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Show 214 '!'fiE MISSOURI QU ES'l'lON. It was in contradiction of the resolution of 1 j 80, by which the States were allured to cede their unlocated lands to the General Government, upon the condilion tlw.t these should constitute several States, to be admitted into the Union upon an equal footing with the original Slates. It is in fraud of the acts of cession by which the States conveyed territory in faith of the resolution of 1780. And, when recognized by acts of Congress, and applied to the States formed from the territory beyond the Ohio, it is in violation of the Constitution of the United States. So much for the e!Hcncy of the precedent which, although binding here, is not, iL would seem, of obligation upon Ohio, Indiana, or Illinois, or, if you impose it, upon Mis· souri. It iR not the force of your 1 'gal provisions which .attaches the restrictive 6th article of the ordinance to the States I have mentioned. It is the moral sentiment of the inhabitants. Impose it upon Missouri, and she will indignantly throw o[ the yoke and laugh you to scorn I You will then discover that you have assumed a wea.pon that you cannot wield-the bow of Ulysses, which all your e[orts cannot bend. The open and voluntary exposure of your weakness will make you not only lhe object of derision at home, but a by·word among nations. Can there be a povver in Con· gress to do that which the object of the power mny rightfully destroy? Are the rights of Missouri aud of the Union in opposition to each other? Can it be po sible that Congress has authority to impose a restriction which :Missouri, by an alteration of her Con~titntion, may auoli~h? Sir, the course we are pnrsni11g reminds me of the urchin who, with great care nnd auxicty, constructs his card edifice, which the slightest touch may demolish, the gentlest breath dissolve. But let us stand. together upon the basis of precedent; Til~ MlS~OU H.l QU.b:S'l'JON. 215 and upon that ground you cannot extend th is restricLion to Missouri. You have iro posed it upon the territory beyond the Ohio, but you have never applied it elsewhere. Tennessee, Vermont, Kentucky, Loui.,iana, Missis ippi, and Alabama, have come into the Union without being required to suhmit to the condition inhibiting slavery; n::ty, whenevet· the Onlinance of 17 87 has been app1 icd to any of these States, the operation of the 6th article has been suspended or destroy ed. According, then, to the uniform tenor of the preccucut, let the SLates to be formed of the territory without the boundaries of the territory northwest of Ohio remain unrestricted, and in the Clljoyment of the fulluc ·s of their rights. Thus, it appears to me, the power you seck to assume is not found in the Constitution, or to be derived from prece· dent. Shall, it, then, without any known process of generation, spring spontaneously from your councils, like the armed Minerva from the brain of Jupiter? The goddess, sir, although of wisdom, was also the invcntress of war-and the power of your creation, although extensive in its dimensions, and ingenious in its organization, may produce the most terrible and deplorable effects. Assure yourselves you have not n.uthority to biml a State coming into the Union, with a single hair 1 If you have, you may rivet a chain upon every limb, a fetter upon every joint. Where, then, I ask is the independence of your State governments? Do they not fall prostrate, debased, covered with sackloth and crowned with ashes, before the gigantic power of the Union ? They will no longer, sir, resemble planets, moving in order around a solar centre, receiving n.nd imparting lustre. They will dwindle to mere satellites, or, thrown from their orbits, they will wander "like stars condemned, the wrecks of worlds demolished!" * * * * * * |