The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1845-02-18


which she had at the time manifested so decided
hostility, had presented field for the extension
her commerco and navigation which she never couio
otherwise have enjoyed and had promoted her pros
perty ia greater degree than that OF any other por
ton Of the United States. MIR. b. liked the nrs' re-
solution for that reason. -
He was pleased with il, again, because II seited
the question Of slavery. These resolutions went 10
TO establish tho Missouri compromise, ny hAing
line wiAn which slavery was To be 10 future CON
fined That controversy had nearly shaken .his
Union To its centre In earlier and better period oil
our history but this compromise, should II be now
would prevent the recurrence oil simi
lar dangers hereafter Should this question oe no"
left open for one or two years tho country couu uo
involved in nothing but one perpetual struggle we
should witness feyerish excitement IN Inc puoic
mind; parties would divide on the dangerous and ex-
citing question Of aboliton and the irritation mgh'
reach such extreme as To eDdanger the existence
of The Union itself But close II now, and Il wouid
be closed forever
MIR. b. said he anticipated no time whsn the coun-
try would desire TO stretch lis mim beyond inc
Rio del Norte; and such being the case, ought any
friend OF the Union to desire this question eil
open any longer' Was il desirable again 10 nave
the Missouri question brought home TO the people 70
Koad them TO furyi That question between the TWO
great interests in country had been well discussed
and well decided and from that moment Mr.. b. haa
set down his foot the solid ground then established
and there he would let the question stand forever
w ho could complain Of the terms Of that comPro-
mise
Il was then settled that north Of 36 deg 80 min
slavery should be forever prohibited. The same line
was fixed upon in the resolutions recently received
from the House of Representatives, now before US
The bill from the House for the establishment OF
Territorial Government in Oregon excluded slavery
altogether from that vast county How vain were
the fears entertained in some quarters OF the country
that the slayeholding States would ever be able 10
| Il q - rha nth ha nd
fears entertained in the South and the Southwest as
to the ultimate of the sbolitionsts, were not
less upfounded and vain. South Of the compromise
ipe of SO deg 80 min. the States within the limits Of
Texas applying TO come into the Union were lett 10
decide, for themselves whether they would permit
| slavery within their limits not. And under this
free permission, he believed with Mr. Clay, I'm his
letter on the subject of Iaton, that II Texas
should be divided into five States, two only oil them
would be slayeholding and three free States. ihe
descendants of torrid Africa delighted in the mer
dian rays Of a burning sun they basked and reJo-
ced in a degree of heat which enervated and would
destroy the white man. The lowlands OF Texas,
| therefore where they raised cotton, tobacco, and
rice and indigo, the natural region for the slave
But, north Of st. Antonio, where the soil and Gil
mate were pied to the culture Of wheat rye, corn,
aud cattle, the climate was exactly adapted TO the
white man of the North there he could labor for
himself without risk or injury. IL was, therefore, to
| be expected that three out OF tho hive new Texan
States would be free Staies-cerainly they would
be so, il they but wilIed il. Mr.. B. was willing to
leave that question to themselves, as they applied
for admission into the Union. He had no apprehen-
sions Of the result With that feature in the bill, as
| il came from the House, he was perfectly content /;
and whatever bill might ultimately pass he trusted
| this would be made condition IN IT. lie did not,
nevertheless, set himself up to be dictator to the
Senate as 10 what sort ola bill it should or should not
pass provided the great and leading measure of re-
| union was secured he should make no difficulty
about mere subordinate questions.
He went on to say that he liked this bill for an
other reason. One Of the greatest and most weghty
objections to the Texas treaty, submitted 10 the
Senate at its last session. was that il had been form
| ed between the Government of Texas alone and the
Government of the United States and the friends OF
the measure had been driven to maintain their ground
that the people of Texas unanimously in favor
of the Of alton and, therefore, though
their Constitution contained no provision warrantng
their Government to make such an arrangement, yet
a unanimous people could dispense with constitutions
and laws. But this bill exposed to no such OBJ
ections it adopted the true American system leav-
ing the question to the people of Texas They were
| required TO assemble in convention and adopt tor
themselves Constitution republican in its character
and if il did not conflict with the Constitution Of
the United States, then they were to knock at our
door for admission, as every State had done which
had hitherto been admitted into our Confederacy.-
This course was in strict analogy with that practised
toward every other State.
When one of our own Territories became ripe for
admission, Congress passed law allowing Them to
elect their delegates and 10 form Constitution for
their own Government, imposing in the law such
conditions as Congress might deem requisite When
the Territorial Convention assembled and assened "a
those conditions, the law became compact between
the United States and the people desiring 10 form the
new State and when she afterwards came and asked
to be received, the faith of the nation having been
previously pledged nothing more remained than tc
p,th art in fanr lInea hort In he ad
mitted This was the mode in which Mississippi
Louisiana, Illinois, and other new States had beer
received into the Union. The preamble Of the bill
rected the facts that State Constitution had beer
formed that the people had complied with the terms
of admission proposed by the United States, and, the
national faith being pledged by the former law, the
new State introduced accordingly. This was
what he desired should now be done in the
Texas this what the present bill proposed; ant
this Immediate annexation, as far as practica
BILE - il treated the people of Texas treated
, the people of our own Territories IL any plar
could be devised to accomplish the object sooner
Mr.. b. had not been able to conceive of it. The
fact was, that Texas would virtually be admitted
as soon this bill should become law, though III,
act could not be formally consume ated until after
ward. The public faith would be pledged to her
and her subsequent admission would be an IRE ssti
BILE conclusion.
, Again, Mr.. B. said he was pleased with these reso
utons, because they raised the broad general ques
ton of the power of Congress to admit new States
And here he must be permitted to say that, notwth
standing the very able and ingenious argument o
his friend from Kentucky, (Mr. Morehcad,) and il
spite of his undoubted eloquence on this occasion
Mr.. b. had not been able TO bring his mind TO
doubt-no, not the entertainment Of one single doubt
that Congress might by joint resolution admit Texa
into the Union. On this point he intended to be
. brief as possible.
What, he asked, was the plain language of tn
: Constitution 2-(he should not reply to the argumen
that the clause in the latter part of The inslu
J. ment, and not in the beglnnng-n was in the Con
= stitutionO
= /" New States may be admitted by the Congress
: into this Uni,n but State shall be formed @
created within the jurisdiction of any other State,
any State be formed by the junction of two NOR
y States parts Of States, without the of tn
!, Legislature Of the States concerned well as Of III
" Congress-