Newspaper of True American, March 8, 1839, Page 1

P 2ium 12a CIN'NTS. _ < w _ -. -l....... Phicic ~ __ I ~ NEW ORLEANS FRIDAY MORNING, MARC:H 8 1839. -- ---- t, s of ... . e p v r o , Orlean -Wt iI r.... ved .. s.natni l ul' agree d t t a lisumel .neeti.g oi ... C that I WOuld seriottly invite every consid- I This rovisi recded, oin otttftime relates to t in. th .... of F u h a the PrhpriReltre, held n the 1th oflrcha Gre, ands impressions upon t crate t i t . . ....... ..... . slavery in the Te itory of Flo- u such a power assumed or usurued. .. _ ..._..... ....._ .,.ýý-- ^ ý.. . .. ^ strts nin m td Th .. 7 Y power Terwi b te Nerd a ps Pre of Nenew Oreone. Ynnite Atlv agreed l t n.- Merchejnuts nd Tra eraof the Pobprietore, hled on the 13th of Marl, 1837. sorty dtu o f l nolln aone, ra six for bothe lly pa per Annt, payable n ,n i.nunolly O ine and atnce teill dollars ftr tie ti-bkl fy nurs intry ptoer, pnl le one geer in advancthe, where wo cite rierono ist given. No tabet.riptin will he di enionted until nrre ngeso are settled.- k So of e dige otinuoieh, one oeek' anotiae n ayriffg mue t ona ienierlily given, previouo to le dlyiratloh of seascriititehn. Aorartor twaie li en dollor per ustrine fb the firet oeetioen, andvlrftihs surich r ereh selllactentiett ole: or hmateril e toratreio fom t the orginalul odrtitnest wihllhared io otnew ond e . n AytOi AunIler iecd.-Mlerpeiots tand 'ieon ore, rty dolle.s fet Eoor tl aloete, and sixnt for t uoth Inn gte is. Be toetonsuriice Offltbr ,nod othetlr simier daly instith tison, fifty dhlnri ca Englid 0 o nly, and pightty for bfltli, igiwgeo; 1hip1 anod Stenioenot Poe tore, or Commio iio ooehieanot sixty dollars in Englieh ite, andeighty t1 rboth latng . •ge. ilg the atre tion of tie, heiaic to nler ai property, clars of Aaeengoeri, holleft., &e. &L. willReCET, ol cl per soq are for lthe erst itnwortion in emclo nto. Ccoonutwcervoee,. or Aertistemos ts, of any person. Al nature, wlicn ediloihsiein, shall be clnorged dooble, and ii adrvevoe. A dedoition of twently-fie pereent. will be made to Auctloieero, Sloer!c, log eterenof Wills,and Mnarthals oi vales of rool ottote. petlisned in botto languges, nodl 50h per cenot. in Eloglielo alone: tL petoceit. onesala o' other peolerty. Ateo wtMEMENTseout of the direct line of buriness of thie advwertier, such as legal, auttion, and plants jolt tales, runeoioy slnoew, etriy unitiii(l$, &c. &w. will he hloarged for sepeoately, otld at tlo ordinary tres. AtoVaRTISEMENTo S toot specified we to time, Will ho Iintlished one noiwnotb, and chorged aeewroringly No ndvertiioinollte of lIoobkruptcie will te published oio y cise, ioinleoe paid liir previiies tointeertion, or payieontgoioooioterdl toy i reoponseible pernon in town. l'oentret and otlier placeR of innseooant,niodvertising daily r thie ieaoio. to tie olitged $100 for Loglieho a. luicr, and $150 inilothllongnooeea. All agnoenciehioe iof cetlidatot fer political officee .eill be ehorged double tho price of ottor adeertiee. t )Vilig toi tie ininnolloe lnt susrtained by newiapope jioojiii'ilre, thee booe clene to file conclusii n tha' t rie DR IleoaeIofiiooillee wobeeoewisoellntebwhce not been eit ill ,avithiill one moito after proeentation, shallow ye M, de (snoww t t(e for ic pirictieoble) to etch, othoer-t-Ihey ohli I Itingtle nolRl lno~t tiodIerrItise or printt fuo sucIo lilnllants, :,coeos ini iene ol edenere pyepeovos. (sigoed) J. C. Dte. Sr. RtOMEO J. C. PRENI)ERGAST, JoHN hlfIfON, t.U0MS)EN. lV erkeg Prose.-We, Ott undersigiod, agree to obidle by tioe alove eoodioiooe, an hor tithey are opplicoble to ec Iei. A. B. LAWRENCE, 4byýN~tbo h riptions aer taken foe leo tItan 6 mouohli. leater.totootoin oIl caoes, be Powetinid. SPEECH OF THE liON. HENRY CLAY, ON THE SURJECT OF ABOLITION PETITIONS, Delivered in the Senate of the II. States, February 7, 1839. Mr. CLAY, of Kentucky, rose to present a peitition, and said : I have received, Mr. P'resident, a pe'lition to the Senate and liouse of Ilepresentatives of the United States, which I wish to present to the Sen ate. It is signed by several hundred inhab ituants of the I)istrict ofColmsbia, and chiefi ly of the City of Washington. Among them I recognize the name of the highly esteem .4 , layor of the city, and other respectable enames, some of which are iprsonally and well known to me. They express their . -re.t that the sublject of the abolition of sla very within the District of Columbia con linles to be pressed upon the consideration oif Congriess by inconsiderate sai misgulidesd individuals in other "parts of the I'nited Statet. They state that tlhey o not desire ith. abolition of slavery withia the I)istrict, even if Congress psasess the very questiosaL ble power of ahlishing it. without the con-, sent of the people whose interests would hex immtediately anl directly aflicted by the measure; tatl it. a qplestion solely be s tween lite pehople oftthi District and their stlv crrustitutioal Legislature, purely mlu tiij.pal, and one in which no exterior influ * 'ic:i, or interests an justly interfere; that, iti at any future period the people of this Iistrict should desire the albolition of slave rv within it, they will doubtless make their iwishcs known, when it will Iheitne enotugh toi take the mutter into consieration ; that they do, not, on this occasion, present them sclves to Congress Isecause they are slave hollders-many of them are not-somne of them are conscientiously opposed to slavery -but they appear, because they justly re spect the rights of those who own that de sc:riptiion of property, and because they en tertain a deep conviction that the continued agitation of tlhe question by those who have no, right to interfere with it. has an injurious influence'on the peace and tranquillity of the Community, and upon the well-bcing and happiness of thoise who are held in subjec tion;t they finally protest as well against the unauthorized intervention of which they complain, as against any legislation 'on the part of Conglcss in compliance therewith. But as I wish these respectable petitioners to lie theriuselves heard, I request that their petition nay.hle read. [It was read accord ingly, and Mr. Clay proceeded.] I a:t in fiormed by the committee which requested me to offer this'petition, and believe, that it expresses the almost unanimous senti nlents of the people of the District of C, lumbia. The performance sof this service alilrds mse, said Mr. C. a legitimate opportunity, of which, with the permission of the Senate, I mean now to avail myself, to say something, not only on the particular objects of the pe tition, but upon the great and interesting, subject with which it is intimately associ at-d. It is well known to the Senate, said Mr. C(lay, that I have thought that the most ju dicious course with abolition petitions has not been of late pursued by Congress. 