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CONGRESS OF THE U. STATES.
Slavery in the District of Columbia.
Unite of Rrpvetenlatives, February,B, 1836.
Resolved, That all the memorials that
have beeiLotfered, or may hereafter be
presented to this House, praying for the
abolition of Slavery in the District ol
Columbia ; and also the Resolutions of
fered by an honorable memberfrom Maine
(Mr. Jarvis,) with the amendment pro
posed by an honorable member from Vir
ginia, (Mr. Wise) together with every
paper or proposition that may be submit
ted in relation to the subject, be referred
' to a Select Committee, with instructions
to report
That Congress possesses no constitu
tional authority to interfere, in any way,
with Slavery in the District of Columbia,
it would be a violation of the public faith,
unwise, impolitic and dangerous to the
Union. Assigning such reasons for these
conclusions, as in the judgment of the
Committee, may be best calculated to
enlighten the public mind, to allay ex
citement, to repress agitation, to secure
•and maintain the just rights of slave-hold
ing States, and of the people of this Dis
trict, and to restore harmony and tran
quility among the various sections of this
Union.
MR. PINCKNEY of South Carolina.
Mil, HAMER of Ohio.
MR. PIERCE of New Hampshire.
MR. HARDIN of Kentucky.
MR. JARVIS of Maine.
MR. OWENS of Georgia.
MR. MULENBERO of Pennsylvania.
MR. DROMGOOLE of Virginia,and
MR. TUR RILL of New York,
■were appointed a Committee in pursu
ance ol the Resolution.
Attest: W. S. FRANKLIN. CIerk.
Mr. Pinckney, from the Select Cum
mitlce, to whick the subject had been re
ferred, made the followin';
REPORT.
The Select Committee, appointed under
the above Resolution of the House of
Representatives, of (he United Slates,
of the 18th February, 1835, respect
fully submit the following Report in
which they have unanimously concur
red :
The subject referred, is one of grave
import. Your Committee approach it
with a deep sense of its magnitude and
absorbing interests. They have long
considered the movements in relation to
this matter, as fraught with incalculable
evils, not only to the Slave-holding Slates,
but to every portion of our common coun
try. They rojoice, therefore, that the
great bod y of the people of the non-Slave
holding States have come forwaid, as
they have done, in the true spirit of A
mcrican patriotism, to sustain (heir con
stitutional obligations to their Southern
brethren, and to arrest the disturbance
•if the public peace. They rejoice parti
, cularly, that the Federal Legislature,
acting under a deep sense of its respon
sibility to the nation, has also interposed
its warning voice, and given a solemn ex
pression of its judgment upon this ex
citing subject; and they feel assured,
that as the Representatives have respun -
dod to the people, so the people will pa
triotically sustain the position now taken
by their Representatives.
As moderation is essential to the dis
covery of truth, your committee will
carefully abstain from every thing that
may cause offence, or inflame excitement,
in any section of the Union. But while
they would make every allowance for
the motives of individuals, where the ob
jects contemplated are utterly destruc
tive to society, they cannot too strongly
express their condemnation of die con
duct of the Abolitionists, and their utter
abhorrence of the consequences to which,
if persisted in, must inevitably lead.
They feel assured that no man, or set of
inen, will be permitted to put the coun
try and the Government at defiance, by
persevering in machinations which threa
ten to bring the citizens of the different
States into collision, and to overthrow the
whole system of civil society itself, in
the shareholding portions ol the Union.
Your Committee believe that (he strength
of the agitators has been greatly exag
gerated, by themselves and others, but
whether their number be small or great,
there can be no doubt that they have
done and are doing, incalculable evil;
and every true patriot must be aware that
a crisis has now arrived in the political
condition of the country, in which neu
trality would be criminal,and in which he
must determine between the suppression
of abolition, and the destruction of the
Union, and take his stand accordingly,
for nr against his country.
Your Committee have learned with
surprise, that the reference lias caused
dissatisfaction in certain portions of the
South. While they deeply regret this
circumstance, they beg leave to remark,
that it is not onl y abundantly justified by
precedent, but in entire accordance with
the established usage and invariable poli
cy; in relation to matters of this charac
ter, in memorials praying for the aboli
tion of slavery in the States or in the
District of Columbia, have always been
either referred or laid upon the table. On
the present occasion, the subject waste
ferret! for the express purpose of having
a report “ calculated to sustain the just
rights of the Slave-holding States, and of
the people of this district, and ‘by allay
ing excitement, & suppressing agitation,
to insure the future repose and perma
nent tranquility of the country. The
House was unwilling on the one side to
invade what was believed to be the right
ol petition [a right equally dear to every
portion of our people, and which it is
thought, could not have been denied in
this instance, without establishing a pre
cedential least as hazardous to the South,
as any other section of the Union ;] and
it was desirous on the other, to accom
plish for the South, what could not have
been effected by refusing to receive the
memorials, the union of an overwhelming
majority, in a solemn and determined
stand against the views and objects of
the applicants. Whilst the denial of the
right of petition could have produced
none other than the most mischievous ef
fects, your committee are thoroughly sa
tisfied that the course adopted by the
House will produce a state of public opin
ion and feeling in (he non-slave holding
States, eminently favorable to the consti
tutional rights and interests of the Slave
holding sections of the Union.
