for a longer time than two months; if he does, the justices have power to order such person to depart, &c.; and if such person shall not depart within ten days, &c., such person shall be committed to the prison or house of correction. And for this offence, &c., he shall be whipped, &c., and ordered again to depart in ten days; and if he does not, the same process and punishment to be inflicted, and so toties quoties."

The state of Connecticut, by statute of 1792, declared

"That when an inhabitant of the United States (this state excepted) shall come to reside in any town in this state, the civil authorities, or major part of them, are authorised, upon the application of the select-men, if they judge proper, by warrant under their hands, directed to either of the constables of said town, to order said person to be conveyed to the state from whence he or she came.

"The select-men of the town are to warn any person not an inhabitant of this state, to depart from such town; and the person so warned, if he does not depart, shall forfeit and pay to the treasurer of such town, one dollar and sixty-seven cents per week. If such person refuse to depart or pay his fine, such person shall be whipped on the naked body, not exceeding ten stripes, unless such person depart in ten days.

"If any such person return after warning, he is to be whipped, again, and sent away, and as often as there is occasion."

By statute of 1796, it was declared, that

"Whatsoever negro, mulatto, or Indian servant, shall be found wandering out of the bounds of the town or place to which they belong, without a ticket or pass in writing, to be taken up," &c. "No free negro is to travel without a pass from the select-men or justices."

"Every free person shall be punished by fine, &c., for buying or receiving anything from a free negro, mulatto, or Indian servant."

The state of New York passed a statute in 1801, declaring, as shown in the following, the right to expel from the state the white, negro, or mulatto people of other states of the Union; viz.

"If a stranger be entertained in the dwelling-house or out-house

of any citizen for fifteen days, without giving notice to the overseers of the poor, he shall pay a fine of five dollars."

"If such person continue above forty days, the justices can call on the inhabitants of the town or city, and the person may be sent to jail," &c. And the justices may cause such stranger to be conveyed from constable to constable, until transported into any other state, if from thence he came.

"If such person return, the justices, if they think proper, may direct him to be whipped by every constable into whose hands he shall come; to be whipped, if a man, not exceeding thirty-nine lashes; and if a woman, not exceeding twenty-five lashes; and so as often as such person shall return."

We have thus plainly and frankly described the rights enjoyed by the free negroes in the United States. We might have explained their social position and industrial habits; but neither of them are creditable to the race. It is but fair to admit, however, that there are circumstances producing their degradation. If the negro race had equal advantages to those enjoyed by the white race, we do not know to what degree of industrial position they might attain.

CHAPTER XX.

The Missouri Compromise of 1821; the Passage of the KansasNebraska Bill of 1854; the Dred Scott Decision.

THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE OF 1821.

THE ordinance of 1787, establishing the north-west territory, declared, that

“There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in the said territory, otherwise than in the punishment of crimes," &c.: provided, "that any person escaping into the same, from whom labour or service is lawfully claimed in any one of the original states, such fugitive may be lawfully reclaimed, and conveyed to the person claiming his or her labour or service as aforesaid."

This ordinance, adopted by consent of Virginia, established, that there should never be slavery in the territory north-west of the Ohio river. The states of Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi, were admitted into the Union after the constitution was adopted. Those states were taken from the territories of states that formed the constitutional government of 1789; and slavery existed in them prior to that date. Louisiana and Florida were purchased with slavery existing in them. When Louisiana was formed into a state, in 1812, the whole territory west of the Mississippi river, and north of Louisiana, had but a few settlements; and in the organisation of Missouri from a part of the old Louisiana territory, the slavery question was agitated. This immense domain was pur

chased from France, and paid for at the expense of the whole nation. Slavery actually existed in Missouri in 1821, when that state was admitted into the Union; and, in fact, from its first settlement. The question in Congress, with respect to the Missouri organisation, was called the "slavery restriction ;" and had in view the same principle as now understood by the term "non-extension of slavery." The proposition was, to limit or restrict slavery to the territories of the old states, and to forbid its further introduction into the purchased domain, both before and after state organisation. The restriction was most powerfully advocated in Congress while the Missouri question was pending in 1817, 1818, 1819, 1820, and 1821. In 1818, the Missouri Bill was discussed; and Mr. Tallmadge, of New York, offered the following amend. ment; viz.

"That the further introduction of slavery or involuntary servitude be prohibited, except for the punishment of crimes whereof the party shall be duly convicted; and that all children of slaves, born within the said state after the admission thereof into the Union, shall be free, but may be held to service until the age of twenty-five."

The bill, thus amended, passed the house by a vote ofyeas, 98; nays, 56. It was then sent to the senate. In that body, the motion to strike out all after the word "convicted," was carried by-yeas, 27 against the restriction; nays-for the restriction, 7. On the motion to strike out the other part of the restriction the vote stood-yeas, 22; nays, 16. The bill, as amended, was then sent to the house; where it want of time, the bill failed to receive further consideration

met with opposition; and, for

during that session. In 1819, the Missouri Bill was again taken up, and warmly discussed. In the meantime the legislatures of nearly all the northern states passed resolutions, and forwarded them to Congress, in favour of the restriction just cited. The legislatures of the slaveholding states, with but one or two exceptions, were against the restriction. At this Congress it was proposed to admit the state of Maine into the Union; and the resolve for the admission of Missouri was added to the Maine Bill as a rider: ultimately, however, the bills for the admission of these states were taken separately. Mr. Thomas, of Illinois, proposed an amendment to the bill; viz.

"In all that territory ceded by France to the United States, under the name of Louisiana, which lies north of thirty-six degrees thirty minutes north latitude, excepting only such part thereof as is included within the limits of the state (Missouri) contemplated by this act, slavery and involuntary servitude, otherwise than in the punishment of crimes whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall be and is hereby for ever prohibited."

The constitutional fugitive slave clause was coupled with the above amendment. The bill thus passed the senate, and was sent to the house, where it was amended by a vote of 159 to 18. The adoption of the alteration was a virtual rejection of the senate bill. This amendment to exclude slavery from the territory north-west of latitude 36° 30', it will be observed, originated in the senate, and there passed its first reading by a vote of 34 to 10; among the ayes were fourteen senators, and, among the nays, were eight members from slaveholding states. On the engrossment of the bill, the vote stood-24 ayes to 20 noes. Of the former, there were twenty from the slaveholding states, and