We have seen how much the consciences of just men were shocked, and how assiduously such men labored to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia, and with what tenacity the slave party fought to maintain it there, and even by constitutional amendments to fix it there forever. But when slavery had brought the country to war, the emancipation of slaves in the District was early considered. Henry Wilson of Massachusetts, December 16, 1861, introduced a bill in the Senate, which, after a most memorable debate in both Houses of Congress, passed, and on April 16, 1862, became a law, with the approval of President Lincoln. This act emancipated forthwith all the slaves of the District, and annulled the laws of Maryland over it relating to slavery and all statutes giving the cities of Washington and Georgetown authority to pass ordinances discriminating against persons of color. (120) Con. U. S., Art. I., Sec. 8, par. 17. (121) Drayton did not succeed in the attempt to afford these slaves means to escape. He was tried on two indictments for larceny, convicted, and on each sentenced to ten years in the penitentiary. The Circuit Court reversed these convictions on the erroneous charge of the trial judge (Crawford), to the effect that a man might be guilty of larceny of property--slaves--without the intent to appropriate it to his own use. On re-trial Drayton was acquitted on the larceny indictments; but verdicts were taken against him on seventy-four indictments for transporting slaves--not a penitentiary offense--and he was sentenced to pay a fine of $10,000, and to remain in prison until paid. He was most ably defended by Horace Mann of Boston, and J. M. Carlisle of Washington, D. C., either as volunteer counsel or employed by Drayton's friends, he being poor. There were 115--41 for larceny, 64 for transportation--indictments against Drayton, which led Mr. Mann to remark of the threatened penalty: "_Methuselah himself must have been caught young in order to survive such a sentence_."--_Slavery, Letters, etc._ (Mann), p. 93. President Fillmore, being defeated in 1852 for nomination for President, pardoned Drayton after four years' and four months' imprisonment, which pardon, it was claimed, defeated Scott, the Whig nominee, at the polls.--_Memoir of Drayton_, p. 118. (122) Correspondence in War Department between Davis and Quartermaster- General Meigs. The present nondescript hood, giving the statue crowning the dome its appearance, in some views, of a wild Indian, was substituted for the Liberty cap. XXVIII SLAVERY PROHIBITED IN THE TERRITORIES--1862 Growing out of the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, the question was raised by Lovejoy of Illinois and others as to the duty of Congress to declare freedom _national_ and slavery _sectional;_ and also to prohibit slavery in all the Territories of the Union.