Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1847-04-01
SPEECH OF MIR. UPHAM,
On The Three Million Bill, delivered IN The Sendt
ofhe United States, Monday, March |, 1S47.


Slavery discouragos and manufactures The poor
despso labor when performed by slaves They prevent the
country They produce tho most pencous objects on man
Every of slave is born petty tyran They
bring the judgment of Ilouven country AS nations
be rewarded punished in the next world they must
be in h By an Inevitable Sn' h. OF edSoi o9a
lie held essential, Tho said 9 every point OF view that
the General Government should have power to prevent the
increuse Of slavery"
This, sir, is the language of one of Virginia's
ablest statesmen, when engaged in framing a
constitution for this young republic, TO endure
through all coming time.
Mr.. Madison, also member of the Conven-
ton, was not silent upon the subject. He
"thought it wrong to admit into the Constitution
the idea that there could be property in men"
At the time of the adoption of the Constitution
seven of the thirteen States were free, and six
were Slave States and nothing transplred IN
the Convention TO show that the increase OF slave
States was anticipated or desired. The balance
OF political power was IN the hands of the free
States, and no Statesman of that day, North or
South, as far as | know, desired 10 see II pass
into the hands of the slave States. No such
change could have been anticipated; for, under
the Constitution, no power was given to the Fed
eral Government to acquire foreign territory
Such, it is certain was the opinion of Mr.. Jefer-
son and many other Southern Statesmen OF great
eminence. But what does the history Of little
more than half a century show? Why, sir, IN
lo03, we acquired Louisiana by purchase, and
the people of the free and slave States paid fiji
teen millions of dollars for it. Mr.. Jefferson,
when he made the acquisition, admitted that he
had no constitutional power to do it; but the vast
Importance Of the navigation of the Mississippi
to the commerce of the United States induced
him to make the purchase and trust TO an a.
mendment Of the Constitution to legaze the
act. Well, sir, what has been done with this
territory thus purchased of France1 Why sir,
three slave states have been created out Of it,
VIZ: Louisiana, Missouri and Arkansas; all
now represented in this and the other branch of
Congress.
In 1919 we acquired Florida by purchase, and
the people Of the free and slave States paid five
millions of dollars for it, That, ALSO has been
created into slave State, and is represented up
ON the floor of both Houses of Congress-
-, But this is not all, sir: in 1914, we acquired
Texas; but at what cost God only knows. 1t
will not, am well persuaded cost US less than
one hundred millions of dollars, and the loss Of
hundreds, and perhaps of thousands Of valuable
lives. The aid ofthe Federal Government was
invoked to obtain this Territory for the avowed
purpose of preventing the abolition of slavery in
Texas. This, sir, was bold movement 1t was
a direct call upon the Federal Government TO put
forth Its power to sustain, uphold, extend, and
perpetuate slavery in the United States!
sir, this is apparent from the correspondence
oil the State Department accompanying the Tex
as treaty. On the 9Th of August 1913, Mr.. Up
shur, the Secretary of State, wrote to Mr.. Muir
ply, our Charge d'Affaires in Texas, as follows
SIR private letter from citizen Of Maryland, then
IN London, contains the following:
60 learn from entitled the fullest confidence,
That there Is now here Mr. Andrews, depued by the Abo
tonists of Texas TO negotiate with the British Government
mat he has Lord Aberdeen, submitted his proe
shall he organized company in England who shall
sum sufficient to pay for the slaves in Texas and
hut he "a
u be paid over as an indemnity for the abolition of slave
that Lord Aberdeen has agreed that the British
w" guaranty the payment of the interest this loan upon
condition that the Texan Government will abolish slavery"
movement of thus cannot contemplated by us il
would necessarily be viewed by this government with VERY
deep concen but when it made upon nation whose ter
still more solemn interest 1t cannot be permitted to sue
coed without the efforts part
calamity so serious to every part of our country"
Again: in the same letter MIR. Upshur says
Bat there is another view lev. "r ts suDGTa sun more m
The establishmcnt-n the very midst of savehodin
slavery and by people born for the most part
us mp habits and speaking language, cou
fail produce the most unhappy leecs upon both
| ties"
In despatch from the State department tC
Mr.. Everett, our Minister in London, Mr.. Upshu
says: " 1t is quite obvious that slavery coult
not easily be maintained in a country surrounded
| by other countries whose Governments did no
recognize that institution ana, in despatch
to Mr.. Murphy dated January 10, 1884, he says
"that if Texas should not be attached to tn,
United States, she cannot maintain that institu
ton (slavery,) ten years, and probably not hal
that time"
1 One more extract, and will dismiss the di
| plomatic correspondence upon this subject. o
the 10Th of April, 1914, Mr. Calhoun, then Sec
rotary Of State, in despatch TO Mr. Green, on
Charge d'Atfairs in Texas, says:
SIR treaty for the annexation of Texas the Unite
States as been signed by the plenpoenares of the
Governments and will be sent by the President to the Senate
without delay, for its approval
I" In making the fact known TO the Mexican Government
the President enions it 10 give it, in the first place
acuated by feelings OF disrespect ndi
ference to the honor dignity Of Mexico and that it
be subject of great regret if should be otherwise regadc
by its Government And in the next place, that the step
forced on the Government of the United States in sefd
fence in consequence of the policy adopted by Great Ba
in reference to the abolition OF slavery in Texas. II WI
impossible for the United States TO witness with Indifferent
the efforts OF Great Britain to abolish slavery there. Tho
could not but that she hud the in her power, ii
actual condition of Texas to accomplish the object of h
policy unless prevented by the most efficient measures
that, If accomplished, would lead TO state of things dn
gerous in the the adjacent the Unt
the necessity OF the aud regard to its constitutional
legations to take tho step has, the only certain and co
Who, sir, with this proof before his eyes, ca
doubt the object and purpose of Texas annext
ton? No one, apprehend. Slavery was
the bottom Of it. In the opinion of Souther
statesmen, it is perfectly constitutional to lnvok
. the and OF Congress TO extend slavery but u,
constitutional to invoke its aid to restrict it !
Well, sir, what has been done with this third &C
QUESTION of foreign territory? Why, sir, it ha
been erected into another slave State. So tbf
we have admitted into the Union five slay
f States, created out ofterrtory acquired since tn
{ adoption OF the Constitution, and four out Of tel
4 rtory ceded to us by the treaty of l7s3-mal
ing now, in the Union, fifteen slave States an
fourteen free States Is this, sir, condition G
things anticipated or desired by the patriots an
{ statesmen of 1776 and 1857 No, sir, no-fi
from it. They regarded slavery as great NOR
f al land political evil shameful outrage upo
human rights, and desired to see it abolished i
every part Of the Confederacy
D Will now, sir, call the attention of the Senat
and the country to the number of persons in tn
t free and slave States, the density of the popult
! ton, and the area in square miles of each
e In 1910, the thirteen slave states and Florid
I then territory and the District of Coumb
had population of 1884, 3i: of this numbe
n 4,848,208 were free persons, and 2,4s6,226 wei
t slaves. The thirteen free States, with Wiscol
b sin and Iowa, had population of 972S,9
g which is 2,254,498 more than the whole popu
4 ton of the slave States, and 4760,7l4 more tina
= the free population of the slave States. The fl
teen slave states now in the Union, including Il
$ District OF Columbia, have all area in squa
e miles OF 957,642. The fourteen free States, al