The resolution under which vour Com
mittee were appointed, naturally div ides
itself into several branches or proposi
tions, each of which shall be considered
in its order.
They are instructed to report in the
v. f" ■st place
That Congress possesses no constitu
it tional authority to interfere in any wav
ic with the institution of slavery in any of
c (lie States of this Confederacy.
,f Your Committee will merely allude
f- to (his proposition, in obedience to the
e express direction given them by tbe
i- House, and not for the purpose of enter
■- ing into any argument respecting it. Un
v questionably, if there is any political or
- constitutional principle, which the people
ff ofthe United States consider as settled
s beyond all possible dispute or controver
sy, it is that the institution ot slavery, as
it exists in the States of this confederacy,
, is municipal, not national, and that it be
, longs exclusively to the Slates, and can
, only be affected by State Legislation,
e Hie power to regulate or act upon it, is
b one of the reserved powers of the States ;
,• a power which was not only not given,
i nor ever intended to be given, by the fra
- ohms of the constitution, to the General
■ Government, but which the States ex
. pressly and carefully guarded and retain
- ed to themselves, by that amendment of
- [hat instrument, (article 10) in which it
s :« declared that “ all powers not delega
ted by the constitution of the United
. States, nor prohibited by it to the States,
are reserved to (he Slates respectively,
or to the people.” The subject of Sla
very in the Stales, then, is not an open
question or matter of debate. The fact
that Congress possesses no authority
. whatever to legislate respecting if, is one
1 that can neither be strengthened by ar
gument, nor made clearer by discussion.
. And your Committee consider it nio.vt
fortunate for the pence of the country .that
it is so. lie. is indeed but little acquain
ted with the hum in heart, and has deri
. veil but little advantage from the lessons
of history, who can image for a moment,
if he knows any thing of the general char
r acler, or considers the political and phy
f sical strength of the people of the South,
, that even if the power of legislation on
this subject had been expressly conferred
i on Congress, by the constitution it could
- not be exorcised against the consent of
the States interested without the certain
■ (y of civil war, and the probable destruc
t tion of (he Union.
The declaration, however, which (he
House has solemnly and decidedly made
i upon this point, cannot fail, as your com
mittee believe, to produce the most hope
ficial results. As the abolitionists Care
little for the emancipation in the district,
except as the precursor of a far more ex
tended and general scheme, the presump
tion is, that having now no possible hope
of Governmental interference with the
.States, and seeing the more than proba
ble'conscqucnces of the exercise of such
a power if it were possessed, they will
discontinue their machinations in relation
to the District, a consummation devoutly
to he wished by every patriot, in every
section of the Union, But he the issue
what it may, the House of Representa
tives has done iis duty by placing this
solemn declaration upon record. It is
not only peculiarly proper in itself, con
sidering the present state of the abolition
question, but, if any justification were
necessary, it is amply justified by prece
dent. In 1790, (and from this period to
the present, the abolitionists have steadi
ly aimed at general emancipation,) so
, vend petitions, praying for the abolition
-of slavery in the states, having been pre
sented and referred, the House finally
adopted a resolution, amongst others, in
which it announced to the petitioners,
and to the country “that Congress had
no authority to interfere in (he emanci
pation of slaves, or in the treatment of
them, in any of the States, it remaining
with the several States alone to pro
vide any regulations therein, which hu
manity or policy may require.’ Upon
the whole your committee consider the
instruction given them by the House upon
ihis point, rather as a decisive expression
of a fundamental principle of the consti
tutional law, than as a call upon them to
sustain a questionable position. They
arc aware that some members voted a
gainst the instruction upon this point,
under the impression that, whilst the
principle asserted, is unquestionable in
itself, its assertion by the House, in tills
form might seem to imply doubt, and to
countenance the idea that it is really de
bateable. In this view, the members who
thus vgted, may be joined, perhaps, by
. many intelligent and worthy citizens of
, the slave-holding states; but yourcom
. miltee cannot believe that the assertion,
( in any form, by the House of Represen
tatives, of n principle so important, and at
, the same time of so strong a local bearing,
I and particularly by a vote so nearly ap
. preaching unanimity as is recorded on its
i journal in favor of this instruction, can
( have a tendency to weaken that princi
r pie or its binding and paramount intlu
, once upon Congress and the country in
. all time to come. The precedent above
. quoted from the Congress of 1790, shows
. that the House ot Representatives of that
. day, so far troui tearing the effect of such
, action upon its part, sought to record its
, solemn conviction upon this question of
. power in themselves, and has handed
v down to us its judgment, in precise accor-
J dance with our own. That House was
C largely, if not entirely, composed of men
. of the revolution, and many of its meat
, bers are known to have been also mem
. bers of the convention which formed the
. Federal constitution. Since that period.
3 nearly half a century has rolled away,
I and now that the successors of that House,
f acting under the same considerations, so
s lemiily reaffirm the principle laid down
, by those great and good men, and avow
. it to be not only the settled opinion of
this Congress, but of the great body of
j the people of the United States, may we
. not hope, & corniced include that it will
. be hereafter, deemed a solemn and deli
, berate exposition ofthe constitution, and
, that all attempts in future to violate those
1 sacred compromises, which lie at the ve
f ry foundation of our constitutional com
. pact, or to excite apprehension on this
1 subject, will be effectually counteracted
amt defeated. Your committee cannot
. but indulge a most confident and anima
e ted hope that these good effects will be
K educed by the present action of the
ouse.
