abuse that public of its prejudices. But in the mean time,
for my own part, I shall continue to act justly, whether those towards
whom justice is exercised receive it with candor or with contumely.

Having had occasion to recur to the Ordinance of 1787, in order to
defend myself against the inferences which the honorable member has
chosen to draw from my former observations on that subject, I am not
willing now entirely to take leave of it without another remark. It need
hardly be said, that that paper expresses just sentiments on the great
subject of civil and religious liberty. Such sentiments were common, and
abound in all our state papers of that day. But this Ordinance did that
which was not so common, and which is not even now universal; that is,
it set forth and declared it to be a high and binding duty of government
itself to support schools and advance the means of education, on the
plain reason that religion, morality, and knowledge are necessary to
good government, and to the happiness of mankind. One observation
further. The important provision incorporated into the Constitution of
the United States, and into several of those of the States, and
recently, as we have seen, adopted into the reformed constitution of
Virginia, restraining legislative power in questions of private right,
and from impairing the obligation of contracts, is first introduced and
established, as far as I am informed, as matter of express written
constitutional law, in this Ordinance of 1787. And I must add, also, in
regard to the author of the Ordinance, who has not had the happiness to
attract the gentleman's notice heretofore, nor to avoid his sarcasm now,
that he was chairman of that select committee of the old Congress, whose
report first expressed the strong sense of that body, that the old
Confederation was not adequate to the exigencies of the country, and
recommended to the States to send delegates to the convention which
formed the present Constitution.

An attempt has been made to transfer from the North to the South the
honor of this exclusion of slavery from the Northwestern Territory. The
journal, without argument or comment, refutes such attempts. The cession
by Virginia was made in March, 1784. On the 19th of April following, a
committee, consisting of Messrs. Jefferson, Chase, and Howell, reported
a plan for a temporary government of the territory, in which was this
article: "That, after the year 1800, there shall be ne