct vio-


atlun of the public faith. For instance,


it is wcl-srttlrd constitutional principle
that private property shall not be taken
for public use, without just compensation.
Now, the true meaning Of this provision
obviously is, that private property shall
not be taken only for public use, but shall
not be taken, even then, without adequate
remuneration. 1t is evident, however, in
reference to slavery, either that the gov
ernment would use the slaves, or that it
would not. IL it would use them, then
they would not be emancipated; and it
would be an idle mockery to talk of the
freedom of those who would only cease to
be private to become public slaves. Ifit
would not use them, then how conld it be
said they were taken for the public use,
consistently with the provision just reci-
ted? But even if they could be taken
without reference to public use, they could
not be taken without just compensation,
T. / IS 11:a;5,;; 3; iz>Gtisaable, however,
whether Congress could legally apply the
public revenue to such an object, even
with the consent Of the owners Of the
slaves. As to emancipation without their
consent, and without just compensation,
your committee will have to stop to con-
slider it. 1t could not bear examination.
Honor, humanity, policy, all forbid it. 1t
is manifest, then, from all the consdera-
tions herein stated, (and there are others
equally forcible that might be urged that
Congress could not abolish slavery in the
District Of Columbia, without violation
Of the public faith"


The question Of the rights Of States,
the power of Congress to abolish slavery,
and the certain alarming, dangerous re-
suits to flow from general emancipation
Of the slaves are presented as follows:


Secondly, as to the States Of tho Union.
Here, again, your committee have but to
refer to their former remarks to show that
the abolition of slavery in the District
mould nof IoctobIic inctioo huf work |
great injustice to the surrounding States
in particular, and to all the slave States in
general, and in degree proportioned to
their proximity to the District and to the
influence upon the institution Of slavery
in the Union, of such action on the part
of Congress. They have also shown that
the abolition of slavery here, so far from
tending to insure domestic tranquility
would have direct tendency to produce
domestic discord and violence and Servile |