- h our Committee are instructed to re
. port, in the second place—
that, in the opinion of this House,
- Congress ought not to interfere, in any
s way, with slavery in the District of Co
- lumbia.
1 Ist, because it would be a violation of
the public fai th.
e To obey this instruction of the Housi
in the manner pointed out in the resoln
- tion, it will be necessary to examine, t(
V some extent,.the relations betqfen thi
1 Federal Government and the District «
Columbia ; the probable objects of the
e provision in the constitution, authorizing
e the cession of the District to the Unitei
e States; and the consequent expectation:
•- which may have been rationally enter
i- tained by the States that made the ces
r sion, as to |the exercise, by Congress, ,o
e the powers granted to it over the cedeii
1 territory. Before entering upon the ex
- animation, however, it may be well to re
s mark, that the powers of Congress ovei
’> this District involved in this discussion
- are wholly independent of, and derivet
i from a source entirely separate from, the
• general legislative [lowers granted tc
s Congress by the constitution. As the
; legislature of confederated States, the
, powers of Congress are equal, and of uni
■ versal application, throughout all tin
1 Slates, and (hey were given to Congress
• before this cession of tlic District, and
• were held and exercised independently
f thereof. This will he made manifest by
t a brief statement of facts. The first Con
- gross, under the constitution, assembled
I on the 4ih of March, 1789, and the Go
> vein merit provided for by the Consiitu
. lion was organized on that day. The
■ general powers conferred on the different
i branches of Iho Federal Government were
t exercised Imm that day forward ; and
r (lie union of the States, under constitu
:■ tional*government, was then, perfected
• and put in practical operation. 'The ces
. sion from Virginia of that portion of the
t District of Columbia that belonged to her,
l was not made until the 3d of December
■ of that year—nine months after the Fe
deral Government had been in operation;
> and the cession by Maryland of that por
, tion of (he District that, belonged to her,
■ (and in which the Seat of Government is
hi fact located,) was not made until the
19lh day of December, 1791 —more than
two years and nine months after the ex
istence of the Government in its present
constitutional form. Congress did not,
in fact, remove to the District thus ce
ded, nor did the district thus ceded be
come practically the seat of Government
until the year 1800; and the laws ofthe
States by which the District was ceded
were declared, by an act of Congress of
the 16th July 1790, to “be in force with
in (lie District until the removal of the
Government to it, and until Congress
shall otherwise by law direct.”
It appears, then, that the Federal Go
vernment was in operation under the
Constitution nearly a year before Con
gress possessed any power of local le
gislation over any portion of the District
of Columbia, and nearly three years he
fore that power became as extensive as
the present hounds ofthe Distri ct, or
included that portion of the ten mile
square in which the seat of Government
is in fact located. It also appears that
the first act ofthe Federal Legislature
in reference to its jurisdiction then part
ly acquired, and partly to be acquired,
was to provide for the continuance, in all
their force, and in every particular, with
in the District, of the laws of the States
that made the session, until December,
1800; a period of nine years after the
time when the powers of Congress, as a
local legislature for the District, were
perfected by the State of Maryland.
Nor is tins all; by the act of 1790 it was
declared, as has been already shown,
that the laws of Maryland and Virginia
should be the laws of the District, not
only “until the time fixed for the remo
val of the Government thereto,” but al
so “until Congress shall otherwise pro
vide by law.” No alteration, however,
to any considerable extent, has yet been
made, and the laws of Virginia and Ma
ryland which were in force at (he time of
their respective cessions, and in force
respectively in the portions of the Dis
trict ceded by each, still continue to be,
in almost every particular, the local laws
of the District of Columbia.
Such are the relations at present ex
isting between the Federal Government
and the District, so far as local legisla
tion is concerned. The powers of Con
gress as the local legislature of the Dis
trict, were derived from the cessions by
Virginia and Maryland, and the special
grant of exclusive legislation, and not
1 Irom the general powers conferred upon
it by the Constitution, and these special
and local powers which Congress has
now possessed for nearly half a century,
• have been exercised only to the extent
above described ; and, from the best in
formation your committee have been
■ able to obtain, to no other or greater ex
■ tent.
1 The right of Congress to accept the
1 cession ot this territory from the State
of Virginia and Maryland, is found in
(he eighth section of the first article of
the Constitution of the United States,
which gives it power “to exercise exclu
-1 sive legislation in all cases whatsoever
over such District, not exceeding ten
miles square, as may by cession of par
titular States, and the acceptance of
Congress, become the seat of Govern
ment of the United States,” and the
purpose for which the cession was to be
1 made and received, is declared in the
language of the constitution itself, “such
District as may become the Seat of Gov
ernment of the United States.” The
■ cession, therefore, was to be made for
- this purpose, and for no other; ami as
• regards its use by the Federal Govern
' merit, the object of this provision evident
■ ly was simply to authorize Congress to
1 accept the grant, and to exercise the
powers of legislation therein provided
1 for.
