Year: 1862

he District Of Columbia has already passed
the Senate, and there is littledoubt that it will
also pass the House. Doubts arc expressed
whether it win receive the sanction of the
President. the general opinion being that
it will not. but the friends Of the measure
ere ccl.fdcnt. if it should be vetoed. that
two-third vote can be obtained in its "a
vor. As matter of historical interest. we
lay before our readers copious extracts from
the report of the House Committee which
had the same subject under consideration
in 1895. We commend them to the at
tcntiou Of readers:


"Do the great national objects which
were intended to be occurred to the Fedcr-
al Government by the cession Of the terri
tory require such action on the part OF
Congress I"


"Can any reason whatever be given for
the abolition of slavery in this particular
District. which does not apply with equal
force to every other slaveholding section
Of the country? Can any cause be shown
why the States Of Maryland and Virginia
would have abolished. or would now abol.
ish, slavery in this District. had it con-
tinued to form q part of those States res
pectively which would not have warranted
or produced general abolition throughout
these States? Most PROFESSIONALLY not +"
"Your committee must 60 further, and
express their full conviction that any in
reference BY Congress with the private
interests or rights of citizens of this Dis
trict, without their consent, would be a
breach of the faith reposed in the Federal
Government BY the States that made the
ccssion. and as violent an infraction Of
private rights as it would have been il
those States themselves. supposing their
jurisdiction had remained unlmpaired over
their territory, had abolished slavery with
in those portions of their respective limits,
and had continued its existence upon its
present basis in every other portion of
them. And surely there is no citizen in
any quarter of the country. who has the
smallest regard for our laws aud instiiu-
tions, State aud national, or for equal JUS
ticc. aud IN equality Of rights and privi-
legcs among citizens entitled 10 it. who
would attempt to justify such an Outrage
OH the part Of those States. The question
then is, are the citizens Of the District de-
sirous Of Il change thcmsclves9 Has any
request or movement been made by them
that would justify an Interference with
their private ri ghts on the part of Con-
gress? None, whatever"


That is the state of the case to-day. No
such application has yet been made to
Congress:


The citizens of the District not only
have not solicited any action OH the part
Of Congress. but it is we'll known that
they earnestly deprecate such action. and
regard, with adherence. the efforts that
are made by others, who have no interest
whatever in tho District, to effect it. 1t
is impossible, therefore, that any such
interference on the part of Congress
could be- justified, or even palliatcd, on
the ground that it was sought or desired
by those who are alsre interested in the
subject. If, therefore, Congress were to
Interfere with this description of property
against the consent Of the people of the
District, your committee feel bound to say
that it would be as gross breach of pub
liz faith. and as outrageous an infraction
of private rights, as it would have been
if such interference had been committed
by the States Of which the Di trict was
formerly part, supposing that it never
had been ccded to the United States" =


Hence your committee believe they
have proved, beyond the power of contra
di:tion. that au interference by Congrts.
with slavery in the District Of Columbia
would be violation of the public faith
If the faith reposed in Congress by the
States which ceded the territory to the
Federal Government, so far as the rights
and interests of those citizens residing
within the cedcd territory are concerned


Your committee will now con.ider this
proposition with reference to the interests
Of the States Of Maryland and Virginia.
They were slaveholding States at the time
they made their cession, aud they are 50
still. They entirely surround this dis
trict, from which they are only separated
on all sides by imaginary lines. They
made the cession for the great national
objects which have been already pointed
out, aud they made it from motives of pa
triotism alone, and without any compen-
sation from the Federal Government for
the Surrender Of Jurisdiction over CON-
manding positions in both States The
surrender was made for purposes deemed
sufficiently important BY all the original
States to be provided for iu the Constitu-
tion Of the United States; and it was made
in conformity with that provision Of the
Constitution. 1t is surely unnecessary
after this statement of facts to undertake
to show that those patriotic States made
this eession for purposes Of good to the
Union, and consequently to themselves,
and not for purposes of evil to themselves,
and consequently to the Union; and that
the Governmcnt Of The United States ac-