The Greensborough patriot [January 10, 1861]

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BY SHERWOOD & LONG. a jFamtlp Kctospaper—Bfboteli to ^Literature, Agriculture, Jttanufactures, OTommrrcr, ana fttiscellamnus Keatring. TERMS—#2.00 IN ADVA*0$.
VOL. XXII. GOREEIISrSIBOIROTTGKH:, N. C, JANUAEY IO, 1861.
£ NO. 1,120.
The Crcrosborongh Patriot.
M 9. 8HKB<roOD. JAXI9 A. LOHO.
SHERWOOD & LONG,
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K r the Patriot.
ORDINANCE OF 1787.
Messrs. Editors: We have fallen upon evi<
time lie Union of these States is in immi-
■•■ii danger cf being fo/ever dissolved, and
war, bloodshed and carnage is more than
likely to be the result. If such should be the
direful result, woful indued, w;ll be our inher-itance.
What a dark and poluted mantel of
disgrace must cventually^envelope and forever
Bhroud the names of tlie party tricksters and
demagogues, who have, by their ambitious
selfishness, and unscrupulous party machina-tions,
superinduced the.se direful and heart-sicken.
ng results. I mi-.ke no pretensions to
ability, r.orhave I the position to give me in-fluence,
or weight wit'n the patriotic leaders
ofany party. Yet, thank God I have a heart
to feel, and deplore the great evils, the incal-culable
mischief these reckless, ambitious and
purely selfish leaders of the disunion party,
are fast bringing upon this happy land, and
our honest yet deluded people. Mow cheer-fully
would i yield up every thing I possess,
could I but ward o.*f the evils which now threa-ten
us as a Nation, and once more restore
peace and prosperity to my native land, and
her misguided people. 1 know too well, that
passion rules the hour, and that ^the masses
both North and South, i.re given over to y nd-ness
of mind and hardness of heart, for me to
hope to prevail upon them, to ioso 3ight of
their party and their anointed leaders for one
moment. It aeems to me that many of the
rank and i'.v, as well as their infatuated lea-der-;,
are now ready to destroy this great and
glorious Government of ours, for a party tri-umph:
they had rather be first inaNorthern
or Southern Confederacy than occupy a sub-ate
position in the present Government.
it in also clear 'M my mind, that wo have rot
ut'ain ;d, to this perilous situation we now oc-i
npy as a Nation, without having committed
eat errors, and without having materially
departed from the examples and teachings of
o irgallant and patriotic forefathers. Nor is
it reasonable to suppose that either tho South
Or tl b is entirely guiltless in this mat-ter.
1 shall then, with your permission, en-deavor
to say a few words touching the pres-ent
alarming crisis, with uhe hope of induc-ing
some one who has tho requisite ability to
take up his pen, or mount the stump in favor
of the Union, the Constitution and the perpe-tuity
ofour institutions, and present form of
Government. Nor shall I he deterred from
speaking the truth, and the whole truth on all
questions that 1 may discuss:, as far as I have
&bil ty and information to make it known.
1 in order that all may sec that I do not
5 peak at random, I ask you to copy the fol-ing
venerable record taken from the .Na-tional
Intelligencer, published many y«ars
since. UNION.
Htotea on Hie Ordinance of 1?8).
On the first of March, 1.784, a committee,
'consisting of Mr. Jefferson, of Virginia, Mr.
Chase, of Maryland, and Mr. Howell, of
Rhode Island, submitted to Congress the fol-lowing
Plan lor the temporary government
i.t the Western Territory :
The committee appointed to prep.ire a
plan for the temporary government of the
IV< stern Territory have agreee to the follow-ing
resolutions:
Ived, That the te-rritory ceded or to be
coded by individual States to the United
Stales, whensoever the same shall have been
purchased of the Indian inhabitants and of-fered
for sale by the United States, shall be
formed into additional States, bounded in the
following manner, at. nearly as such cessions
will admit; that is to say, northwardly and
southwardly by parallels of latitude, so that
each State shall'cocaprehend, from south to
north, two degrees of latitude, beginning to
count trom the completion of thirty -one "de
grees north of the equator, but any territory
northwardly e.i tl e forty-seventh degree shad
make part of the State next DelO'W. And
castward ly and westwardly they shall be
I, ti.osc on the Mississippi by that,
i iver OB o ne side and the meridian of tho low-t
point of the rapids of the Ohio on the
ir; and those adjoining on the east, by
idian on their western side, and
on th< ir eo stern by the meridian of 'he wee*
tern cape ,,f the mouth of the Great Kanaw-lia.
Am', the territory eastward of this last
meridian , between the Ohio, Lake Erie, and
•J vi aia, shall bo one State.
1 hat the settlers within the territory so to
be ' •■ I and offered for sale, shali either
on the ir own petition or on th;> order of Coo-
--■ † receive authority from them, with ap-s
of time ami place, for their f.ee
. of full age to meet together for the pur-ol
establishing a temporary govern
men i to adopt the constitution and laws oi
any one of these States, so that such laws
ertheleas shall he subject !o alteration b)
th* ir ordinary legislature, and to e rect, sub
I lu a like alt* aiion, counties or town-ps
lor the election of members for their leg-al
tire.
lint such temporary government shall on-couttuue
in lorco :n any Stale until i.
mul iiave acquired twenty thousand free in-
J"
ob
isl
I)
8.
habitants, when, giving due proof thereof to
Congress, they shall receivo from them au-thority,
with appointments of :imeand place,
to call a convention of representatives to es-tablish
a permanent constitution and govern-ment
for themselves.
