This proposed amendment is presented with entire confidence for the decision of our people.

As the majority of the Commissioners do not dissent from the general principles of the third article, but object to some of its provisions, the undersigned would remark that the principal difference between them and the majority would seem to be whether Congress shall be denied the power of abolishing Slavery in the District of Columbia, without the consent of Maryland and without the consent of the owners, or making the owners who do not consent just compensation. Ever since the formation of the Government, this has been a subject upon which the friends of freedom have been divided. In the opinion of the undersigned, this question should be permanently settled.

The power of removing slaves from one section of the country to another, is secured by this section, but cannot be exercised against the wishes of the State through which slaves would otherwise be taken. The power to touch at ports, shores, and landings, with vessels having on board persons held in bondage, and of landing, in case of distress, is embraced in this proposed amendment, the latter clause of which will, certainly, receive the approval of every friend of humanity. The undersigned do not join in the fears expressed by the majority, that a resort to "impure means" could ever secure from the Legislature of New York any laws upon these subjects, not entirely consistent with the honor and dignity of the State.

The Fourth proposition was adopted by a vote so large as to make comment here unnecessary.

As the Fifth proposition received the unanimous vote of your Commissioners, it requires no comment.

The Sixth proposition is upon a subject that has been discussed ever since the formation of the Government, and need not be dwelt upon.

The Seventh proposition presented itself with such force to the Convention as to receive a strong vote, but seven States declaring against it. It will be seen that this section requires Congress to provide by law for securing to citizens of each State the privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States.

Many other propositions were presented to the Convention, some of which received the full concurrence of the undersigned; to others they were opposed, and those who shared in the deliberations of the Convention do not doubt, and will not deny, that propositions were presented whose only object and effect could be to embarrass its proceedings.

The action of the Convention failed to secure at the hands of Congress the legislation necessary to present it to the people of the different States, in the manner prescribed by the Constitution. Still it is in the power, and the undersigned trust will be in the disposition of the representatives of the people of New York, in both Halls of its Legislation, to present them for the acceptance or rejection of her people.

Whatever differences of political opinion may exist, there can be but one mind as to the present critical condition of our country, or that it is the duty of every citizen to give all the aid in his power, to sustain an administration that has entered upon its complicated duties under circumstances of more embarrassment than have ever before existed in our country's history.

The undersigned not only as deeply regret, but as severely condemn, the action of those States who have attempted to withdraw from the Union, as do the majority of the Commissioners who opposed the adoption of the measures of conciliation presented by the Peace Convention.

Those who are conversant with the political action of the seceding States, will have observed how strong is their desire to draw the Southern Border States into this new Confederacy. With each of those Border States are large bodies of active politicians, constantly influencing the public mind, and misrepresenting, to a great extent, the opinions and designs of those who have wrought out this revolution in the national administration. The public mind is fearfully agitated upon these issues, and the refusal of the Legislature of New York to present the propositions of the Peace Convention, for the suffrages of her people, will greatly diminish the power of the Union men of the Border States to sustain themselves in their present trying position.

It is believed that Virginia is about to submit these propositions to her people; let New York, who so nobly responded to the call of Virginia, show that she, too, will be governed by the wishes of her people, and that if those ties which have so long held these powerful States in the bonds of brotherhood, must be severed, it shall be done only by the verdict of their people as recorded in the ballot box.

FRANCIS GRANGER, ERASTUS CORNING, GREENE C. BRONSON, WM. E. DODGE.

* * * * *

Report of the Rhode Island Peace Commissioners.

To the Honorable General Assembly of the State of Rhode Island:

The undersigned Commissioners on the part of this State, appointed upon the request of the State of Virginia, to meet Commissioners from the other States to confer upon the best mode of adjusting the unhappy differences which now disturb the peace of the country, respectfully beg leave to report:

That on the 4th day of February last, at Washington, the day and place named for the opening of the Conference, they met Commissioners from other States, and remained with them in conference until the 27th day of February, at which time twenty-one States were represented, when having agreed by a majority of States to submit to Congress, to be by Congress submitted to conventions in the several States, the annexed article in amendment to the Constitution of the United States, the Convention finally adjourned.

This article, it will be seen, applies the old line of 36 deg. 30' of North latitude to all the present Territory of the United States, prohibiting slavery north of that line, whilst it recognizes and secures its existence south of that line during the territorial government, and provides for the formation of new States out of such territory with or without slavery as their constitutions may direct.

As this partition of territory was not disadvantageous, at least to the free States, as it disposed of the agitation consequent upon a recent decision of the Supreme Court of the United States upon a celebrated case, and followed a precedent which had given peace to the country upon this most dangerous subject of controversy for upwards of thirty years, your Commissioners gave their assent to it as the best practical solution of all difficulties growing out of the territorial question.

New territory is no further dealt with by this article than to require, except in certain specified cases, a majority of all the Senators from each side of said line, to concur in its acquisition, whether made by act of Congress or by treaty, thus giving to each class of States a check upon the cupidity of the others.

The other sections of the article were designed in general so to define and limit the rights, powers, and duties of both Congress and the States, with regard to the subject of slavery, as to prevent further controversy, and to enable and induce those most opposed in opinion and interest, by the practice of mutual forbearance, to live in peace and amity under the same Federal Government. It is believed that in no essential particular will this article change the present actual state of things; its value consisting in the security therein which it gives to all, and in the settlement made by it of present and probable subjects of controversy.

In a great practical matter of this sort, your Commissioners deem these results of far more importance than strict adhesion to any theory, however plausible in the abstract, and especially than to any party declaration of principles of a sectional cast, however vehemently argued, or numerously adopted on either side. To deal well and wisely with the actual and real, and whilst consulting the past and looking to the probable future for guidance, to base his action on what is, comprises the whole duty of a statesman; leaving to political philosophers to dream of what might have been, or in the abstract of what ought to be. Reform, it is true, in this way comes slowly, but it comes without the disturbance of material interests, without agitation of human passions, and without the violent outbreaks which these occasion—hindering and obstructing its progress in that grand and orderly procession of moral causes and effects which expresses and marks the providence and government of GOD.

