516 



NEW JERSEY. 



Union and under the Constitution ; that they cannot 

 surrender their love of liberty and their cherished 

 principles, yet they are willing, if acceptable to them, 

 to unite in establishing a policy which shall be final 

 and conclusive in its settlement of existing difficulties, 

 upon the basis of the following propositions: 



I. A sacred guarantee that neither Congress nor any 

 branch of the Federal Government shall interfere in 

 any manner with the peculiar systems of labor or 

 domestic institutions of any of the States. 



II. A prompt repression of all armed invasions of 

 any State or Territory, and the speedy and sure pun- 

 ishment of all persons engaged in such lawless 

 attempts. 



III. A faithful execution of that clause of the Con- 

 stitution which provides " that no person held to ser- 

 vice or labor in one State, under the laws thereof, es- 

 caping into another, shall, in consequence of any law 

 or regulation therein, be discharged from such service 

 or labor, but shall be delivered up on the claim of the 

 party to whom such service or labor may be due," and 

 all laws passed in pursuance thereof, and the repeal of 

 all State laws, the purpose and intent of which are to 

 prevent their faithful execution, and also the faithful 

 execution of those equally important clauses of the 

 Constitution which requires that " the citizens of each 

 State shall be entitled to all the privileges and immu- 

 nities of citizens in the several States," that " the rights 

 of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, 

 papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and 

 seizures, shall not be violated," and that "no person 

 shall be d( prived of life or property, without due pro- 

 cess of law.'' 



IV. An enabling act, providing that all that portion 

 of the territory of the United States in which slavery 

 was not prohibited by the Missouri compromise, pass- 

 ed in 1820, comprising all south of the parallel of 36 

 SO' north latitude, and now constituting the Territory 

 of New Mexico, shall be formed into a State which 

 shall be admitted into the Union upon an equal footing 

 with the other States, with or without slavery as the 

 people shall decide : Provided, That in all the territory 

 belonging to the United States, north of the parallel 

 aforesaid, slavery or involuntary servitude, except for 

 crime, shall be forever prohibited. 



3. And be it resolved, That the Government of the 

 United States is a National Government ; and the Union 

 it was designed to create is not a mere compact or 

 league, but is indissoluble by any authority except the 

 whole people of the United States ; and the Government 

 and the Union thus established it is the duty of every 

 good citizen to maintain and defend at all hazards. 



4. And be it resolved, That the Constitution of the 

 United States contains all the powers necessary to the 

 maintenance of its authority, and it is the solemn and 

 most imperative duty of the Government to adopt and 

 carry into effect whatever measures may be necessary 

 to that end ; and the faith and the power of New Jersey 

 are hereby pledged to the support of such measures, 

 in any manner and to any extent that may be required 

 of her by the constituted authorities of the United 

 States. 



The first sentence in this preamble is hardly 

 explicit. The Republicans had ten members 

 in the Senate, yet only six voted against the 

 resolution. In the House there were 24 Repub- 

 licans, 13 of whom did not oppose the resolu- 

 tions adopted by the Legislature ; nevertheless 

 their action would have been of a soothing 

 character, had it not had an appearance of fac- 

 tious dissent from the majority of the Legislature. 



On the 27th of January a joint committee 

 was appointed to reconstruct the legislative 

 districts in accordance with the new census. 



Much of the session was passed in discussion 

 upon railroad bills, that were respectively urged 

 by the Camden and Amboy Railroad, and by 



the N. J. Railroad. Just previous to the ad- 

 journment all those desired by the former com- 

 pany were passed. 



The Legislature having adjourned, the people 

 waited with anxiety for the result of affairs at 

 the South, when, on the 15th of April, they were 

 startled by the news of the fall of Fort Sumter. 



The military board immediately assembled at 

 Trenton. On the arrival of the detailed call for 

 troops from Washington, orders were issued to 

 the major-generals at the head of the four mili- 

 tary divisions of the State to raise in each divi- 

 sion one regiment. The uniformed companies, 

 called by law the active militia, in the several 

 divisions, were first enrolled, and the residue 

 filled up from the reserve militia. 



The city of Trenton was quite excited. Gov. 

 Olden ordered Company A of the City Bat- 

 talion to the State arsenal, under apprehensions 

 that the arms would be taken away, although 

 such apprehensions were utterly groundless. 



Meanwhile tenders of services were made 

 from all quarters of the State. 



On the 17th of April Governor Olden issued a 

 formal proclamation, calling for the four militia 

 regiments, one from each division, to number 

 780 men each, and ordering them to rendezvous 

 at Trenton, the capital of the State. 



The enthusiasm was now great, although 

 many Unionists were annoyed by parties who 

 sought to fasten unpopular suspicions on them 

 by compelling them to make public demon- 

 stration of sentiments from which they had 

 never wavered. 



The Trenton Bank and the Mechanics' Bank 

 tendered loans of $25,000 each to the Governor 

 to aid the regiments. A national salute was 

 fired from the State arsenal in honor of the 

 Boston troops passing through. Meetings and 

 assemblages were common in all parts of the 

 State. 



April 20. Gen Runyon's regiment at Newark 

 was nearly ready to move, and the Common 

 Council of Newark voted $100,000 to provide 

 for the families of volunteers, and $5,000 for 

 their equipment. 



Gov. Olden called an extra session of the 

 Legislature of the State, to meet on Tuesday, 

 April 30, at 12 o'clock noon, at the State House 

 in Trenton, to provide means for the exigencies 

 of the future, and manifest their patriotic de- 

 votion to the Federal Government. 



Major-General Theodore Runyon was ap- 

 pointed commander .of the New Jersey forces, 

 and the movement of troops began. They 

 started in 12 propellers by canal to Borden- 

 town, thence down the Delaware to land at 

 Annapolis. The whole brigade, armed with 

 Mini6 muskets, with its four pieces of artillery, 

 arrived at Annapolis May 5. The 14 trans- 

 ports with a strong convoy, made a splendid 

 appearance steaming in two lines down the 

 Chesapeake. 



Tlie extra session of the Legislature convened 

 by the Governor to prepare for the crisis, met 

 at Trenton, April 30. All the Senators were 