1 It will be conceded by the committee,
for the purpose of this report, that the
I cession was made in conformity with the
■ power of Congress to receive, and that,
' therefore, by the cession from Virginia
; and Maryland, Congress is in possession
of the powers which the constitution in
tended it should possess over the district
s intended to be ceded.
This brings us to the injury, as to the
t probable objects of the grant of “exclu
sive legislation in all cases whatsoever,”
- over the territory which was to const!-
1 (ute the Seat of Government of the Uni
ted States. In consulting the commen
■ tatorsupon the constitution, it will be
found that the old Congress encountered
, inconveniences, and even dangers, from
r holding their sessions where State legis
latures had exclusive local jurisdiction,
and where State authorities alone were
f to be depended on in matters of police
and personal protection. Indeed, an
'4
■ 111 I I IMI
- ■
se adjournment of that Congress from the
i- State of Pennsylvania to New Jersey,
to for a cailsc of this description, which
ic occurred at tlie close of the revolutiona
n( ry war, no doubt contributed greatly to
ie the introduction of this clause into*the
ig constitution of the Union. The proceed
d mgs of the old Congress show distinct
is ly, that the acquirement id' a territory
r* for the seat of the Federal Legislature,
s- over which it should have exclusive or
at special jurisdiction, was a favorite idea
d with that body, as early as the
«- and that it continued up to the time of
i- the formation of the constitution. Upon
;r this point your committee will only de
i, tain the House with a few of the resolu
d tions adopted by the old Congress, that
e go to establish it. On the 7th of Octo
to ber, 1783, a resolution Was passed “ that
ie buildings for the use of Congress be
ie erected on or near the banks of the Dela
i- ware, provided a suitable district can be
ie procured on or near the batiks of the said
is river for a federal town, and that the
d right of soil, and exclusive, or such oth
y er jurisdiction as Congress may direct,
y shall be Vested in the United States.”
i On the 21st of the same month, (Oct.
d 1783,) another resolution was passed,
'• preceded by a preamble as follows:
■ “ Whereas there is reason to expect that
e tiie providing buildings for the residence
it ol Congress in two places will be pro
-0 ductive ol the most salutary effects, by
d securing the mutual confidence and af
i- lections of the States, Resolved, That
d buildings be provided for the use of Con
i' gross at or near the lower end of the falls
e ol the Potomac, or Georgetown, provi
•, ded a suitable district on the banks of
i" the river can be procured for a federal
town, and the right of soil, and an e.xclu
; sive jurisdiction, or such other as Con
- gress may direct, shall be vested in the
■, United States.”
s On the 20th of December, 1784, the
e old Congress passed, among others, the
1 following resolutions:
“ Resolved, 1 iiat it is expedient that
t Congress proceed to fake measures for
, procuring suitable buildings to be erect
- ed for their accommodation.
“ Resolved, That it {$ expedient for
t Congress at this time to erect public buil
;■ dings for their accommodation at more
1 than once place.”
I These resolutions by the continental
• Congress, as to the expediency and ne -
cessity lor a territory for the seat of the
s Federal Government, over which it
should have peculiar, if not exclusive
- jurisdiction, are produced to show the
‘ origin of the provision in the constitu
tion upon that subject, and the object for
which (he acquisition for such a territo
l ry was desired. That object, beyond all
question, was to secure a seat for the
s Federal Government, where the power
r of self protection should be ample arid
- complete, and where it might be exerci
l sed without collision or conflict with le
l gislatiye powers of any of the Stales, so
: tar as its exercise should be required for
the great national purposes for which the
i peculiar or exclusive jurisdiction was
i sought to be obtained. 'The jurisdiction
■ was made exclusive, not as your com
> mittee believe, and as they think every
, considerate citizen wilt admit, to change
' the object of the grant of the jurisdic
i tion when it should be made, but to se
' cure that object more effectually by raa
. king the Federal Government indepen
' dent of State interference, and of State
protection within the district where it
i was to he located, and where its deliber
ations should be held. Had the legisla
tive power of Congress over this Dis
trict, not been made exclusive, one of
the great and wise objects intended to
be secured, the prevention of conflict
between the Federal and State legisla
tion, would have been unnecesarily de
feated. Every statesman will admit the
extreme inconvenience and danger of
granting powers of legislation of the
same character, aad to be exercised with
in the same territory, (powers of local
and municipal legislation,) to two dis
tinct and independent legislative bo
dies; and the extreme difficulty, if not
impossibility, of defining the portions of
power to be exercised by each, as to pre
vent constant conflict and collision.
This must have been the result, if any
I division of the powers of local legisla
i tion within the district of Columbia, had
i been made between Congress and the
1 States by which the territory was ceded
> to the United States. Congress requi
. red all that power which through all
1 time, would be indispensably necessary
lor its own protection, and also to ren
i der all the departments of (lie Federal
Government, independent of State au
thority, and entirely dependent on, and
■ obedient to, the Federal Legislature,and
it alone, in all matters of police or mu
i nicipal legislation. The adoption of the
I Federal Constitution by the people of
, the several States with this provision in
- it, shows that the attainment of those
■ objects was considered of paramount im
i portance ; and hence in the judgment of
■ your committee, the power in question
I" was made exclusive.