It was apparent to all that, whatever may have been the motive and origin of the present alarming movement in the extreme Southern States, the instrument successfully used to promote it was the agitation of their people upon the safety of the institution of negro slavery in the States and Territories; and various conflicting opinions with regard to the best course to be pursued to allay this agitation were elicited in the course of this long conference. Extremists were not wanting on the one hand, who seemed inclined to construe the anomaly of slavery of the negro race, found in the Constitution of a free people, into a general rule; and who proposed or voted for propositions which they knew could not be accepted, that their assertion might aid in the remaining States the cause of secession. Extremists were not wanting, on the other hand, who were opposed to doing any thing upon the subject of slavery, especially at present, lest such action should compromise the incoming administration, and the Republican party, and even the character of the Government itself. Without suspecting the purity of the motives of either of these extremists, who beyond doubt represented the views of large and respectable bodies of men in their different sections, your Commissioners found themselves equally unable to agree with either.

They could not ignore the fact that seven States had separated themselves from the others and set up a federal government of their own; and that these were ceaselessly agitating the people of the remaining Southern States by inflammatory speeches, and writings skilfully addressed to their interests and sympathies, to induce them to join in this new movement. They could not doubt the assurances given to them by able and patriotic men from the States of Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri, that these attempts upon the loyalty of the people of their States had met at least with partial success; nor, indeed, blind themselves to the evidences of this found in the speeches and votes of individual Commissioners from these very States. Above all, they could not be insensible to the touching appeals of men, venerable in years, distinguished in public service, and whose reputation for ability and patriotism was national, to give them something in the shape of a constitutional security with which to allay the startled fears of their constituents, beat back the attacks of their enemies and ours, and even bring again to their duty thousands of men in the States of the extreme South, who had been led astray by the popular fears and impulses of the hour, and who, with the loyal but overborne, might well look to them for support, since no other had been afforded them in the reign of terror under which they were suffering. In the circumstances in which the country was placed, it seemed to your Commissioners that true policy ran in the course of generous impulse; that in this matter we were dealing not with treason, but with the most devoted loyalty which invoked our aid against it; that the concessions we made, if concessions indeed they were, were made to our friends that they might be strong enough to triumph over their enemies and ours, because the enemies of the country.

If, as is true, in this view of their duty your Commissioners stood in the main alone amongst the Commissioners from the Northern States, and ranged themselves by the side of the Central States of the Union, upon whom the weight of the civil strife must come if come it must, they need not assure you that no dastardly fears, no feelings of base compliance, dictated the position thus taken by them. Such motives to action neither became them nor those whom they represented. It was because of generous faith and earnest sympathy, of ties which no distance of time or space, and no difference of institutions can weaken; which in our fathers' days and our own led our heroes to hazard all for all, and at Guilford Court House, and Eutaw, and at Erie, with desperate valor to snatch victory for our common country out of the very lap of defeat; it was because our little State, with a warm heart and a ready hand, has never failed in counsel or deed to stand with the whole country in all dangers and in extremest disasters, that your Commissioners conceived that they best represented her by averting danger from those with whom they knew she would hasten to share it. If it be true that the time has arrived when our sympathy for an alien and a subject race has extinguished all sympathy for our own, and has hidden from us the ties of a common origin, common interests, and of a common glory, then, indeed, are we separated from our brethren, and the curse of slavery has fallen upon us as well as upon them. Your Commissioners found nothing in themselves to justify them in attributing such sentiments to the people of the State; and unitedly recommend the adoption by you of the amendment to the Constitution proposed by the Conference of Commissioners, as best fitted to give security and ensure peace to the country.

Among the measures strenuously enforced by some of the Commissioners, in lieu of that adopted by a majority, was the calling of a General Convention. To this measure your Commissioners opposed their most earnest and determined resistance. As a measure of peace, if for no other reason, because of the long delay which it implied, it would be utterly fruitless. But the possible danger of exposing a Constitution, framed and adopted in the earlier and more conservative days of the Republic, to be torn in pieces in these times of lawless irreverence and change, is too great for any wise man willingly to encounter. The very equality of the States in the Senate, which was won by the revolutionary sacrifices and valor of the smaller States, now almost forgotten, would, in the judgment of your Commissioners, be thereby greatly endangered; and your Commissioners earnestly represent to your Honorable body that under no circumstances should this State consent to a measure which might lead to her own extinction. The Constitution of a great country, adopted, as this was, on account of diversity of interests and views, with great difficulty, should be sacred. It may and should from time to time be amended to suit a change of circumstances, but never exposed to the danger of being uptorn. It is the symbol of our strength, because the ligament of our Union. It has collected about it the reverence of three generations of our people. It is the only rallying point now for the loyalty of the remaining States; the only hope of the restoration of the States which have left us; and, in its main features, it should be, as it was designed to be, perpetual. At no time should a General Convention be invited to invade it; and, of all times, this, in the judgment of your Commissioners, would be the most dangerous.

Finally, it will be found upon an inspection of the Journal of the late Conference of Commissioners, that the undersigned voted against many propositions in themselves just and expressive of their sentiments and yours, because inopportune and useless; and against others, because introduced for the very purpose of sowing dissension among the Commissioners and to prevent an agreement by majority upon any thing. In this they must ask your candid construction of their conduct, looking to the crisis, the occasion, the purpose and effect of the matter upon which they were called to act; and their unwillingness to hazard an agreement upon that deemed by them necessary, by tacking to it that which, however true, was at least useless, and might in the result be dangerous.

