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Show 484 THE KANSAS-NEBRASKA BILL. slavery north of 36° 30', Mr. Douglas, chairman of the committee on Territories, proposc<i an amendment, which was incorporated into the bill, as follows-the proviso at the close of the section being adoptcu on mo tion of Mr. Badger, of North Carolina: "'l'hat the Con titntion, and all laws of the United SLates which are not locally inapplicable,, hall have the , ar11o force and effect within the said Terri tory of N ebra 'ka as elsewhere in the United States, except tho eighth section of the act preparatory to the admission of Mi ·souri in to the Union, approved March sixth, eighteen hundred and twenty, which, being inconsistent with the principle of non-in tervention by Congress with slavery in the SLates and 'l'el'l'itorie as recognized by the legislation of eighteen hundred and' fifty, commonly called the com prom isc measures, is hereby declared inoperative and void ; it being the true in tent and meaning of this act, not to legislate slavery into any rrerritory or State, nor to exclnde it therefrom, but to leave the people thereof perfectly free to form and regnlato their domestic institutions in their own way, subject only to the Constitution of tho United States: Provided, That nothing herein contained shall be construed to revive or put in force any law or regulation which may have existed prior to tho act of sixth March, eighteen hundred and . twenty, either protecting, establishing, prohibiting or abolishing slavery." When this amendment was presented to the Senate it became tho signal for opening anew the s1u.very agitation wi th redoubled fury. It was opposed by the anti-slavery scutiment of tho North as a violation of a solemn compact ;--as au attempt to tear down a sacred barrier between freedom and slavery for the purpose of spreading that in stitution over the virgin soil of the country. On the other band it was contended that it was necessary in order to give full effect to the compromise of 1850; the spirit and intent of which was to withdraw from Uung rcHs all control over the 'rilE KANSA~-NEBHASKA DILT.J. 485 qucst!on of slnvery in tho territories, and leave the people the rem free to act as they pleased. We gi vc no debates u~on. tho bill for the reason that t hey arc now, in ca:ten ·o, wJthm. the reach aud remembrance of all who take any interest m the matter. rrl10 bill pa. sed the Senate on the 3d day of March, 1854, by the following vote: . ~eas-Mcssrs. Adam , Atehi so n, lladgcr1 Bayard, BeuJamm, Brodhead, Brown , Butler , Ca·s s , Clay , D uw~on, Dixon, D~dge of I owa, Douglas, E va11 , I~,itzpatric k, Geyer, a Will, IIuotcr, J ohnson, J ones of I owa, J ones of r:rcnn o~s eo, ~~ason, Mor to n, Norris, P ettit, Pratt, R usk, SebnsLtan, Shrclcl , Slicl ell, t uar t, Thomp. on of Kentucky r.rhoru P· Oll of Now J crscy, Touccy' 'V cllcr, anu William ' --37. ' Nay. -~e · r" . Bell, Chase, Dodge of Wiscon ·in, F csseudcn, F1sh, Foot, Jlamlin, IIou to n, James, Seward Smith, Sumner, Wade, and Walkcl',-14. ' It ~as delayed in the IIousc till the 23d day of May, when 1t passcu that body, , Lriking out whnL was called the Clayton amendment, restricting the righLs of aliens so far us suii'ragc was concern ed. rrhc following is the vote in the Jion ·o : Democrats from Sla vc States " 11 Free " Whigs from Slave StaLes " Free Total, YI<;As. G3 43 13 109 NAYS. 4 46 5 41 100 It was return ed to the S nate, and on the 25th of May, the llouse amcn(lmcnt wa, concurred in by a vote of 36 to 13. On the 30Lh of May; i L was sign cU. by the Pre ident, arHl t.qus became the law uu<.l cr which Lhoso terri tories were organized. It would seem that both the N orth and the Sonth construed |
