Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1845-02-14

press of the United States, that surrender by
her. and the acquisition by us. shall be tPso
facto followed by annexation, as provided In |
this bill. or one like it, plainly disclosing and
frankly communicating the terms and condl- /
tons, If anu, which majority of Congress,
intend to insist upon, and to make sine qua
non of their support. This was the manly,
honest. honorable course. Without it, Texas
MIGHT be BETRAYED into false and more en-
barrassing altitude Without it, President
Polk would be rash to venture upon any fresh
assurances to Texas, and Texas would be
foolish to rely upon them if he did. Next. 1t
was not only proper in itself, just and fair and
amongst ourselves, and due to our national cha
racter g. to Texas, but it was yet more emphatl-
cally due from President Folks friends to him.
and from the friends CT annexation to the ne"
administration, if he mig mt not include many
Of the other side, who, although opposed 10
Mr.. Folks election, were doubtless too patrl,
otto to desire to see their country agitated ana
distracted by these topics, still beginning. ano
never ending, or to see the wishes OF the ma
ton baked for the sake oftrying to break down
an administration at its commencement lie
thought it ought to be done, forthese and ma
ny other reasons which rose above all party
schemes, and laid claim to the attention of pa
triots of al! parties.
Next, that, without attaching to the popular
voice a mandatory character, yet allowing to
it only so much influence as every eniig htened
American statesman must concede it was emil
tied to have in our country upon such a sub
iect, he would say that, without some res
ponse oflIis kind-something which went at
| least so far-the representatives of the people
would be exhibiting lack OF sympathy with
the sentiments Of the people. Next, that, II
this step were once taken, it would enable the
President, (even should nothing else be done,)
| if he decided upon negotiation by treaty, TO
consumma:e it without the necessity OF con-
vening an extra session Of Congress; and what
true friend of Mr.. Polk desired to see an erh'o
session. What prudent friend of the country
could anticipate, without dreadful apprehen-
sion, an EXTRA SESSION FOR THE ANNEXATION
OF TEXAS
MIR. II. remarked that all the considerations
! he had suggested in favor of adopting the pro-
vision ofhs bill to anne1 Texas, in the sense
already often explained, strongly demonstra-
ted the proprlety of attaching whatever condI-
tons we knew were to be insisted up0n-such,
/ he meant, as were Indispensable to our uni
! ting majority in favor of annexing Texas at
all, now or ever.
Without that, all our labors were worse
than vain, at least for this session and that
brought him to consider such conditions as
were contained in the bill he had the honor to
propose. That the conditions, it would be re-
collected, owed their place not SO much to his
| favor, as to the known and indispensable ne
cessity for inserting them by way of COM
promise and concession to the views of dit1e
rent sections of the country, in order to pass
any bill at all in advance of this one and, as
he believed, indispensable to the annexation of
Texas noaO or hereafter. His opinion about
the impossibility Of annexing Texas to the
Union without some condition upon the sub
ject of negro slavery was not mere conjec-
ture. Facts which were we'll known supper
ted it, alas too conclusively.
The first fact was, that a treaty of annexa-
ton had been made without such a condition,
and rejected by majority Of the Senate. Il
haG been followed by two Legislative bills TO
annex Texas-one copy of the treaty but
the other contained a condition to divide the
territory into two districts when ceded, in one
of which negro slavery was to be prohibited.
These two bills were put before the country,
and upon the point Of their difference in this
respect no judgment Of the people had been
pronounced. In the presidential election, the
friends Of both bills voted for Mr.. Polk, as
they were all for Iecas.
The second fact was, that opposition to
Texas annexation had been made Ono matter
how, tor the fact was all that concerned us
now) northern and southern question; and
the South was unjnstly suspected of aim
ing at annexation mainly, if not entirely, for
the sake Of increasing her political power
The suspicion was one Of kind that was not
to be reasoned with and whether it were
true or false, it constituted an insuperable bar
rler to success in annexing Texas to the u
MON; and it was not capable of removal,
without generous concession on both sides,
so as to produce unanimity, whilst there was
harmony amongst the friends of annexation.
The remaining fact to be noticed, which
was alone conclusive upon the point as far as
regards the present Congress, was, that after
taking upon himself the labor to inquire into
the opinions of members, especially in the 9TH
er House, he was constrained to state that
there were SO many who were hostile to an
nexatlon, without final antecedent settle
ment of some such line, that, without their
votes for annexation, the friends of it would
be In minority; and without some such line,
they could not, or would not vote for annexa-
ton at all. So that, by a simple process of
arithmetic, the question was narrowed down
to this; ':'Fexas and division of the territory,
or Texas not at all.
This, however unweIcome the conclusion,
was the naked truth; and it beloved the .south
ern repre- sentatves in particular, to meet the
true issue, and all the responsibilities which
that issue imposed upon them. He believed
they would, because he believed they ought
In proposing this bill, he had himself yielded
to this necessity, and accepted choice of e.
wills; and if it were adopted. be had no hope
to express, and no prayer to make about it,
except that it might be we'll for our common
country. And if, on the other hand, it should
fail, it would be because the South repudated
it; and the decision of his friends against it.,
would probably convince him that there was
an error in the proposition, whilst his own
conscience approved the effort, unpretending