Assuming the correctness of the pre
“ mises, the next enquiry is, what expec
‘ tat ions were the States by which the Dis
‘ diet was ceded, as well as their sister
1 States, were authorized to entertain as
• to the exercise by Congress of the legis
lative power derived from these cessions ?
r The cessions included not only a portion
i of the territory of those States, but also
a portion of their citizens. To secure
■ the great national objects intended by
1 the cession, the jurisdiction of the States
over those citizens, as well as over the
• territory of the District, was transferred
to the Federal Legislature. This trans
• ter, from the necessity of the case,
r abridged the rights of the citizens with
e in the territory, who had been formerly
> entitled to vote for their legislators anti
I other rulers, by subjecting them to a go-
II vernment composed of persons in whose
election they were to have no choice.
1 Their grievance, however, was confided
to those entrusted with the common go
-1 vernmeut of all the States ; and when
’ w ® reflect upon the confidence reposed
in Congress by the States that made the
■ transfer, and by the citizens transferred,
' it accounts at once for the readiness with
which this cession was effected. Still
'i the question recurs, what expectations
1 might reasonably be entertained by the
n States making the cession, by the "other
• -states of the Confederacy, so far as their
interests were directly or indirectly in
-1 \ olved, and by the citizens thus placed
I under the peculiar care of Congress, as
II to the exercise of the powers conferred
t upon it by this cession of territories for
, a scat of the Federal Government!
i Your committee have no hesitation to
- say, in answer to this enquiry, that those
j expectations, by all the parties interest
e ed, not only might, but must have been,
- j that Congress would exercise the power
- i conferred, so far as their exercise should -
i bo found necessary for the great national
, | objects of the cession with strict refer-1
r ence to the accomplishment of these ob- i
iljects; and that all powers conferred by
, j the cession would be exercised with an
{'equally strict reference to the interests
i and welfare of the inhabitants of the Dis
- trict—those citizens of two free Stales
- who bad been made dependent on Can
t gross for their local legislation, fur the
- protection of life, liberty, and property —
t rights guaranteed by the Constitution to
; every citizen of the Confederacy—in
- order that a seat for the Federal Govern
: merit, subject to the exclusive control of
I Congress, might be granted to it. ll'
■ thsse positions are correct, it follows nc
- cessarily that the institutions, the cus
, toms, the rights, the property and every
’ other incident pertaining to those citi
. zens, and municipal in its character,
. which they enjoyed as citizens of the
: States to which they belonged before the
I cession of the District, and which did
not then, and have not yet, interfered
• with the great national rights and privi
’ leges intended to be secured by the ces
sion, should h ive hitherto, and should be
in all time to come, guarded and preser
ved with the same paternal care and kind
i ness with which the Legislatures of the
States to which they belonged, would
have guarded and pun tec ted them if they
had continued to be entrusted to theii
respective jurisdictions.
Your Committee rely confidently up
on this as the great rule for the faithful
action of Congress in reference to this
subject. They feel assured that no ra
tional man will differ with them. Two
questions, then, remain to be considered,
to determine whether Congress should
or should not attempt to interfere with
slavery in the District of Columbia, viz :
1. Do the great national objects which
were intended tube secured to the Fede
ral Government by. the cession of the
territory, require such action on the part
of Congress r
Your Committee will make no argu
ment upon so plain a proposition. No
individual within their knowledge, not
even the most deluded fanatic, has ever
asked, or attempted to justify, a measure
ol this description upon such a pretext.
The security and independence of Con
gress, from the moment of its removal
to this District to the present hour, have
been as perfect as the framers of the
Constitution could have desired. No
intimation lias ever been heard that the
existence of slavery in the District of
Columbia, has ever produced the slight
est danger or inconvenience either to the
interests or to the officers of the Federal
Government within it. Surely, then,
Congress cannot be called upon to inter
fere with that institution within the Dis
trict as one of its duties growing out of
the national objects connected with the
cession ; and it such interference is de
manded from it, the demand must grow
out of its relations to the District as a
local legislature. This brings the Com
mittee to (lie remaining question.
2. Would (he States of Maryland
and Virginia, if the cession of this terri
tory to the Federal Government had not
been made, from anything which has
been shown to Congress, be induced to
interfere with or abolish (ho institution
of domestic slavery within it ?
At the time of the cession from those
States, slavery existed in every portion
of their territory, in the same degree,
and subject to the same laws and regula
tions, by which it was authorized and re
gulated in the territory ceded to the
French Government. It still exists in
those States, without any material varia
tion or modification of their laws respec
ting it. As those States then, have not
abolished it in the territories remaining
under their jurisdiction, is it reasonable
to suppose that they would have abolish
ed it within the territory comprising the
District, had they continued to retain
their original jurisdiction over it? Can
any reason whatever be given for the abo
lition of slavery in this particular Dis
trict, which does not apply with equal
force to every other slave-holding sec
tion of the country? Can any cause be
shown why the Stales of Maryland and
Virginia would have abolished, or would
now abolish slavery in the District, had
it continued to form a part of those
States respectively, which would not
have warranted or produced general
abolition throughout thes Setates ? Most
unquestionably not I—As those Slates,
then, have not abolished it in the Dis
trict of Columbia, if it had continued
subject to their action. It follows con
clusively, therefore, that Congress, as
the local legislature of the District,
and acting independently of the nation
al considerations connected with its
powers over it. is bound, for the preserva
tion of the public faith, and the rights of
all parties interested, to act upon the same
paternal regard, which would have go
verned the States by which the District
was ceded to the Federal Government.