All which is respectfully submitted by

SAMUEL AMES, for self, and ALEXANDER DUNCAN, G.H. BROWNE, WILLIAM W. HOPPIN, SAMUEL G. ARNOLD,

Commissioners.

PROVIDENCE, March 4th, 1861.

* * * * *

COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS.

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, COUNCIL CHAMBER, } BOSTON, March 25, 1861. }

To the Honorable the Senate:

I have the honor to transmit to the General Court, for its use and information, a Report just received by me from John Z. Goodrich, Charles Allen, George S. Boutwell, Theophilus P. Chandler, Francis B. Crowninshield, John M. Forbes, and Richard P. Waters, Esquires, who were appointed Commissioners on the part of Massachusetts, under a Resolve passed the fifth day of February last, to attend a Convention of delegates from the several States of the Union, recently held at Washington.

And I embrace this opportunity to congratulate the people of the Commonwealth upon the fidelity, judgment, and ability with which the Commissioners, by whom they were represented, conducted their share of the duties of that deliberation.

And I trust that a similar intelligent, manful, and, at the same time, charitable and patriotic adherence to principles, fundamental both in morals and politics, will characterize the people of Massachusetts, and all their representatives, by whatever experiences of danger or difficulty their devotion to truth and duty may hereafter be tried.

I ask leave to call the attention of the General Court, also, to the fact that, as yet, no provision has been adopted for the payment of the expenses incident to the service with which the Commissioners were charged, and to recommend that a suitable appropriation for that purpose be made at the present session of the Legislature.

JOHN A. ANDREW.

To His Excellency JOHN A. ANDREW, Governor, &c., &c.:

The undersigned, Commissioners appointed by your excellency, in pursuance of certain resolutions passed by the Legislature at its present session, to attend a Convention to be held in the City of Washington, with authority to confer with the General Government, or with the separate States, or with any associations of delegates from such States, having, agreeably to your excellency's instructions, repaired to Washington and conferred with the delegates of twenty other States of the American Union, now respectfully submit the following report of the proceedings of the said Convention, and of the action of the Commissioners from Massachusetts.

The Convention commenced its sessions on the 4th of February, and closed its deliberations on the 27th of the same month. The Massachusetts Commissioners repaired to Washington as early as practicable after their appointment, and presented their credentials on the 8th of February.

The sessions of the Convention were secret; although repeated efforts were made, with the concurrence of the undersigned, first, to remove the injunction of secrecy, then to admit the public to witness the deliberations, and then to procure a complete and accurate report of the debates and doings. These efforts failed, and the undersigned are therefore able only to transmit a copy of the Journal of the Convention.[10]

[Footnote 10: An authentic copy of the Journal was not received until the 21st instant and the Commissioners did not feel prepared to make a report without an opportunity for consulting it.]

On the 6th of February a resolution was adopted, upon the motion of Mr. Guthrie, of Kentucky, that a "committee of one from each State be appointed by the Commissioners thereof, to whom should be referred the resolutions of the State of Virginia, and the other States represented, and all propositions for the adjustment of existing difficulties between the States." Mr. Crowninshield represented Massachusetts upon this committee. At the earliest practicable moment he called for a specific statement of the grievances complained of by the discontented States of the Union. This call elicited much discussion, but no definite response to the demand was ever made either in the committee or in Convention.

On the 15th of February, Mr. Guthrie, from the committee of one from each State, made a report recommending certain amendments to the Constitution of the United States. This report was adopted in committee by a majority of five States, the delegates from Kansas not having then taken their seats in the Convention.

A copy of this report may be found upon the twenty-second and twenty-third pages of the Journal. After much discussion and many amendments, the several sections of the proposed article of amendment to the Constitution were finally adopted on the last day of the session. It is to be observed, however, that the report as a whole never received the sanction of the Convention, although the several sections of the article of amendment were separately approved by a majority of the States voting; and it may well be doubted whether the entire article would have been adopted by the Convention.

The first section was adopted by a vote of nine States to eight; four States—New York, Indiana, Missouri, and Kansas—not voting.

The other sections were approved by larger majorities.

The undersigned declined to vote upon the last section, but the vote of Massachusetts, with the unanimous consent of its Commissioners, was given in the negative upon all the others. This course seemed to be demanded, whether regard was had to the constitution of the Convention, the circumstances under which it assembled, the nature of the propositions submitted, the solution of the difficulties in which the Government and people are involved, or to the character and peace of the country in the future. The two Pacific States, whose loyalty to the Constitution and the Union is unquestioned, could not have been represented in the Convention. Other States failed to appoint Commissioners. The resolutions of the State of Virginia were passed on the 19th of January; and it was expected that within sixteen days thereafter the representatives of this vast country would assemble for the purpose of devising, maturing, and recommending alterations in the Constitution of the republic. As a necessary consequence, the people were not consulted in any of the States. In several, the Commissioners were appointed by the executive of each without even an opportunity to confer with the Legislature; in others, the consent of the representative body was secured, but in no instance were the people themselves consulted. The measures proposed were comparatively new; the important ones were innovations upon the established principles of the Government, and none of them had ever been submitted to public scrutiny. They related to the institution of slavery; and the experience of the country justifies the assertion that any proposition for additional securities to slavery under the flag of the nation, must be fully discussed and well understood before its adoption, or it will yield a fearful harvest of woe in dissensions and controversies among the people. Nor could the undersigned have justified the act to themselves, if they had concurred in asking Congress to propose amendments to the Constitution unless they were prepared also to advocate the adoption of the amendments by the people.

It is due to truth to say that the Convention did not possess all the desirable characteristics of a deliberative assembly. It was in some degree disqualified for the performance of the important task assigned to it, by the circumstances of its constitution, to which reference has already been made. Moreover, there were members who claimed that certain concessions must be granted that the progress of the secession movement might be arrested; and on the other hand there were men who either doubted or denied the wisdom of such concessions.