1 have believed that it would have been wis est to have received and referred them, wilthout opposition, and to have reported against their object in a calm and dispas sionate.arhntmentative appeal to the good sense of the community. It has been sup posed, however, by a majority of Congress that it was most expedient either not to re ceive the petitions at all, or,e if formally re ceived, not to act definitely upon them. 'There is no substantial difference between these opposite opinions, since both look to an absolute rejection of the. petitioners. But there is a great difference in the form of proceeding ; and, Mr.- President, some ex perience in the conduct of human affairs has taught me to believe that a neglect to obser-ve established forms is often attended with mlore mischievouls consequlences than the in fliction of a positive injury. We all know that, even in private life, a violation of the existing usages and ceremonies of society cannot take place withouf seriotis prejudice. I fear, sir, that the abolitionists alie acqui red a cotiaddbrable apparent force by blond ing with the object which they thave in view a collateral and totially different question .arising out of an alleged violation .of the right of petition. I know full wel , and take great pleasure.in testifyaing that noth " ing ivas remote'r from the intehition of the Smajority of thl. Senate, fom whlich I -difflr ed, than to violate the right of' petiti6n in any case is which, according .to its judg Snent, that right could be constitutionally ex ercised, or where the object- of.the petition could he safely.oc properly granted. Still .itmust he owned that the abolitionists have -sesizedI hold of the - fact of the treatment which tleir petitions have received in Coa gress, and made injurious impressions upol ithe tinds of a large portion of the commil nity. This, I think might have beeni avoid ed by the course which I should have bee glad to have seen pursued. And I desire now, Mr. President, to ad vert to some of those topics which I thin] Smight have been usefully embodied in a re it port by a committee of the Senate, an which, I am persuaded, would have check ed the progress, if it had not altogethe r arrested the efforts, of the abolitionists. am sensible, sir, that this work would hiav j been accomplished with much greater abili ty and with much happier effect, under thi t- auspices of a committee, than it can by me But, anxious as I always am to contribute whatever is in my power to the harmony concord, and happiness of this great people I feel myself irresistably impelled to d( whatever is in my power, incompetent as I feel myself to be, to dissuade the Publi, from continuing to agitate a subject fraugh with the most direful consequences. There are three classes of persons oppo sed, or apparently opposed, to the contin ued existence of slavery in the Unite, ' States. The first are those who, fiom sen I timents of philanthropy and humanity, are conscientiously opposed to the existence o slavery, but who are no less opposed, at thi same time, to any disturbance of the peace and tranquillity of the UIion, or the infringe ment of tle po-t.ers of the States composing the Confi-deracy. In this class may hli comprehended that laceful and exemprnlalr it society of" Friends," onlle of whose estalt lished maxims is, an a)bhorrence of warin al its forms, and the cultivation of peace aci good-iwill amongst mankind. The nex class consists ,ofapparent abolitionists-than is, those who, having bec- persutade that the right of petitiiitn has lbeenl violatel by (oltgress, coi-operate with the aiolition ists for the sole purpose of asserting anll vindicatinlg that right. And the the third class are the real ultra-abolitionists, who are re solved to persevere in the pursuit of thllei object at all hazarlls, andl without regard tc the collsequences, liowever calamitous they may he. \\itll them the rights ofproperty are notthiing; the deficiency of the ipoweri Ifthe (eieural (tivernLment is notlling; the ackniledged land incontestabll, powers of tho States are notihing; civil war, a dissolu tion of the Union, and the overthrow of a i governmelnt il which are concentlrated the tndlest hopes of the civilized world are Io tllhing. A single idea has taken possession of their minds, and onward they pursue it, overlooking all larriers, reckless and re gardless of all cotsequenices. With this lass, tlhe immnediate albolition of slavery ill the District of Cohlnia, andl in the Terri tory of Florida, the prohibition of the remo val of slaves froilm State to State, tand the re tfusal to adhnit any new State, comprising within its limits the institution of domestic sla\very, arie ,but so manliy mean(ls conducinelg to the acemu plishnloln t of the ultimate bilt iperilous end at which they avowedly and boldly aiml; are hut so uually short stages in the long aul bloody road to the distant gotal at which tiey would ftinally arive. Their purpose is abolition, universal abolition, ieacenly if Ils y can, brcibly if it I ist. TIheir ihiect is no lIsonger cinireal lv iy the thinnest veil; it is avowed and prlclaiimed. Itterly destitute f consitiitutionil "r other rightfil power, lis iag it totaflly distinct coam tumil1ities, as ,f lien to thl le c lltiniiliti-s ini nich thle subiject In which ltihv wll(, oipr ate Irsides, si aluas concernl plilicl power over that suhjet, as it' they lived in Afrtica or Asia, they nevertlhe.less prnllulgate t the world their purpose to imanusit tfith wilth, and without compenjnsat, ati, ad with ioult moral i eparation, three millions of e gro slaves, under jturisdictions altogtoher separated firom those uudet which, theyv live. I havitsaid that itnmedliatel abolition o<f sla Ivery inll the District oIf Columblia and in the Territory of Florida, and the exclusion oi ,new Stutles, were only iluealts towards the atutainment of a miulch Imore important cid. Unfitrtunately they are not the only means. Another, and much mor le lamentable one is that which this class is enteavouring to em play, of arraying tione portionl against anoth er portion of the Union. \Vith that view, in all their leIding prints and publications, the horrors of slavery are depicted in glow ing and exagerated color s, to excite the im aginations and stimulate the rage of the people in the ftie States against the people in the slave States. 