Staunton spectator, and general advertiser. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 183?-1849, 1848-09-27
The Virginia Democracy and the Slavery Question

The position OF the Virginia Democracy on the
Slavery extension question, is certainly not one
which entities them to "throw stoI0s - vet thew
'eo. ~ h'''" violent OF late in Their assaults
upon the Wings for their support of Mr.. FIL
MoRE.-They forget that that gentleman occupies
the platform of their own party, fully and entirely.
on this question, laid down by the Baltimore
Convention which nominated Mr. CAss
What more, then, do they want, or what more
have they right to require ?-Let us look, for a
moment, at their own peculiar position, in regard to
this momentous ISSUE
In their State Convention which met in Febru-
airy last, they solemnly declared that .sUNDER NO
POLITICAL NECESSITY WHATEVER" would thew
support for the Presidency or Vice Presidency any
person who admitted "the power in Congress, or q
Territorial Legislature" or "any where else, saue
only IN The people of a territory III the adoption Of
State Constitution, to prevent the migration Of
any citizen Of any State with his property. wheth-
er it be slaves or any thing else, to any domain
which may be acquired by the common blood and
treasure of the people of all the States''
This is certainly extreme Southern ground But
how did their political friends in the Baltimore
| Convention respond to it They contcn,ed them
selves with simply declaring that Congress has
no power, under the Constitution to interfere with
or control The domestic institutions Of The States. y
&C. exactly the ground occupied by Mr.. Fill
more. And Mr.. Yancy, of Alabama, tells us that
ne tried to amend the resolution in Committee. 50
as to extend the principle of non-ntererence to the
territories, but that he was overwhelmingly voted
down Thus the Convention plainly refused to
dlsclaim the power of Congress over Slavery in the
territories
i'nAor what "roliiioaI pa~o-~:.y,' =, H., - 81.
we would ask, that the Virginia Democracy now
abandon their ground, and support the nominee of
the Baltimore Convention, when their own plat
form is so utterly disowned and repudiatcd Is if
that they think Gen. CAss more favorable to their
views than the Convention which nominated him 2
Well-let us see how thatisl
Cen CAss, in his Nicholson letter, with cir
cumlocuon somewhat remarkable tells us that his
Inlnd has undergone ''change" recently in regard
to ihe "Wllmot Proviso :" that he now thinks
Congress has no constitutional power to make such
prohibition and that he is Tor leaving to the Peo
pie oil any territory which may be hereafter acouir
cd the determination Of the question for themselves
NOW, how does this tally with the resolutions Of
our Democratic State Convention of Virginia =
Does 1t come up fully to the mark We trow
noi.-iho'T resolutions deny the power to Terri
toriai Legislature or Hc People ola Territory even
themselves sarc only IN the adoption Of State
Constitution; while Gen. CAss surrcnders il to
them, without any such limit
The truth is not to be disguised that Cen C,ss
IS an anti slavery man. As he declared in bs Ie,,cr
on the Right of Search-"NVe arc rc s1,,ol,,to-
we never nave been-we never shall be. We
dePrecate lis existence in principle and pray for its
abolition every where, where this can be effected