66 ANTI-SLAVERY RESOLUTIONS. agraph in the Baltimore Clipper, charging the notorious Vallandigham" with furnishing matter sympathizing with poor bleeding Dixie," and offering "various suggestions how the Yankees might be defeated," to a journal called the South, the office of which had been visited by the police. He moved that it be referred to the Judiciary Committee, to inquire into the truth of the allegations. This brought Vallandigham to his legs with a stout protest against the whole proceeding. He denied utterly the truth of the paragraph, and loudly asseverated his loyalty. There were some further remarks, in which Hickman, called upon for a specification of certain suspicions which he had alluded to, evoked, among other things, in support of the "common rumor," the Ohio member's July speech in the extra session. "In the distant future," said he, "when treason and rebellion shall have received their reward, he might look at that speech again as a curiosity of the past." He also reminded Mr. Vallandigham that on the visit of the latter to an Ohio camp in Virginia, "the soldiers knowing him, compelled him to leave on the ground that he was suspected of disloyalty." The resolution was finally withdrawn by its mover, who professed himself satisfied with the declarations it had called forth. "The gentleman having expressed far more loyal sentiments in this discussion than at any time since the meeting of Congress, I am willing that the fact of his protestation should go before the country, and that he shall stand as he is for the present." The constitution of both Houses was largely Republican, about two-thirds of the members being devoted to the interests of that party. The rump of the old Democratic party, and a small intermediate body of "Unionists" composed the remainder. The Republicans, of course, stood by their anti-slavery creed, and as the "peculiar institution" was now inextricably involved with the fortunes of the 511 war, every blow struck for the latter was a wound inflicted on the other. To extinguish slavery, it was fast getting to be the opinion of the dominant party, would be one of the most effective, if not an indispensable means of the suppression of the rebellion. The government was not yet prepared for this; though there were probably few thinking men who did not hold the opinion that in one way or another the two events would be associated. In the mean time, the Republican members of Congress watched with a jealous eye every opportunity for the promotion of the interest of the slave. On the very first day of the session, Mr. Trumbull, of Illinois, in the Senate, gave notice of his intention to introduce a bill "for the confiscation of the property of rebels, and giving freedom to the persons they hold in slavery;" while on the same day, in, the House, Mr. Eliot, of Massachusetts offered a joint resolution on the conduct of the war, in which, while all power under the Constitution "to interfere by ordinary legislation with the institutions of the several States" was disclaimed, it was urged that the existing war must be conducted according to the ordinary usages and rights of military service; that the rights of property and civil relations, of necessity, yield to the safety of the State, and that, as a necessary consequence, "the President of the United States, as the commander-in-chief of the army, and the officers in command under him, have the right to emancipate all persons held as slaves in any military district in a state of insurrection against the national government, and that we respectfully advise that such order be issued wherever the same will avail to weaken the power of the rebels in arms, or to strengthen the military power of the loyal forces." Mr. Campbell, and Mr. Stevens, of Pennsylvania, also offered resolutions looking to the same result, the confiscation and emancipation of the slaves of rebels, with compensation to loyal citizens who might suffer in conse quence. Mr. Sumner of Massachusetts, in the rebellion, with an extension t called for information respecting General Halleck's "General Order No. 3," excluding fugitive slaves from his lines in Missouri, and the subject was also brought forward by Lovejoy, of Illinois, in the House, when explanations were offered similar to those we have already presented.* others who should be in arms sixty days after a proclamation shall have been made by the President warning them to return to their allegiance. A single bill embracing these features, was adopted by the Senate, which, after reference to a committee of Conference, was passed by both Houses, at the end of the session, in the Senate by a vote of 27 to 13; in the House of Representatives by 82 to 42. It was entitled "an act to suppress insurrection, to punish treason and rebellion, to seize and confiscate the prop The first section pronounced the punishment of treason. Every person adjudged guilty of this crime "shall suffer death, and all his slaves, if any, shall be declared and made free; or he shall be imprisoned for not less than five years, and fined not less than $10,000, and all his slaves, if any, shall be declared and made free; said fine shall be levied and collected on any or all of the property, real and personal, excluding slaves, of which the said person so convicted was the owner at the time of committing the said crime, any sale or conveyance to the contrary notwithstanding." second section extended the penalties of imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years, and of a fine not exceeding $10,000, with the liberation of his slaves, to any person inciting or otherwise aiding in rebellion. Persons guilty of these offences were to be forever incapable of holding any office under the United States. The bill of Senator Trumbull, introduced on the 5th of December, provided for "the absolute and complete forfeiture forever" of every species of property of persons in arms against the United States, or in any wise aiding or abetting the re-erty of rebels, and for other purposes. bellion; the forfeiture to be enforced in rebellious districts by the military power, elsewhere by the courts, and the proceeds of the confiscation, subject to the just claims of loyal creditors, to be held for the benefit of loyal citizens, despoiled of their property by the rebellion, and to defray the expenses incurred in its suppression." The slaves of rebels were to be freed, and it was made the duty of the President "to provide for the colonization of such of them as may be willing to go, in