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 wmm M (©if ©m AH mm 
 JAMES TALLMADGE, Jr. 
 
 or 
 
 IN THE 
 
 House of Representatives of the United States. 
 
 ON 
 
 SLAYERY. 
 
 TO WHICH IS ADDED, THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE 
 
 MAHWiiiiei^ir i(©(©iM^^ 
 
 OF THE CITY OF NEW-YORK, 
 
 » AND THE 
 
 CORRESPONDENCE OF THEIR COMMITTEE 
 
 WITH 
 
 ^ywhe<kyt^. 27ao07naaae a?ia ^aucar. 
 
 NEW-YORK : 
 
 Frankfort-street. 
 1819. 
 
'/A- 
 
 ^1 S 2)1 
 
( 7 ) 
 
 sentiments on this subject, to be accused of talkiu:^ to Hk; gal- 
 leries, with intention to excite a servile war; and of iiuritiiig 
 the fate of Arbuthnot and Ambrister ? Are we to be told of the 
 dissolution of the Union; of civil war, and of seas of l)lood ? And 
 yet, with such awful threatenings before us, do gcntlenu'ii, in the 
 same breath, insist upon the encouragement of this evil; u[)on 
 the extension of this monstrous scourge of the human race ? An 
 evil so fraught with such dire calamities, to us, as iiulividuals, 
 and to our nation, and threatening, in its progress, to overwhelm 
 the civil and religious institutions of the country, with the liber- 
 ties of the nation, ought, at once, to be met, and to be controll- 
 ed. If its power, its influence, and its impending dangers, have 
 already arrived at such a point, that it is not safe to discuss it on 
 this floor ; and it cannot now pass under consideration as a pro- 
 per subject for general legislation, what will be the result when 
 it is spread through your widely extended domain ? Its present 
 threatening aspect, and the violence of its su[)porters, so far from 
 inducing me to yield to its progress, prompt me to resist its march. 
 Now is the time. It must now be met, and the extension of the 
 evil must now be prevented, or the occasion is irrecoverably 
 lost, and the evil can never be contracted. 
 
 Extend your view across the J\Ii:rsissippi, over your newly 
 acquired territory — a territory so far surpassing, in extent, the 
 limits of your present country, that that country which gave birth 
 to your nation, which achieved your revolution, consolidated 
 your union, formed your constitution, and has subsequently ac- 
 quired so much glory, hangs but as an appendage to the extend- 
 ed empire over which your republican government is now called 
 to bear sway. Look down the long vista of futurity; see our 
 empire, in extent unequalled; in advantageous situation without 
 a parallel, and occupying all the valuable part of our continent I 
 Behold this extended empire, inhabited by the hardy sons of 
 American freemen, knowing their rights, and inheriting the will 
 to protect them — owners of the soil on which they live, and in- 
 terested in the institutions which they labour to defend; with 
 two oceans laving your shores, and tributary to your purposes; 
 bearing on their bosoms the commerce of your peo[)le! Compar- 
 ed to yours, the governments of Europe dwindle into insignifi 
 cance, and the whole world is without a parallel. But, re- 
 verse this scene ; people this fair dominion with the slaves ol 
 
( 8 ) 
 
 jour planters; extend slavery, this bane oi man, this abomina- 
 tion of lieaven, over 3' our extended empire, and you prepare its 
 dissolution; you turn its accumulated strength into positive 
 weakness; you cherish a canker in your breast; you put poison 
 in your bo^om ; yuu place a vulture on your heart — nay, you 
 whet the dagger and |)lace it in the hands of a portion of your 
 po{)ulation, stimulated to use it, by every tie, human and di- 
 vine ! The envious contrast between your happiness, and their 
 misery; between your liberty, and their slavery, mu?t constant- 
 ly promi)t them to accomplish your destruction ! Your enemies 
 win learn the source and the cause of your weakness. As often 
 as external dangers shall threaten, or internal commotions await 
 you, you will then realize, that, by your own procurement, you 
 ha\'e placed amidst your families, and in the bosom of your coun- 
 try, a population producing, at once, the greatest cause of indivi- 
 dual danger, and of national weakness. With this defect, your 
 government must crumble to pieces, and your people become 
 the scoff of the world ! 
 