The circumstances were extraordinary. Within the preceding ninety days the integrity of the Union had been assailed by the attempt of six States to overthrow its authority; seven other States were disaffected, and some of them had assumed a menacing and even hostile attitude. The political disturbances had been associated with or followed by financial distress.

The Convention was then a body of men without a recognized and ascertained constituency, called together in an exigency and without preparation, and invited to initiate measures for the amendment of the Constitution in most important particulars, and all at a moment when the public mind was swayed by fears and alarms such as have never before been experienced by the American people.

In these circumstances the undersigned thought it inexpedient to propose amendments to the Constitution, believing that so important an act should not be initiated and accomplished without the greatest deliberation and care. Nor could the undersigned satisfy themselves that any or all of the proposed amendments would even tend, in any considerable degree, to the preservation of the Union. Although inquiries were repeatedly made, no assurance was given that any propositions of amendment would secure the return of the seceded States; and it was admitted that several of the Border States would ultimately unite with the Gulf States, either within or without the limits of the Union, as might be dictated by events yet in the future. Indeed, no proposition was in any degree acceptable to the majority of delegates from the border slave States that did not provide for the extension of slavery to the Territories, and its protection and security therein.

And further, as appears from the Journal, the Convention was not prepared to deny the right of a State to secede from the Union. Mr. Field, of New York, introduced the following proposition, which, on motion of Mr. Ewing, of Ohio, was laid upon the table:

"The Union of the States under the Constitution is indissoluble; and no State can secede from the Union, or nullify an act of Congress, or absolve its citizens from their paramount obligation of obedience to the Constitution and laws of the United States."

After much debate and repeated attempts to avoid a direct vote, the following proposition was rejected:

"It is declared to be the true intent and meaning of the present Constitution that the union of the States under it is indissoluble."

AYES.—Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Kansas—10.

NOES.—Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Virginia—11.

On the last day of the session, Mr. Franklin, of Pennsylvania, moved the adoption of the following resolution:

"Resolved, as the sense of this Convention, that the highest political duty of every citizen of the United States is his allegiance to the Federal Government, created by the Constitution of the United States, and that no State of this Union has any constitutional right to secede therefrom, or to absolve the citizens of such State from their allegiance to the Government of the United States."

Mr. Ruffin, of North Carolina, moved to postpone the consideration of the same indefinitely, and the resolution was thereupon postponed by the following vote:

AYES.—Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Virginia—10.

NOES.—Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania—7.

For these reasons and others the Commissioners from Massachusetts supported the proposition originally made by Kentucky, and introduced by Mr. Baldwin, of Connecticut, recommending a national convention for the purpose of revising the Constitution, and of providing for the exigencies likely to arise from the changed and perilous condition of the country. This measure offered an opportunity for consideration by the people, and for careful deliberation by the convention that might be constituted for the purpose. It is highly probable that, after the lapse of three-fourths of a century, a convention of delegates from all the States would by general consent propose amendments to the Constitution; and it is also probable that such a convention would at once tend to strengthen the feeling of brotherhood among the people of various sections, while the discussion of the principles of the Government would render its preservation of paramount concern to all. This measure of peace and union was rejected.

The undersigned are constrained by the force of many facts and circumstances to believe that an exciting cause of the present difficulties, and a serious obstacle to their removal, is the possible acquisition of Mexico and Central America.

The proceedings of the Convention furnish evidence upon this point.

The proposition to restore the Missouri Compromise, which guaranteed freedom north of the parallel 36 deg. 30' north latitude, but furnished no protection to slavery south of that line, was rejected by the aid of the unanimous support of the slaveholding States.

The proposition to settle the territorial question by the admission of New Mexico as a State, was summarily discouraged by the South in the committee.

The suggestion of one of the Commissioners from Massachusetts, that if the Convention would leave the territorial question out of view, the difficulties concerning the rights and relations of the existing States might be adjusted, did not meet with a favorable response from the slaveholding section of the country.

It is to be observed further, that the various propositions and amendments which were in any degree acceptable to the slave States guaranteed slavery south of said line.

It did not seem to the undersigned of signal importance, whether this guarantee was limited to our present territories, or made in words to apply to all future acquisitions. Whenever the line of slave States from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean shall be formed, an effectual barrier will have been raised against the migration of freemen southward. Nor can it be assumed, that either with or without constitutional prohibition, the limits of the republic are not to be further extended; and if the proposed line be established by the Constitution, the fairest portions of North America will be given up irrevocably to African slavery. Nor is the limitation of the right of a sovereign State to fix its own boundaries, which involves the right to acquire territory, consistent with its honor in peace, or compatible with its dignity and necessities in time of war. The American people are fully forewarned that it is unwise to rely upon constitutional prohibitions against the acquisition of territory; nor can such prohibitions always withstand the assaults of a determined and desperate majority when acting in harmony with the tendencies of public opinion, and the real or supposed necessities of the country.

With these views, and with this experience in mind, the undersigned did not regard with favor the provisions contained in the second section of the proposed article of amendment. It is also to be observed that by this section territory may be acquired for naval and commercial stations, depots, and transit routes, without a resort to the treaty-making power. These provisions seem to be broad enough to permit the summary annexation of Cuba, and portions of Central America and Mexico, by a simple law or joint resolution of Congress.

Thus, these two sections considered together, furnished no additional securities against territorial acquisitions, while they effectually established and protected slavery in all territory, present and future, south of the parallel 36 deg. 30' north latitude. By the first section, the common law was to be so changed, that a condition of slavery would be assumed in regard to all the African race within the Territories, and the laws of the several slave States would be enforced against all persons of that race who might be carried from the existing slave States into the Territories. The language is ambiguous, but this interpretation seems to be warranted; and, in the opinion of the undersigned, the courts would render an interpretation adequate to the result just indicated. It is thus seen that the only method of establishing and protecting slavery in the Territories, is to provide for the execution, within their limits, of the laws of the several slave States.

