Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1844-05-21
LETTERS ON TEXAS.

We i:,,er from General Cass, who comes on, tue
Aas'ne lend of immediate annexation we nan TINS
s4Fy,nmen, with great pleasure.
IswPn. u also Law before them Immediately an aoie
We Mr. Woodbury., and one from General low"
81 t's' ,ns same side Of the same great measure
ga o." now the satisfaction OF laying before the
We ma admirable letter Of Andrew Stevenson, Esq,
,i'S 49, has been polite enough TO furnish US az our
'D" request. Though last IN It's appPea'ahoe' 70
:,'n' III. first in the series-hasng been sent oil 10
f'aH Committee some days before the letters
a' l.,s CLAY, Van Buren,, or Benton, had been
nod. or their characters ascerta'ned. Inc re-
1 ,ia''M, Stevenson deserves the more credit, not
- ".,m the strong siatesman-lke views which
Gs vi" "I,,,es but from the bodness with which
81 'a.rowed. Mr. s. might easily have shrunk from
ias! oc.ib,lty Of declaring his opinions, upon the
Tor l,,nsr he has given, Of his not being can
nhH -, The Vice Pres,dency-but he has not chosen
e'a 10 such an excuse, or TO "button up MS OPT
/ 'S his doublet" On the contrary, he has come
10Hs ,ts man. 20 proclaim from the house tops his
ssa nsns upon question SO deeply interesting to the
II ,aols lnon'
i Mr. srEyESsoS's Ls ETTEke TO THE OHIO CON-
81 The RErREAr. (near RichmondO
April "a, 1874
c.,,,,men 1 have the honor TO acknowledge the
,, Of your letter. enclosinga copy OF sne proceed
/ ''es ps large meeting Of the citizens OF CINCINNATI
hon, distinction Of party, which assembled on the
S IS March in that city, 10 express their oeoioeo
1 .',n 10 the proposed annexation OF Texas 10 the
nss states for which beg yeu to accept my thanks
M s.nce from home, when your letter was received,
/ ~ ..onnt for nv delaying an answer solong. You
VIII nour Letter that BY one Of the resolutions OF
| SOW. ,.;,no YOU are requested to solicit from each OF
IN nd,;dnals whose names have been brought before
w. noodle by their respective friends, as Candidates LOT
| ss Presidency and Vice Presidency, an explicit e1
,.ssion of opnion upon The question OF ahhe3a,om
I'd IN compliance with this request you respectfully
I'll mon me TO favor you with my views on this 'm
,,,nt subject In the first place, gentlemen per-
-, me TO state, that you are mistaken IN supposlng
.bt either am intend to be, candidate ior tne
"S,e Of Vice President Of the United States so tar
(,p H. take leave to say, that have no desire lhat
ms name should be presented, either to- Convention OF
bore the people, for that high office; nor have any
,,on TO believe that my friends contemplate any such
result On the contrary the action OF The Democratic
p,y throughout large portion OF the onon' mas al
sasv indicated too strongly to be mistaken, the deter
,n,ton to offer the nomination to distinguished IN
Syidual in the West who has publicly consented
booId the offer be made, to accept it, To such nc
m,na,on, presume the great body OF the Democracy
vel, give their support. and none, | am quite sure, WI
more cordially do SO, than myself and my potoa
;nsnds Under such circumstances, might, u were
50 disposed decline expressing any OPINION upon tue
subject to which my attention has been invoked l a'I
unwilling owever to shrink from the responsibility OF
dong So or under any false decacy, abstain from an
swerinp your call. cannot consent to withhold 'ne
expression Of my opinions, upon subject OF socn Va'
Importance, ADD upon which am Tree 10 CONFESS NY
thoughts for some time past have ofen soiicnou'iy
turned, and which all must now ieei 70 DC osePv
and vitality interesting TO every American citizen -
perhaps nv doing so at the present moment may
be deemed imprudsnt; bot as truth marches dreci-
" to it's end, by single and Underwriting pa'h,
prefer at once freely and frankly, TO avow what
nv opinions and sentiments are. propose 10 90
this with becoming brevlty.
