Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1845-02-04
astrtnuoaeu maeatetr&t:.

G. Here. too. is the present Union ofthese STATES;
they federated together by compact 81 aalon d..o
that compact is the Constitution under "hicn
I've We'll who made ii, and whom does il BINDS
Tie States. 10 be- sure And how did they ae-
comnlish il? By the Legislatures OF the o'a,es
Amounting their delegates 10 convention-V
,h1, conventions making and agreeing thereto.
and by the people in their sovereign Stale capdcr
ties in their State conventions assembled, RAii
rv,s; The same. There is not an example IN all
lime in which treaiv has been so male ana SO
,ol;fed This is exactly true Of the eleven states
who first made and ratified The compact. buI
North Carolina and Rhode Island, who, oy tieli
refusal to ratify were excluded from TINS e1mPae,
Of Union and were regarded and treated, anu
we're in fact. Foreign States, but Afterwards
came into The Unon-How? Not by 'HS0fia-
t;ou-nor by treatp-not even BY a 'cr compact
Of union. No: it was done simply bv their own
assent-it was done CT partc. The Federal Go
yernment said nothing, did noihing-but was
simply acquiescent, until after those States, Dy
their own action. had made themselves parties
TO The compact OF union-and we FIRST discover
the official assent of the Government to these ac-
cessions Of new parties through It's LeSStafape
acts. extending the laws OF the Union over lhose
States, and sending lhither its Federal ohcers In
all this, the parties 10 The compact were ai'efeu-
additions were made 10 them but the compact
;lselC-tbe Observation-Disclosures Anchangcd.-
Afterwards. Vermont entered the Union and sue
cessiyely her twelve younger sisters-all, indeed
under the more solemn form OF an at OF Con-
orcss. but the results were all the same; the COM
nact-the observation-disclosures its jurisdiction
became extended, vet IFS terms and its powers re-
manned unchanged. So, TOO, when amendments
are 10 be made 10 the Constitution, or compact q
union, ii is Congress, and not the President, who
! is 10 take the initiative therefor, BY calling ma
tonal convention. 1t is the States exclusively,
and not the President, who appoint the delegates
thereto; and il is the States, through their Con-
ventions or Legislatures, and not the Senate, who
are TO ratiy or reject what the national conven-
lion has done. Nothing in The Suise OF treaty
has any thing 10 do with it.
Now it mnst be manifest that just the same
result would happen, if Texas entered the Union.
The Constution-,he sovereignty indeed OF
1tras would be changed, not ours. Each OF the
States loo, would possess the same powers, and
be bound by the same duties 10 each other, that
they were before. Those duties would indeed
extend 10 Texas, but being recprocated by her,
the Constitutional equality of all would be pre-
served. II is yerv certain then, thai, let Texas
come into the Union when she may, she must
come by an iet of Compress. As STATE, il IS
manifest that no Treaty could bring her in-Coa-
orc@ and Congress alone can accomplish that, by
The express and e.rclusire power to il 10 admit
iiNefr States"
That we could acquire from Texas by Treaty
portion Of her territory, she remaining Slate
thereafter, we can entertain no doubt al all
think have already shown that il can be done,
that the Convention designed II; and, moreover, u
has been done in the memorable instances OF
Louisiana and Florida. But reflection has
brought me to doubt very seriously whether we
could acquire from Texas BY Treaty her ALL, her
TERRITORY, her SOVEREIGNTY, her PEOPLE, HER
SELF: mind We, b TREATY That's the question.
