Year: 1860

AsSASAS AZ OuA HOORAO, eAoe SAAS RAOPSAy AZ
slaves has never been disturbed, to my
knowledge, in any of the Territories. Even
throughout the late troubles in Kansas,
there has not been any attempt, as / am
credibly informed, to interfere, in single
instance, with the right of the master. Had
any such attempt been made, the judiciary
would doubtless have afforded an adequate
remedy. Should they fail to do so hereafter,
it will then be time enough to strengthen
their hands by farther legislation. Had it
been decided that either Congress or the
territorial legislature possess the power to
annul or impair the right to property in
slaves, the evil would be intolerable. In
the latter event, there would be a struggle
for majority of the members of the legisla-
ture at each successive election, and the
sacred rights of property held under the
Federal Constitution would depend for the
time being on the result. The agitation
would thus be rendered incessant whilst the
territorial condition remained, and its bane-
full influence would keep alive dangerous
excitement among the people of the several
States.


Thus has the status of Territory, during
the intermediate period from its first settle
ment until it shall become a State, been
irrevocably fixed by the final decision of the
Supreme Court. Fortunate has this been
for the prosperity of the Territories, as well
as the tranquility of the States. Now,
emigrants from the North and the South,
the East aud the West, will meet in the
Territories on common platform, having
brought with them that species of property
best adapted, in their own opinion, to pro-
mote their welfare. From natural causes
the slavery question will in each case soon
virtually settle itself and before the Terri
tory is prepared for admission as State
into the Union this decision, one way or the
other, will have been foregone conclusion.
Meanwhile the settlement of the new Terri
tory will proceed without serious interrup
tion, and its progress and prosperity will
not be endangered or retarded by violent
political struggles.


ADMISSION OF NEW STATES.


When in the progress of events the in
habitants ofany Territory shall have reached
the number required to form State, they
will then proceed, in regular manner, and
in the exercise of the rights of popular SOW
ereignty, to form constitution preparatory
to admission into the Union. After this
has been done, to employ the language of
the Kansas and Nebraska act, they "shall
be received into the Union with or without
slavery, as their constitution may prescribe
at the time of their admission" This sound
principle has happily been recognized, in
some form or other, by an almost unani-
mout vote of both houses of the last Con-
gress.


AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE.


All lawful means at my command have
been employed, and shall continue to be
employed, to execute the laws against the
African slave trade. After most careful
and rigorous examination of our coasts and
thorough investigation of the subject, we
have not been able to discover that any
slaves have been imported into the United
States except the cargo by the Wanderer,
numbering between three and four hundred.
Those engaged in this unlawful enterprise
have been vigorously prosecuted, but not
with as much success as their crimes have
deserved. A number of them are still un-
der prosecution.


Our history proves that the Fathers of
of the Republic, in advance of all other ma
tions, condemned the African slave trade.
1t was, not Rithstanding, deemed expedient
by the trainers of the Constitution to de-
prive Congress Of the power to prohibit
"the mlgratation or importation of such
persons as any of the States now existing
shall think proper to admit prior to the
year 1808."


1t will be seen that this restriction on the
power of Congress was confined to such
States only as might think proper to admit
the importation of slaves. 1t did not ex-
tend to other States or to the trade carried
on abroad. Accordingly, we find that SO
earlyas the 22d of March, 1894, Congress
passed an act imposing severe penalties and
punishments upon citizens and residents of
the q. S. who should engage in this trade
between foreign nations. The provisions of
this act were extended and enforced by the
act of 10th May 1900.


Again The States themselves had
clear right to waive the constitutional
privilege intended for their benefit, and to
prohibit, by their own laws, this trade at
any time they thought proper previous to
1903. Several of them exercised this
right before that period, and among them
some containing the greatest number of
slaves. This gave to Congress the imme-
diate power to act in regard to all such
States, because they themselves had remov-
ed the constitutional barrier. Congress
accordingly passed an act on 18th Febru-
ary, 1903, "to prevent the importation of
certain persons into certain States where,
by the laws thereof, their admission is pro-
hibited" In this manner the Importation
of African slaves into the United States
was, to great extent, prohibited some
years in Advance of 1903.


AS the year 1908 approached, Congress
determined not to suffer this trade to exist
even for single day after they had the
power to abolish it. On the I'd of March,
1907, they passed an act to take effect
from and after the lst day of January,
l808," prohibiting the importation of At
rican slaves into the United States. This
was followed by subsequent acts of SINH
lar character, to which need not specially
refer. Such were the principles and such
the practice of our ancestors more than fifty
years ago in regard to the African slave
trade.


IT, did not ANcnr tn the revered notr;o+.