some tropical country where they may have the protection of the government, and be secured in all the rights and privileges of freemen. This was a great advance beyond the confiscation act of the previous session, the penalties of which were confined to property used or intended for the purposes of the rebellion, and to the virtual emancipation of slaves actually employed in hostile service against the United States. It was far wider in its operation, and more summary in its execution. Various other bills were proposed and discussed with divers amendments, till the subject was referred, in May, to a select committee, of which Mr. Clark, of New Hampshire, was chairman. Separate bills of emancipation and confiscation were passed in the House of Representatives, limiting the penalties, in the first instance, to certain persons more prominently engaged A Confiscation was provided for in the following sections: "That to insure the speedy termination of the present rebellion, it shall be the duty of the President of the United States to cause the seizure of all the estate and property, moneys, stocks, credits, and effects of the persons hereafter named in this section, and to apply and use the same, and the proceeds thereof, for the support of the army of the United CONFISCATION ACT. States, that is to say: First, of any person hereafter acting as an officer of the army or navy of the rebels in arms against the government of the United States; secondly, of any person hereafter acting as President, Vice President, Member of Congress, Judge of any court, cabinet officer, foreign minister, commissioner, or consul of the so-called Confederate States of America, thirdly, of any person acting as governor of a State, member of a convention or legislature, or judge of any court of any of the so-called Confederate States of America; fourthly, of any person, who, having held an office of honor, trust or profit in the United States, shall hereafter hold an office in the so-called Confederate States of America; fifthly, of any person hereafter holding any office or agency under the government of the so-called Confederate States of America, or under any of the several States of the said Confederacy, or the laws thereof, whether such office or agency be national, State, or municipal in its name or character: Provided, That the persons thirdly, fourthly, and fifthly above described, shall have accepted their appointment or election since the date of the pretended ordinance of secession of the State, or shall have taken an oath of allegiance to, or to support the Constitution of the so-called Confederate States; sixthly, of any persons who, owning property in any loyal State or territory of the United States, or in the District of Columbia, shall hereafter assist and give aid and comfort to such rebellion; and all sales, transfers, or conveyances of any such property shall be null and void; and it shall be a sufficient bar to any suit brought by such person for the possession or the use of such property, or any of it, to allege and prove that he is one of the persons described in this section. And be it further enacted, That if any person, within any State or Territory of the United 513 States, other than those named as aforesaid, after the passage of this act, being engaged in armed rebellion against the government of the United States, or aiding or abetting such rebellion, shall not, within sixty days after public warning and proclamation duly given and made by the President of the United States, cease to aid, countenance, and abet such rebellion, and return to his allegiance to the United States, all the estate and property, moneys, stocks, and credits of such person shall be liable to seizure as aforesaid, and it shall be the duty of the President to seize and use them as aforesaid, or the proceeds thereof. And all sales, transfers, or conveyances of any such property after the expiration of the said sixty days from the date of such warning and proclamation shall be null and void; and it shall be a sufficient bar to any suit brought by such person for the possession or the use of such property, or any of it, to allege and prove that he is one of the persons described in this section. And be it further enacted, That to secure the condemnation and sale of any such property after the same shall have been seized, so that it may be made available for the purposes aforesaid, proceedings in rem shall be instituted in the name of the United States in any District Court thereof, or in any Territorial Court, or in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, within which the property above described or any part thereof, may be found, or into which the same, if movable, may first be brought, which proceedings shall conform as nearly as may be to proceedings in admiralty or revenue cases, and if said property, whether real or personal, shall be found to have belonged to a person engaged in rebellion, or who has given aid or comfort thereto, the same shall be condemned as enemies' property, and become the property of the United States, and may be disposed of as the Court shall decree, and the proceeds thereof paid into the treasury of the United States for the purposes aforesaid. And service of the United States shall, under be it further enacted, That the several courts aforesaid shall have power to make such orders, establish such forms of decree and sale, and direct such deeds and conveyances to be executed and delivered by the marshals thereof, where real estate shall be the subject of sale, as shall fitly and efficiently effect the purposes of this act, and vest in the purchasers of such property good and valid titles thereto." Several sections were devoted to the emancipation and treatment of slaves. By the first it was provided, "That all slaves of persons who shall hereafter be engaged in rebellion against the government of the United States, or who shall in any way give aid or comfort thereto, escaping from such persons, and taking refuge within the lines of the army; and all slaves captured from such persons, or deserted by them and coming under the control of the government of the United States; and all slaves of such persons found or being within any place occupied by rebel forces, and afterward occupied by the forces of the United States, shall be deemed captives of war, and shall be forever free of their servitude, and not again held as slaves." Another section excluded rebels from the privilege of reclaiming fugitives, and relieved officers of