'fie slaveiholder is held up and represented as the most atro cious of human beings. Advertisements of fiugitive slaves and of slaves to be sold are carefully collected and blazoned forth, to intfse a spirit of detestation and hatred a gainst one entire and the largest seictionl of the Unien. And like a notorious agitator upon another theatre, they would hunt down and proscribe fiom the pale of civil ized society the inhablitants of that entire section. Allow me, Mr. Presidient, to say, that whilst I recognize in the justly woun,l ed feelitgofthe linister of the U. States at the Court of St. James much to excuse the notice which lie was provoked to take of that agitator, in my humsble opinion, lihe would better have consulted the dignity of his station and of his country in treatintg himt with contemptuous silence. lie would ex chiude its firom European society-hlie who himself can only obtain a contrahand admis sion, andl is received with scorntfl repg nance into it! If he le no more desirous ,f our society than we are of his, he may rest assited that a state of eternal nou-inter course will exist between us. Yes, sir, I think the American Minitster would have fest pursued the dictates of true diguity by regarding the language of the member tf the hhtitish Honse of Ctamons as the ma lignant ravings of the pltuderer if his own -.o.,t-,.,~innl ti. ;Vll. . , -.. -... . kindred people. But the means to which I have already adverted are not the only ones which this third class of ultra-aholitionislts are em ployingto effect their ultimate end. Theyhe gan their operations by professing to employ only persuasive means in appealing to the humanity and enlightening the understand ings of the slaveholding portion of the Un ion. If there were some kindness in this avowed motive, it must he acknowledged that there was rather a presumtptuous dis play also of an assumed superiority in intel ligence ahd knowledge. For soime time they continued to make these appeals to our duty and our interest; but impatient with the slow influence of their logic upon our stupid minds, they recently resolved to chainge their system of action. To the a gency of their powers of persuasion, they now propose to suhstitite the powers of the hballht box; and he mustbe blind to what is passing before us, who does not perceive that the inevitable tenideucy of their pro ceedings is, if these should be found insul; ficieat, to. invoke, finally, the more t powers of the bayonet. .Mr. Iresident, it-is at ilhis alarsrruing stage of .the p!,rocedings, of the uhlri~tblitioimisti •~ · fi.-. that I wauld seriously invite every consi a erate man in the country solemnly to pans and deliberately to reflect, not merely ( our existing posture, but upon that dreadf precipice down which they would hurry u It is because these ulra-abolitionists haw ceased to employ the instruments of reasr and persuasion, having made their caus political, and have appealed to the ball box, that 1 am induced, upon tliq occasic to address you. r There have been three epochs in the hi toty of our country at which the spirit , abolition displayed itself. The first was in mediately after the formantion of the presel Federal Government. Whens the Consi tution was about going into operation, i powers were not well understood by tl community at large, and remained to be a, curately interpreted and defined At tht period numerous abolition societies wet formed, comprising not merely the Sociel of Friends, but many other good men. Pi itions were presented to Congress, prayin for the abolition of slavery. They wer received without serious opposition, refer ed, and reported upon by a committee. The report stated that the General Govern ment had no power to abolish slavery as existed in the several States, and that thes States themselvesliad exclusive jurisdictio over the subject. The report was generall acquiesced in,and satisfaction and tranquill ty ensued; the abolition societies thereaftc limiting their exertions, in respect to th black population, to oflices of hmnanit within the scope of existing law. T lhe next period when the subject slavery, a idl abolition incident:allly, we brought into notice and discussion, was thl on the memorablel occasion of'the admissio of the State of Missouri into the Union.s ' The struggle was long, stlretinnstls, aud feat fil. It is toto rect to miake it necessar to do more than merely advert to it, and t say; that it was finally composed by nie c those compromises characteristic of olt in slitutions, and of which the Constitution it self is the moust signal instance. The third is that. in which we nosw fit ourselves. Various causes, Mr. President have contributed to iproduce the existiin eIxcitement on the subject ofabolition. Til principle one, perhapis, is the example o British emancipation of the slaves in the is lands adjacent to our cruitr\y. Such is tit similarity in laws, iin langruage, in the insti tutions, and in common origin, betweet (reat Britain and the Il ited States, tha tno great measure of national policy can hb adopted in the one country withllout produ. cing a considerable degree of inlthence ii the other. ('onlfornding the totally difler. ent cases together, of the powters of thl British Parliament and tho.,e of the Con. gress of the lUnited States, and the totally ditfferent situatios oIf lle British W'est Ii. dia islands, and the slaves in the sovereigr and indepenusent States t.fthis Conftderacy supertfcial nien have intirred frit the usn decided Britisih experinenti thie Ipracticablili ty of the altbolition of slavery in these States The lpowers of the Blritish Parliament arc unlimited, and are often described to be imrtlll llll't. The powers if the Americas Congress, ii1 the iltltrary, tire fisw, cautil rosly limited, scrupulously excluding al that are not gr'anted, and, above all, care flally and absolutely excludings all powei tver the existence rir contitmancr e of'slavery is the several States. The slaves, tIo, upoes which British legislation operated, were not in the ihosnil of the kiiin'drti, but in semolc aln feeble couhlies having so, voice in Par liaIent. And whilst [I irost fervently wish complete success to the British experiment of West India emancipation, I conbfsss that I have f'ariful fbrebodings of a disastrous de termination ofit. WVhatever it may be, I think it must be admitted that, if the British Parliament treated the West India slaves as freemen, it also treated the West Indlia fioeemen as slaves. If, instead of these slaves being separated by a wide ocean fruom the parent country, three or ftur millions of Af-t rican negro slaves had been dispersed over England, Scotland, \ales and Ireland, and their owners had been members ofthe Brit ish Parliament-a