Staunton spectator, and general advertiser. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 183?-1849, 1848-07-05
FOR THE SPECTATOR.
MIR. LEAKE AND THE ATHERToN RE-
SOLUTIONS


Mn. EDrroR:-On Monday, the Goth ult,
Il C Hon. Shelton +. Leake addressed the Demo
crazy Of Augusta county. He would have been re.
piled to bu, or the circumstance, that .Lc did not
erpcct his interrogatories, propo,nded 10 the
Whigs, TO be daS,cered at present :" and il would
have been intrusive on the part of any gentleman
OF the Wing party to have batted against the willy
foe at that time, as the meeting was called togeh-
er for the purpose Gratifying the nominations made
by the Baltimore Convention.
doubt not, that an answer ran through the mind
OF every Wing present, to every charge preferred
by Mr.. l.. against Gen. Taylor and the par,y of
which he is 81 prominent member till he. Mr. L.,
alluded with such tremendous flourish to tho vote
OF MIR. Fillmore on the celebrated "Ather,on Reso-
lutions"-as affordng incontestable evidence of his
being an Abolitionist. Such a length of time has
elapsed since tho passage of these resolutions that
many have forgotten the circumstances under which
they were in,roduced-and also their character
and well might the citizens of this slayeholding
community be startled and excaim, ..Can this he
so! Is 1t possible that the candidate of the Wing
party Tor the Wee Presidency voted against these
seemingly sound Southern resolutions ~
Bear with me whilst attempt a vindica,ion Of
Mr.. Flllmore.-a refntaton of the charge made by
Mr. l,eake-that he is an Aboltionist
shall follow pretty closely, and quote frequent
ly from article OH this subject that appeared in
the Richmond Wing of June 81, ls4S
During the administration Of Mr.. Van Buren,,
the gentleman who was trumphan,ly called the
"Northern man with Southern feelings" the i'm
preston was gaining Roadway, that he was
"Norhern man with Northern feelings :" in other
words, that he was Abotionist-for he was re-
garded as a Missouri restriclionist, and voted for
free negro suffrage. Something must be done to
bolster the declining popularity of TINS shining light
! OF democracy. So eager were the Democracy of
the South TO effect this object that they dared not
only to be the aiders and abeitors in this infamous
plot, but went hand in hand with the North in the
acknowledgment and promulgation to tho world of
the doctrine that CONGRESS- HAS THE POWER TO
ABOLISH SLAVERY In THE DIsTRIcr OF CoLua
BIA.
EARLY IN the Session q quote from the WING. }
OF '5o-,39, caucus of Van Buren, members of Con-
gress, from all quarters of the country was held
Mr.. Cushman. well known enemy OF slavery pre-
siding; at which were concocted the following se
rles of resolutions, which, on the ilth Of December
were presented to the House of Representatives by
MT. htherlon, OF New Hampshire, and hence rails
ed the name of the "Atherton Resolutions:
! "Resolved, That this government is govern
ment of limited powers, and that by the Constitution
OF the United States, Congress has no jurisdiction
whatever over the institution of slavery in the sere
raj States of this Confederacy
| "hesolved, That petitions for the abolition of
slavery in the District of Columbia and in the
Territories of the United States, and against the
removal of slaves from one State to another. are
part OF plan of operations set foot to affect the
institution OF slavery IN The sererdl States, and
thus, indirectly to destroy that institution within
! their limits.
! RESOLVED, That Congress has no right to do
that indirectly which ii cannot do Directly and that
me agitation OF the subject of slavery in The Dis
trlct OF Columbia or the territories as means and
pth The cieU of disturbing or overthrowino tina, in
stltutlon in the several States is against the true
spirit and meaning of the Constitution, an infringe
ment of the rights of the States affected, and
preach OF the public faith upon which they entered
into the Confederacy
Resolved, That the Constitution rests upon the
broad principle OF equality among the members of
the Coniederacy, and that Congress, in. the exer-
else OF Its acknowledged powers has no right TO dis
crImlnae between the institutions of one portion of
the States, with the view of aboshinp one. and
promoting the other.
Resolved, therefore, That all attempts on the
part OF Congress 10 abolish slavery in the District
OF Columbia, or to prohibit the removal of slaves
from State to State, TO discriminate between one
portion OF the Conederacy and another, nth the uieu
aforesaid, are IN violation of the Constitution de-
sructve of the fundamental principle on which the
Union of those States rests, and beyond the uris
dicon OF Congress, and that every petition, memo
riai, resolution, proposition paper, touching or
relating, to any extent whatever TO slavery as a.
foTesaId, or the abolition thereof shall on the pre
sentatlon thereof, without any farther action there
on, be laid upon the table without being debated
printed or referred"
ne very presentation Of these resolutions by
Northern man, and the circumstance that the eau
Gus tna' concocied this scheme, was presided over
by ianatIcal Abolitonist, were enough to arouse
ia - 4
rom credible source, that the Wing members of
inc oOuth, In meeting, determined to vote for the
resolutions. for they discovered .'that the object
was TO entrap them and afterwards represent them
as Aoolltlonsts, and were resolved to block the
game" The stain rests not on the escutcheon of
the great Wing family of having sacrificed the
long cherished principles of the South for the un-
Inerltorlois purpose Of bolsterng' the great en-
bodIment Of Northern men with Southern feel
ing" Mark the gauze work thrown around these
resoluiions-and their ambiguity-and all must be
convinced that il was a snare set by the Democrat
ic party, both of the North and the South, to on
Trap Inc Southern Wings, thereby placing them in
the same category with themselves. The Demo
cracy were deSperate-any thing to save Martin
for when the coliseum falls Rome must fall" -
desperate diseases require desperate remedies
ana having by long and intimate intercourse with
that gentleman become little topy, knew, 10 seal
the mouths OF their opponents, plan must be de-
vised. The North said TO the Southern Democra-
cy, Mr.. Van Buren, must fall, and with him the
Democratic party unless something is done IL
you will IN so many words acknowledge that Con-
gress has power to abolish slavery in the District
OF Columbia. we will concede that she has not that
power over the States. But say the Southerners,
that VIII ruin us In our own country, unless the
wing party can be made TO unite with us. We
VIII TX that, say the Norh-and the bargain was
struck.
"Ihe question:" says the Richmond Wing,
"was sprung in the House without any previous
warning, the rules having been suspended to make
way for it. Mr. Anterior having made long