was an agreed point, a solemnly understood compact, that,
on the Southern States consenting to shut their ports against the
importation of Africans, no power was to be delegated to
Congress, nor were they ever to be authorized to touch the
question of slavery; that the property of the Southern States in
slaves was to be as sacredly preserved, and protected to them, as
that of land, or any other kind of property in the Eastern States
were to be to their citizens.

The term, or word, migration, applies wholly to free whites; in
its Constitutional sense, as intended by the Convention, it means
"voluntary change of servitude," from one country to another. The
reasons of its being adopted and used in the Constitution, as far
as I can recollect, were these; that the Constitution being a
frame of government, consisting wholly of delegated powers, all
power, not expressly delegated, being reserved to the people or
the States, it was supposed, that, without some express grant to
them of power on the subject, Congress would not be authorized
ever to touch the question of migration hither, or emigration to
this country, however pressing or urgent the necessity for such a
measure might be; that they could derive no such power from the
usages of nations, or even the laws of war; that the latter would
only enable them to make prisoners of alien enemies, which would
not be sufficient, as spies or other dangerous emigrants, who
were not alien enemies, might enter the country for treasonable
purposes, and do great injury; that, as all governments possessed
this power, it was necessary to give it to our own, which could
alone exercise it, and where, on other and much greater points,
we had placed unlimited confidence; it was, therefore, agreed
that, in the same article, the word migration should be placed;
and that, from the year 1808, Congress should possess the
complete power to stop either or both, as they might suppose the
public interest required; the article, therefore, is a _negative
pregnant_, restraining for twenty years, and giving the power
after.

The reasons for restraining the power to prevent migration hither
for twenty years, were, to the best of my recollections, these;
That, as at this time, we had immense and almost immeasurable
terri