And it is unnecessary, to add, that Con
gress has acted wisely in treating the in
stitutions found in existence at the time of
the cession as the institutions of the peo
ple of the District; in continuing their
laws and customs, as the laws and cus
toms to which they had been used, and
which should never be altered, or inter
fered with except when the people them
selves may be desirous of a change.
Your committee must go further, and express
their full conviction, that any interference by
Congress with the private interests or rights of the
citizens of this District, without their consent,
would be a broach of the faith reposed in the Fe
deral Government by the states that made the
cession, am! as violent an infraction of private
rights as it would have beon if those States them
selves, supposing their jurisdiction had remained
unimpaired over their territory, had abolished sla
very within those portions of their respective lim
its, and had continued its existence, upon its pre
sent basis, in every other portion of them. And
surely there is no citizen, in any quarter of the
country who has the smallest regard for our laws
and institutions, State and national, or for equal
justice, and an equality of rights and privileges
among citizens entrtlcd to it, who would attempt
to justify such an outrage on the part of those
States. The question then is. Ate the citizens
of the District desirous of a change themselves 1
Has arty request or movement been made by them
that would justify an interference with their pri
vate rights on the part of Congress'! Hone,
whatever ! The citizens of the District not only
have not solicited any action on the part of Con-
• | but it is well known that they earnestly
j deprecate such action, and regard, with ahhor
({ fence the attempts that are made by others, who
i have no interest whatever in the District, to ef
fect it. It is impossible, therefore, that any such
I interference on the part of Congress could bejus
! titled, or even palliated, on the ground that it
i was sought or desired by those who are, alone in*
* terested in the subject. If, therefore. Congress
1 were to interfere with this description 6f property
| against the consent of the people of the District;
I your committee feel bound to say, that it would
j he as gross a breach of public faith, and as out
i rageous an infraction of private rights, as it would
have been if such interference had been commit
ted by the States of which the Distort was for
merly a part, supposing that it never had been
ceded to the United States.
\ our committee will here anticipate an objec
tion which may Lc urged against this reasoning,
and these conclusions. They have shown that
the powers of Congress over the District divide
themselves into two classes, national and local ;
that in reference to the former, the action of Con
gress should be governed by the interests of the
whole country, so fur as they arc connected with
the branches of the Federal Government located
within the District; that in reference to the lat
ter, its powers arc and its action should be, those
ol a local and municipal legislature extending its
paternal care and protection ever the citizens de
pendent upon, and subjected to, this branch of its
authority; that in the exercise of its powers, the
safest stand in rcfe cnce to slavery is, what would
the Slate to which the District originally belon
ged, and of which its citizens were originally citi
zens, have done in case their jurisdiction had never
been transferred to Congress, and that those Stales
would certainly not have interfered with the in
stitution of Slavery in the District, had the power
to do so remained with them. The objection an
ticipated is, that the States in question have pur
sued an unwise policy as to themselves, and that
their having done so should not have hound Con
gress, as the local legislature of tlw District, to a
similar policy in relation to its government. To
this, however, your committee consider it per
fectly conclusive to reply, that under our institu
lions that people is the best governed, which is
governed most in accordance with its own habits,
interests, and wishes; that the policy
pursued by Congress in reference to slavery with
in the District, your committee have every reason
to believe, has been in perfect conformity with the
wishes and interests of the citizens concerned ;
and that it will he time enough for Congress, ac
ting as the local legislature of the District, and in
that capacity bound to consult the governed, as
the regulators of its action, to move in any matter
relating to their private interests and rights, when
they themselves shall ask such movement.
There is another consideration connected with
this part of the argument, which your committee
think worthy of attention. It is this: that there
is no law in the District prohibiting the master
from manumitting his slaves, which he may do
at his own discretion, and without incurring any
responsibility whatever. Certain it is that no
such law has been passed by Congress. The ci
tizens of the District, therefore, have no necessity
for the aid of Congress, should they wish tho abo
lition of slavery among them. They hate only
to exercise an existing fight, and their wish wifi
ho accomplished. Can there he more decisive
evidence, then, that they do not wish the abolition
ot slavery, than that it continues to exist among
them ! or can any one desire more conclusive
proof that any attempt by Congress to effect this
object by the force of law would he an interfer
ence with the rights of private properly, against
tho wishes and consent of those concerned, and
for none of the purposes for which Congress is
authorized by the constitution fotake private pro
perly for public use 1
Hence your committee believe they have pro
ved, beyond the power of contradiction, that an
interference by Congress with slavery in the Dis
trict of Columbia would he a violation of the pub
lic faith—of tho faith reposed in Congress by the
States which ceded the territory of the Federal
Government, so far as the rights and interests of
those citizens residing within the ceded territory
arc concerned,
(To be concluded in our next )
$5 BE WARD.
Runaway, from the Sob
4scrllicr, about Ibo first ot April
Blast, a Dun or Mouse colored
AliD, about twelve hands high,
i-Ae* 10 or 12 years old, branded on the
left shoulder, but the brand is not recollected.
