I would like to suggest instead...
The Texas Compromise
Section 1: Free and Slave States
- Texas enters the Union as a Slave State, unless they vote against it in a fair referendum.
- Any state to be admitted into the Union north of 36°30' north ((the Missouri Compromise Line)) shall be admitted as a free state, save for the proposed states of Missouri and Kansas.
- Territories south of the 36°30' north parallel shall be open to slavery until formed into states.
- States formed south of the 36°30' north parallel, as well as Missouri and Kansas, shall be open to popular sovereignty over their status as a free or slave state.
Section 2: Fugitive Slave Laws
- That a man held for servitude in one area of the country, who then escapes into a territory or state in which the practice is prohibited - the person to whom his labor is owed is hereby empowered to arrest or seize the man, and upon giving ample proof to a Judge, it is the Judge's duty to remove the fugitive to the state or territory from which he fled, or to find compensation to be given to the person to whom the fugitive's labor is owed.
- That compensation for a man held for servitude must be from private or - if decided by a state - state funds, and shall be based on a fair selling price for a slave, placed at no more than 2000 dollars. That if compensation is found, this shall be given to the person to whom the labor of the fugitive is owed, and the fugitive shall be set free.
- That if proof is given in counter to this, that the man was not a fugitive, and resided in the free state or territory in a non fugitive manner, being transported their by his master's orders, or being in residence for a time span of over four years for any reason, then that man shall be declared free, and the Judge may not allow the removal of the man.
Section 3: Treatment of Slaves
- A ban be instituted on the separation of children under nine years of age, and of married couples at slave auctions.
- That the beating to death of a slave be made a crime punishable by a fine determined by a jury. This fine shall be no less than the market price of a slave and one half again, and no more than twice the market price.