 We have been told, with apparent confidence, that we have 
 no right to annex conditions to a state, on its admission into 
 the union ; and it has been urged that the proposed amend- 
 ment, prohibiting the further introduction of slavery, is unconsti- 
 tutional. This position, asserted with so much confidence^ re- 
 mains unsupported by any argument, or by any authority deriv- 
 ed from the constitution itself. The constitution strongly indi- 
 cates, an opposite conclusion, and seems to contemplate a differ- 
 ence between the old and the new states. The practice of the 
 government has sanctioned this difference in many respects. 
 
 The third section of the fourth article of the Constitution says, 
 " new states may be admitted hy the Cotisress into this Union,''' 
 and it is silent as to the terms and conditions upon which the 
 new states may be so admitted. The fair inference from this 
 silence is, that the Congress which might admit, should prescribe 
 the time and the terms of such admission. The tenth section 
 of the first article of the Constitution says, " the mis:ration or 
 importation of such persons as any of the states now existing 
 shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress 
 prior to the year 1808. The words "^ now existin!(" clearly shew 
 the distinction for which we contend. The word slave is no- 
 where mentioned in the Constitution ; but this section has al- 
 
( 9 ) 
 
 ways been considered as applicable to them, and unquestionably 
 reserved the ri<j;ht to [irevenl their importation into any new state 
 before the year 1808. 
 
 Congress, therefore, have power over the sulyect, probably 
 as a mntter of legislation, but more certainly as a right, to pre- 
 scribe the time and the condition upon which any new state may 
 be admitted into the family of the Union. Sir, the i)ill now be- 
 fore us proves the correctness of my argument. It is filled with 
 conditions and limitations. The territory is reciuired to take a 
 census, and is to be admitted only on condition that it have 
 40,000 inhabitants. I have already submitted amendments pre- 
 venting the state from taxing the lands of the United States, and 
 declaring that all navigable waters shall remain ojien to the 
 other states, and be exempt from any tolls or duties. And my 
 friend, (Mr. Taylor,) has also submitted amendments, prohibit- 
 ing the state from taxing soldiers' lands for the period of five 
 years. And to all these amendments we have heard no objec- 
 tion — they have passed unanimously. But now, when an amend- 
 ment, prohibiting the further introduction of slavery, is proposed, 
 the whole House is put in agitation, and we are confidently told 
 that it is unconstitutional to annex conditions on the admission 
 of a new state into the Union. The result of all this is, that all 
 amendments and conditions are proper, which suit a certain class 
 of gentlemen, but whatever amendment is proposed, which does 
 not comport with their interests or their views, is unconstitu- 
 tional, and a flagrant violation of this sacred charter of our rights. 
 In order to be consistent, gentlemen must go back and strike out 
 the various amendments to which they have already agreed. — 
 The Constitution applies equally to all, or to none. 
 
 We have been told, that this is a new principle for which 
 we contend, never before adopted, or thought of. So far from 
 this being correct, it is due to the memory of our ancestors to 
 say, it is an old principle, adopted by them, as the policy of our 
 country. Whenever the United States have had the right and 
 the power, they have heretofore prevented the extension of slave- 
 ry. The states of Kentucky and Tennessee were taken off from 
 other states, and were admitted into the Union without condi- 
 tion, because their lands were never owned by tlie United States. 
 The territory north-west of the Ohio is all the land which ever 
 belonged to them. Shortly after the cees^ion of those lands t« 
 
 B 
 
( 1" ) 
 
 the Union, Congress passed, in 1787, a compact which was de- 
 clared to be unalterable, the sixth article of which [)rovi(les that 
 " Ihcre shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in the 
 said territory, otherwise than in the punishment for crimes, where- 
 of the party shall have been duly convicted.'''' In pursuance of this 
 compact, all the states formed from that territory have been ad- 
 mitted into the Union upon various considerations, and amongst 
 which the sixth article of this compact is included as one. 
 