case which would lhave presented some analogy to that of our own country-does any one believe that it would have been expedient or practicable to have emancipated them, leaving them to remain, with all their embittered feelings, in tl.e United Kingdom, boundless as the powers of the British Parliament arel Other causes have conspired with the Brit ish example to produce the existing excite' ment firom abolitiosn. I say it with profoumid regret, but with no initerntiou to occasion it. ritation here or elsewhere, that there are persons ii both parts ofthe Union who have sought to mingle abolition with politics, aurl to array one portion of the Union against tihe other. It is the imisfortunie in frtee coun tries that, ins high party times, a disposition too often prevails to seize hold of every thiing which can strengthens the one side or weaken the other. Charges of fbstering abolition designs have Ieen heedlessly and urjustly made by one party againlst the oth cr. 1rior to the late electionlf thie present President ft' the United States, lie was charged witlh being anu abolitionistand abo lition designs w'ere imputed to manyr- of hi: supporters. Much us I was opposed to hin election, and am to his Adniinistration, I neither shared in making nor believing the truth of thei charlige. lie was scarcely in= stalled in ollfice Ihet're the same crharge wri directed 'Irasinst those whso r ,h.is i. ection. A r. President, it is not triue,and I rejoice that it is not true: that either of the two rea. parties in this country has any designs or aim at abolition. I should deeply lament it if it were true. I should consider, if ii were true, that the danger to the stability of our system would be infinitely greatel than any which does, I hope, actually ex ist. While neither party can be, I think, justly accused of arty abolition tendency or purpose, both have profited, and both have been injured, in particular localities, by the accession or abstraction ofaholitionl support. If the account were fairly stated, I believe the party to which I am opposed has profited much more, and been injured much less. than that to which I belong. But I am far, for that reason, from beine disposed to accuse our adversaries ofbein abolitionists. And, now, Mr. President, allow me to consider the several cases in which the au thority of Congress is invoked by these abolition petitioners upon the subject of lomestic slavery. The first relates to it as it exists in the District ofCColumbia. The following is the provision of tile Constitu tion of the United States in reference to that matter. "Tp. exeroise-' eXtlusive -legislation iin if:cases whatsoever over suat .District -(not exceeding ten miles square) as may by cession of particular States;and the ac. ceptanco of Coagress, become thile Seat of Governinent of the United States." This provision preceded, in pointoftia e, the actual cessions which were made by t "' States of Maryland and Virginia. The 1 jectof the cession was to establish a sM 8- of Government of the United States; and ti 'e grant in the Constitution of exclusive legi I lation must be understood, and should I C always interpreted, as having relation 't the object of the cession. It was with fill knowledge ofthis clause in the Co stitution thatithose two States ceded to tl General Government tile ten miles squar if constituting the District of Columbia. ] ' making the cession, they supposed that was to he applied, and applied solely, t the purposes of a seat of Government, fi which it was asked. When it was mad slavery existed in both those Commoi wealths, and in the ceded territory, as it now continues to exist in all ofthem. Ne e ther Maryland nor Virginia could have ai Y ticipated that, whilst the institution remail ed within their respective limits, its ab, g lition would be attempted by Congre; without their consent. Neither of the would probably have made an unconditis, al cession, if they could have anticipate such a result. it From the nature of the provision in tl Constitution, and the avowed object of tl acquisition of the territory, two duties ari, Y on the part of Congress. The first is, I render the District available, comfortalbl and convenient, as a seat of Government< the whole Union ; the other is, to gover Y the people within the l)istrict so as best I romote their haplpiness and prospeity. These oljects are totally distinct in the nature, and, in interpreting and execcisin the grant of the poeower o exclusive legi ;l tion, that distinction should be costanitl borne in mind. Is it necessary, in order 1 render this llac.e a comnfirtable seat of tla General Government, to abolish slaver within its limits i No one can or will at vance such a proposition. The (overt mnent has remained here near tihrty ye:u without the slightest inconvenience fiot 1 the presence ofdonmestic slavery. Is it ni cessary to the well being of the people ( the District that slavery should be abolishe from amongst them ? They not only neo ther ask nor desire, but are almost unan: mously opposed to it. It exists here in th mildest and most mitigated firm. In a pr pulation of 39,834 there were, at the las emuneration of the population of the Unite, States, but 6,119 slaves. The number ha not probalbly much increased since. The, are dispersed over the tell miles square, eln gaged in the quiet pursuits of husbandry or in menial offices inl domestic life. If i were necessary to tile efficiency of th:i place as a seat of the General Govern men to abolish slavery, which is utterly denied the abolition should be confined to the tie cessity which prompts it, that is, to the lim its of tile city of Washington itself Be yond those limits, persons conicerined in the G(overnament of the I'nited States have nt more to do with the inhabitants of the Dis trict than they have with the inhabitants o the adjaccnt counties of Maryland and Vir gina riwhich lie leyond the District. To abolish slav ery within the District o C(oloumbia, whilst it remains in Virginia auS Maryland, situated, as that I)istrict is, with in the very heart of those states, would ex pose them to gralt practical inconveliicilca and annoyance. The District woul beli come a place of refuge ald escape fir fuigi rive slaves fromi the two States, and a Iplae firon which a spirit of discontent, instluor dination,. and insurrection, might be fIsterei and encolluragedil in thee two States. Sup pose, as was at onlle time unrder considera. tion, Pennsylviania 1had iraited tell miler square within its limits fiar the purlose h as eat df the G eneral Government; c'la Congerss, without a violati on of good fhith have introduced and established