Carolina, and Georgia, shall not be prohibited,' &c. This,
he said, would be most fair, and would avoid the ambiguity
by which, under the power with regard to naturalization, the
liberty reserved to the States might be defeated. He wished
it to be known, also, that this part of the Constitution was
a compliance with those States. If the change of language,
however, should be objected to by the members from those
States, he should not urge it.

"Col. MASON was not against using the term 'slaves,' but
against naming North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia,
lest it should give offence to the people of those States.

"Mr. SHERMAN liked a description better than the terms
proposed, which had been declined by the old Congress, and
were not pleasing to some people.

"Mr. CLYMER concurred with Mr. Sherman.

"Mr. WILLIAMSON said, that, both in opinion and practice, he
was against slavery; but thought it more in favor of
humanity, from a view of all circumstances, to let in South
Carolina and Georgia on those terms, than to exclude them
from the Union.

"Mr. GOUVERNEUR MORRIS withdrew his motion.

"Mr. DICKINSON wished the clause to be confined to the
States which had not themselves prohibited the importation
of slaves; and, for that purpose, moved to amend the clause
so as to read.--

"'The importation of slaves into such of the States as shall
permit the same shall not be prohibited by the Legislature
of the United States until the year 1808;'--

"which was disagreed to, _nem. con._

"The first part of the Report was then agreed to, amended as
follows:--

"'The migration or importation of such persons as the
several States now existing shall think proper to admit
shall not be prohibited by the Legislature prior to the year
1808.'

"New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maryland, North
Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, ay,--7; New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, no,--4."[632]

* * * * *

The above specimens of the speeches on the slavery question, during
the debate, are sufficient to furnish a fair idea of the personal
opinion of the great thinkers of that time on slavery. It is clear
that it was the wish of the great majority of the Northern delegates
to abolish the insti