Provided, That both the temporary and
permanent governments be established on
these principles as their basis :
1. That they shall forever remain a part of
the United States of America.
2. That in their persons, property, and ter-ritory,
they shall bo subject to tho Govern-ment
of the United States in Congress as-sembled,
and to the Articles of Confederation
in ail thoso cases in which the original States
shall bo so subject.
3. That they shall bo subject to pay a pan
of the federal debts, contracted or to be con-trrcttd,
to be apportioned on them by Con-gress
according to the same common rule and
measure by which appointments thereof shall
bo made on the other States.
4. That t''eir respective governments shall
be in republican forms, and shall admit no
person to be a citizen who holds any heredi-tary
title.
5. That after the year 1800 of the Chris-tian
era there shall bo neither slavery nor in-voluntary
servitude in any of the said States,
otherwise than in p-uiishment of crimes,
whereof tho party shall have been duly con-victed
to have been personally guilty.
That whensoever any of the said States
shall have, of free inhabitants, as many as
shall then be in aiy one of the least numer-ous
of the thirteen original States, such Slate
shali be admitted by its delegates into tho
Congress of tho United States on an equal
South Carolina Mr Read, no.
Mr Beresford, no.
Georgia (Absent.)
Thus the report of Mr. Jefferson for the
temporary government of the Western Ter-ritory,
without any restriction whatever as to
slavery, received the vote ofevery State pres-ent
except South Carolina. It did not "lay
on the table of Congress during the three
years from 1784 to 1787." Daring these
three years it was tho law of the land. It was
repealed in 16S7.
Nearly a year after tho first plan was adop-ted,
the clause originally offered by Mr. Jef-ferson,
as a part of the charter of compactfun-damentil
constitutions between the thirteen
original States and tho new States to be
formed in the Western Territory, prohibiting
slavery and involuntary servitude, was again
submitted to Congress, omitting the time
named—"after the yevr 1800 et the Chris-tian
era."
On the ISth of March, 1785.
" A motion was made by Mr. King, secon-ded
by Mr. Ellery, that the following propo-sition
bo committed :
" That there shall be neither slavery nor
involuntary servitude in any of the States de-scribed
in the resolve of Congress of the 23d
of April, 1784, otherwise than in the punish-ment
of crimes, whereof the party shall have
been personally guility ; and that this regu-lation
shall be an article of compact, and re-main
afundamcntal principle of tho constitu-tions
between the tirtcen original States and
each of the States described in the said resolve
of tho22d of April, 1784."
The motion was, "that the following prop-osition
be committed"—tnat is, committed to
footing with the said original States, after <la Committee of tho Wholo House; it was
which the assent of two-thirds of the United
States, in Congress assembled, shall be requi-site
in all those cases wherein, by iho confed-eration,
the assent of nine States is now re-quired,
provideu the consent cf nine States to
such admission may be obtained accor-ding
to tho eleventh of the articles of confed-eration.
Until such admission by their dele-gates
into Congress, any of the said States,
after the establishment cf their temporary
government, shall have authority to keep a
sitting member in Congress, with a right of
debating, but not of voting.
That the territory northward of the forty-fifth
degree, that is say, of tho completion of
forty-five degrees from the equator, and ex-tending
to the Lake of the Woods, shall be
called Sylvania; that of the territory under
the forty-tilth and forty-fourth degrees, that
which lies westward oi Lake Michigan shall
not "in the nature of an instruction to the
Coinmitteo on the Western Territories. At
that time there was no such committee. It
was a separate, independent proposition. The
very terms of it show that it was offered as
an addition to the resolve of April 23, 1784,
with the intention of restoring to that resolve
a clause that had originally formed part of
it.
Mr. King's motion to commit was agreed
to—eight Slates (New Hampshire, Massa-chusetts,
lihodo Island, Connecticut, New
York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Mary-land)
voted in the affirmative, and these
States (Virginia, North Carolina, ami South
Carolina) in the negative. Neither Dela-ware
nor Georgia was represented.
After tho commitment of this proposition
it was neither called up in Congress nor no-ticed
by any of the committee who subse-be
called Michigania; and that which is east- ! quently reported plans for tho government
ward thereof, within the peninsula formed by j ofIhe Western Territory.
lakes and waters of Michigan, Huron, St.
Clair, and Erie, shall be called Ckerronesus,
and shall include any part of the peninsula
which may extend above the forty-ijffh de-gree.
Of the territory under the forty-third
and forty-second degrees, that to the west-ward,
through which the Assenisipi or iiock
river runs; shall be call A&seni&iypia ; and
that to the eastward, in which are the foun-tains
of the Muskingum, the -.wo Miamies of
of Ohio, the Wabaflh, the Illinois, the Miami j
ot tiio Lake, and the Sandosky rivers, shall
be called Mesopotamia. Of the territory '
which lies under the forty-first and fortieth ■
degrees, the western, through which the riv- j
or Illinois runs, shall he called lllinoia; that ;
next adjoining, to the eastward, Saratoga; '
aud that between this iast and Pennsylvan- I
ia, and extending from the Ohio to Lake I
Erie, shall bo called Washington. Of the ter-ritory
which lies under the thirty-ninth and i
thirty-eight degrees, to which shall be added ,
HO much of the point of land within the fork | ry of Congress was directed to inform the
of the Ohio and Mississippi as lies under the I inhabitants of Kaskaskias "that Congress
The subject was not laid over from this
time till September, 1786. It is noticed as
being before Congress on the 24th of March,
the 10th ofMay, tho 18th of July, and the
24th of August of that year.