the army and navy from a fruitful cause of embarrassment: "And be it further enacted, That no slave escaping into any State, Territory, or the District of Columbia, from any other State, shall be delivered up, or in any way impeded or hindered of his liberty, except for crime, or some offence against the laws, unless the person claiming said fugitive shall first make oath that the person to whom the labor or service of such fugitive is alleged to be due, is his lawful owner, and has not borne arms against the United States in the present rebellion, nor in any way given aid and comfort thereto; and no person engaged in the military or naval any pretence whatever, assume to decide on the validity of the claim of any person to the service or labor of any other person, or surrender up any such person to the claimant, on pain of being dismissed from the service." The President was "authorized to employ as many persons of African descent as he may deem necessary and proper for the suppression of this rebellion; and for this purpose he may organize and use them in such manner as he may judge best for the public welfare ;" and also, "to make provision for the transportation, colonization, and settlement, in some tropical country beyond the limits of the United States, of such persons of the African race, made free by the provisions of this act, as may be willing to emigrate, having first obtained the consent of the government of said country to their protection and settlement within the same, with all the rights and privileges of freemen." The concluding sections of this important act vested in the courts of the United States power to carry its provisions into effect, and authorized the President "at any time, hereafter, by proclamation, to extend to persons who may have participated in the existing rebellion in any State or part thereof, pardon and amnesty, with such exceptions, and at such time, and on such conditions as he may deem expedient for the public welfare." Besides this comprehensive act, capable, at the discretion of the President, of so wide an application, there were several others passed during the session more or less directly affecting the paramount question for the the nation, of the perpetuity of slavery within its limits. Two of these determined the long agitated topics of the continuance of the institution in the District of Columbia, and its exclusion from the territories. A bill for the abolition of slavery in the District was introduced in the House of Representatives in the first week of the session, and the Committee EMANCIPATION IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 515 emancipated in the British West Indies, and the prosperity of the islands, and by placing the question on the higher grounds of humanity, of Christianity, and of duty. He cited the 58th chapter of Isaiah, in which the prophet pictures the results of freeing the oppressed and "now, sir, this nation has an opportunity, if I may say so-and I say it reverently of putting the Almighty to the test, and of seeing whether the consequences that his prophet has foretold, or his senator has predicted, will follow, as the result of this measure." for the District, to which it was referred, reported on the 12th of March in favor of the measure. Mr. Wilson, of Massachusetts, meanwhile, in the Senate, on the 16th of December, had introduced a bill of immediate and compensated emancipation" for the release of certain persons held to service or labor in the Dis-breaking every yoke, and concluded, trict of Columbia," which was also referred to the Committee on the District. The Committee, on the 12th of February, reported the bill with amendments, and it was taken up for consideration on the 12th of March. The debate on this and subsequent days was marked by the opposition of senators from the border States. Despairing of defeating the measure entirely, its adversaries, while prepared to vote against it on any terms, sought to neutralize its influence in favor of general emancipation, by engrafting upon the bill new conditions of surrender. Garrett Davis, of Kentucky, while he denied the right of Congress to legislate at all in the matter, urged an amendment requiring all persons liberated under the act to be colonized out of the limits of the United States. He required the colonization to be compulsory; for the liberated slave, he maintained, would not voluntarily emigrate, and if he remained, "especially in the States where there are many slaves, it will inevitably and immediately introduce a war of extermination between the two races." The liberated negroes, becoming criminals and paupers, would become a sore burden upon the white population of the District, while, if emancipation should be extended to the cotton States, it would be "giving up those States to the negro race, and expelling, in a very short time, by inevitable necessity, the white population from that country, or it is introducing war between the two races that will result in the exile or expulsion of one or the other." Mr. Hale, of New Hampshire, met the convictions of the Senator from Kentucky by reference to the general good conduct of the negroes Mr. Doolittle, of Wisconsin, thought colonization desirable, but it should be with the consent of the liberated. There could be but three solutions, he said, to this negro question. One was that of Calhoun, holding slavery to be a blessing to mankind, black and white, and promoting its extension under the reign of King Cotton, till the slaveholding aristocracy should shake hands with the slaveholding empire of Brazil. This was the voice of Southern fanaticism, and the dream of the rebellion. A second solution was that of John Brown, placing black and white on an equality, a condition of affairs which the senator declared would result either in "irrepressible conflict," or amalgamation. The third was the solution of Jefferson-a separation of the two races by colonization, "a solution in accordance with that law of the Almighty by which the black man dominates the tropics and always will; by which our race dominates the temperate zone, and will forever. Hayti, and the regions bordering on the Gulf offered a home for the race." Cuba was, of itself, said Mr. Doolittle, "capable of receiving and maintaining the whole negro population of the United States."* Pomeroy, of Kansas, was surprised "to find upon a bill of this character the entire question of the colonization and condition of the races of the world. * Speech in the Senate, March 19, 1862, |