PEACE CONFERENCE. 



565 



have harmoniously adjusted all differences be- 

 tween us, induce us to favor the appointment of 

 the commission as requested." 



The State of Indiana required her delegates 

 to take no action that would commit the State 

 until nineteen of the States are represented, 

 nor without first having communicated with 

 the General Assembly in regard to such action, 

 and having received the authority of the same 

 to commit the State. Like Ohio, she declared 

 that while she was not prepared to assent to 

 the terms of settlement proposed by the State 

 of Virginia, and was fully satisfied that the 

 Constitution, if fairly interpreted and obeyed, 

 contained ample provision within itself for the 

 correction of the evils complained of, " still, with 

 a disposition to reciprocate the patriotic desire 

 of the State of Virginia, and to have harmo- 

 niously adjusted all differences existing between 

 the States of the Union, this General Assembly 

 is induced to respond to the invitation of Vir- 

 ginia, by the appointment of the commission- 

 ers herein provided for ; but as the time fixed 

 for the Convention to assemble is so near at 

 hand that the States cannot all be represented, 

 it is expected that the commissioners on behalf 

 of this State will insist that the Convention ad- 

 journ until such time as the States shall have 

 an opportunity of being represented." 



Illinois declared that her acceptance of the 

 invitation of Virginia was not an expression of 

 opinion on the part of the State that any amend- 

 ment of the Federal Constitution was requisite 

 to secure to the people of the slaveholding States 

 adequate guarantees for the security of their 

 rights, nor an approval of the basis of settlement 

 of our difficulties proposed by the State of Vir- 

 ginia, but it is an expression of our willingness to 

 unite with the State of Virginia in an earnest ef- 

 fort to adjust the present unhappy controversies 

 in the spirit in which the Constitution was origi- 

 nally formed, and consistently with its principles. 



Kentucky was of the opinion that the propo- 

 sitions embraced in the resolution of her Sen- 

 ator. Crittenden, so construed that the first 

 article proposed as an amendment to the Con- 

 stitution of the United States should apply to all 

 the territory of the United States now held 

 or hereafter acquired south of the latitude 36 

 deg. and 30 min., and provide that slavery of 

 the African race should be effectually protected 

 as property therein during the continuance of 

 the Territorial Government; and the fourth 

 article should secure to the owners of slaves the 

 right of transit with their slaves between and 

 through non-slaveholding States and Territo- 

 ries, constituted the basis of such an adjustment 

 of the unhappy controversy which divided the 

 States of this Confederacy, as would be accept- 

 able to the people of that Commonwealth. 



Missouri sent her delegates " to endeavor to 

 agree upon some plan of adjustment of existing 

 difficulties, so as to preserve or to reconstruct 

 the Union of these States, and to secure the 

 honor and equal rights of the slaveholding 

 States. Said commissioners shall always be 



under the control of the General Assembly, 

 except when the State Convention shall be in 

 session, during which time they shall be under 

 the control of the Convention." 



The plan of adjustment suggested by the 

 Legislature of Tennessee was the same as that 

 proposed by that body to a convention of dele- 

 gates from slaveholding States, and embraced 

 several points. First : that African slaves as 

 held under the institutions of the slaveholding 

 States shall be recognized as property and enti- 

 tled to the status of other property in the States 

 where slavery exists, in all places in those States 

 under the exclusive jurisdiction of Congress, 

 in all the territories south of 36 deg. 30 min., 

 in the District of Columbia, in transit and whilst 

 temporarily sojourning with the owner in non- 

 slaveholding States and Territories north of 36 

 deg. 30 min., and when fugitives from the owner 

 in the several places above named, and in all 

 places under the exclusive jurisdiction of Con- 

 gress in the non-slaveholding States. Second : 

 that in all territory now owned or hereafter 

 acquired south of 36 deg. 30 min., African sla- 

 very should be protected by all the departments 

 of the Federal and Territorial Governments, 

 and in all north of that line it shall not be rec- 

 ognized ; and, States formed south of that line 

 shall be admitted to the Union as slave States, 

 and those formed north of that line shall be 

 admitted as free States. Third : that Congress 

 shall have no power to abolish slavery in places 

 under its exclusive jurisdiction, in slaveholding 

 States. Fourth : that Congress shall have no 

 power to abolish slavery in the District of Co- 

 lumbia while it exists in either of the adjoin- 

 ing States, nor without the consent of the in- 

 habitants, nor without just compensation to the 

 owners ; nor prohibit the officers of the Federal 

 Government or members of Congress from 

 bringing their slaves within the District, and 

 holding them there during their sojourn. Fifth : 

 that Congress shall have no power to hinder the 

 transportation of slaves from one State to 

 another, whether by land, navigable rivers, and 

 the seas. Sixth : that when a fugitive slave is 

 not surrendered, the State so failing to deliver, 

 shall pay the value of the slave and damages. 

 Seventh : that no future amendment of the 

 Constitution should affect the six preceding 

 articles, or give to Congress any power to 

 abolish or interfere with slavery in any slave- 

 holding State. Eighth : that slave property 

 shall be secure in transit in non-slaveholding 

 States or Territories, and in the District of Co- 

 lumbia. Ninth : an amendment to the effect 

 that all fugitives shall be deemed to be those 

 offending the laws within the jurisdiction of 

 the State, and that it is the duty of each 

 State to suppress armed invasions of another 

 State. 



Such were the views represented by the dele- 

 gates to this Convention. The subject before 

 the Convention was to declare some common 

 ground upon which all could agree, and which 

 would be acceptable to the people of the United 