On the 24tn of March a report was made
by the grand committee of the llouse, to i
whom had been referred a motion of Mr. Mon-roe
upon tho subject of the Western Terri-tory.
On the 10ih of May, 1780, a report was
made by another committee, consisting of;
Mr. Monroe, of Virginia. Mr, Juh&aoa of!
Connecticut, Mr. King of Massachusetts, j
Mr. Keae, of South Carolina, and Mr- Pinck-ney,
of South Corolina, to whom a motion ot
Mr. Dane, for considering and reporting the !
form of a temporary government for the
shall always be entitled to the benefits of the
act of habeas corpus and of the trial by jury.
The governor and the judges, or a majority
them, shall adopt and publish in the districts
such laws of the original States, crimina land
civil, as may ho necessary and best suited to
tho circumstances of the district, t.nd report
them to Congress front time to time, which
shall provail :n said district until the organi-zation
of the General Assembly, unless disap-proved
of by Congress: but afterwards the
General Assembly shall have authority to al-ter
them as they shall think fit; provided
however, that said Assembly shave have no
power to create porpeiuities.
The governor for tie time being shall bo
comniander-iuichiefofthe militia, and appoint
and commission all oflcers in the same below
the rank of general officers ; all officers of that
rank shall boappointtdand commissioned by
Congress.
Previous to the orgsnization ofthe General
Assembly, tho Governor shall appoint such
magistrates and other civil officers in each
county or township a> he shall find necessary
for the preservation of peace and good order
in tho samo. Affer the General Assembly
shall be organized, the powers and duties of
magistrates and other civil officers shall be re-gulatod
and defined by the said Assembly ;
but all magistrates aid other civil officers, not
herein otherwise diluted, shall, during the
continuance of this emporary Government,
bo appointed by the Jovernor.
The Governor shal, as soon as may be,
proceed to lay out tin district into counties
and township, subjed, however, to such alter-nations
as may hereafter bo made by the Leg-islature,
so soon as tloro shall bh five thous-and
free male inhahiants, offull age, whithin
the said district. TJpon giving due proof
thereof to the Govrncr, they shall receive au-thority,
with timeane place, to elect represen-tatives
from their eainties or townships as
aforsaid, to lepresort them in General As-sembly
: provided, tiat for every five hun-dred
free male inhabtants there shall bo one
representative, and s» on progressively with
the number of free nale inhabitants shall the
right of reprcsentaion, increase, until the
number of representatives amount to twenty-five
; after which thi number and proportion
of representatives shall be regulated by the
Legislature: provided, that no person shall be
eligible or qualified ip act as a representative
unless he shall be aitizen of one of the Uni-ted
Mates, or have reided within such district
three years, and shdl likewise hold, in his
own right, in fee sirrple, two hundred acres
of land within the same; provided, also a
freehold er life cstr.ti in fifty acres of land in
tho said district, if aeilizen of any ofthe Un-ited
States, and twoyears' residence, if a for-eigner,
in addition, liall bo neeessary toqual-odinanee
:" they prepared and reported the
great BILL OF RUHITS for the territory noth-west
of the Ohio. -
The question is nere presented, why was
Mr. Carrlngton, a new member of thecominit-tee,
placed at the head of it, to tho exclusion
of Mr.Dane and Mr. Smith, who had served
previously? In the absence of positive evi-dence,
thero appears to be but one answer to
this question. The opinion of all the mem-bers
were known in Congress. In the course of
debate new views had been presented, which
must have been received with general appro-bation.
A majority of tho committee were
the advocates of these views, and the member
by whom they were presented to tho House
was selected as the chairman. Thero is noth-ing
improbable or out of tho usual course of
proceeding in this. Indeed tho prompt ac-tion
of the Committee and of Congress goes
very far to confiim it.
On the 11th of July, (two days after the
reference,) Mr, Carrington reported the or-dinance
for the Covernment of the territory
ofthe United States northwest of tho river
Ohio. The ordinance was read a secod time
on die 12th, (and amended,as stated below;)
and on the 13th it was read a third time, and
passed by the unanimous vote of the eight
State present in the Congress.
On the passage, the yeas and nays (being
required by Mr. Yates) were as follows;
New Hampshire
Massachusetts-
(Absent.)
Mr. Holton, aye.
Mr. Dane, aye.
Rhode Island (Absent.)
Connecticut (Absent.)
New York Mr. Smith, aye.
Mr. Haring, aye.
Mr. Yates, aye.
New Jersey Mr. Clark, aye.
Mr. Schureman, aye.
Pennsylvannia (Absent)
Delaware Mr. Kearney, aye.
Mr. Mithell, aye.
Maryland (Absent.;
Virginia Mr. Grayson, aye.
-Mr. R. H. Lee, aye.
Mr. Carrington, aye.
North Carolina Mr. Blount, aye.
Mr. Hawkins, aye.
South Carolina Mr. Kean, aye. *
Mr. Huger, aye.
Georgia. Mr. Few, aye,
M r. Pierce, aye.