 Let gentlemen also advert to the laws for the admission of the 
 state of Louisiana into the Union ; they will find it filled with 
 conditions. It was required not to form a Constitution upon 
 the principles of a republican government, but it was required to 
 contain the "fundamental principles of civil and religious liber- 
 ty." It was even required as a condition of its admission, to 
 keep its records and its judicial and legislative proceedings in the 
 English language,- and also to secure the trial by jury, and to 
 surrender all claim to unappropriated lands in the territory, with 
 the prohibition to tax any of the United States lands. 
 
 After this long practice and constant usage to annex condi- 
 tions to the admission of a state into the Union, will gentlemen 
 yet tell us it is unconstitutional, and talk of our principles being 
 novel and extraordinary ? It has been said, that if this amend- 
 ment prevails, we shall have an union of states possessing un- 
 equal rights. And we have been asked, whether we wished to 
 see such a " chequered union ?" Sir, we have such a union al- 
 ready. If the prohibition of slavery is the denial of a right, and 
 constitutes a chequered union, gladly would I behold such rights 
 denied, and such a chequer spread over every state in the Union. 
 It is now spread over the states north-west of the Ohio, and 
 forms the glory and the strength of those states. I hope it will 
 be extended from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean. 
 
 We have been told that the proposed amendment cannot 
 be received, because it is contrary to the treaty and cession of 
 Louisiana. " Article 3. The inhabitants of the ceded territory 
 shall be incorporated in the Union of the United States, and ad- 
 mitted as soon as possible, according to the principles of the 
 federal constitution, to the enjoyment of all the rights, advanta- 
 ges, and immunities of citizens of the United States, and in the 
 mean time they shall be maintained and protected in the free en- 
 joyment of their liberty, their property, and the religion which 
 
( 11 ) 
 
 they profess," I find nothing, saul Mr. T. in lliis ailitle of the 
 treaty, incompatible with tlie proposed amendment. 'I'he riglils, 
 advantages, and immunities of citizens of the United States are 
 guaranteed to the inhabitants of Louisiana. If one of them 
 should choose to remove into Virginia, he could take liis slaves 
 withliim; hut if he removes to Indiana, or any of the states 
 north-west of the Ohio, he cannot take liis slaves with him. If 
 the proposed amendm nt jirevails, the inhabitants of Louisiana, 
 or the citizens of the United States, can neither of them take 
 slaves in the state of Missouri, All, therefore, may esijoy equal 
 privileges. It is a disability, or what I call a blessing, annexed 
 to the particular district of country, and in no manner attached 
 to the individual. But, said Mr. T. while I have no doubt tliat 
 the treaty contains no solid objection against the proposed 
 amendment, if it did, it would not alter my determination on the 
 subject. The Senate, or the treaty-making power of our govern- 
 ment, have neither the right nor the power to stipulate, by a 
 treaty, the terms upon which a people shall be admitted into 
 the Union. This house have a right to be heard on the subject. 
 The admission of a state into the Union is a legislative act 
 which requires concurrence of all the departments of legislative 
 power. It is an important prerogative of this House, which I 
 hope will never be surrendered. 
 
 The zeal and the ardor of gentlemen, in the course of this de- 
 bate, has induced them to announce to this House, that, if we 
 persist and force the state of Missouri to accede to the proj)osed 
 amendment, as the condition of her admission into the Union 
 she will regard it, and, as soon as admitted, will alter her consti- 
 tution, and introduce slavery into her territory. Sir, I am not 
 now prepared, nor is it necessary to determine, what would be 
 the consequence of such a violation of faith — of such a departure 
 from the fundamental condition of her admission into the Union. 
 I would not cast upon a peoi)le so foul an imputation, as to be- 
 lieve they would be guilty of such fraudulent duplicity. The 
 states north-west of the Ohio have all regarded the faith and the 
 condition of their admission ; and there is no reason to believe 
 the people of Missouri will not also regard theirs. But, sir, 
 whenever a state admitted into the Union shall disregard and 
 set at naught the fundamental conditions of its admission, and 
 shall, in violation of all faith, undertake to lev/ a tax upon lande 
 
C IS ) 
 
 of the United States, or a toll upon their navigable waters, or 
 introduce slavery, where Congress have proiiiltiled it, then it 
 will be in time to determine tlie consequence. But, sir, if the 
 threatened consequences were known to be the certain result, 
 yet wouhl I insist upon the proposed amendment. The decla- 
 ration of this House, the declared will of the nation, to prohibit 
 slavery, would produce its moral effect, and stand as one of the 
 brightest ornaments of our country. 
 
