The North-Carolina standard., 1848-09-06
THE PRESIDENTS LAST MESSAGE

Oregon" is Characterised by the same eleamess,1
candor, ability, and patriotic frmness, which have
marked all the messages of the present enlightened
and throughy republican head of the federal govern
ment. When the injustice of an unscrupulous and
indiscriminate opposition has exhausted itself and
the passions of the present day have subsded history
will do justice to Mr. Polk, 'the pilot who weather
ed the Storm AT the north principal ground of
accusation against the present administration Is, that
1t has commenced an aggressive war OF conquest
against Mexico, with the design of extending the
of slavery, give the slaveholding States
what is technically termed by the complainants,
the sslave poWer'-the preponderance in the federal
government. They who make this charge, seem
entirely to forget the bold and hazardous measures
adopted by this administration to foreclose the
joint occupation of the country of Oregon. lying
all in the latitude of the northern free States, and
which from the nature of its soi its productions, its
climate, the habits and preudices of the settlers who
would probably occupy it, would in all human pro-
liability remain forever free soil. They who elamor
so loudly that Mr.. Polk brought the war with
Mexico, for the purpose of enarging the political in
uence of the saveholding States, to forget that
for the purpose of acquiring free soil Oregon country
so much more extensive than New Mexico and Cali
fornia,-he employed means of such extreme energy.
that he was denounced for jeoparding war with
England. If Mr.. Polk had designed only to give to
the slavehoding States preponderance in the Union,
he would have taken any steps to secure pos
session OF Oregon-sogreat weight In the opposite
scale. The President, however, in regard to the
acquisition of territory appears to have been actuated
by no narrow sectional prejudice-he was not the
President of the South only, but of South and North
and if in securing the acquisition of Texas, he en-
ployed measures that eventuated in war,-in secur-
ing Oregon, he employed similar measures.
The reasons alleged by the President to justify
his signature of the Oregon bill, including the pro-
vso of the ordinance of l797, the Wimot provlso,
it is commonly called, are satisfactory and con-
elusive. As friend of the Union, practical
statesman, he could not have refused to sign the bill
under the circumstances wise statesman
must be governed by circumstances. In the great
dispute that divides the North and the South
and threatens to give rise to sectional partlesthe
North insists that slavery should be prohibited by
Congress from the whole of the newly acquired ter
rtores of United States the South contends that all
these territories should be open for the introduction
of slave property. 1t is quite certain, that the North
will never yield all that the South demands in this
dispute and it is equally certain that the South will
never yield all that the North demands. In word
effect or that the Union of these States must be dis
solved. Two compromises have been proposed dur
ing the late session of Congress. The first known
the Compromise Bill, was entitled, '' A bill to
establish the territorial governments of Oregon. Cali
fornia and New Mexco.'' The first section directs
that the territory of the United States west of the
Rocky Mountains, and north of the 42d parallel OF
latitude, shall be organized into temporary govern
ment by the name of the Territory of Oregon. The
Legislative power is vested in an assembly. to be
elected by the people of the territory. By the 10Th
section 1t is provided that 3" the existing laws
in force in Oregon under its provisional government
ana COmpduOl6 with the PROVISIONS OF act,
remain in force until altered by the legislature"
Among " the existing laws" hereby recognised, is
act prohibiting the introduction of slaves into the
territory The practical result of this Bill, if it had
been enacted, would have been to exclude slavery
from Oregon. This Bill passed the Senate by vote
of 80 to %, but defeated in the House of Repre-
| sentatves by some southern whig votes. -a
The other compromise measure, knownas the Mis-
souri line strongly supported by the slaveholding
States-aso failed. Finally, at the very heel of the
session, the Oregon Bill was passed including the
Wilmot proviso. The President was constrained to
sign the bill, because of the urgent necessity for the
establishment of government in Oregon, and be-
cause the provisions of this Bill not inconsistent
with the of the Missouri compromise if extended
from the Rio Grande to the Pacific Ocean," Had
New Mexico and California, large portion of which
lie south of thirty six degrees and half of North ati
tude Included in the bill. he would have vetoed
it as Incompatible with the rights of one-half of the
States of the Union and in conflict with the spirit of
the Constitution. But this bill referred only to
Oregon, lying whole north of latitude 40 and five de-
grees and half north of the Missourii if extend
ed the President willing to sign the bill
ssten with the settled policy of the government For
If the saveholdng States unanimously willing to
compromise this dispute by adopting the Missouri
line of thirty six degrees and thirty minutes as the
line of demarcaon the soil north of it to be free or
saveholdng as the people OF the territory may choose
certainly they cannot object to making the Oregon
soil North of 40, free. And the people OF the North
if after the President has pursued conciia
tory, and enlarged and elevated in the signature
OF this Olll they neVerneleSS Stlll VIII not HdAe
any concession yield to any compromise.-how
much less could they be expected to make any con-
cession consent to any compromise, If the Presi-
dent had vetoed this Oregon bi because 1t contain
ed clause excluding slaveryl Had he done so, the
cry would have been raised that the President had
negatved the bill from his prediction for slave
ry the abstract, when he perfectly aware that
practice slavery could be introduced into Ore
gon. 1t could not be the duty of the President to
afford such materials of clanor to disunonists. Had
the President signed the bill without any accompany
ing exposition of his for so doing, it might
have subjected him to undeserved censure, and nvolv
ed his political friends is embarrassment. But
he has signed the Bill, the lawyers express 1T,
with protest1ndo, that he has acted In
conformity with the policy of the government as set
tied by the adoption of the Missouri line In $780, and
more recently by the application of the same line to
Texas If that line be hereafter extended to the Pa
cifc the slaveholding States will have lost nothing
by the signature of the Oregon bill, Oregon lies far
| North of that line. r- g.. ..e-- at.t r.. -,.f
The truth is, that whatever designing politicians
and heated partizans and of idea may say to
the contrary, to all practical effects, the insertion OF
the celebrated saveprohbiting proviso, either in the
Ordinance of 1851, to the northwest territory, or
now in 1s4s, as to Oregon, was aud is matter Of
countries by the soil, climate productions, and char
acter of the settlers The provso is merely deela'
ration made in accordance with the natural course OF
events and the wishes of thepeople concerned pro-
hibiting that from taking place, which nature and
circumstances must forever prevent from taking place
without1he aid of any act, and which. It is univer-
sally admitted can never take place. The exclusion
of slaves from cold northern climate cannot in prdc
tice affect any southern right, as no Southern man
would ever desire to go there with Ills slaves tc
send them there's when the more genial and prodpc-
| tive soil of the South lies open before him. The