m of fugitive
slave. But General Butler's judgment is justified by the rules of
modern warfare, and its application solved a question of policy
which otherwise might have been fraught with serious difficulty.
In the presence of arms the Fugitive-slave Law became null and
void, and the Dred Scott decision was trampled under the iron hoof
of war.

SLAVERY ABOLISHED IN THE DISTRICT.

The first exercise of legislative power hostile to the institution
of slavery, already detailed, was promptly followed by one still
more decisive. Congress provided for the abolition of the institution
in the District of Columbia. A bill for this purpose was introduced
in the Senate on the 16th of December, 1861, and two months later
Mr. Morrill of Maine, from the Committee on the District, reported
it to the Senate with a favorable recommendation. Garrett Davis
of Kentucky spoke in support of an amendment requiring the
colonization, beyond the limits of the United States, of all persons
who might be liberated by the Act. He was firmly persuaded that
the liberation of slaves with their continued residence among the
whites would result in a war of races. Mr. Hale of New Hampshire
combated his opinion by arguments and facts drawn from the history
of emancipation in Jamaica. Mr. Wilson of Massachusetts gave an
interesting history of the circumstances which led to the selection
of the site for the National Capital upon slave territory.

Mr. Sumner dealt with the subject at great length, enforcing his
views by numerous authorities drawn from history, from the decisions
of courts, and from the opinions of publicists and statesmen of
modern times. The opponents of the measure did not conceal their
apprehension that the abolition of slavery in the District of
Columbia portended its overthrow in the States. Mr. Sumner and
his associates hailed the movement as the inauguration of a policy
destined to produce that result. "The future," said the Massachusetts
senator, "cannot be doubtful. At the National Capital slavery will
give way to freedom. But the good work will not stop here: it must
proceed. What God and Nature decree, Rebellion cannot arrest."
Mr. Sherman of Ohio maintained that it was not a measure for the
preservation of the government, but a municipal regulation, and
that the time had come when it was evidently wise to exercise the
powers granted by the Constitution. Mr. Willey of Virg