This section also incorporates into the Constitution of the United States the existing laws and usages of New Mexico relating to slavery, and renders them irrepealable during the territorial condition.

By the second section, the Senators are divided into two classes, those who represent the slaveholding, and those who represent the non-slaveholding States of the Union, and a majority of each class is required as a part of the two-thirds majority necessary for the acquisition of territory by treaty. A full exposition of this proposition would show that it is a complete and dangerous departure from the principles of the Government, and sure to effect its complete dissolution. When the Senate becomes two separate and distinct bodies, and when the existence of the institution of slavery determines where the line of division shall be, then the Government, for all practical purposes, is at an end. This proposition was introduced by Mr. Summers, of Virginia; and Virginia, by its delegates, also introduced and supported a kindred proposition, by which "all appointments to office in the Territories lying north of the line 36 deg. 30', as well before as after the establishment of Territorial Governments in and over the same, or any part thereof, shall be made upon the recommendation of a majority of the Senators representing at the time the non-slaveholding States; and in like manner, all appointments to office in the Territories which may lie south of said line of 36 deg. 30', shall be made upon the recommendation of a majority of the Senators representing at the time the slaveholding States."

We cannot hesitate to declare the opinion, carefully formed, that this policy of dividing the Senate into two classes, is fraught with dangers to the country more to be dreaded than the bold and defiant measures of those men and States that are arrayed in open hostility to the Union. This measure is a part of the policy of Mr. Calhoun, by which the Government was to be changed, and the executive department so divided that nothing could be done without the concurrence of two Presidents, one representing the slaveholding and one representing the non-slaveholding States.

The third section contains several provisions for strengthening and securing slavery in the District of Columbia and in the several States and Territories. It gives to representatives and others the right to bring their slaves into the District of Columbia, retain, and take them away, even after slavery may have ceased to exist in that District by the constitutional action of Congress. It secures the slave-trade between States and Territories in which slavery is established or recognized by law or usage, with the right of transit through free States, by sea or river, and of touching at ports, shores, and landings, and of landing in case of distress; reserving, however, to the States and Territories the power to prohibit the transit of slaves and the sale or traffic therein. Thus the transportation of slaves would be a right as broad as the limits of the republic, unless it should be restrained by the laws of individual States, which acts might readily be regarded as a breach of comity.

The fourth section of the article gives to the States the power of concurrent legislation with the United States for the rendition of fugitive slaves, thus introducing a new topic of agitation into every State, without in any degree relieving Congress of its duty in this particular.

The fifth section prohibits the foreign slave-trade, and makes it the duty of Congress to pass laws to prevent the importation of slaves, coolies, or persons held to service or labor. As Congress has already, by the Constitution, full power to regulate the migration or importation of persons from other countries, there is no reason for such constitutional provisions upon the subject. It alone remains to enact proper laws and secure their faithful and prompt execution.

The sixth section declares that certain sections of the proposed article of amendment, and certain provisions of the Constitution relating to slavery, shall not be amended or abolished without the consent of all the States.

The undersigned, being of opinion that no such stipulation ought to be made, and that if made, it would not be binding upon the country, did not hesitate to give the vote of the State against the proposition.

The seventh and last section of the proposed article of amendment is in the following words:

"Congress shall provide by law that the United States shall pay to the owner the full value of his fugitive from labor, in all cases where the marshal, or other officer, whose duty it was to arrest such fugitive, was prevented from so doing by violence or intimidation from mobs or riotous assemblies, or when, after arrest, such fugitive was rescued by like violence or intimidation, and the owner thereby deprived of the same; and the acceptance of such payment shall preclude the owner from further claim of such fugitive. Congress shall provide by law for securing to the citizens of each State the privileges and immunities of citizens of the several States."

In a Convention duly called and assembled for the revision of the Constitution, the undersigned would have assented to this section; and in declining to vote thereon they intended to so declare to their associates from the slaveholding States.

The undersigned thus set forth the doings of the Convention, and some of the reasons by which their conduct was controlled. It was not their fortune to concur with the action of the Convention. The concessions demanded by the discontented States, seemed to be inconsistent with honor, justice, and freedom, and calculated to render permanent the existing causes of disturbance. A Union restored by unmanly concessions, would be productive of bitter criminations and lasting hostilities, and would contain within itself the seeds of a violent death.

But the undersigned are bound to say that the differences in the Convention were, in the main, differences of opinion, and not of purpose. Loyalty to the Constitution and the Union was general; and the undersigned do not doubt that the act of Virginia, in inviting a conference with her sister States, will be productive of beneficial results to the country.

The Commissioners from Massachusetts were much impressed by the fact, which their personal intercourse with gentlemen from all the slaveholding States brought to their knowledge, that the present difficulties of the country were not caused by the pressure of grievances supposed to be actually existing; but rather by the fear of future interference with Southern rights, caused by entire misapprehension of the purposes of the people of the free States. Misrepresentation of those purposes, proceeding from among ourselves, whether prompted by ignorance of Northern sentiment, or by sinister motives, are greatly to be deprecated.

The undersigned entertain no doubt that the intercourse between the different sections of the country, through their representatives in Convention, had a most salutary influence in correcting false views of Northern sentiment, and in assuring our brethren of the South that there is no purpose among the people of those States, who, upon principle, oppose the extension of slavery, to disturb or touch with an unfriendly hand the domestic relations of any other States of the Union.

