The Purchase Price; Or, The Cause of Compromise

by Emerson Hough

  CHAPTER XIV

  THE ARGUMENT

  To the heated imagination of the Honorable William Jones somethingstill remained to be explained, and he remained anxious to continuethe conversation on the topic foremost in his mind.

  "Look around here, gentlemen," said he, extending an eloquent arm."Behold them mountings. Look at them trees surrounding this valleyof secrets. The spoils of war belongs to him that has fit--thecaptives of the bow and spear are his'n. How said Brennus theGaul, when he done vanquished Rome? 'Woe to the conquered!' saidhe. 'Woe to them that has fell to our arms!' Now it's the sameright here. Look at--"

  "I was just going to remark," suavely broke in Judge Clayton, "thatof the many mountain views of our southern country, this seems tome one of the most satisfactory. I have never seen a more restfulscene than this, nor a morning more beautiful. But, Missouri!" headded almost with mournfulness. "What a record of strife andturmoil!"

  Dunwody nodded. "As when Missouri was admitted, for instance," hesaid smilingly.

  "Precisely!" rejoined Clayton, biting meditatively at a pluckedgrass stem. "The South gets a state, the North demands one! WhenMissouri came in, Illinois also was admitted--one free against oneslave state. Politics,--nothing more. Missouri would break thebalance of power if she came alone and unpaired as a slave state,so the North paired her with Maine, and let her in, with a stringtied to her! Slavery already existed here, as in all these otherstates that had been admitted with it existent. What the Northtried to do was to abolish slavery where it had _already_ existed,legally, and under the full permission of the Constitution. All ofthe Louisiana Purchase had slavery when we bought it, and under theConstitution Congress could not legislate slavery _out_ of it."

  The younger men of the party listened to him gravely, even eagerly.Regarding the personal arbitrament of arms which they now faced,they were indifferent; but always they were ready to hear thearguments pro and con of that day, when indeed this looselyorganized republic had the giant wolf of slavery by the ear.

  "But they claimed the right of the moral law!" said Dunwody finally.

  "The moral law! Who is the judge of that? Governments are not runby that. If we overthrow our whole system of jurisprudence, why,I've nothing to say. That's anarchy, not government. The South isgrowing faster relatively than the North. The politicians on bothsides are scared about the balance of power, and they're simplytaking advantage of this cry of morality. They're putting themoralists out as cat's-paws to the fire!" Judge Clayton almostabandoned his usual calm.

  "I imagine," ventured Doctor Jamieson, "that Missouri had as good aright to come in unrestricted as Louisiana had in 1812, or Arkansasin 1836."

  "That argument was admitted by statesmen, but it was denied bypoliticians: I make a distinction between the two," commentedDunwody.

  "Yes," rejoined Judge Clayton. "The politicians of the House,controlled by the North, would not give up the intention toregulate us into a place where it could hold us down. 'Very well,'said the Senate--and there were a few statesmen in the Senatethe--'then you shall not have Maine admitted on your own side ofthe line!' And that was how Missouri sneaked into this Union--thisstate, one of the richest parts of the Union--by virtue of acompromise which even waited until Maine was ready to come in!Talk of principles--it was _politics_, and nothing less. That'syour Missouri Compromise; but has the North ever considered it sosacred? She's stuck to it when it was good politics, and forgottenit when that was more to her interest. The Supreme Court of theUnited States will declare the whole Missouri Compromiseunconstitutional at no late date. And what it is going to do withMr. Clay's compromise, of this year, the Lord only knows."

  It was young Yates who at length ventured to interrupt in his softand drawling tones, "I don't see how the No'th can charge us upwith much. Whenever they get into trouble and want help in atrade, or a fight, or a argument, why, they come south!"

  Doctor Jamieson calmly took snuff. "Time was, when we first camein as a state," said he, "that we didn't take these attempts of theNorth to regulate us any too tamely."

  Doctor Jamieson calmly took snuff.]

  "I don't know about that," commented Judge Clayton. "Your 'morallaw,' your 'higher law,' gentlemen, I don't find in my legalreading. It was personal liberty that took every man west, butwe've stood and stickled for the actual law, and we've been robbedunder it: robbed as a state, and now they want to rob us asindividuals. Gentlemen, these men are carrying off a girl of mineworth, say fifteen hundred to two thousand. I say deliberatelythat, when these armed invaders come to cross this state withpurposes such as that, there is full process of law under whichthey can be turned back. For instance, you, Colonel Dunwody, are aUnited States marshal. I've the honor to represent the Judiciaryof this state. We haven't time now to put the matter in the handsof the courts or of the legislature. But it seems to me--"

  "Men," said young Desha tersely, "we're wastin' time. We've madeour medicine. Let's hit the war trail."

  Dunwody smiled at him. "You boys are hot-headed," said he.

  "To hell with the Constitution!" exclaimed the Honorable WilliamJones suddenly.

  "Well, it's one Constitution against the other, anyhow," saidClayton. "You can see the intent of the North now plainly enough.Indiana openly says she's going to make the Fugitive Slave Actimpossible of enforcement. All over the North they call it immoraland unchristian--they reserve the right of interpreting both theBible and the Constitution for us--as though we weren't grown menourselves. That's the sort of law there is back of this boat loadof fools down there."

  "Men, we're wastin' time!" repeated young Desha.

  "Get the horses!" ordered Dunwody of the nearest black.