It appears, then, that, instad of having
"this ordinance under deliberation and revi-sion
for three years and six months," in jive
days it was passed through all the forms ot
legislation—the reference, the action of tho
committee, the report, tho three several rea-dings,
the discussion and amendment by Con-gress,
and the final passage.
On the 12 of Julv, (as above stated,) Mr.
ativo to descents and dower shall remain in
full force until altered by the Legislature of
the district. And until tho Governor and
Judges shali adopt laws as hereinafter men-tioned,
estates in the said territory may be de-vised
or bequeathed by wills in writing, sign-ed
and sealed by Lim or her in whom the es-tate
may be, (being offull age,) and attested
by three witnesses; and real estates may be
conveyed by lease and release, or bargain
and sale, signed, sealed, and delivered by the
person, being of full age, in whom the estate
may be, and attested by two witnesses, pro-vided
such wills bo duly proved, and snob,
conveyan'-os be acknowledged, or tho execu-tion
thereo(|Muly proved, and be rceorded
within one year after proper; magistratos,
courts, aid registers shall bo appointed for
that purpose; and personal property may be
transferred by delivory, saving howevor to
the [inhabitants of Kaskaskies and Post Vin-cent]
French and Canadian inhabitants, and
other settlers of the Kaskaskies, Saint Vin-cent
s, and the neighboring villages who have
heretofore professed themselves citizens of
Virginia, their laws and customs no.v in
force among them relative to the descents and
conveyance of property.
Be it ordained by the authority aforesaid.
That there shall be appointed from timototime,
by Congress, a Governor, whose commission
shall continue in force for the term of three
years, unless sooner revoked by Congress;
he shall reside in the district, and have a
freehold estate therein, in one thousand acros
of land, while in tho exercisj of his office.
There shall be appointed from time to time,
by Congress, a Secretary, whose commission
shall continue in force for tour years, unless
sooner revoked; he shall reside-office,
the House of Representatives shall
nominate two persons, qualified «":aforesaid,
for each vacancy, and return their an res to
Congress; one of whom Congres* .hill op-point
and commission for tho residue ',f the
term; and every five years, f0, r m M ths at
least before the expiration of the ti n ■ - f ser.
vice of the members of Coon i . ire iaid
House shall nominate ten person*;, 'uv|-6.-das
aforesaid, and return their names to Co i.-ross
fivo of whom Congress shall apr*, nt and
commission to serve as members of t:e Conn-ed
five years, unless sooner remove i. I ndtho
Governor. Legislative Council, an" Jiouse of
Representatives, shall havo authoritv t, make
lawsin all cases for the good govori rent of
tho d.strivt, not repugnant to tin* , inciples
and articles in this ordinance ert*!f6Ved and
declared. And all bills having ..as.'d by a
majority :n tho House, and by a mnjdrity"in
the Council, shall bo referred to the bTvernor
for his assent; but no bill or legkla'ire act
whatever shall be of any force withe.,, his as-sent.
The Governor shall have rt;.Wer to
convene, prorogue, and dissolve tho General
Assembly, when in his opinion it shall be ex-pedient.
The Governor, Judges, Legislatirci Coun-cil,
Secretary, and such other olli-e •« i.s Con-gress
shall appoint the district, s' all ,ake an
oath or affirmation of fidelity and of office,
the Governor beforo the President of Con-gress,
and all other officers before t i Gover-nor.
As soon as a Legislature shal l*o form-ed
in the district, the Council an.' Boast, as-sem
Med in one room, shall hat* n'thority
by joi.it ballot to elect a delegate to Cmgiess,
who fhall have a seat in Congrc-s, with a
rigl t of debating, bnt not of voting,' during
in the dis- this temporary government.
trict, and hsve a freehold estate therein, in And for extending [to all parti ir -he Con-five
hundred acres of land, while in the exer- f>dtracy] tho fundamental princi dee kit civil
cise of his office. It shall hbea hiiiius d,!u-itt.y- tio.. k■*e,.e,.p« fl id v..I i,. II.I. j i . 1... .*.. _•■††i r. . tl *
and preserve the acts and laws passed by tho
Legislature, and the public records ofthe dis-trict,
and the proceedings of the Governor, in
his executive department, and transmit au-thentic
copies of such acts and proceeding ev-ery
six months to tho Secretary of Congress.
There shall also be appointed a Court to con-sist
of three judges, pay two of whom to
form a court, who shall have a common law
jurisdiction, and reside in tho district, and
have each therein a freehold estate in five
hundred acres ofland, while in the exercise
of their offices, and their commissions shall
continue in foece during good behavior.
The Governor and J udges, or a majority of
them, shall adopt and publish in the district
such laws ofthe original States, criminal and
civil,, as may be necessary and best suited to
the ciicumstances of the district, and report
them to Congress from time to time, which
laws shall bo in force in the district until
death of representa.re; or removal from offi-ce,
the Governor Bbll issue a writ to the coun-ty
or township for n-lich he was a member to
elect another in his scad to serve for the resi-due
of the time.
The general Assenbly shall consist of the
Governor, a Legislatve Council to consist of
five members, to be appointed by the United
States in Congress asembled, to continue in
office during pleasure any three of whom lo
be a quorum, and a Hiuse of Representatives
who shall havo a lcg?lative authority com
Western Territory was referred, This re-j p'fte in all cases for te good government of
port, after amendment, was re-commiued on
the 13th of July following.