Understand me- il is not the competency of this
Government which doubt, hit tie competency ~
tie Gorcrnmcnt Of TtraS. Her TREARTY-MAKiNe
POWER her President and Senate, are surely not
competent 10 crtinguist her nationality BY cedins
away her ALL HER VERY SELF J Nothing like
this has ever happened before. 1t would be with
out example in the worlds history. Most GER
tany her CONGRESS-, her HorsE or REPREsEN-
TATIyEs. could moi be excluded from all share IN
deliberation which involved her NATIONAL EXIST
ENcE And here a new difficulty arises, anu II
is this II the President and Senate oil Texas IS
incompetent 10 make and raiify Snch treaty,
would our President and Senate be competent 70
make such a Treaty valid, and binding upon
either MS or Texas As il takes two parties 10
make contract, surely il is equally necessary
that each Of Mtm be competent, and that The innc-
| tionaries employed BY each should be competent
too. Now, suppose Texas finding her Treaty.
making poprer incompetent 10 execute such com
pact shonld resort 10 her Congress, and propose 10
accomplish annexation BY legislation. Could our
President and Senate entertain proposal thus
madel Can tic Ireaty-mdking po'rcr Of enc
Government deal riM am authority greater or
less, or other than The Ifeaty-making po'rcr 81
another? Usage says not; principle says not Tor
that would empower our President and Senate
alone TO make Law or THE Texan CONGRESS
OUR LAW: and surely no power short Of our own
LEGISLATION can be competent 10 do that Be-
sides. in what n,odc could our Executive have
national dealings with the Congress OF Tcxas!-
He surely could not propose annexation TO H. or
sign compact therefor with a, or accept such
proposal from it. infer then, very confidently,
| that il the Itrian Congress must ac' in such
matter, 80 must Ou1s, and that this compact OF
Union like all those have reerredto, must be Ell
tected by LEGISLATION, il effected al all.
Suppose the Texan Congress had taken those
very Joint resolutions, which have so triumphant
| " passed our House of Representatives, adapted
their language TO proposal ff0m Ttras, and pass
ed them, and directed the President OF Texas 10
transmit them 10 the President of the U. States
and it had been done: could he have transmitted
them to the St1aic for its ratification OF them just
as they would ratfy frc0tR Or, il he did, could
any vote of the Senate have so rahfcd them and
bound this country? Surely, no. How is il pos
sible that the President could lay them before the
Senate for such purpose, when he himself had
neither in executive FORM nor in treaty form,
nor coajoinHy with the Representative Of the Ex-
ecutve of Texas, given his own sanction thereto,
| by signing and aestng the same with all those
imposing solemnities which ever surround and
authenticate whatever receives the fixture Of the
NATIONS BROAD SEAL Not doubt can remain,
but that it would be the Presidents duty in such
a conjuncture, TO lay such an act Of the Texan
Congress before our Congress, that il might do or
omit in the premises accept or reject iae propo-
sails, as it in its WISDOM and its policy, and It's
power, should seem meet. So, too, if these reso-
lulions pass our Senate, and are approved By our
| President they mnsi be transmitted 10 the Presl.
dent OF Texas, and be by him laid before its Con-
gross, that it may assent 10, and provide for The as
scmbling Of that Convention which the resolu-
tions require Tor the formation OF Constitution
adapt 10 the accession OF Texas 10 the Union.
And for this further reason, too: II Texas is adj
miltcd into the Union, the laws OF the U. States
applicable to her condition, are 10 be extended
over her and surely the people of Texas, before
submtinsto their authority m Ike first insfo'1s
! would have the same right 10 the assent OF It's
,rhole Congress thereto, as they would have to any
law, which that Congress should itself enact.
Distinctions, such as have drawn, between
Compacts and Treaties, would have been far more
palalable 10 the Wings during the pending Of the
Texas treaty in the Senate chamber last year,
than they are likely TO be now. Indeed, believe
there has not been single Wing member, who
in the recent debate in the House, il he admitted
any power at all, has not conenicd strenuous
IL, that the only Constitutional mode ofanneSation
was BY Treaty. But little aiorctime, it was not
! so. When Mr.. Senator Choate Tim took the pc.
sition that legislation and not Treaty was The
Constitutional mode Of annexation, his admiring
friends were thrown into spasms OF exultation and
with ravenous glultony they ravned down as
delicious morsels all the sparkling dToppings OF
bis eoquence; but now, alas for human gratitude
they "Iepudiate" and cast from them, with sor
Of loathing and reiching the most vigorous and
racy passage in the whole oratory Of the learned
and accomplished jurist Hear him