slavery within the bostom of that Conmmonwealth I in the ceded territory, after she ha1d abol. ished it so long ago as the year 1780 ? Yel I the inconvenience to Peinsylvania in the case supposed, woull have been IIuI h less than that to Virginia and Maryland in the casce we are argu.rgig. It was upon this view of the suilject that the Senate, at its last session, solemnly de clared that it would be a violation of implied faith, resulting firom the trausaction of the cession, to abolish slavery within the Dis trict of Columbia. And twouhld it not le ? By implied faith is meant that when a grant is made for one avowed and declared purl pose, known to the parties, the grant should not be perverted to another purpose, una vowed and, undeclared, and injurious to the grantor. The grant, in the case we are considering, of the territory of ('tllmlia, was tir a se. t of G(:,rern,,i;t. Whatever power is necessary to accomplish that ohb ject is carried along'r by the grant. But the abolition of slavery is Inot necessary to the enoiyment of this site as a seat ofth'e ( cene ralG(overnment. The grant in the ('olsti tution, of exclusive power of legislation over the District, was made toi ellsutre the exercise of an exclusive authority of the (e neral (Govertnment to render this place it satfe and secure seat oft (overnmetnt, and to promote the well-being if the inhabitants of the District. The ipower granted ought to be interpreted and exercised solely tio the cnd forwhich it was granted. The language of the grant was necessarily bIroad, comprelt. - hensive, and exclusive, hbecause all the exi gencies which might arise to render this a secure seat of the (ienleral (novernment could not have been fiireseen and provided for. The language may possibly lie suffi ciently comprehelns:ive to, include a potwer of aboliti on, but it would not at all thence follow tlat the power could lie rightfully exercised. 'lThe case may lie reseimbled to that of a phnipolentiaryti invested with ai plenary power, but who, at tlhe same time, has positive instructions friom his Govern ment as to the kind of treaty he is to nlego tiate and conclude. If'le violntes those in structions, altnd concludes a different treaty, his (Govertamer t is not bound by it. And if the fioreign (Govlernment is aware of the vi olation, it acts in haild thith. Or it may lie illustrated by an examnlle drawn firom pri vate life. I am anl endorser fur mly fi-iend on a note discounted in bank. He applies to me to endorse another to renew it, which I do in blank. Now this gives him power to make any other use of my note which he pleases. But if, instead of applying it to the intended purpose, he goes to a broker and sells it, thereby doubling my responsi bility for him, he commits a breach of trust, and a violation of the good faith implied in the whole, transaction. But, Mr. President, if this reasoning were as erroneous as I believe it to lie correct and conclusive, is the affair of the liberation of six thousand negro slaves in this District, disconinected with the three millions of slaves in the United States, of sufficient magnitude to agitate, distract, and embitter , great Confederacy ? next case in which the petitioners ask tlf-cxercise of the power of Ciongress, se relates to slavery inl the Territory of Flo ie rida. 1b Florida is the extreme southern portiot at of the United States. It is bounded on all e its land sides by slave States, and is several s. hundred miles from the nearest fiee State. e It almost extends within the tropics, and the to nearest important island to it on the water a side is Cuba, a slave island. This simple n. statement of its geographical position should oe of itself decide the question. When, by the e, treaty of 1819 with Spain, it was ceded to [n the United States, slavery existed within it. t By the terms of that treaty, the effhicts and t property of the inhabitants are secured to ir them, and they are allowed to remove and . take them away, if they think proper to do 1 so, without limitation as to time. if it were it xpedient, therefore, to abolish slavery in it, iit could not be done consistently with the treaty, without granting to the ancient in habitants a reasonable time to remove their slaves. But further. By the compromise s which took place on the passage of the act for the admission of Missouri into the Union, in the year 1820, it was agreed and under stood that the line of 30 deog. 30 rmin. of north latitude should mark the lioundary between the free States and the slave States iito be created in the territories of the Unii ted States ceded by the treaty of Loilnsia na ; those situated south of it being slave States, and those north of it fire States. But Florida is south of t'tat line, and, con sequently, according to the spirit of the un , derstauding which prevailed at the period alluded to, should be a slave State. It may SIe true that the compromise does not iin terms embrace Florida, and that it is not absolutely binding and obligatory; linut all candid aind inmpartial mnen must agree that it ought not to be disregarded without the most weighty considerations, and that no thing could I md rl to de deplrecated than to open anew the bleeding wounds which were happily bound up and healed by ll tn compromise. Florida is the only remainin, ITerritory to be admitted into the Union with the institution of domestic slavery, wf hile \Visconsin and Iowa are now nearly d ripe for admission without it. The next instance in which the exercise of the power of Congress is solicited is that of prohibiting what is denominated by the petitioners the slave trade between the States, or, as it is described in abolition pe titions, the traffic in human beings betweenu the States. This exercise of the power of Congress is claimed under that clause of tihe Constitution which invests it with au thority to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian tribes. The power to re gulate commerce among the several States, like other powers in the Constitution, has hitherto remained dormant in respect to the interior trade by land between the States. It was a power granted, like all the other powers of the General Government, to se cure peace and harnmony among the States. Hitherto it has not been necessary to exer cise it. All the cases in which, during the lprogress of time, it may become expedient to exert the general autlhority to regulate ncommnuerce between the States, cannot be conceived. 