On the 24th of August, 1780, the Secreta-
. ... • : - v« w.v, i-uwun, ioa nuu.c >taieu,i Jir. , . :""."" "* """•~ **"••»•■»• "■■"■ the
lfya man aselectorfor tho said re.presenta- Dane offered the following amendment which lho organisation of the General Assembly
Uve,- . . . , , „ was adopted as the sixth of the articles of! therein- unless disapproved of by Congress ;
1 he representation thus elected shall serve
for the term cf two pars, and. in case of the
"Articlethe Sixth. 1 hero shall be neiwier> rr.,,
slavery nor involuntary servitude in the said J?H l'0,'ernor/91th* t'">° bemg shall be
tenii . . r.vi.-o than in the punishment SS^ST'^ftS T' apP°l.nt
of crimes whereof the party shall Tave bcon i »n^ ^'omission all officers in tho same be-duly
convicted; Provided always, That any ! 7 'ho
r
rank C ^"^ale.fficers; all «K.B*L
person escaping into the same, Irom whom la- > ""'Cers [°?™ ,h"\ ™*) :=hal1 bj -ppomtod
Lor or service is churned in. any ofthe origi- a"£ c°""™*'°ned by Congress,
nal States, such fugitive may belawlully re- | , "revious to the organization ofthe Qener-claimed
and conveyed to the person claiming
his or her labor or service, as aforesaid."
This had. in part, been presented by Mr.
Jefferson in 17"^ 1, and again by Mr. King in
17->-">. The assertion that this clause, "as it
now exist.- in the ordinance," was "proposed
and carried by Mr. King, when neither Jef-thirty-
seventb degree, that to the westward,
within and adjacent to which are the conflu-ences
of the rivers VVabash, Shawnee, Tcni-seo,
Ohio, Illinois, Mississippi, and Missouri,
shall be called Polypotamia; and that to the
eastward, farther up the Ohio, otherwise call-ed
the Pelisipi, shall be called Pelisipia.
That all the precoding articles shall bo
formed into a charter or compact, shall be du- cut, Mr. Picknoy, o.' So
ly executed1 by the President ofthe United Smith, of New York, Mr.
have under their consideration the plan of a
temporary government for the said district,
and that its adoption will bo no longer pro-tracted
than the importance ot tho subject
and a due regard to their interest may re-quire."
On the 19th of September, 16(96, a commit-tee,
consisting of Mr. Johnson, of Connecti-
South Carolina, Mr.
Dane, of Massachu- »»}' I,)r(-e without hiiassent.
Spates, in Congress assembled, under his hand \ setts, and Mr. Henry, of Maryland, appoin- j Jlm Governor sha. have power to convene
and the seal of the United States, shall be jte^ to prepare a "plan of temporary govern-promulgated
and shall stand as fundamental j ment for such Districts ofnew States as shall
conditions between tho thirteen original States i be laid out by the United States upon tho
and those newly described, unalterablo but' principles of the acts of cession from individ-by
the joint consent of the United States, in I u"3-' States, and admitted into tho Confedera-
Congress assembled, and of the particular cv>". m»do a report which was taken up for
State within which such alteration is propos-! consideration on the29th, and, after 6omo
ed to be made. \ discussion and several motions to amend, the
This report was recommitted to the samo further consideration was postponed.
committee on the 17th of March, and a new On till, »r.th nf Anrll lfiV !l,^ „„.
one was submitted on the 22d of the same
month. The second report agreed in sub-stance
with the first. The principal difference
was the omission of the paragraph giving
On the 20th ofApril, 16S7, the same com-mittee
(Mr Johnson, Mr. Pickney, Mr. Smith,
Mr. Dane, and Mr. Henry, reponed "An Or-dinance
for the government of the Western
Territory." It was read a second time and
names to the States to be formed out of the j amended on the 9th cf May, when the next
day was assigned for tho third reading. On
the 10th, the order of the day for third read-ing
was called for by the Slate of Massachu-setts,
and was postponed. On tho 9th and
10th of May, Massachusetts-was represented
by Mr. Gorliam, Mr. King, and Mr. Dade.—
The proposition which, on Mr. King's motion,
was "tommitted" on tho lfith of March of
the preceding year, was not in the ordinance,
as reported by the committee, nor was any
motion made in the Congreiss to insert it as
amoi dment.
The following is a copy of the ordinance as
amended and ordered to a third reading.
An Ordinancefor the Government of the Wes-tern
Territory.
It is heroby ordained by the United States
in Congress assembled, that thero shall beap-poitcd,
from time to time, a Governor, whoso
! commission shall continue in force for the
term of three years unless sooner revoked by
| Congress.
There shall bo appointed by Congress, from
" time to time, a Secretary, whose commission
shall continue in force for four years, unless
sooner revoked by Congress. It shall be his
duty to keep and preserve tho acts and laws
passed by the General.Assembly, and public
records of the district, and ofthe proceedings
ofthe Governor in his executive department,
and transmit the authentic copies of such acts
and proceedings every six months to the Se-cretary
ol Congress.
Thero shall also be appointed a court, to
consist of threejudges, any two of whom shall
form a court, who bhall have common law
jurisdiction whose commissions shall continue
in force duringgood behavior.
