Weekly national intelligencer., 1848-08-05
OREGON TERRITORY.
House. or RrrnrsxsrArrvEs. JuIr 81, ls4s.

MIR MonEHEAp in the chair and resumed the considea
ton Of the bill establish the Territorial Government o
Oregon.
The debate having been closed
Mr. SMITH, oIndiana proposed avail himself the priv
lege given him by the rules to make some remarks th
b The question involved in the bill has been discussed
on every bill before the House for me and they
should show by their votes whether any prRcpe had
been recognised by the House not He did trust, how
ever whatever may be the decision of the House OF Repre-
senlaves and the Senate this conoverted question of a
very that Congress would give Territorial Government
Oregon before the adjournment And he protested against
the attempt which had been made TO unite the fate of the Ter
oy Of Oregon with the newly acquired territory from Mex
co He protested against Identifying the fate and the nte
Of Oregon with the fate and interests Of New Mexico and
California There why the people Of Oregon
should be compelled to remain without Government until
they could settle the question growing out Of the terri
i tory Why, have yet barely acquired New Mexico
and California. They not yet part and parcel of this
Union because hetreay BY which Mexico ceded them to
us has yet been carried out We have made appro-
priaon for that purpose No Legislative has been
done by Congress consummae and out the stpua-
ons Of the treaty, and he repeated that would be unjust
to compel the people of Oregon to unite their fate with the
people Of New Mexico and California.
i Mr. COBB, of Georgia, inquired If the gentleman from
Indiana the chairman Of the Committee the Territories
instructed by his committee to report bills to estab-
sh Territorial Governments in New Mexico and California
Mr. SMITH replied that he had separate bills for that pur
pose He desired them be considered separately He
opposed uniting them in bill, inasmuch they rre-
sen,ed different questions which should be separately acted
upon.
Mr. COBB was aware Of that but he understood the gen
ean from Indiana to say that have yet acquired
those territories enable to establish Governments in
them.
Mr. SMITH said they not part Of this Union as
Oregon was would be, without further iegisaton oil
which the bills he had ready report were part Congress
first pass bill TO carry out the treaty before they would
be properly part Of this Union.
Mr. COBB asked then, what authority they had to esab
sh territorial by the bills which the gentleman
from Indiana desirous to report
Mr. SMITH supposed that all necessary enactments would
be made for that purpose and these bills were part OF the
necessary legislation Now, suppose they should ap
poprae money pay for these territories, would they be
then 1t necessary, however, to consume time
that point What he desired to do was to look at the
past legislation of Congress on this question They found
gentlemen telling them that they ought not to create gov
for Oregon which would restrict slavery for that they
had power do Now, why there this sensitive
the part Of gentlemen Why they had been legs
ang this question since he had had seat on this
floor. During the first Congress of which he was member
bill passed by this House by large majority creating
Territorial Government for Oregon which contained 2rov
sion which prohibition of slavery he desired to re-
fer things which occurred when this bill pass
ed He would quote from the journal of the I'd session Of
the 2sth Congress, Of the date of the Sd February, ls45
page 3IS
1.-The question being, first viii the House agree to the
amendments the said bill reported from the Committee OF
tie Whole House the OF the Union when division
of the said amendments being called for the first Of the said
read aud agreed and the second of said
amendments was then follows And the end Of the
sixth section the following Prorqded hove That there
shall neither be slavery nor involuntary said
territory otherwise than the punishment OF crimes whereof
the party shall have been duly convicted And the question
being put Will the House agree thereto 2 il decided in
the affirmative Yeas l2o nays 69"
This the opinion Of the House of Representatives in
ls45 and among the yeas found five Southern mem
bers namely Francis Brengle, Of Maryland; Henry Gr-
DER of Kentucky George B. Rodney, Of Delaware; w. p
Thomasson, of Kentucky; and John White, OF Kentucky
So small was the opposition the slavery restriction at that
time that they found not only the North almost unanimous,
but the South also coming their aid to prohibit slavery there
The Northern members voting against were William J.
Brown, of Indana and Charles J. Ingerso, OF Pennsyva
The BILL with that provision in II, subsequently,
passed, by lao ayes SO Only fifty nine and they
all Southern gentlemen either. Most OF the oppos
ton which that bill grew out of other questions 1t
thought by that they could not organize Territorial
Government in Oregon while the convention with Great Brit
ain for the joint occupation Of that territory remained
scindd bot he found that good many of his Democratic
friends, who very sensitive the subject then
voted him MR. S and his friends in favor Of that bill
containing that proviso Amongst Others several Of his
Democratic colleagues who he hoped would again be found
voting the way that they voted on the occasion
ferred TO.
But he begged the attention Of the committee to legislation
the same subject the first session Of the 29th Congress-
the 9th Of August s46 He quoted from the House Jour-
nal page l,245 "rhe Oregon bill being under consdera-
'ton the following amendment read In the 10Th line
of section II, after the word Oregon insert and neither
slavery involuntary servude shall exist IN said Ter
rtoy, except for crime whereof the party shall have been
House agree thereto il decided in the affirmative
Yeas l0s nays a." The Southern voting were,
VIM. r. Gles Maryland; Henry GIider, Kentucky d. 5.
kaufman and Timothy Pilsbury Texas; w. p Thomas
son, Kentucky and b. X, Young Ken,ucky-six in
Der. The bill Afterwards passed without call Of the
yeas and nays
The gentlemen from Texas had viewed this power
Of prohibiting slavery in the Territories that time with any
thing like the adherence they manifested toward it
They recorded their favor Of the amendment the
Oregon bill which made the prohibition No alarm was felt
then Gentlemen did cry that the constitution
violated the rights Of the South invaded. On the
ta Southern themselves stood up for the and
the last Of the last Congress the thing took
place. gentleman from South Carolina (Mr BuRr) had
then assented the prohibition clause but had inserted pre-
ambe TO il declaring that the whole Territory Of Oregon
lay north Of the line Of the Missouri compromise" &c.
Southern gentlemen, far from preventing the insertion Of
the clause merely asked that the for might be stated
the face Of the bill but this refused and the bill
had passed the House with the prohbitory clause in by
Of l34 TO 35 He wanted know how Southern gen.
temen had voted for this who extremely sens
4 tive upon the subject
Mr.. SAWYER inquired whether Mr. SnITH had not him
self voted against the amendment proposed by the gentleman
from South Carolina, (Mr. BuRT
Mr.. SMITH replied, certainly he had because he not
willing that the restriction against avey should he put upon
that ground. But still il fact that the united deega
tion from South Carolina bad voted for the restriction
Mr. BURT said that reference had been made to the
Of the South Carolina delegation proper 10 explain
that had been the time that given the opinion
Of every Southern man, with the exception one or two
that slavery would into Oregon, because lay