 It has been urged, with great plausibility, that we should 
 epread the slaves now in our countrj', and thus spread the evil, 
 rather than confine it to its present districts. It has been said. 
 we should thereby diminish the dangers from them, while we 
 increase the means of their living, and augment their comforts. 
 But, you may rest assured, that this reasoning is fallacious, 
 and that, while slavery is admitted, the market will be supplied. 
 Our coast, and its contiguity to the West Indies and the Spanish 
 possessions, render easy the introduction of slaves into our coun- 
 try. Our laws are already highly penal agaiiist their introduc- 
 tion, and yet, it is a well known fact, that about fourteen thou- 
 sand slaves have been brought into our country this last year. 
 
 Since we have been engaged in this debate, we have wit- 
 nessed an elucidation of this argument, of bettering the condi- 
 tion of slaves, by spreading them over the country. A slave 
 driver, a trafficker in human flesh, as if sent by Providence, has 
 passed the door of your Capitol, on his way to the west, driving 
 before him about fifteen of these wretched victims of his power, 
 collected in the course of his traffic, and by their removal, torn 
 from every relation, and from every tie, which the human heart 
 can hold dear. — The males who might raise the arm of ven- 
 geance, and retaliate for their wrongs, were hand-cuffed, and 
 chained to each other, while the females and children were 
 marched in their rear, under the guidance of the driver's whip! — 
 Yes, sir, such has been the scene witnessed from the windows of 
 Congress Hall, and viewed by meml>ers who com|)Ose the legis- 
 lative councils of Reput)lican America. 
 
 Sir, in the course of the debate on this subject, we have been 
 told that, from the long habit of the southern and western peo- 
 ple, the possession of slaves has become necessary to them, and 
 an essential requisite in their living. It has been urged, from 
 the nature of the climate and soil of the southern countries, that 
 
( 18 ) 
 
 the lands cannot be occupied or cultivated without slaves. It 
 has been said that the skives prosper in those places, and that 
 they are much belter oil' there than in their own native country. 
 We have even been told that, if we succeed, and prevent slavery 
 across the Mississipiti, we shall greatly lessen the value of pro- 
 perty there, and shall retard, for a'loiig series of years, the settle- 
 ment of that country. 
 
 Sir, said \lr. T. if the western country cannot be settled with- 
 out slaves, giadly would I prevent ils settlement till time shall 
 be no more. If this class of arguments is to prevail, it sets all 
 morals at defiance, and we are called to legislate on the subject, 
 as a matter of mere personal interest. If this is to be the case, 
 repeal all your laws prohibiting the slave trade; throw open this 
 traffic to the commercial states of the east; and, if it better the 
 condition of these wretched beings, invite the dark poi)ulation of 
 benighted Africa to be translated to the shores of Reput)lican 
 America. But, sir, I will not cast upon this or upon that gentle- 
 man an imputation so ungracious as the conclusion to which their 
 arguments would necessarily tend. 1 do not believe any gentle- 
 man on this floor could here advocate the slave trade, or main- 
 tain, in the abstract, the principles of slavery. I will not out- 
 rage the decorum, nor insult the dignify f this House, by at- 
 tempting to argue in this place, as an abstract proposition, the 
 moral right of slavery. How gladly would the " legitimates of 
 Europe chuckle," to find an American Congress in debate on such 
 a question. 
 
 As an evil brought upon us without our own fault, before the 
 formation of our government, and as one of the sins of that nation 
 from which we have revolted, we must of necessity legislate 
 upon this subject. It is our business so to legislate, as never to 
 encourage, but always to control this evil ; and, while we strive 
 to eradicate it, we ought to fix its limits, and render it subordi- 
 nate to the safety of the white population, an.i the good order of 
 civil society. 
 