And, to secure the rights ol personal liber-ty
and property to the inhabitants and others
purchasers in tho said districts, it is hereby
ordained that the inhabitants of such district
Western Territory. It was taken up for eon
si.ieration by Congress on the 19th of April,
on which day, on tho motion of Mr. Spaight,
of North Carolina, iho following clauso was
struck out:
That, after ho yea. 1800 of the Christian
ra, there shall be neither slavery nor invol-untary
servitude in any of tho said States,
otherwise than in the punishment of crimes
whereof ihc party shall havo been duly con-victed
to havo been personally guilty."
Tho report was further considered and
amended on the 20th and 21st. On the 23d
it was agreed io, (ten States voting aye, and
one no) without the clauso prohibiting slave-ry
and involuntary servitude after the year
1800. On the <iuestion lo agree to the report,
after the prohibitory clause was struck out,
the yeas and nays wore required by Mr. Ber.
estord. The vote was :
.\ w Hampshire
Massachusetts
Rhode Island
i bnnecticvt
New York
flow Jersey
Pennsylvania
Delaware
Maryland
V rgtnia
North Caro?i-ia
Mr Foster, aye.
Mr Blanchard, aye.
Mr Gerry, aye.
Mr Patridgo,aye
Mr E'.lerv, aye.
Mr Howell, aye.
Jir Sherman, aye
Mr Wardsworth, aye.
Mr Dewitt, aye.
M : Payne, ay<.
M r Beatty, aye.
Mr. Dick, ave.
Mr Milr1in, aye."
Mr Montgomery, aye.
M ■ Hand, aye.
(Absent)
M :• Sione, aye
Mr (.'base, aye.
Mr Jefferson, aye.
Mr Mercer, aye.
Mr .Monroe, aye.
Mr Williamson, aye.
Mr Spaight, aye.
said district; providd, that no act. of the said
General Assembly shdl bo construed to af- ,
feet any lands the ropcrty of the United £"£ "0r D'u'^ was P~£ ,s. *'''f ^Y I
idctfiurthcr. that the lands ! \nco"!*"• - !°j^ P/opos.t.on submitted by
Mr. King in 1/N>, (which was never alter-wards
called up in Congress,) there was no
provision tor reclaiming fugitives; and with-out
such a provision it could not have been
it all; besides, the clause, "as it now
exists in the ordinance," was proposed oy Mr-
Dane on the 12th of July, 1787, and carried
by tho unanimous voice of Congress when Mr.
King was not present.
Mr. King was a member of the Convention
for framing the Federal Constitution. Ho
was present and voted in the Convention on
the 12th July, 1787. The whole of that day-was
occupied in fettling the piDponion of rep-resentation
and direct taxation, which was
then determined as it now stands in the Con-stitution,
viz: "Ly adding to tho whole num-ber
of tree persons, including those bound to
States: and providediurther, that the lands
ofthe non-resident pnpriotorsshall in no in-stance
bo taked hider as the lands of resi-dence.
All bills shal' origiinate indifferently eith- ; • ,
er •in .tLho /L-ioaned-i ofr .rfc.ouso ofi Ro epresenrtat•i■ v e s†, Ic_a_r-r_ie.„d a :_
and. having been pasod by a majority in
both Houses, shall bereforred to the Govern-or
for his assent, af^o obtaining which they
shall becomplete an valid, but no bill or
legislative act whatecr shall bo valid or of
according
ure by which opportmtnent thereof shall be
r iade on the other Sates.
Tho Governor, Juges, Legislative Coun-cil,
Secretary, and sch other officers as Con-gress
shall at any tiie think proper to ap-point
in such district shall take an oath or
affirmrtion of fielelit; tho Governor before
the President of Cocjress, and all other offi-cers
before tho Govecrnor, prescribed on tho
27th ofJanuary, 17S, to the Secretary at
Wr.r, mutatus mutants.
Whensoever any f the said ,Statos shall
have of free inhvbitats as many as are equal
in number to tho on-thirtecnlh part of tho
cit zeas of tho origial States, to be computed
from the last criurmeation,such State shall be
admitted by its delegates into tho Congress of
the United States: rovideel :,he consent of
so many States in digress is first obtairic- I
as may at that timeb competent to sue!
missie n.
Resoivsd, That thl resolutions of tho 2SJ ol
A] ril, 1784, and ihoame are hereby annulled
and repealed.
Such was the ordbanco for the government
ofthe Western Tentory when it was order-dered
to a third reding on'the lOili^of May,
1787. It bad thenhnde no further progress
in the development f those great principles
for which it has tine been extinguished as
"one ot tho grcatesmonuments ot civil juris-prudence."
It mile no provision for the
equal distribution oestatcs. It said nothing
of extending th fndamental principles ol
civil anel religious liberty—nothing of the
rights of consciene, knowledge, or educa-tion.
It did not CQtain the articles of cotn-paat,
which were tremain unaltered forever
unless by common onsent.
We now come tone time when these great
principles were tirs brought forward.
On tho 9th of Jul, 17s7, the ordinance was
again referred, lie committee now consis-ted
of Mr. Carrintd, of Virginia, Mr. Dane;
ot Massachusetts, ir. R. H. Lee, of Virginia,
Mr. Kean, ot South'arolina, and Mr. Smith
of New York- MrjC'arrington, M.^ Lee, and
Mr. Hean, the neWnembers, were*a mrjori-ily
prorogne or cissolvetho General Assembly
when in his opinionit shall be expedient.