'Ac nmay easily imagine, how ever, contingencies which, if they were to happen, might requlire the interposition ofi the commoni aiuthority. If, for example,' the State of Ohio were, by law, to prohibit Sany vessel entering the port of Cincinnati, from the port of Louisville, in Kentucky, if' that case be not already provided fir by the laws which regulate our coasting-trade, it would ie competent to the General (;o I vernment to annul the prohilbition emana tin friom State authority. Or if the State i of Kentucky were to prollibit the inttroduc ti on witlhin its limits, of any articles oftrade, tihe production of the industry iofthe inhab i'ants of the State of Ohio, the General Go vernment might, by its authority, supersede the State enactment. iBut I deny that the (General Government las any authoritv, whatever, from the Constitution, to abolish what is called the slave trade, or, in other words, to prolhibit the removal of slaves from one slave State to anotlher slave State. The grtant in the (ontstitution is of a power of reg, ulation, and not prohibition,- it is conservative, not destructive. Regu lation ex vIi termini implies the continued existence or prosecution of the thing regu lated. Prohibition implies total discontin uance or annihilation. The regulation in tended was designed to facilitate and accom modate, not to obstruct and incommonde the commnerce to le regulated. Can it be pre tended that, under this power to regulate commerce among the States, Congress has tihe power to prohilbit tihe transporl).tation of live stock which, in ciuntless numbers, are daily passing firom the WVestern and in terior States to, the Southern, Southwestern, and Atlantic States ! The moment the in contestible filet is admitted, that negro slaves are property, the law of movable property irresistablly attaches itselfto themn, and secures the right of carrying them firom onel to ianother State, where they are recog ,ised as property, without any hinidrance whatever from ('ongress. w.\vllt, v? w i'o11 (ro llogress. lbit, Mr. President, 1 will not detain the Senate longer on the subject of slavery within the District and in Florida, and of the right of Congress to prohibit the re moval of slaves friom one State to another. These, as I have already intimated, with ultra-abolitionists are but so maty masked bItteries, concealing the real nlld ultimate point of attack.. That point of attack is the Institution of domestic slavery as it exists in these States. It is to liberate three mil lions of slaves held in bondage within them. And inow, allow tme sir, to glance at the in surmountiable obstacles which lie inl the way of the accomplislnient of this end, and at I. some of the cotlseilquences which would en sue if it were possible to attain it. The first impediment is the utter and ab solute want of all power mon the parlt of the (General (Governmlent to effect the purlpose. The Co(nstitution of the lUnited States cre ates a limited (loverment, comprising oomiparati.vely few powers, and leaving the residuary mass of political power in the possession of the several States. It is well known that the subject of slavery interpo sed one of tile greatest difficulties in the fiirmation of the C(ntitutoin. It . s haip I"iy cnnproi.Imis.t a ..i s ajitiduiu , ioit iof hiLrmony and p:ttrionism. Accordnl.g to Sthat t mptnromims. n i )it-a-i rwihates-.- wan grunted to th4 Geneta, t r. e.ai?-nilen int re pectt2 d'oadstic slawt, , li tFit ,'!ieh ir. lhiutes to taxation & 'ript h4titcatti and, ti.. '-'atri tc&.mrestor. fngtr: s "ve to £heir lawful owners. All other powcer in regard to the institution of slavery was retained exclusively by the States, to.be exercised by them severally, according to their res pective views of their own pectuliar inter est. The Constitution of the Uniitet States never could have been fiormed upon the principle of investing the General Grovern ment with authority to abolish the Institu tlin at its. pleasnie. It never can he con tinued for a singie day if the exercise of o- such a power be assumed or usurped. But it may be contended by these ultra. otm abolitionists that their object is not to sti all tmulate the action of the General Govern "at ment,but to operate upon the States them te. selves in which the institution of domestic e slavery exists. If that he their objectwhy er are these abolition societies and move ,le ments all confined to the fieeStatesl Why Id are the slave States wantonly and cruelly ie assailed? Why do the abolition presses to teem with publications tending to excite it. hatred and animosity on the part of ilhe in id habitants of the free States against those to of the Slave States? Why is C)ngress pe id titioned'l The free States have no more lo power or right to interfere with instituti re ons in the slave States, confided to the ex it, clusive jurisdiction of those States, than ie they would have to interfere with institu t- lions existing in any fireign country. ir What w -uld be thought of the formation se of societies in Great Britain, the issue of ct numerous inflammatotry publications, and n, the sending out of lecturers throughout the r- kingdom, denouncing and aiming at the of d.'struction of any of the institutions of Y France? WVould they le regarded as pso Seeedings warranted iby good neiglhblor I- oo,d? Or what would be thought of the a- formation of societies in the slave States, c the issue of violent aind inflammatory tracts, an1l the deputation of missionasies, t pouring out impassioned denunciations a - gainst institutions under tile exclusive io control of the free State?! Is their pur cY pose to apipeal to our inderstandins. and i to actuate our humanity? And dl o thl y ,t xpect to accomplish that purposl e by lhd II ing s uis Iup t te scorn, anld contempt, and It detestation oif the peoplt ofthe free States e and the whole civilized worlld The sla - very which exists amongst us is our aflhiir, i not theirs; and they have no more just rconcern with it than they have with slavery t as it exists throughout the world. XiWhy not leave it to us, as the commuron Constitu tion of our country has left it, to be dealt Y with, under the guidance of Providence, Y as best we may or canl? The next obstacle in the way of aboliti on arises out of the fact of the presence ini t the slave States ofthree millions ofslaves. e They are there, dispersed throughout the C land, part and parcel of our population. They were brought into the country origi nally under the authority of the parent f Government whilst we were colonies, and f their importation was continued in spite of all the remonstrances of our ancestors. If the question were all original question, whether, there being no slaves within the country, we should introduce them, and incorporate them into our society, that would be a totally different question. Few, / ifaany, of