 On this subject the eyes of Europe are turned upon you. — 
 You boast of the freedom of your constitution and your laws ; 
 you have proclaimed, in the Declaration of Independence, 
 " That all men arc created equal ; that they are endowed by their 
 Creator with certain unalienable rights — that amongst tlicseare, life, 
 liberty, and the pursuit of happiness /' and yet you have slaves in 
 
( 
 
 14 
 
 your country. Tlie enemies of your government, and the legi- 
 timates of Europe, poiut to your inconsistencies, and blazon 
 yotir supposed defects. If you allow slavery to pass into terri- 
 tories where you have the lawful power to exclude it, you will 
 justly take upon yourself all the charges of inconsistency ; but, 
 confiae it to the original slavB holding states, where you found 
 it at ihe fjrm ition of your government, and you stand acquitted 
 of all imputation. 
 
 This is a subject u[)on which I have great feeling for the 
 honor of my country. In a former debate upon the Illinois con- 
 stitution, I mentioned that our enemies had drawn a |)icture of 
 our country, as holding in one hand the Declaration of Indepen- 
 dence, and with the other brandishing a whip over our affrighted 
 slaves. I then made it my boast that we could cast back ur-^n 
 England the accusation, and that she had committed the t (i- 
 nalsin of bringing slaves into our country. Sir, I have since 
 received through the post ofiice, a letter, post-marked in South- 
 Carolina, and signed "J 7ialive of England,'' desiring that, when 
 I had occasion to repeat my boast against England, I would also 
 state that she had aloned for her original sin, by establishing in 
 her slave colonies a system of humane laws, meliorating their con- 
 dition, and providing for their safety, while America had com- 
 mitted the secondary sin of disregarding their condition, and had 
 even provided laws by which it was not murder to kill a slave. 
 I felt the severity of the reproof; I felt for my country. I 
 have enquired on the sultject, and I find such were formerly the 
 laws in some of the slave-holding states; and that even now, in 
 the state of South Carolina, by law, the penalty of death is pro- 
 vided for stealing a slave, while the murder of a slave is punished 
 by a trivial fine. Such, is the contrast and the relative value 
 which is placed, in the opinion of a slave-holding state, between 
 the property of the master and the life of a slave. 
 
 Gentlemen have undertaken fo criminate and to draw mli- 
 OU3 contrasts be.'.veen different sections of our country— I shall 
 not combat such arguments ; I have made no pretence to exclusive 
 morality on this subject, either for myself or my constituents; nor 
 have I cast any imputations on others. On the contrary, I hold, 
 that mankind under like circumstances are alike, the world over. 
 The vicious and unprincipled areconfined tonodistrict of country 
 and it is for this portion of the community we are bound to legislate. 
 
C 15 ) 
 
 — When honorable gentlemen iniorm us, ne over-rate the cruelty 
 and the dangers of slavery, and tell us that their slaves are happy 
 and contented, and would even contribute to their safety; the}' 
 tell us but very little : they do not tell us, that while their slaves 
 are happy, the slaves of some depraved and cruel wretch, in their 
 neighborhood, may not be stimulated to revenge, and thus involve 
 the country in ruin. If we had to legislate only for such gentle- 
 men as are now embraced within my view, a law against robbing 
 the mail would be a disgrace U|)on the nation; and, as useless, I 
 would tear it from the pages of your statute book; yet sad expe- 
 rience has taught us the necessity of such laws — and honor, jus- 
 tice, and policy, teach us the wisdom of legislating to limit the 
 extension of slavery. 
 
 Sir, in the zeal to draw sectional contrasts, we have been told 
 by one gentleman, that gentlemen from one district of country 
 talk of their religion and their morality, while those of another 
 practice it. And the superior liberality has been asserted of 
 southern gentlemen over those of the north, in all contributions 
 to moral institutions, for bible and missionary societies. I un 
 derstand too well the pursuit of my purpose to be decoyed and 
 drawn oflf into the discussion of a collateral subject. I have no 
 inclination to controvert these assertions of comparative liberali- 
 ty. Although I have no idea they are founded in fact, yet, be- 
 cause it better suits the object of my present argument, I will, on 
 this occasion admit them to the fullest extent. And what is the 
 result? Southern gentlemen, bj- their superior liberality in con- 
 tributions to moral institutions, justly stand in the first rank, and 
 hold the first place in the brightest page of the history of our coun- 
 try. But, turn over this page, and what do j'ou behold .'' You 
 behold them contributing to teach the doctrines of Christianity in 
 every quarter of the globe. — You behold them legislating to se- 
 cure the ignorance and stupidity of their own slaves ! You behold 
 them prescribing by law, penalties against the man that dares 
 teach a negro to read. Such, sir, is the statute law of the state of 
 Virginia. [Mr. Bassett and Mr. Tyler said that there was no 
 such law in Virginia.] 
 