The said inhabitant or settlers shall be sub-ject
lo pay a part of ho Federal debts, con-tracted
or to he contacted, and to bear a pro-vportional
part of the mrdens of the Govern- mer-t., t,o bL'e appo„rt.■i oc„di on t.1hem b. y Ci->ongrcs,' s,e. rvice t,o.r. a ter,m,, ol y•'e.,a,,r s , a , n d , eTx,c uding° In„-
accor'd,.ing t,o Hthesam common rulie andi mseas- diamns,,' no..t tax.„ed,'t.hrev-,U.',tn.-ioI.tailo't•h"ejr"v-e"r-s-o"n^s-lhe
Congress and the Convention wero
both in sesBion.tt at the same time in Phila-delphia.
There- was of course free interc-rhange
ot opinion between tho members of
the two bodies. To this may bo attributed I
the adoption ot the same day of theclausc in I
the ordinance and the clause in the Coustitu- |
tion.
Tho accompanying copy o> the ordinance
shows the amendments made in Congress on
the 12th et July to Mr. Carrington's report of
the 11th. All that was struck out is printed
in [ita «■<.] v.h.it was inserted is in SMALL OAF-ITAI.
S. The rsader on comparing th s with
the plans previously reported by Mr. Jeffer-son
and by -Mr. Johnson, will see that most of
the principle! on which "its wisdom and
fame rests" wore first presented by Mr.
Carrington.
al Assembly, the Governor shall appoint such
magistrates and other civil officers, in each
county or township, as he shall find necessa-ry
for tho preservation of peace and good or-der
in the same. After the General Assem-bly
shall be organized, the powers and duties
of magistrates and other civil officers shall be
regulated and defined by the said Assembly ;
but all magistrates and other civil officers,
not herein otherwise direc ed, shall, during
the continuance of this temporaay govern-ment,
be appointed by tho Governor.
For the prevention of crmcsantl injuries,
: the laws to be adopted or made shall have
force in all parts ol tho district, and for the
execution of process, criminal and civil, the
Governor shall make proper division thereof ;
and he shall proceed from time to time, as
circumstances may require, to lay out the
parts of the district in which the Indian ti-tles
shall havo been extinguished into coun-ties
and townships, subject, however, to such
alterations as may thereafter be made by the
Legislature.
So soon as thero shall bo five thousand
free male inhabitants, of full age, in the dis-trict,
upon giving proof thereof to the Gover-nor,
they shall r.coivo authority, with lime
and place, to elect Representatives from their
counties or townships, to represent them in
the General Assembly ; provided that, lor ev-ery
five hundred free male inhabitants, thero
shall bo one representative, and so on pro-gressively
with tho number of free male in-habitants
shall the right of representation in-crease,
until tho number of representatives
shall amount to twenty-five, after which the
number and proportion ot representatives
and religious libo-ty, which for*! ilfo basis
whereon these Republics, their avf'andcon-s
unions are erected: to fix and establish
tho JO principles as the basis of all lajrs, con-slit
itions, and governments, which} forever
hereafter shall be formed in the lf.il territo-ry;
to provide also for tho estf|bl sni.ent of
Mutes, and permanent g,vernn >ni. therein,
and for .heir admission to a share itijthj Fed-eral
Councils on an equal footing dith the
original States, at as early periods! i, may be
consistent with the general intero'-t:
It is hereby ordained and dertai 1 M the au-thority
aforesaid; That the foll'wiftg artic-les
shall bo considered as articles ofcompact
between the original Stales and tl 6 People
and States in the said territory, am', forever
remain unalterablo, unless by common con-sent,
to wit:
Article th- FinL y0 person tie neaning
himsolfi i pjaceablo and orderly •nanncr, shall
ever bo molested on account of is mode of
worship or religious sont:mentf in tho said
territory.
Artid the S.cond. The inhabitant of the
said territory shal. always be entitled to the
benefits of the writ of habeas corj u, -id ofthe
trial by jury; of a proportional rfiresonta-tion
of the people in tho Legislajur ■• and of
judicial proceedings according r> til» course
of the common law ; all persons shai bo bail-able
unless for capital offences. . n re the
proof shall be evident or the prettUtnptoa
great; all fines shall bo moderate, and no
cruel unusual punishments shall be indicted;
no man shall be deprived of hiAliberty, or of
property but by the judgement of n peers,or
lhe law of the land; and SIIOL-I 1 tho public
exigencies make it necessary for thb common
preservat on to tako any person's 'property,
or to demand his particular service^ :uli com-pensation
shall be made for tl. and,
in the just prcseiqation of righ \ hiit! proper-
4 no law
the
or wnat-ion
tracts
out fraud
ty, it is understood and doclarou tlit1
ought ever to bo n.adc or have fo
said territory that shall in any i tar
ever interfere with or affect private
or engagements, buna fide and vit;
previously formed. , i
Article the Third. [Institution, for th, promo-tlo.
i of] religion,[and] morality, A:,I{ KJTOWfc.
KOOX, MM HCBSSAM TOOONJ •■.t.uwitsi
ANDTHKHAPPINFSSOF MANKIM., - 'L,l* and
iho means of education shall ii,rov|. I,0 en-couraged,
[AND ALL ILK- vot NO
oi ; I'M ION.]
"'• "■ obser-
A.N OR UNANCI FOB THE QCVEBNMKNT OF THE
TERitrrORV IF THE UNITED STATES. NORTH-W
! i : tin-; RIVER OHIO.
/;<- f oi ; '>'■■ †' b . 'he Unit, I States '. Con-
. ' hat tbe said territory, for
mo purpose of temporary government, be
one district : suij< ct, however, to be divided
into two . as future circumstances
may, '.n the Coinion of Congress, make it ex-pedient.