the citizens of the United States viwould lie found to favour their intrldue tion. No man in it would oppose, uplon that supposition, with more determitied re solution and conscientious lrepugllnance than I shoitld. But that is not the question. SIThe slaves are here; no practical scheme Sfiar their removal or separation from tus has vet tbeen devised or proposed; and the true inquiry is; what is best to be done with them. In human aflairs we are often constrained, hy the force of circumstances aindl tile actual state of things, to do what we would not do if that state of things did not exist. The slaves are here, and here must remain, in some condition; and, I repeat, how are they to be best govern -ledl What is best ti le done for their happliness and our own? In the slave states the alternative is, that the white man mutt govern the black, or the llack gov ern the white. In several of those States, tlihe numbllter of lie slaves is greater tharn that ofthe white population. An inmme-t diate abolition of slavery in lthei, as these I ultra-aholitionists propose, wouil lie fol loswed by a desperate struggle fir imme diate ascendancy ofthe black race over tlhe white race, or rather it would lie fillowed Sby instantaneous collisions between the two races, twhich swotldl break out into a civil war that would end in the extermi nation orsuljuogation of the one race or ' the otherl. fI such an alternative, who I can hesitate? Is it not better for both payl ties that the existing state of thingts should he preserved, instead of exposing them to the horrible strifes and contests whlich would inevitably attend an immediate abo lititon? Thi's is our true ground of defence for the continued existence of slavery in I our country It is that which ouir IRevolu tionary ancestors assumed. It is that which, in my opinion, itrms our justifica' lion in tile eyes of all Christendom. A third impediment to itnuediate ablli tion is to be fthundl ill the imlenluse aotilunllt of' capital which is invested in slave proper ty. The total unaiber of slaves in the Ulni ted State-, according ito thie last enumeracs tion of the lopulatioln, was a little upwards tIs of two millions. Assuming their increase at a ratio, whichl it probably is, iof five icr cent. per annum, tllheir lpresent llnlu l er woutl be three tmillions. The average val tic of slaves at this time, is stated lv pel sons well intfirmed, tio be as high as five lundred dollars each. To be certainly within the mark, let us suppose that it is o. ly fiur hundred dollars. The total value, then, by that estimate, ofthe slave property in the lUnited States is twelve hundred mil liens of dollars. This property is diflhused throughout all classe.s atndl conditions of so ciety. It is ownied rby widlows antl orphlans, Iy flSe agedl and infirm, as well as the soundl und vigorous. It is the sulijrct of mcrtga ges, deeds of trust, and fi.nily settlements. It ihas heen uitle thie hbasis of numerous ldeblts cuintracted upon tits faith, anti is the I sole reliance, in many insttances, of creditors wvithin sld writhout the slave States, tbr the dehts ;uie to themu. And niow it is rashly piItiiscd by single fiat otf legislatit,, to atn nihilate this imnmense amonuit ,f r1,pertv! To annihilate it without indtlniity atid withlout comlpensatiutm to its ownCers! IDoes any considecrate man htelieve it to be possi blle to eflct suchi anl object without convul sion, revslutilon and bloodshed l a sion, revolution and bloodshed I c I know that there is a visionary dogma 11 which holds that negro slaves cannot be the t- lbject of property. I shall not dwell long e with this speculative abstraction. That is pt"',"ert ylt ich the law '-troa to pr h oit ,st .·i ci, , .f t),-.p. :,t 0.ý 1pw ' e+, ,, tioueti al- i sod nc%.ito'd tto.riics!' -r irrý, petj l: ¶A je U all b tsye ob, ofin 4pt ýý r P 13+'etgint c V7*/I>, .Jstl , h d C'onstttutions atti Governnents---and under d the Federal Goiernmeut.itself-they have.. d been deliberately and solneinl,:reotignize d as the legitimate subjects of property. To r- the wild speculations of theorists and inuo is vators stands opposed.the fact, that in:an' ue uninterrupted period of two hanhdred yeai'. d- uration, under every form- ofhuman. egis, 1- lation, and by all the depart*ments nfthe hu a- man government, African negro slaves have" If heIt held and respectvsd, have descended and been transferred, as lawful & indispl table property. They were treated as pr( poerty in the very. British example which i so triumphantly appealed to as worthy our imitation. Although the West Inds planters had no voice in the United Pearli ment of the British Isles, an irresistabl sense of justice extorted from that Legish ture the grant of twenty millions of pound s sterling to compensate the colonistas for thel loss of property. If, therefire, these ultra-aiolitionistsaar seriously determined to pursue their.schem of immediate abolition, they. should at one set about raising a fund of twelve hundrei millions of dollars, to indemnify the owner of slave property. And the taxes trorais that eilorno ous samount can only be assesse upon themselves or upon the free States, i "they can per suade them to assent to such a assessment ; for it would lie a. mockery c all justice and an outrage agalust all equit; to levy any portion of the tax upon th slave States to pay for their own unquestiot ed Property. if relf the considerations to which I have at thady adverted, are not sufficient to dtssuad . e abolitionists from fuirther perseveranc lo their desitgns. the interest of the ver Cause which they profess to espoutse ongl to check their career. Instead of advant 11 g by their efforts that cause, they hav thrown back l fr ha'f' a century the prospec of any species ofemancilpation of thile Afi can race, gradual or immediate, in any c the States. They have done more; the have increased the rigors of legislatiot g:ainst slaves in most, jfnot all, of. the slav States. Forty years ago the'question wea agitated in the State of'Kentucky of a grad .anl emancipation of the slaves within it lhnlits. ltg r rnti-m cniretion, I i eln ll st Ilowa, bu .'t lfo auni cautions liberralion of daliav,, which wa y first adpt I inl Pennsylvania.at the instaanca of Dr Franklin, in the year 178:), ill, according ti which, the generaltion in being were to remain in slavery., but all their ltfapring, blr s after a rpeel t fled day were to be free at the ago of twenty eight and, in the mean time, were to receive preparat.ory instruction to qualify them tar the enjoyment a. frieedom. That w is mth spceioa of emancination which, at the epocr In which I allude, was disius. sdct