 No, sir, said Mr. T. I have mis-spoken myself; I ought to have 
 said, such is the statute law of the state of Georgia. Yes, sir, 
 while we hear of a lil)erality which civilizes the savages of all 
 countries, and carries the Gospel alike to the Hottentot and the 
 
( 16 ) 
 
 Hindoo, it has been reserved for the republican state of Georgia, 
 not content with the care of its overseers, to legislate to secure 
 the oppression and the ignorance of their slaves. The man who 
 there teaches a negro to read, is liable to a criminal prosecution. 
 The dark l)enighted beings of all creation profit by our liberality 
 — save those of our own plantations. Where is the missionary 
 who possesses sufficient hardihood to venture a residence to teach 
 the slaves of a plantation ? Here is the stain! Here is the stig- 
 ma! which fastens upon the character of our country; and which, 
 in the appropriate language of the gentleman from Georgia, [Mr. 
 Cobb,] all the waters of the ocean cannot wash out ; which seas of 
 Hood can only take away. 
 
 Sir, there is yet another, and an important point of view, in 
 "which this subject ought to be considered. We have been told 
 by those who advocate the extension of slavery into the Mis- 
 souri, that any attempt to control this subject by legislation, is 
 a violation of that faith and mutual confidence, upon \i'hich our 
 union was formed, and our constitution ado])ted. This argu- 
 ment might be considered plausible, if the restriction was at- 
 tempted to be enforced against any of the slave holding states, 
 which had been a party in the adoption of the constitution. But 
 it can have no reference or application to a new district of coun- 
 try, recently acquired, and never contemplated in the forma- 
 tion of government, and not embraced in the mutual concessions 
 and declared faith, upon which the constitution was adopted. 
 The constitution provides, that the representatives of the seve- 
 ral states to this House, shall be according to their number, in- 
 cluding three-fifths of the slaves in the respective states. This 
 is an important benefit yielded to the slave holding states, as 
 one of the mutual sacrifices for the Union. On this subject I 
 oonsider the faith of the Union pledged ; and I never would 
 attempt coercive manumission in a slave holding state. 
 
 But none of the causes which induced the sacrifice of this 
 principle, and which now produce such an unequal representa- 
 tion of the free population of the country, exist as between us 
 and the newly acquired territory across the Mississippi. That 
 portion of country has no claims to such an unequal representa- 
 tion, unjust in its results upon the other states. Are the nume- 
 rous slaves Ja extensive countries, which we may acquire by 
 
( 17 ) 
 
 purchase, and admit as states into the Union, at once to be re- 
 presented on this floor, under a clause of (he constitution, granted 
 as a comj)romise and a benefit to the southern states, which had 
 borne part in the revohition ? Such an extension of that clause 
 in the constitution, woukl be unjust in its operations, unequal in 
 its results, and a violation of its original intention. Abstract 
 from the moral eHects of slavery, its political consequences, in 
 the representation under this clause of the constitution, de- 
 monstrate the importance of the proposed amendment. 
 
 Sir, I shall bow in silence to the will of the majority, on which 
 ever side it shall be expressed; yet I confidently hope that ma- 
 jority will be found on (he side of an amendment, so replete 
 with moral consequences, so pregnant with important political 
 results. 
 
 PROCEEDINGS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 OF THE CITY OF NEW-YORK, 
 
 AND THE 
 
 CORRESPONDENCE OF THEIR COMMITTEE 
 
 WITH 
 
 tyPhea^d'Td. ^Ta/oTnaaae ana 0auoa7'^. 
 