[ will give five dollars for the delivery of the
Marc in Jacksonborougll, Striven county, Geo.;
or any information will be thankfully received.
SOLOMON MEEDS,
dune 8 3ivv 72
NOTICE.
HIS is to inform the public, that I do hcre-
Js by forwarti all persons from trading for
certain promissory notes, which I am informed
are in the hands of Mr. C. Pollock, and made
payable to the said Pollock, as I owe him no
money, or note, or in any other way whatever.
If he has got any notes on me, he has got them
in an underhanded way, for tho purpose of de
ceiving the public, and I am determined not to
pay any of said notes.
DAVID FREEMAN.
May 31 ‘1836. 4tw 72
NOTICE.'
F|iNHE undersigned, owners and legal represen
i tatives of the owners of One Thousand or
more Shares in the Capital Stock of the AUGUS
TA INSURANCE & BANKING COMPANY,
hereby call a general meeting of the Stockholders,
in said Institution, to be held at their Banking
House, in Augusta, at 10 o’clock, A. M., on
MONDAY, the 11th of July next, to take into
consideration the propriety of calling in additional
Instalments of the Capital Stock, in accordance
with tiro recommendation of the Board of Direc
tors ; and decide on such propositions, relative to
the general interests of tho institution, as shall be
there submitted.
Wm. Smith, R. Cavipbf.lt.,
T. J. Pabmelf.is, John Boxes,
H. 11. Cummino, I. R. St. JohnA, Co,,
Trs’toe, John Coskehv,
Samuel Clarke, J. & W. Harper,
Joseph Davis, Wm.M.D’Antionac,
Richard Tubman, Wm.M. D’Antionac,
James Fraser, Trustee,
R. F. Poe,Trustee. W H. Turpin,
May It 04
GEORGI A HOTEL,
Gainesville, Ga.
a The undersigned informs
his friends and tho public generally,
that he has taken the above spacious
establishment, situate oh the north
west corner of the public square, in the pleasant
Village of Gainesville, Hall county, where he is,
and hopes at ail other limes to be prepared to ac
commodate Regular and Transient Hoarders ,
in as comfortable stylo, as the up country will af
ford. His House Lots, and Stables arc largo and
commodious, and of the most approved construc
tion. Attached to his HOTEL are several neat
out buildings, suitable for private boarders and
families. The beautiful and excellent, Lime
Stone Springs , in the neighborhood of Gaines
ville, its notoriety for HEALTH, and the refine
ment ofits society, renders it a desirable Summer
Retreat, not only to tho invalid hut to the gay
and the fashionable. All who may call at the
Hotel, will find a home,as the proprietor will spare
no pains or trouble to render his guests comfor
table.
LORENZO RIFLE V.
May 7 3m 63
E. D. COOKEr
•Vo. 197, Broad street,
TWO DOORS ABOVE HIS OLD STAND
HAS received, and has now on hand, a very
extensive and well selected Stock of
Goods, consisting of every article of Ready Made
clothing, suitable for the present and coining
season, of the first quality and latest fashion,
among which arc many fine goods, of new style
all of which he oilers for sale very, low, and in
ivtcs his friends and the public in general, to call
and examine.
Nov, II 12
NOTICE.
A YOUNG MAN of steady habits and a good
’ jfm. accountant, is desirous of obtaining em
ployment either in a Dry Good or Grocery store,
i A letter addressed to J. P. Dougherty and left
at this office will meet with immediate attention,
1 A P ril 16 Btw 57
i Georgia, Columbia County:
. Isilac Ramse .v tolls before
1 4 n,e . a stray Black HORSE, with a
- in Wn face, his hind feet white,
1 VJ i ao( ' olle white saddle spot; snppo
. sed to he fifteen or twenty years of
. age. Appraised to twenty dollars, by John Cli
, att and David Wilkins.
Thomas Tudor, J. P.
DAVID HARRIS, Clerk.
June 1 m 3tw 70
|
. | On the first Tuesday in September next,
WILL be sold at the Court House door in
the Town of Waynesboio’, agreeably
i to an order of the Honorable the Justices of the
I Inferior Court of Burke county, when sitting as
■ a Court of Ordinary, 166 acres of Land in said
s county, belonging to the Estate of Charles Joiiosj
r deceased, adjoining Lands of A. Pemberton^
■ Fielding Fryor, and the Estate of P. Matthias;
i Terms of sale made known on the day.
! JOHN M. JONES, Adm’r;
I June 1 wtd 70
NOTICE.
EDNEYis my legally author"
V w Led agent during my absence from tire
State of Georgia.
HENRY R. LEWIS.
May 15 wtf 65
VJiIITIOJV.
ALL persons arc hereby cautioned againstgiv
_ ing credit to any member of my family, for
goods, wares, or merchandize, without a written
order from me ; as I shall pay no accounts con
tracted upon my account, or upon the faith of my
credit, without such an order,
JAMES G. STALLINGS.
May 18 w2m 66
RowjjsUjysr s uotjejl.
Greenville, S. C.
The subscriber respectfully
tti'itWi informs his friends, and the |iublic
ISs*|j&B generally, that his house still ro
mains open for the accommodation of
Travellers, where the usual attention will be gU
veil.