in Kentucky. No one was assh enogllh to pro. pose or think of immediate abolition. No onte was rash enough to think of throwing toese npo a the commun ty, ignorant land unpreptared, thtiunLttor ed slaves of the State. M any thounght, and I amonsg them, that as nasc of tho slave states had a right a. elusively to judge for itself in respect to the insti. tation of domeitic slavcery, the proportion of loaves compared with the white population in that State, at that lime, was so inconsiderable that a systcm of gradual neman ipation might have been satily al. opted without any hazard to the recurity and inteor. rats of the Commaonwoulth. And I still think tii question of such emhancipation in the fartming states is one whose solution depends upon tile relative numbers oftlhe two races in any given State. It I had heon a eit zon of the State of Pennsylvania, when IFranklin's plan was'adopted I should have voted for it, because by no po sbility could the hlack race ever aequire tihe ascendancy in that State. But if I had been then, or were now, a cit. izen o a of sof athe planting States, ittl Southern or Southwestern States-I should have opposed, and Iwould continue to oppose, any scheme whatever ofe at ncipation, gradual or immediate, hbeccause of the danger of an ut imate aseendoncy of the black rac", or of a civil contest which might terminate in the extinctiona fone ra-e or thle other. Theit propnsilion in Konitnky for a gradual eman. cipation did not prevail, but it was sustained by a large and rerliptahle minority. That minority had ir creased, and was increasing until the abolitionists commenced their ,perations. The rffect has been to dissipate all pr.ospesc: whatever, for the prosent, of any scheme of gradual or otlher entancipatioa, T e prop's oflhat State have blcomn shocked and alarmed by tlhee abol tion movements, antd the numb'r who would now favor a system even of of gradnel manci ation is probably less than it was in the years 1798-'9. At thse eussiol of the Legislature, held im 1837-'8, Ite question of calling a conlvetion was rsubI tted to the rutnsideration of the people by a la ptased in confarmity weith the Conslti tion of the Slate, Many inotives or. iated for the pasnge of tihe law. and among threm that of emancipation had its influance. When the question wet passed spon by tlte pt ople at their last annuasl election, only alout one fourth of the whole voters of tilh State supported a call of a convention. The appre'-ensiun of the danger of nhblition was tihe leadipr consideration amongrst the people fir Opposing the call. Biut for that, but for the aeitation of the qinetion of abolition in the States wlhose population had no right, in the opinion oftha p'epop of Kienlueky. to-instefere is thie matter, tile vot fur a Convenltin weold hays been much larger, if it had not been carried. I felt myself constrained to take inumediate, hold, and declided ground against it. Prior is the agitation of this subject of abolition, there was a prngressivs melioration in tl e onedi tion of slaves throughout all the slave states. In sonie of them, sehools of instruction were opened by himnne and religious persons. These are all now checked ; & a spirit of insubordinn lo bhaving thoown itself in some localities, traceable, it is bh lit rrd,to abolition movements and exertions, the legislative authority lhas Iound it expedient to in. fuse fresh vigor into thle police, and laws which regnlate the conduct of the slaves. And now, Mr. President, if it wer- porrible to overcome the insurmountoabl obastacle wthich lie in tl,e way of immoediate alslition, let ts briefly crntom o'neca sonte of the e'uioq. tnq-uIcs which would in,-v itnhly ensle. One of thebre has beon ccurion illv aoillhdil It in the progrc-s ll these remarks. it is the strue! le which would inatantaneousrly arise brtween the two rases in most of the south. ernl att southwestern statns. And what a dread. Sflat strgle wonll d it not bh. : Ebittered by all t'o raeulleetions of the lst, by theto unconquerable pI.ejuievs which won'd prevail boeween ib- t two tces, land stitnu'atld by ill tie hopes and frurs of the future, it wolld Ie a contest in which ti 0 ex. rminutlaiou of tite blacksr, or their ascendancy over tie whit s, would 1i tibe st'o alternative. Prior to the conclusion. or during the progress of such a cointet, vast nutbers, probably of the black race, would migrate into the free states; and whet ef. feet would such a migration hayo upon the labors ing classes in those States ! Now tile distribution of labor m the United States is geograpeical; the free laborers occupy. ing one side of the line, anil tire slave laborers the othler; uacll clnss ptirsuiltg its own avoeatiolss al Iogethler, uanmixed wit the other. But on the slupositioat of itnrediate alolitior itm Jlag cllsa mtigrating into tie free states, s ei-s comtpetitios witb the white cla.s , m.m.. site wages of their labor, and augneol 'it thyt sa-it This in not anll. l'The abolnitionists e... .ppos all oparatIonn of tho to, raeor. I cofeen to you, sir, that 1 hove seen with regret, grief rnd astonishment, their resoauto opposition to the project of eoloniz tion. No scheme was ever pre nent, d to the acceptance of man, whielc, whethMr it be entirely practicahlle or nt., is charncteried hy nmore unmixed I.umanity and henovloenco than that of tralnporting, with their own-·onseat; the free people of rclor ir the United Statens ~o the land of their nm:ce-tors. It hUo the. powerful i commenedation llhat whatever it does is gouesj uad if it effects ndhieg, it insiseUOo.evit..r mis., chief upon aoy portion of our sociely. There iheno necess ry hoisthty Iistweon tle objects o oloei. nation and abolition. Colonization deals only with the free man of color, and that with his owo free, voluntary cotent . li'has nothing to d.rith olavery It distu bI no mana' properoj, seeks to imoapi no power in the nhave states, neor to attr uts any to thoe dvueruI Gvoernment. AlL its p ts. aid al . itn ways mid ,m.ansare .vnlutary; desd. ing 'pon tle bles-ing.td' Provadenme, wlt.sih . nero has greoinonly IrItd. UL it. t e.: -. st .. ent and harldnles ioie4nan oe4slg sni a peuople of the Usitea4Sftnk p ,wth ci much perrsevexeing m.I oh j hitterreasasn di thj shotatiiaa;iill. .r ) 'iý},rc ina hiouePºInitwvse hep rr ult ir ubiwlrIi h rI theeats. l i l p erorantly hsghiariten pidettite 'Pity'. .They il euotnlo.teodd tf i tv twe gthei twporqgesstrht tt ed and disre grded, Ame eiw u rfsblietia 'bt aoep f p L ey ;wnsld.toalt s 00 'iiS our nture; and ni toat4, tvi4" ` U y hord;, tie bacik siawsoeo'wj Mae ihte, nur tl aine t(i.iig ofn equiol ecia l o at soen. lie th*