In Some Cases This Leads To
A Slight Alteration Of The Latin Axiom, Salus Populi Est Suprema Lex,
Which May
Be read, "the will of the people is the supreme law." The
American constitution is admirable in theory; it enunciates
The
incontrovertible principle, "All men are free and equal." But
unfortunately, a serious disturbing element, and one which by its indirect
effects threatens to bring the machinery of the Republic to a "dead lock,"
appears not to have entered into the calculations of these political
theorists.
This element is slavery, which exists in fifteen out of thirty-one states,
and it is to be feared that by a recent act of the legislature the power
to extend it is placed in the hands of the majority, should that majority
declare for it, in the new States. The struggle between the advocates of
freedom and slavery is now convulsing America; it has already led to
outrage and bloodshed in the State of Kansas, and appearances seem to
indicate a prolonged and disastrous conflict between the North and South.
The question is one which cannot be passed over by any political party in
the States. Perhaps it may not be universally known in England that
slavery is a part of the ratified Constitution of the States, and that the
Government is bound to maintain it in its integrity. Its abolition must be
procured by an important change in the constitution, which would shake,
and might dislocate, the vast and unwieldy Republic. Each State, I
believe, has it in its power to abolish slavery within its own limits, but
the Federal Government has no power to introduce a modification of the
system in any.
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