In the present exigency of public affairs, each State should be careful to perform its whole duty freely and faithfully to its sister States and to the country; and then may it well and fearlessly demand, whether the Union contain many States or few, that the Government shall be administered according to the principles of equality and justice which characterize the Constitution formed by our fathers, and which will prove a sufficient security in all the trials and perils of our national existence.

JOHN Z. GOODRICH, CHARLES ALLEN, GEO. S. BOUTWELL, T.P. CHANDLER, F.B. CROWNINSHIELD, J.M. FORBES, RICHARD P. WATERS.

BOSTON, March 22d, 1861.



INDEX.

ALEXANDER, W.C. remarks of, 79, 80, 107, 113, 287, 367, 368, 369, 372, 374, 380, 383. motion by, 300.

ALLEN, CHARLES. remarks of, 54, 110, 321, 377.

AMES, SAMUEL. amendment by, 359, 385. remarks of, 368.

BACKUS, F.T. motion by, 207. remarks of, 272, 274, 376. resolution by, 273. amendment by, 290, 394.

BALDWIN, R.S. report of, 45, 322. remarks of, 58, 62, 139, 266, 279, 390. amendments by, 349, 363, 411.

BARRINGER, D.M. resolution by, 34. remarks of, 212, 274, 284, 294, 298, 339, 353, 354, 356, 366, 383, 384, 436. amendment by, 383. motion by, 446, 449.

BATES, D.M. amendment by, 364.

BATTELL, ROBINS. motion by, 389.

BOUTWELL, GEO. H. remarks of, 98, 110, 137, 218, 312.

BROWN, GEO. H. remarks of, 150. motion by, 207, 362, 452. resolution by, 450.

BRADFORD, A.W. remarks of, 307. amendment by, 375.

BROCKENBROUGH, J.W. remarks of, 278, 280, 341, 345, 393, 435. amendment by, 435.

BRONSON, G.C. amendment by, 209, 323, 395. remarks of, 264, 266, 301, 323, 324, 350, 388, 389, 396, 397, 402, 406, 434. motion by, 409.

BUCHANAN, JAMES. letter from, 25.

BUCKNER, A.H. amendment by, 401.

BUTLER, WM. O. remarks of, 301.

CARRUTHERS, R.L. remarks of, 110, 214, 298, 304, 436. amendment by, 364.

CHASE, S.P. motion by, 31, 54, 58. remarks of, 34, 42, 54, 57, 112, 130, 158, 207, 208, 271, 272, 273, 274, 326, 335, 348, 352, 367, 391, 424, 446. resolution by, 35, 205, 208. appeal by, 446.

CHITTENDEN, L.E. resolution by, 73. remarks of, 73, 74, 111, 156, 206, 248, 249, 255, 279, 294, 368. footnotes by, 156, 259, 324, 345, 358, 397, 417, 441.

CLAY, J.B. motion by, 14, 23, 29, 158. remarks of, 30, 77, 146, 197, 213, 266, 278, 286, 320, 345, 358, 360, 372, 384, 388. amendment by, 387, 421.

CLEVELAND, C.F. remarks of, 80, 105, 214, 367, 434, 448.

COALTER, J.D. remarks of, 52, 82, 215, 375, 376, 378, 381, 393, 399. amendment by, 209, 447.

COMMITTEE. on organization, 13. on credentials, 13. on State resolutions, 26.

CONVENTION A. rules and organization of, 23, 27.

COOK, B.C. remarks of, 273, 313, 323.

CORNING, ERASTUS. remarks of, 322, 441.

CRISFIELD, J.W. motion by, 57. remarks of, 113, 295, 334, 355, 358, 364, 365, 367, 368, 369, 379, 410, 421.

CROWNINSHIELD, F.B. remarks of, 47, 318, 375. motion by, 379.

CURTIS, S.H. remarks of, 70, 71, 287, 298.

DAVIS, GEORGE. remarks of, 56. motion of, 56, 109, 259.

DENT, J.F. resolution by, 208. remarks of, 209, 319, 345, 351, 358, 366, 384, 391, 397, 424.

DODGE, W.E. remarks of, 110, 190, 322, 359, 366, 378. resolution by, 450.

DONIPHAN, A.W. remarks of, 312, 378.

ELLIS, E.W.H. motion by, 29, 437. remark of, 442.

EWING, THOMAS. motion by, 17, 396. remarks of, 22, 38, 57, 141, 161, 206, 273, 314, 327, 335, 351, 359, 369, 393, 398, 424, 442. amendment by, 364.

FIELD, D. DUDLEY. remarks of, 47, 110, 130, 157, 158, 161, 167, 168, 169, 170, 278, 285, 286, 287, 336, 339, 353, 362, 367, 368, 371, 397, 398, 399. motion by, 285. resolution by, 287. amendment by, 396, 397, 398.

FOWLER, ASA. amendment by, 291, 364. remarks of, 324, 349, 364, 368. motion by, 367.

FRANKLIN, THOS. E. motion by, 13, 448. remarks of, 290, 323, 335. amendment (substitute) by, 291, 323. resolution by, 446.

FRELINGHUYSEN, F.T. motion by, 32, 324. amendment by, 385. remarks of, 180, 324, 368, 384, 396, 401.

GOODRICH, J.Z. remarks of, 71, 105, 106, 112, 216, 219, 315, 316. amendment by, 80, 327, 398. motion by, 206, 328.

GRANGER, FRANCIS. remarks of, 120, 254, 328, 354, 355, 376, 377, 438. motion by, 372.

GRIMES, J.W. remarks of, 17.

GROESBECK, W.S. amendment by, 325, 365. remarks of, 365, 366, 367, 372.

