Year: 1859

peril to their cherished institutions, will be the
means, under Providence, Of aayiBg the existing
excitement and preventing future outbreaks Of
similar character. They will resolve that the Com
sitution and the Union shall not be endangered by
rash counsels, knowing that, should "the silver
cord be loosed or the golden bowl he broken
at the fountain" human power could never reunite
the scattered and hostile fragments.


THE NIGHTS OF THE SOUTH IN THE TERRITORIES


cordially congratulate you upon the fiual set
tlement by the Supreme Court Of the United States
Of the question Of slavery in the Territories,
which had presented an aspect go truly formi-
dable at the commencement of my administration.
The right has been established OF every citizen
to take his property OF any kind, including slaves,
into the common Territories belonging equally to
all the States of the confederacy, and to have it
protected there under the federal constitution.
Neither Congress nor . Territorial Legislature, nor
any human power, has any authority to annul or
impair this vested right. The supreme judicial tr-
bunal Of the country, winch is coordinate branch
Of the government, has sanctioned and affirmed


these principles Of constitutional law, SO manifesty
just ia themselves, and so well calcuated to pro
mote peace and harmony among the States. 1t isa



rent in our people, that the property 10 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
credibfy informed, to interfere, in single instance
with the right of the master Had any such attempt
been made the judiciary would doubtless have af-
forded an adequate remedy Should they fail to do
this hereafter it will then be time enough to strength
their hands by further legislation. Had it been
decided that either Congress or the Territorial Le
gslature possesses the power to annu or impair the
right to property In slaves, the evil would be into
lerabe. In the latter event, there would be strug-
gle for majority OF the members OF the Legislature
ut 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, aud its baneiul
influence would keep alive a dangerous excitement
among the people of the several States.


Thus has the status of Territory, during the in
ternedate period from its first settlement until il
shall become State, been irreyocably fixed by the
final decision of the Supreme Court. Fortunate
has this been for the prosperity OF the Territories
as well as the traquillity of the States Now, eni-
grants from the North and the South the East and
the West, will meet in the Territories on a
common platform, having brought with
them that species OF property best adapted,
in their own opinion, to promote their weitace.





each virtually settle ITSELF and before she
Territory is prepared for admission as State into
the Union this decision, one way or the other, will
have been forgone conclusion. Meanwhile the
settlement of the new Territory will proceed with
out serious interruption and its progre and pros
perity will not be endangered or retarded by vlo-
lent political struggles.


Wien in the progress Of events the inhabitants of
any Territory shall have reached the number re-
quiIed to form State, they will then proceed, in
regular manner, and in the exercise Of the rights
Of popular sovereignty, to form constitution pre-
paratory 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 ad
mission" This sound principle has happily been
recognized in some form other, by an almos
unanimous vote of both houses of the last Congress


THE AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE AND ITS ErrECrs.


All lawful means at my command have been en-
ployed and shall continue to be employed, tc exc
cute the laws against the African slave trade After
q 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 un-
lawful enterprise have been vigorously prosecuted,
but not with as much success their crimes have
deserved number Of them are still under pro-
secutiop


Our history proves that the fathers Of the repub-
lc in advance of all other nations, condemned the



deemed eypedient by the trainers Of the consttu
ton to deprive Congress of the power to prohibit
the migration or importation Of such persons as
any of the States existing shall think proper to
ADMIT prior to the year one thousand eight hun
dIed and eight


It 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 extend to other States, to the
trade carried on abroad. Accordingly, we find
that so early as the 22d March, 1874, Congress
passed an act imposing severe penalties and punish
ments upon citizens and residents of the United
States who sh ould engage in this trade between
foreign nations. The provisions of this act were
extended and enforced by the act of 10th May,
1880.


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 pre-
vious to 1908. Several of them exercised this right
before that period, and among them some contain
ing the greatest number of slaves This gave to Con-
gress the immediate power to act in regard to all
such States, because they themselves had removed
the constitutional barrier. Congress accordingly
passed an act on 2Sth February, 1903, "to prevent
the importation Of certain persons into certain
States where, by the laws thereof their admission
Is prohibited" In this manner the importation OF
African slaves into the United States was to great
extent, prohibited some years in advance of 1908.


As the year lS0s approached, Congress deter
mined not to suffer this trade to exist even for a
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 LIST day Of January, ls0S"
prohibiting the importation Of African slaves into
the United States. This was followed by subse-
quent acts Of similar 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.


1t did not occur to the revered patriots who had
been delegates to the Convention, and afterwards
became members Of Congress, that in passing these
laws they had violated the constitution which they
had framed with so much care and delberation.
They supposed that to prohibit Congress- in ex.
press terms, from exercising specified power be-
fore an appointed day, necessarily involved the
right to exercise this power after that day had ar
rived.


II this were not the case, the trainers of the con-
stitution had expended much labor in vain. Had
they imagined that Congress would possess no
power to prohibit the trade either before or after
1908, they would not have taken so much care to
protect the States against the exercise of this
power before that period. Nay. more--they would
not have attached such vast importance to this
provision as to have excluded it from the
possibility Of future repeal or amendment
to which other portions Of the constitution