/.. it ordained by the authority aforesaid,
That lhe estates both of resident and non-res-ident
proprietors in the said territory, dying
intestate, sinII descend to and be distributed
amon i tbei] children and the descendants of
:\ dec-sased child in equal parts, the descen-dants
or .i deceased child or grand-child to
tako the shire of their deceased parent in
equal parts among them; and where there
shall bo no thildren or descendants, then in
equal; parts.o the next of lein, in equal de-gree;
and imong collaterals- the ediildren of
a deceased brother or sister <>i the in testae
shall pave ia equal parts among tnem their
-ed parent's share, AND THSRB SHALL
IN NI CASE IBE A DISTINCTION BETWEEN KIN-DRED
OF ii.. WHOLE AMI HALF Ai.ooi.: saving
in all- cas'.'Hto the widow of the inlet late her
third part jf the real estate for lite, aud [when
there shall le no children of intestate] one-third
This committee td not "merely reviso the part of thdpersoaal estate; aud this law rel-
Sl'ALL HE TA1 (in SOME |
I be utmost good faith cball al ,-, yvpo
vei towards tho Indians ; their landl and pro-perty
shall never bo taken from th-m without
thoir consent; and in their proper!'., rights,
and liberty they never shall bo invaded or
disturbed, unless in just and lawful wars au-thorized
by Congress; but laws founded in
justice and humanity shall from ti.i ■ to time
be made, for presenting, wrongs being dono
to them, and lor preserving pe ici Ii id friend-ship
with them.
ArtteUtht Fourth. The said territory and the
States which may be formed therein, shall
forever remain apart ot this '"; jnuderarv of
the United Slates of Amerii. > to" the
snail bo regulated by the Legislature; pro- articles of Confederation, a:id to RUAE altera-vided
that no person shall be eligible or quali- lions therein us shall be cooalitaUoi ■. Ilymade;
fied to act as a representative unless he shall and, to all the acts and ordinances >flbe Uni-have
been a citizen of one of the United
Slat"S three years and be a resident in the
district, or unless he shall have resided in lhe
district three years, and in either case shall
likewise hold in his own right, in feo simple,
two hundred acres ot land within tho same:
Provided also, that a freehold in fifty acres
ot land in the district, having been a citizen
of one of the S ates, and being resident in the
district, or lhe like freehold and two years'
lence in iho district,shall be ne<
ry to qualify a man a:i an elect' r ot a repre*
sentative.
The Representatives thus olected shall serve
for the term of twoyears, and, in case ol the
death ol the representative, or removal from
office, tho Governor shall issue a writ to the
county ortowneliip for which he was, a mem-ber
to elect another in his stead, to servo for
the residue ofthe term.
The General Assembly, or Legislature,
shall coiiHist of the Governor, Legislate.
Council, and a House of Representatives.—
The Legislative Council shall consist of live
members, continue in office five years, unless
sooner removed by Cunoress, any three of
whom to be a quoium, and the members ot
lhe Council shall be nominated and appoint-ee,
in tho following manner, to wit : As soon
as tho Representatives shall be elected, the
Governor shall appoint a time and place (or
them to meet together, and, when met, they
shall nominate ten persons, residents in the
district, and each poscessed of a freehold in
tivc hundred acres ol land, and return their
names to Congress; five of whom Congress
snail appoint and commission to serve as
aforesaid; and whenever a vacancy shall hap-pen
in the Council, by death or removal from
ted Slates in Congress arsemUed . conforma-ble
thereto. Tho inhabitant■"• MI ettiert in
tho said territory shall be u pay a
part ofthe Federal debts, oontrao 1 or to be
contracted, and a proportional pa I ol the ex-penses
of Government, to be a q>< itioned on
liicni by Congress, according Ml ibe sam*
common rule and measure by. wl ch appor-tionments
ti.ereot shall be mr le<u;the other
States; and the taxos for paying tlji ir propor-tion
shall bo laid and levied by th.. authority
and direction of the Legislatures pi the dis-triel
or districts, or now States, as > i the origi-nal
Stales, within'ho time BfTei D| i by
lho Lulled Stales in Congress ■sjirmhlnd.—
The Legiidatures of those ili»u-i ■^l or
Slates, snail never interfere with . ',o primary
disposal ot tho soil by the Ii. j i«a ,n
Congres assembled, nor with ^o\(regulations
Congress may find necessary iri earing the
title in such soil to the bona :.dc purchasers.
No tax shall bo imposed on lands jtbe proper-ty
of the United States;and in n.'cane shall
lion residentproprietors betuxe<i mgher
residents. Tho navagable i . ading in-to
lho M ssissippi and St. Ln4>r. nee and the
carrying places between tho MOM shall be
eon,inon Highways, and forever iVee, as well
io tho inhabitants oi the *aid territory as
to the citizensof the United Sim •*, sad those
oi any other Stales mat may l.e admitted in-to
the Confederacy, without any IJ-.X, impost,
or duty therefor.
Ariel, th* /fih. Thoreshall I. formed in
the said territory not less thin three nor more
ilian rive States, as soon as Virgin t shall al-ter
her act of cession and [au'ho', ] i .w\ r
T> tho same, shal' become Bxi i and establish-ed
as follows, to-wit: The v ?s'eiu Stm« ia
J