GUTHRIE, JAMES. remarks of, 21, 22, 28, 32, 66, 70, 79, 82, 102, 104, 105, 208, 209, 274, 287, 289, 290, 293, 299, 323, 324, 325, 326, 328, 334, 337, 339, 349, 350, 351, 357, 359, 360, 361, 369, 371, 373, 374, 381, 385, 395, 397, 409, 440, 448. resolution by, 21, 79. motion by, 26, 342, 396, 437, 440, 442, 443, 444, 445. report of, 31. amendment by, 43, 337, 346. preamble by, 348.

HACKLEMAN, P.A. remarks of, 273, 308, 344, 384, 442.

HALL, HILAND. amendment by, 358. remarks of, 359.

HARRIS, B.D. remarks of, 157, 349. preamble and resolutions by, 157.

HITCHCOCK, REUBEN. remarks of, 29, 56, 147, 302, 346, 349, 362. amendment by, 270, 346, 373.

HOPPIN, W.W. remarks of, 112, 316.

HOUSTON, J.W. remarks of, 272, 274, 283, 309, 356, 378, 421. motion by, 273. appeal by, 286.

HOWARD, B.C. remarks of, 169, 360, 370, 371, 378, 405.

JAMES, A.B. remarks of, 140, 300, 304, 324, 348. amendments by, 348, 375.

JOHNSON, REVERDY. motion by, 17, 23. remarks of, 23, 57, 70, 72, 82, 85, 89, 168, 236, 334. amendment by, 341. resolution by, 449.

JOHNSON, WM. P. remarks of, 112, 206, 286, 317, 334, 395.

KENTUCKY GENERAL ASSEMBLY. resolutions of, 61.

KING, J.A. remarks of, 315, 403, 441.

LOGAN, S.T. remarks of, 69, 81, 106, 256, 305, 323, 326, 386, 370, 380. amendments by, 380.

LOOMIS, A.W. remarks of, 36, 243, 436, 450.

McCURDY, C.J. remarks of, 82, 159, 360, 361, 367, 368, 369, 389. amendment by, 334, 370.

McKEENAN, WM. motion by, 343. remarks of, 346.

MEREDITH, WM. M. motion by, 12. remarks of, 79. proposition of, 79.

MOREHEAD, C.S. remarks of, 79, 113, 167, 207, 296, 345, 391.

MOREHEAD, J.M. remarks of, 110, 150, 306, 355, 359, 375, 377, 378, 389, 395, 398, 435. motion by, 286. amendment by, 379, 393.

MORRILL, L.M. remarks of, 144, 146, 148, 149.

NOYES, W.C. remarks of, 128, 129, 130, 131, 133, 207, 359, 369, 407.

ORTH, G.S. remarks of, 41, 260, 262, 293, 335, 383, 385, 387. resolution by, 42. motions by, 383, 385.

PALMER, J.M. remarks of, 297, 324, 326, 330, 370, 404.

POLLOCK, JAMES. remarks of, 74, 272, 275, 344, 370, 400, 449. amendment by, 370.

PRATT, J.T. remarks of, 290.

PRICE, E.M. remarks of, 12, 286, 400.

RANDOLPH, J.F. motion by, 21, 30, 43, 274, 301, 449. remarks of, 42, 74, 111, 113, 158, 206, 316, 326, 340, 348, 349, 367. resolution by, 112. appeal by, 349.

REID, D.S. amendment by, 80, 291, 361. remarks of, 81, 82, 209, 289, 297, 361, 435.

RIVES, W.C. remarks of, 38, 132, 134, 137, 139, 143, 392, 407.

ROMAN, J.D. remarks of, 167, 365, 385.

RUFFIN, THOMAS. remarks of, 80, 81, 84, 125, 146, 262, 283, 290, 326, 335, 352, 370, 376, 384, 435, 448. amendment by, 372. motion by, 448.

SECRETARY. statement of, 285, 345.

SEDDON, JAMES A. motion by, 12. resolution by, 19. remarks of, 20, 22, 27, 29, 32, 47, 55, 56, 81, 82, 89, 91, 105, 146, 148, 150, 203, 284, 285, 290, 292, 301, 315, 329, 350, 351, 352, 353, 354, 355, 366, 374, 377, 378, 381, 395, 417, 434. report of, 47. amendment by, 48, 51, 289, 328, 350, 351, 352, 356, 357, 377, 418, 447.

SLAUGHTER, T.C. remarks of, 442.

SMITH, J.C. remarks of, 196, 198, 200, 203, 209, 212, 213, 214, 225, 345, 362, 371, 406. motion by, 373.

SOMES, D.E. amendment by, 409. remarks of, 409.

STEPHENS, W.H. remarks of, 382.

STOCKTON, R.F. remarks of, 113, 129, 149, 436.

STONE, J.C. remarks of, 287, 288.

SUMMERS, G.W. report of, 18, 26, 28, 30, 41, 109, 278. motion by, 150. remarks of, 287, 334, 337, 338, 341, 346, 373. amendment by, 338, 374.

TUCK, AMOS. remarks of, 20, 30, 74, 79, 104, 274, 311, 323, 363, 370, 417, 424. address by, 77, 425.

TURNER, T.J. remarks of, 58, 72, 271, 361, 370, 381, 408. motion by, 82. resolution by, 271. amendment by, 328, 380.

TYLER, JOHN. remarks of, 14, 17, 22, 25, 26, 31, 41, 55, 130, 275, 288, 290, 301, 323, 325, 330, 334, 335, 337, 344, 346, 350, 362, 389, 390, 450. decisions by, 29, 77, 79, 82, 112, 113, 148, 274, 286, 316, 322, 348, 349, 397, 398, 406, 434, 435, 437, 441, 444. amendment by, 328.

VANDEVER, WILLIAM. remarks of, 287, 292, 296, 301, 353, 410. resolution by, 300. amendments by, 371, 410.

VIRGINIA GENERAL ASSEMBLY. preamble and resolutions of, 9.

WHITE, THOMAS. remarks of, 172, 358, 390.