W. T. ROWLAND.
Greenville, S. C. Mat/ 18 Otw 68
SS.MTBJ.
MRS. STURGES lakes leave to notify to
the public, that she will open a Boarding
House at this desirable retreat, on the first Monday
in Jupe, when she will take pleasure in receiving
. and accommodating such families or single per
sons as may favor her with a visit. It is deemed
unnecessary to say any tiling concerning tho
■ healthiness or pleasantness of the above situation,
i its fame is sufficiently far spread.—Mrs. Slurges
; promirea to such as may patronize her, that her
■ host efforts shall be put forth for their comfort and
j accommodation.
May 18 4lw 66
! HUTCHINS & SIMMONS,'
.lltornies at JLatv,
LAWRENCEVILLE, GEORGIA,
HAVING associated themselves in the prac
tice, under the above firm, will practice
in the several counties of Gttdnnctt, Newton,
Walton, Jackson, Hall, Lumpkin, Forsyth, Gher
, okeo, Cass, Walker, Floyd, Cobb, DeKalb, Homy
■ and Coweta.
NATHAN L. HUTCHINS,
JAMES P. SIMMONS,
ffj The Chronicle and Constitutionalist, An
gusta, the Georgian at Savannah, and Courier
and Mercury at Charleston, will please publish
the above weekly for four weeks, and forward
their accounts for payment to
HUTCHINS & SIMMONS.
! May 25 4tw 68
TO PLANTERS.
The Subscribers offer for sale,
'fififiKfif- about 16,000 acres of Land, situated
** y,Lv- in tho fork of the Alabama and Tom
mSsSssS'. bEckbeo Rivers, having a front on the
latter, of 13 miles, and outlie former, of about
i a mile.
These lands offer a very desirable inducement
to large Planters, who may ho disposed to emi
grate into Alabama. They arc situated only
about 50 miles from the city of Mobile, arc high
I cane brake Lands, and of the most approved dc
scriptrion for the culture of Cotton.
, Contiguous to them are several high, healthy
situations for Summer residences, with numerous
‘ springs of the purest water.
About 500 acies are now cleared, and have
, been several years under corn culture, the rej
mainder is well wooded with Poplar, Linn, Ash.
and Hickory.
The convenience of the above Lands to the
thriving city of Mobile, by two fine Rivers, navi
gable at all seasons of the year by Steam Boats,
renders them a very desirable object to Planters,
or others, who are disposed to invest on them.
Terms &c. can be ascertained on application to
the subscribers, at Mobile.
McLOSKEY, HAGAN & Co.
\ Mobile, 17lh May, 1836. wsw 70
, filial
1 DAIL.Y MIL ROUTE. -
fgnHE Petersburg Rail Road Company in
i M form the public that their Road, extending
| from Petersburg Va., to Blakely, North Carolina,
on the Roanoke, a distance of 00 miles, and con
stituting a part of the Great Daily Mail Route
North and South, is now amply provided with su
perior'Locoraotivcs and Cars, to accommodate al
the travel that may offer. The Cars leave each end
of tho Road daily on the gfrival of the respective *
Mails. Travellers with their own equipages, can
have their horses and carriages transported on this
Road with perfect safety and convenience: and
thus perform in 5 or 6 hours, while resting their
horses, a journey which would otherwise require
■ two days to accomplish.
'* _P :J 1 ‘ Uv 1 -' JI I tin cnilffinrn Iprmm-itmrc
of the Rail Road has been rc-huilt of brick on an
enlarged scale, and no pains will be spared to ren
der its accommodation such as will give satsfac
lion to passengers and travellers generally.
Besides the daily line of Mail Coaches from
Blakely for the South, via Raleigh, Fayetteville
&c. there is a lino Via Tarborough three im w , a ,
week, connected with the Mail Line at Fayette--
ville and also a line from the Rail Road at Beheld
to Clarkesville, Milton and Danville. '
Another tri-weekly Line from Blakely, passes
through Warrenton, Oxford, &c. and councils
, with a lino to Salisbury, N. C.
In the course of the season a branch will be \
opened from the Petersburg Rail Road at Bcl
field, to Wilkin’s Ferry at Gaston.on the Roanoke,
. from whence a Rail Road to cross the river by
. a bridge, is now about to be constructed to Ra
• Icigh.
The Rail Road from Baltimore to Washington
. is now in operation, thence to Potomac landing,
. the line is continued by Steamboats, thence via
, Fredericksburg to Richmond, a considerable pm
tion of the Rail Road is finished—and tho re
mainder is in a rapid Murse to completion. The
line continues from Rlfmmond to Petersburg, by
a turnpike road—and thence by the Petersburg
Rail Road to Blakely, as before mentioned, is the
main and only dally mail route between Boston
and New Orleans.
March 25 2twlm&w6ra 51
The other city papers, and also, the Columbus
Enquirer, Millodgeville Journal, Columbia Tslo
scope, Camden Journal, & Cheraw Gazette, will
insert the above twice a week for one month, and
once a week for tho following six months, and
forward their accounts to this office for settle
ment. They arc requested, also, as a favor, to
send, each, one or two Nos. of their paper direct
ed to “ The office of the Rail Road Co. Peters
burg, Va.”
i