 Nerv- York, Feb. 24, 1819. 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 The New- York Society for promoting the manumis- 
 sion of slaves, &;c. have directed us, as their committee, 
 to transmit to you the enclosed resolutions. 
 
 Jt is grateful to our feelings to be the medium on 
 this occasion, of communicating to you the sincere 
 and unanimous acknowledgments oi the society, for 
 
 C 
 
( 18 ) 
 
 services honorable alike to the pubhc and personal 
 character of" those by whom they have been pejformed, 
 and to the state, by whose representatives, her public 
 opinion on the subject of Slavery, has been so man- 
 fully asserted. 
 
 With sentiments of respectful consideration, Ave have 
 the honor to be, *♦ 
 
 Your ob't serv'ts, 
 
 I. M. ELY, 
 HIRAM KETCHUM, 
 GEORGE NEWBOLD. 
 To the Hon. Messrs. James Tallmadge, Jr. 
 and John W. Taylor. 
 
 In tViC) Xe.^-XoY\i ^laiiwYiiission Society. 
 
 At a special meeting, held in the city of New-York. 
 February 23, 1819— 
 
 The minutes of the proceedings of the House ol" 
 Representatives of the United States, on the bill for 
 authorizing the people of the territory of Missouri, to 
 form a constitution and state government, and for the 
 admission of the same into the Union, and on the bill 
 to establish the territorial government of the Arkansa 
 territory, having been read ; from which it apppears, 
 that motions were introduced, by the honorable James 
 Tallmadge, jun. and the hon. John W. Taylor, 
 representatives from this state for preventing the fur- 
 ther introduction of slavery into the proposed state 
 and territory, and for securing the ultimate emancipa- 
 tion of all children, who may hereafter be born of 
 slaves, in such state and territory : The following re- 
 
( 19 ) 
 
 solutions, were thereupon, on motion, unanimously 
 adopted — 
 
 Resolved, That, in the opinion of this society, the 
 further introduction of slavery into any of our states 
 or territories, is revolting to the enlightened philan- 
 thropy of the present age — is irreconcileable with the 
 genius of our government and institutions, and hostile 
 to the political, moral, and social interests of our com- 
 mon country. 
 
 Resolved, That the hon. Messrs. Tallmadge and 
 Taylor, for their manly and persevering efforts in 
 Congress, to prevent the further extension of the evils 
 of slavery, have elevated the character of the state of 
 New-York, and entitled themselves to the approbation 
 of all good men. 
 
 Resolved, That the thanks of this society be pre- 
 sented to those gentlemen, as a memorial of the sense 
 which we entertain of the value of their services, in 
 the cause of justice, of humanity, and of freedom. 
 
 Resolved, That the above preamble and resoltitions 
 be signed by the president of this society, and that 
 copies of the same be transmitted to Messrs. Tall- 
 madge and Taylor, by a select committee, to be ap- 
 pointed for that purpose. 
 
 CADWALLADER D. GOLDEN. 
 
 President. 
 
 Washingto7i, March 1, 1819. 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 Your favor of the 24th of last month, transmitting 
 resolutions of the New-York Society for promoting 
 the manumission of slaves, was duly received. We 
 
( 20 ) 
 
 cannot be insensible to the favprable opinion expressed 
 by your institution of our efforts to advance the cause 
 of freedom in America. Tiiat the very humane and 
 benevolent objects of your association, may ultimately 
 J, receive their full accomplishment, is our constant de- 
 sire and ardent prayer. Our best exertions on all oc- 
 casions, will be faithfully directed to the promotion of 
 the same grand design. Whatever may be the issue 
 of the particular subject, which gave rise to the reso- 
 hitions, we shall ever cherish a grateful recollection 
 of the approbation of our services, by the members 
 of your society. In requesting of you the favor to 
 communicate to them our unfeigned thanks, for their 
 distinguished notice, we tender to you our united ac- 
 knowledgments for the friendly sentiments contained 
 in your letter. 
 
 We have the honor to be, very respectfully, 
 your ob't serv'^ts, 
 
 JAMES TALLMADGE, Jun. 
 00 ^ JOHN TAYLOR. 
 
 Messrs. T. M. Ely, 
 
 Hiram Ketchum, and 
 George Newbold. 
 
 54 w 
 
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