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Show 306 .UPEND IX. Congress to prevent the spread of slavery in the United States, that power was executed in the most absolute mnnucr, and to the fullest extent. . . . Wlty,'thcrc it stands! The ":ole of cv~ry state in the Union was unanimous in favor of the onlmrwcc, w1th the exception of n single inclividual vote, and that i. n~i."idual vote was givcu by a northern man. This ordinance, pmlutmmg slrLvcry forever nortiHvest of the Ohio, has the hand and seal of every southern member in Con"rcss. It wus, therefore, no llf!grcssion of the North on the South. The other and third clear historical ~ truth is, thnt the convention meant to leave slavery in the states 1\S they found it, entirely UJldCr the authority and control of the states themselves." Y ct, after all this historical detail, inclmling the emphatic stntemcnt of the care taken, under the auspices of Mr. Madison, not to admit into the con~titution the idea that there could be property in men, Mr. \Vebster has the inconsistency to speak, in the very next paragraph, of the establishment of the constitution of the United States " with a recognition of slavery as it existed in the states," apparently intending to concede that the Federal constitution expressly recognized slavery as an existing legal institution of the stutes; whereas the utmost that can be found in it is an obscure recognition, and that only by implication, of the existence in the states of a class of persons neither free nor bound to service for a term of years, and that a recognition of the fact merely, without the slightest acknowledgment of any legality in it. But this misrepresentation of the constitution was <'ssentia.l to afford Mr. Webster 1\ colorable pretence for fishing after southern votes, with his favorite bait of devotion to the constitution and the Union-a very melancholy piece of fishery, as it proved on this particular occasion, -not even resulting in a glorious nibble. The cunning and voracious southern pike proved, indeed, altogether too nimble and adroit for a fisherman whose chief practice had been,-and a very successful practice too-in catching northern gudgeons with the Slme sort of bait. The paragraph above alluded to is as follows, containing, along with the treacherous concession above criticized, and some additional historical mistakes, a good deal, however, of wholesome truth. " This was the state of things, sir, and this the state of opinion, under which those very important matters were arranged, and those three importunt things done, that is, the establishment of the constitution of the U nitcd SLates with a. recognition of slavery as it existed in the stateR (this is the admission criticized above] ; the establishment of the ordinance for the government of the North-\Vestern Territory, prohibiting, to the full extent of all territory owned by the United Stat<'s, the introduction of ~:~lavery into that territory, while leaving to the states all power over slavery in their own limits i and creating a power in the new ~;overnm.ent to put an end to the importation of slaves, after a lim1ted pcnod. There was entire coincidence and concurrence of sentiment between APPI::NDIX. the North and the South, upon all these question!'!, at fhe period of the adoption of the constitution. [Mr. Webster here ngain ignores the existence, at that time, of the pro·slavery party of South C!lrolina nnd G('orgia, which has since became predominant in the Union.] llut opinions, si r, hav(' changed, greatly changed; changed !'!orth nnd changed South. Slavery is not regarded in the South fit would be more correct to say m Maryland and Virginia, for North Carolina, even then, wn.s undetermined upon this point] now as it was then. • . . What, th en, have been the causes which hu':e created so new a feeling in fu\'Or of slavery in the South, wh1ch have changed the whole nomenclature of the South on that subject, so that, i"rom being thought of and described in the terms I have mentioned, and will not repent, it has now become an institution, a cherished institution, in that quarter; no evil, no scourge, but a great religious, social, and moral blessing, as I think I have heard it lately spoken of? I suppose this, si r, is owing to the rapid growth and sudden extension of the COTTO:v plantations of the South. • . . 'l'hc nge of cotton became the golden nge of our southern brethren. It gratified their desire for improvement and accumulation, at the same time that it excited it. The desire grew by what it fed upon, and there soon came to be an eagerness for new territory, a new area, or new areas, for the cultivation of the ~~~~~1 r~;fJ1~, a~~e ~l::'~::th1~;,~:~ffe:~h~1:!ade:f1!ot~~~~~n b:::f~~ the head of the government, they having a majority in both branches of Congress to accomplish their ends. The honorable member from South Carolina [Mr. Calhoun J observes, that there has been a majority all nlong in favor of the North. If that be true, sir, the North has acted either very liberally and kindly, or very weakly; for they never exercised that majority efficiently five times in the history of the government, when a division or trial of strength arose. Never. Whether they were out-generalled, or whether it was owing to other causes, I shall not stop to eonsitlcr; but no man, acquainted with the history of the Union, can deny, that the general lead in the politics of the country, for three fourths of the period that has elapfed since the adoption of the constitution, has been a southern lead." an~e~h: ~~~i~~~" of J~;~st~;~ ~~!~~c~v!~~?t;s f~di~!~n,C~~~ti~~t;p~ 333-339. How lamentable that, after thus exposing' the moral and political weakness of the North, 1\fr. Webster should proceed to give a new, and, if possible, still more humiliating instance of it, by voting for Mason's unconstitutional and atrocious fugitive bill! Oh, what a fall wns there, my countrymen! Then you and [ aud all of us fell down, And bloody treason triumphed over us. UU |