Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1848-08-22
RICHMOND. VA
Monday Morning, August 81, Is4s.
THE OREGON BILL.

HE UREGON DILL.
The Whig of Saturday has leading edilo
rial, in which it endeayors TO make capital fol
its party out of NJ. Folks failure to veto III,
Oregon Territorial Bill, which has the W limo
Proyiso restriction engrafted upon it.
We may well be surprised at this, when we
consider the agency which its own.party had il
the enactment Of that very restriction, the
Northern Wings having been entirely uaanialns
in voting for il; when We consider, too, thai
what may almost be termed tho necessity Of
signing the bill, which was forced upon Mr.
Polk, was the direct consequence of the defeat
Of that wise and patriotic measure, The late
Compromise Bill, satisfactory and honorable 10
al parties, and especially so to the South, by the
vote of eight Southern Wings; and, finally, when
we consider that it is attempting TO raise an
outcry against the President for signing bill
excluding Slavery beyond the AID parallel OF
North latitude, when the Wing itself is con.
stan,ly recommending TO the country TO adopt a
'lap, Regulating" and "ruling' the subject OF
Slavery, by which it is TO be forever prohibit
4
We may be still more startled when we know
that the Wing is now urging upon the people
OF the South to vote for as President one who,
as the people of one-half this Union solemuly
declare, has given sacred PLEDGE mover TO
veto the Wilmot Proviso-one who, as it has
been repeatedly proclaimed by Tom Corwin,
Andrew Stewart and others, would never have
obtained their support, unless he had given such
pledge. How does il become the Richmond
Wing 10 abuse the President for not putting
into exercise that "kingy' feature in our Con
s,itution, switch has worked evolution 10 our
Government" which has made the President
tyrant and de.pot' Strike out "Veto," and
put "King'' in the Constitution says MIR. Tun'
stall, so that all may understand the true mean.
ing of this woodland the ink is hardly dry by
which were penned the articles in the Wing,
mpeaching the wisdom Of our ancestors for
placing the Veto power in the Constitution, be
fore that rsry print rails outright against the
President for not exercising TIA. very power.
How does it lie in the mouth Of the Richmond
Wing, or Of the Wing party, to blame the
President for his course, when General Taylor,
since he has been their candidate for the Presl
dency, has given only one distinct pledge, and that
i. no. to veto any bill, unless clearly unconsilu
tiona; to leave questions OF "domeste polisy' 10
the exclusive control of Congress and net 10
hwaIt the will Of the nation, nor 10 incrpose his
objections, when questions OF constitutional pow
er have been settled by The various departments OF
government and acquiesced in by The people2-
And lha, wnen The Wing has published and prais-
ed 10 the SIZES Mr.. Travers Daniei's letter. which
maintains from beginning 10 end that the au;hori.
" Of Congress in the territories is 'pleDary and
absolute" unlimited; when The question OF slave.
ry is peculiarly and PR excellence one OF Comes
tic policy;" when il IS known that The Wimol
Proyiso has been sanctioned By repeated legisa-
tive precedenlsi and that Judge story, Chancellor
Kent and The Judges Of the Supreme Court, as
Quoted by MIR. Daniel, have hoiL 'i.as os"s','a
possesses in The territories all The powers oil me
yernmenls; and that the people Of this Union
have acqaiesced in what Mr.. Daniel terms
a la,g Regulating" and "rnling" The subject Of
slavery, which is an absolute and perpetual ex.
clusion of he STAKEHOLDER from all territory Nor'h
of o! So deg, 80 miu.2 So much for The Wings
first "salien, point" We scarcely know what to
saw of the second. We can always attempt re-
ply 10 the arguments Of our opponents, but j! is a
difficult task 10 notice properly The rawlings Of one
apparently beside himself, When Mr. Polk, on
an occasion perhaps more trying Than ever before
occurred 10 any former President, sends 10 Cor
sress message setting forth those high consider
a,iuns OF patriotism and love The Union which
induced him not TO apply his VETO 10 bill, al
though he deemed it unconstitutional and sane
,oning dangerous principle, inasmuch as The
act would tend infinitely 10 widen the breach
which already exists between The Northern and
Southern portion of the contejeracy, ard would
lash those elements of dscord and disunion, which
are already SO rite, into fury which all The "a
triorism in the land would be insufficient to al
law and when he goes on 10 say that the territory
of Oregon is hundreds of miles North OF the MIS-
souri, Compromise line, beyond which the pfo-
ole of The South have bcen hitherto content,
from like considerations Of patriotism and love OF
the Union, 10 see slavery prohibited, but maj "
Congress, during his administration should al
temp! any such prohibition Sout! OF that line, he
would mos, certainly apply the veto, the Richmond
Wing calls This "dc,aon," imperial dictaiion'
and a usurpa!ion OF The legislative powers Of The
| Governmen'
If President Polk had said TO Congress. SO on
gentlemen, do as you please cannot veto the
Wilmot Proyiso because il is not clearly uncon
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. of domestic policy you
must settle in your own way-.he Wi'mot Pro-
,iso has been as often sanctioned by judicial DC
ci,ions and legislative precedents, as Bank Of
the United States then go on and exclude
Slavery Just where you please-it would, &C
cordng TO the Wing, have been all right and
proper.
In ''salient point No. 3, the Wing charges
Mr.. Polk and the Democratic party with having
brought about the present dangerous crisis IN
our history, BY the conquest and acquisition Of
a portion Of Mexico To this We have only TO
say that the principle of ANNEXATION has been
settled BY precedent and tho practice OF The
Anglo Saxon race, ever since they set loot on
this continent. Tho Anglo Saxon, ever since
he landed on Plymouth rock and at jamestown
has gone on to add to his possessions At the
period of the formation of our Constitution, II
is well known that our ancestors contemplated
the annexation of Canada as not at all impro
bablo. Jefferson purchased Louisiana, and there
BY annexed the boundlcss territories OF Oregon;
Florida was purchased from sPan Texas came
in under the joint resolution for annexation
and finally, New Mexico ard California have
been conquered from Mexico and taken 10 in
demaiy US for the expenses of just war, which
she herself provoked. To say nothing Of The dis
nuted boundary and of The fact that Congress al