Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1848-08-22
TIE DANIEL. LETTER.

of,bat uniairness, gross injustice, ms'a'enen' u
h;s nosi,ion. and Misrepresentation oil us views
,vh;ca h. has imputed to us. MI. Dan'ei has
don. 1ims.lf much greater injustice by Inc puo'''
cation of his letter than ever we couia 90 nun y
zoe were 10 exert ourselves 10 The utmost iof ''a'
,n,nose II our short notice oil his speech was
.,,.,,o,ea n make him despair oil ever get'ih9
.nober CLIENT we do not think ii atall iiSey 'ha'
bis letter will retrieve his professional reputation
90. mill follow MIR. Daniels divisions:
He says, "ycu say Iauacked the compromise
Nil, as sacrifice and surrender OF Southern rights
Inever used such language" &c. Our language
vas "Mr. Daniel too, 'seards Inc COMPROMISE OH
as a sacrifice and surrender Of Southern l'sh'S'
the quotation being made from the Wing, ~nefe
snch nneuaee certainly has been repeatedly os@o
And does nol Mr.. Daniels letter show 'nfousn,
ont, that he does SO regard The COMPROMISE DIN
And have we NOT been informed BY The Times
tha, oil the Southern Wing members OF Congress
90 regard i'll
The Wing said of Mr. Daniels speech mat DC
actually denounced the bill as FRAUDULENT and
DESTRUCTIVE oil Southern righ,s!-and YET we ne
yer heard the first whisper about unla'rhe's
aeains, The Whig, or The slightest animation 'ha'
n had "broadly carica,ured" Mr. DaniePs views
Mr.. Daniel was ready enough 10 pounce upon
us. and call us "obuspe of his person" and charge
m with having degraded The pubic press, ana
We, his friends The editors OF The Wing, did moi
come in for the slightest share OF his censufe'
H. We again quote Mr. Daniel: "fou say !
was opposed 10 leaving The decision OF the nsh'
of The STAKEHOLDER 10 carry his slaves INTO the tef.
ritories 10 the Supreme Court because II IS 'ne
weakest branch of the Government Had ever
uttered such nonsense, you should have denounced
me as a tool, as we'll as a demagogue" we
we're merely giving in separate paragraphs Wnat
we understood 10 be Mr.. Daniels different rea-
sons for opposing The Compromise Bill, and TINS
was one OF Them; and we leave il to The readers
OF his letter 10 say, whether he has mol most DIS
unclly, "ultered such nonsense" Why did ne
take occasion TO call The Supreme Coufi, IN ms
letter. the "weaSes branch of the Government,
If he did not mean j! as reason why the slavery
question should not be referred 10 that lrlbu
nal2 As for The expression augmentation
OF demasosueism, which has given him
such offence and which was only applied
10 one single sentiment uttered by him, we
insist that we canno, fairly be accused thereby OF
s,,xss g. .do-anusscf ~!hs-.Renah- and---Rsady
of that rabble Mr.. Daniel need not have ex-
hibiled such sensiliveness on This point. When
the Richmond Wing denounced The meiabers
of the Supreme Court as ''poli'ical hacks, old
Eederalis,s. AID modern monarchsls," and Mr.
Daniel day or two afterwards spoke Of thai
court. as The "weakest branch OF The Govern
ment" it did sound TO rs, who had always re.
sardei that court as the purest, as well as the
greatest tribunal upon earth, like demagoeuism,
aud we could give il no other name. Mr.. Da-
mel has certainly adduced high authority TO sns-
tain him in calling 'he Supreme Coun the weak
esi branch of The Government, 10 whom We are
willing TO bow with reverence. Ii he will read,
however, the late debates in the Senate, he will
And that the sgreat Wing statesman from Della
ware" MIR. Clayton, thought differently, and
well might be have done SO, as i, appears 10
cur plain understandings Thu, department
which has The power TO stop ,hr wheels OF lhs
Government, hs proncuuciDg the Revenue Laws
unconstitutional, tit the importer should raise
The question before It, and, therefore, void, does
not strike Us AZ teiBg so very peak. Mr. Da
MEL undeisool perfectly well. and go did the
public, our remark about the 'atsolnle velo'
possessed by he Supreme Court upon The laws OF
Congress. He knows, as well as ourselves, 'bal
II the question OF the ccnstiulionality Of any law
should be raised before il, it Cal pronounce such
law unconstitutional, and pulhy, which GER
iainly amouuts TO an absolute veto.
Ill. MIR. Daniel does mol pretend to charge us
with m;srcprescn'ing him, when We said that he
was In favor Of leaving to Congress the settlement
of the slavery question. Indeed, in discussing
the powers oil Congress over he territories in this
third grand division OF his letter. he out Wi.mos
Wilmol. The mos, ultra Wilmot Poy;so man
would not wish him to go further in asserting The
unlimited power Of Congress, in ,hr territories
over oil subjects, and consequently ever The snt-
ject OF slavery. We again quote from Mr.. Da-
mel:
"You say I am for leaving the question of
slavery ~ Congress and sneerinsy observe, all
that We Know is nothing can be known. Clayton |
R-yerdv Johnson Berrien, Calhoun and others,
were Utterly wrong in wholly taking away the
Jurisdictions from Congress- suspect | turn |
my eyes with much more admitting gaze than
yen do towards that ealaxv of light; bu, con
Tess il would suffer in my esteem wrclchcd
eclipse, could hear any one d them assert that
any power bnt Congress, either Immediately or
by employing the agency OF other budies author
lied BY ITSELF, could exercise power aud dominion
over the territories oil the United Safes" &c.
Scott Of Fsuquierl Witcher, Tunstail SlaDardl
WE'LL henceforward, in utter darkness You are
eclipsed, wre,cbedly eclipsedi You and the rest
Of The Wings of the Legislature of 1886 7. vo-
ted UNANIMOUSLY that Congress has no jurisdiction
over slavery either directly Indirectly nssdafsly
or smmed,otely.
The Wing makes most superlaIively laugh !
able attemp. TO gel Mr.. Daniel out Of this difi
Guilty, by saying that the resolution had reference
only 10 Slavery in the Staiesi and that when line |
preamble expressly reced that the Hosee had just
passed the Wttmot Proriso, and that The resolu- |
lions we're passed in reproba,ion of SO fragrant a
violation o. the Constitution
The Wing also attempts to defend MIR. Daniel |
from the charge Of admitting the power Of Con.
gress 10 pass the Wilmo, Proviso, BY saving
shat while Mr. Daniel regards The Genera, Co
vernment as possessing sovereign power over The |
territories, he looks upon it entirely as trustee
for he people Of the States Of this ONION" We
should like to have The passage in MIR. Daniels
letter pointed out 10 us which iocncates any
such doctrine. Besides, what absu.dty and wha |
NAT contradiction A sovereign, traslee! trustee
possessed OF unlimited power over The trust sub
Jeet! The senior editor OF the Enquirer Is 3,
least lawyer enough 10 know that Meh trustee |
is Infinitely better of than the bcneiciaries. The |
very fact of the General Government being a
trustee for the States (Which j. good Democratic