WICKLIFFE, C.E. remarks of, 13, 19, 20, 27, 36, 42, 55, 57, 70, 77, 80, 109, 110, 129, 150, 157, 170, 189, 200, 205, 206, 207, 238, 270, 272, 273, 283, 284, 286, 312, 351, 352, 354, 361, 363, 379, 397, 406, 434, 439, 452. resolution by, 17, 26, 56, 109, 206. motion by, 19, 273, 343. preamble and resolution by, 52. amendment by, 379.

WILLARDS, J.H. & H.A. letter from, 450.

WILMOT, DAVID. amendment by, 208, 326, 381. remarks of, 273, 274, 281, 283, 284, 285, 322, 325, 326, 367, 381, 382, 391, 399, 400, 433, 435.

WOOD, JOHN. remarks of, 322, 349. motion by, 350.

WOLCOTT, C.P. remarks of, 323.

WRIGHT, C.J. letter from, 33.

WRIGHT, J.C. remarks of, 11.



INDEX TO THE APPENDIX.

B

Baker, Edward D., 502, 522, 523, 524, 526.

Barr, Thomas J., 583.

Bayard, J.A., 566.

Bigler, William, 474, 476, 477, 478, 481, 483, 486, 487.

Bingham, K.S., 468.

Bingham, J.A., 575.

Bocock, Thomas S., 575, 582.

Boteler, A.R., 576, 579, 582.

Bragg, Thomas, 515.

Brayton, William D., 582.

Buchanan, James, 572.

Burch, John C., 574.

Burnett, Henry C., 579, 582.

C

Campbell, James H., 582.

Chandler, Zachariah, 469, 471, 480.

Clark, Daniel, 480, 489.

Clingman, Thomas L., 475, 491.

Cochrane, John, 574, 581, 583.

Collamer, Jacob, 474, 482, 483, 492, 493, 497.

Committee, Select, 475.

Cox, Samuel S., 582, 583.

Craige, Burton, 575, 580, 581.

Crittenden. John J., 471, 473, 474, 475, 476, 499, 501, 502, 503, 509, 513, 514, 515, 516, 518, 532, 565, 566, 568, 569, 570.

Curtis, Samuel R., 575, 581.

D

De Jarnette, D.C., 582.

Delegates, List of, 465.

Doolittle, James R., 478, 481, 498.

Douglas, Stephen A., 474, 479, 480, 535, 564, 568, 571.

E

Ely, Alfred, 582.

Extract from the minutes of the New York delegation, 600.

Extract from Journal of the Convention, 601.

F

Fessenden, Wm. P., 468, 471, 474.

Field, David Dudley, 596, 601.

Foster, Lafayette S., 581.

G

Garnett, Muscoe, 582.

Goodrich, J.Z., 601.

Green, James S., 473, 474, 532, 536.

Grow, Galusha A., 576, 577. 578, 579.

Gwin, William M., 476, 570, 571.

H

Hale, John P., 474, 475, 476, 477, 478.

Hale, James T., 581.

Harris, John T., 582.

Hatton, Robert, 577.

Hickman, John, 577, 578, 583.

Hindman, Thomas C., 582, 583.

Hoard, Charles B., 582.

Howard, William A., 574, 578.

Hunter, R.M.T., 481, 482, 483, 484, 488, 489, 492, 493, 497, 498, 501, 569, 570.

J

Jenkins, Albert G., 581.

Johnson, Andrew, 470, 556, 568.

Johnson, Robert W., 567, 568.

Joint Resolutions, preamble to, 476, 477, 481.

Junkin, Benj. F., 581.

K

Kellogg, Francis W., 578.

L

Lane, Joseph, 535, 536.

Latham, Milton S., 475.

Leach, De Witt C., 581.

Leake, Shelton F., 581.

Letcher, John, 574.

Logan, John A., 579.

Lovejoy, Owen, 576, 577, 578, 579.

M

McClernand, John A., 576, 578, 579, 583.

Mason, James M., 470, 473, 474, 477, 479, 502, 506, 510, 514, 516, 518, 535, 564, 565.

Maynard, Horace, 575, 582.

Millson, John S., 575, 583.

N

Nicholson, A.O.P., 571.

Nixon, John T., 581.

P

Pendleton, Geo. H., 582.

Polk, Trusten, 517, 518.

Potter, John F., 582.

Powell, Lazarus W., 466, 468, 469, 470, 571.

Pugh, James L., 481, 488, 520.

Puleston, J. Henry, 472.

R

Reports of Delegations to States: Virginia, 584. New York, 585. Rhode Island, 610. Massachusetts, 613.

Report, minority, of New York Commissioners, 604.

Report of Peace Conference, 472, 478.

Resolutions of States: Tennessee, 454. Ohio, 456. Kentucky, 457. Indiana, 458. Delaware, 458. Illinois, 459. New Jersey, 460. New York, 461. Pennsylvania, 462. Massachusetts, 463. Rhode Island, 464. Missouri, 464.

Robinson, Christopher, 583.

Ruffin, Thomas, 581.

S

Sebastian, William K., 567.

Seward, Wm. H., 476, 477, 478, 481, 482, 483, 487.

Sherman, John, 580, 582.

Sickles, Daniel E., 579, 580.

Simmons, James F., 480.

Stanton, Benjamin, 574, 575.

Statement to N.Y. Legislature, 601, 603.

Stevens, Thaddeus, 576.

Sumner, Charles, 480.

T

Tyler, John, 471.

Trumbull, Lyman, 485, 486, 487, 535.

W

Wade, Benj. F., 488, 535.

Washburne, Elihu B., 577, 582.

Wilkinson, Morton S., 523, 524.

Wilson, James, 581.

Woodson, Samuel H., 580.

Wright, C.J., 601.

THE END