begin, then by declaring my entire dissent from the
op,nons expressed in the Resolutions and Proceeding
Of the Cincinnati meeting, not only upon the question Of
Constitutional power, but still more as to the conse
onences which they seem TO suppose, will flow from The
copte mpated ration OF Texas to the ). In the
view which have taken of the SUBJECT there nothing
IN the Constitution ITSELF in our system OF Govern
msnt all incompatible with the proposed annexation
Ga the contrary, there is striking analogy, think
between the Of Texas and that OF LOUISIANA. In
every essential particular so far as Constitutional pow
er IS involved, regard them as identical; and The rea
sons which urged against bringing Texas into
the Union precisely those which were urged against
the admission of louisiana IL is not my purpose gen
,emen this occasion, to discuss atarge the question
Of Constitutional power-I deem it too late TO enquire
at this day. into the right of admitting new States into
the Union out Of Territory ,chieh lcas not paha th
limits of the old thirteen States. 1t is sufficient te
know that this que son soemnly and deliberately
settled by the Government and people Of the Unitee
States in the case of Louisiana will refer, however
10 III. opinion gwen by OF the abes and most dstn
pushed lawyers and statesmen of America, when The
bill for the admission Of Louisiana into the Union was
under consideration in Congress-I allude to George
~. D,bb, of Kentucky. 90 that occasion he said
The right Of admission is derived from the third sec
"toa Of the fourth article of the Constitution, which
declares that netc States may be admitted INTO me
uaioa That it was general rule OF construction,
" unv'-saly adopted, that where general power was
granted With certain limitations expressed, the ex-
"presslon OF r.se excluded all other limitations de-
rived from implic-'ion. Now The said) the only IL
mutations to Inc general power given by the Consn'
" tuition TO admit new Sta,.. were two, lst- Tha
" no new State should be formed erected withtn
The jurisdiction of any ether State; and 2dly, Va
"nsp State should be formed by the Junction q
I" tuo States or parts Of States, acthOW tn.
s'eonsen: Of the Legislatures Of the States concerned
"as ,rsA as Of Congress Here, then, was &c
" neral power, with only two exceptions. Now, &C
cordng the rule stated the expression of these two
exceptions excludes all idea of any other and hence
fairly infer (aid Mr. Bbb) the authority of Congress
" n pass III. bill admitting Louisiana INFO the Union
sit was presumed, he SAID that no gentleman woulc
deny the correctness of the rule stated If twas not
however, TO be applied to the Constitution some gen
tleul,n who thinks SO, will show why 1t should not
The bill passed. and Louisiana was admitted, upon The
express ground that STATES might be created anf
ADM ted out Of Territory acquired the adoption
III. Constitution Nor such construction Of the Con
stitutien my opinion, either forced or unnatural W.
know that, early our first confederation, IT wa
provided that Canada might be admitted into the Union
aud entitled to all the privileges of the Union, willis
least nine States The history of the Constitution, ant
the proceedings OF the Federal Convention also clearly
show, that not the intention OF the wise frame
of the Constitution, that the new States, for which
they were providing. and which were 10 be admitted
alone be created out Of the e1isng Territory
OF The United States. That the opinion was Their
entertained, that States might be created GU
of the Territories of foreign nations, think, car
admit of no we'll founded doubt. If it was not so
would not some of the many efforts which were
made in the Convention, with view to limit the new
States 10 be erected to the then territorial limits OF h
United States have been adopted have, moreover
this subject strong impression upon my mind tia
have seen it stated the history of the proceedings
relative to the admission Of Louisiana as State, tina
MIR Macon of North Carolina declared, that meinbe
Of the Convention which formed the Constitution hat
informed him, that the article in the Constitution TO
The admission of States, was inserted, partly, will
view to the Canadian Territories. have not the de
bates Of that period, but my impression is strong as
the fact TINT such statement. was made by the We
nerable Macon The Constitution, then, at the
period of it's adoption, was considered as contain
ing prohibition Of the right 10 acquire Ter
ritory, either by compact; but the latte
course has been adopted as it will be, by The