The Arkansas advocate., 1835-08-14

condition precedent is performed. Arkansas contains the requisite number, and now the French under the treaty, and the Americans as citizens of the United States heretofore, have light to claim adTnittaigs
 With regard to the assertion that ssthe peo- pie of this Territory never owed allegiance to, or clailned protection from, Che Govern
 ment of France, we conceive t tto have been
 too hastily made. It is well known that the
 lower part of the Territory, on the Arkansas,
 vas settled in part, by Frenehmen long be-
 fore the treaty-that the inhabitants were
 French subjects. and under Commandant--
 and that they and their descendants are there vet If t were not so, why have claims
 been confirmed, arising from French grants
 and reservations! Very true 1t is, that far
 the greater proportion of the present iahabi-
 tants of the Territory have emigrated here since the treaty-but were there but one of
 the original subjects of France, or but one of their descendants now living in the Territo- ", his rights are as firmly secured to him as
 though there were ten thousand of them. The compact was made with the knowledge,
 and the express understanding, that=tkea
 there were not inhabitants enough to entitle
 them to admission, but that WheneYer the in
 crease no matter in what #ay, should be suf- fcient, the right of aaaittanee should cease l to be ia &begaace, and should vest absolutely.
 We too, who have emigrated here, came here knowing these contracts, and thereby became
 parties to them. . were all eitizensof the United States Ne gave up our rigHts--or
 rather suspended tAem-for while. Why!
 Recaase# we made an implied and strong con- tract that those rights were not tosi~-bQt on- ly snspended--or Ito use the most expressive.
 word once more,) in abeyanee-and should
 again descend upon, and vest in, us, when
 We should have the requisite number to enti- tie Us to admission according to the e0nstitq-
 
 The Governor ayers also, that aaturattsa- Ion conferred upon the French all the rights, privileges and immunities of citizens of the
 United States. This position needs no refa- tation. The Governor was too hasty and un- laWYeflike in advancing 1t.
 ', . think the Governor mistakes the ground on which we place thfs question.
 Ne do not contend that the Legislature the Conventions or tile people of the Territory, would have the right to emerge from Terri torial government and erect themselves into q State. Our ground $, that the Convention would have the power to form a constitution, to take effect as soon as Congress should ac- cept 1t and allow us to become 5 member of the eonfsderacy. Me conceive that =becom- ing a State is in tie nature of contract or bargain between us and the General Govern meat. If Congress should offer us terms which we should think too hard, we should not be compelled to enter the Bnion-and if our constitution should not be republican, or we should refuse to comply with the just re- quisitions imposed upon Us as the price of our admission, Congress would not be forced to admit us. We conceive that the General and the people of the Territory arc two high contracting powers, and stand OH equal ground. Congress can authorize us t5zform . constitution, or we can form one ourselves, and present it for eptance-and we claim, that if our constitution is repabli- san, and If we have the requisite number of and agree to the proper restric- ions and conditions of the General Govern nent, that the constitution of the United States, whiell is the paramount law of the and, and the Treaty of Cession, entitle us to admittance. We conceive that although our is dependant one, the people themselves are free, except so far as they are 1onnd by their express contracts-and we lold that the conditions releasing us from ,hese contracts will all have been performed, when we have the requisite number of inhab- tants, when we form Q proper constitution md present t for acceptance-and when we leeede to the just demands of Congress. We Ire no further dependant than we have made ourselves so-and when we perform all the conditions of the contract, we are released e.. = I -z..-.-..1 c.e1. -