Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1846-08-20
CORRESPONDENCE.
For the Freeman.
What Party brought Texas into the Un'
ion aS a Slave State :

suspected of doing it designedy. Surely they cannot
be so suspected for they the only patty, that,
party have opposed the annexation both in words and
actions. How then was it done? The common say is,
and that often repeated and reprinted, that the Liber
ty party elected James K. Polk President and thereby
brought in Texas, with all its hated slavery; not that
they voted in favor of Folks election but they did not
vote for Henry Clay, and help elect him. which would
have kept out Polk and Texas
Because some persons, of no very extensive reading
gued into belief Of this is proper to advert to
the history of the transaction.
L. Then, if it were So no blame should thereby at
tach to the Liberty party for their only party pledge,
never to vote for a stakeholder President was well
known, long before Mr. Clays last nomination, and
Mr.. Clay, before said nomination, was expressly told
by his friends at Saratoga Springs that the State of
New York could not be carried in his favor
2. The Liberty party voted for their own candidate,
fulfilling their pledge to vote for stakeholder
for President
B. Had the members of the Liberty party proved rec
reant to their pledge and deserted their regularly NOM
mated candidate Mr.. Brney if they voted at ALL they
would have voted according to their former prediec.
tlons, some for the wing candidate and som for the
democratic candidate. No earthly power could have
prevented this result of their deserving their own can
/ didate
4. The members Of the Liberty party could never
have been carried into the support of Henry Clay from
other considerations. They too well rccolected his
crowding Missouri into the Union as a slave State,
which secured to the Slave States at least equal pow
er with the Free States in the Senate of the United
States. They also recollected his Boosting at the
tme and also in the spring of 1874, when addressing
crowds of shareholders at the south, that his ex-
ertions and success in that enterprise formed the
happlest scene Of his life They also remembered his
speech in the Senate of the United States on the 9TH
Of February 1889, in which he affirmed "that what the
law made property, was property,-that slavery was
sanctioned by two hundred years existence and acuu-
escence in it. That neither of the two parties (whig
or democratc) had any incaaton to abolish slavery,
and he rejoiced that it That q set of fanatics
meaning the Liberty party and described in language
the most indignant possble party with one idea was
springng up deserving the detestaton of all good cit
liens" His speech is not before me- but the above in
substance was contained in it. They too well recol-
lected, that in the spring of 1874 when Mr. Clay had
gained the confidence Of many in the free States that
he rather DESTROYS to favor abolition his circum-
stances would admit him to act upon the subject, and
he received letter roma STAKEHOLDER in the south ex-
pressing an apprehension that he 10aS leaning towards
the aboitlonists Of the north he returned an answer
which was intended to alay all such apprehensons in
the minds of Shareholders saying in substance that he
had no such eaning that personally he had no obec-
tlons to the annexation of Texas that, indeed, he
should like it, it it could be honorably done and that
slavery meaning the perpetual slavery Texas should
have no effect upon the question:
5. 1t should be recollected who actually performed
the voting which brought Texas into the Union, with
all its slavery, and its actual war with Mexico.
lst 1t was not the Liberty party, for they had no
member of the party in the Senate or House of Repre-
sentatives.
I'd. In all the Legislative action upon the subiuct
nearly all the members Of the democratic party in the
Senate and House of Representatives, voted in favor
of annexation.
Sd. When President Tyler elected mot by help of
the Liberty party votes but by the wings a party,)
presented to the Senate, treaty annexng Texas a
territory, the whig Senate rejected it, and in short
time after, the same Wing Senate, and strong wing
PiNHN'''tA'NNi
luton merely
4th. When the offer was made by our government
for Texas to come into the Union as State the whole
was done by the same Wing Senate, and the same
Wing House of Representatives, and the same Pres-
dent Tyler elected by the Wings. (Say that President
Tyler proved recreant to MS party if you please; that
casts no blame upon the Liberty party) And in this
last operation about dozen fifteen only of the
Wings in the House of Representatives voted IN the
negative And President Tyler sent off the PROPOSE
ton to Texas before President Polk came into Office
Thus, If the Liberty party had in fact elected Polk
, President they did not vote in Texas We may with
proprety say was done by about all the democratic
votes, almost all the Wing votes in Congress, urged on
and backed up by President elected by the Wings.
Now while this annexation is fully known to meet
the views and wishes OF the democratic party we have
yet to learn of any one act of the Wing party, as
party making any resistance to the annexation of
Texas Perhaps it may not be uncharitable to say,
that there exists the appearance of willingness in the
great body of the Wing party that Texas should be
} annexed, if they could saddle the responsibility of
annexation upon some other body or party; and the
Liberty party selected the scape goat to bear
away the whole inquity
But are there not sufficient causes of Mr. Clay's de-
feat irrespective of the action even existence, of the
Liberty party? There is one not named above, which
} might and probably did, insure the defeat The
wings in the city of New York, by joining the
Native American party, party, and electng Mr.
Harper Mayor of the city, created a warfare upon
the naturaized foreigners and drove them in crowds
from the wing ranks, and arayed them in the demo-
cratic party against Mr. Clay Men of respectable
information in the State of New York, speak of this
as the great error of the wing party in that State to
blast their prospects of elecng Mr.. Clay by the vote
of that State. 1t is proper that the freemen should be
reminded of the foregoing statements, exhibited in
connection with each other that they may see that the