Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1848-08-23

| souri, and Texas cempromise line. lts
southern boundary is the parallel OF AZ
deg. leaving The Intermediate distance to
be three hundred and thirty geographical
miles.
And j, is because the provisions Of thi:
hill are no, inconsistent with the terms o.
,he Missouri compromise, il fexiended from
the Rio Grande to The Pacific ocean, that
have not felt a, liberty n withhold my
sanction. Had it embraced territories
south Of that compromise, The question
presented for my consideration would have
been of ral different character, and my
action upon it must have correPonded
with my convictions.
Ought We now 10 disturb the Missouri
and Texas compromises? Ough, we. a,
this late day. in attempting 10 aunul what
has been 50 long established and acquies'
ced in, TO excite sectional divisions and
iealoustes; to aiienate the people Of diie-
rent sections of the Union from each 9TH
er, and 10 endauger the eSisleuce OF The
Union!
From the adoption Of the Federal Con
sliluriou, during period of six'y years,
our progress as a nation has been without
example ip The annals of history. Under
The protection Of bouniiful Providence,
we have advanced with giant strides IN The
career of wealth and prosperity. We
have enjoyed the blessings Of freedom 10
a greater extent than any other people,
ancient or modern, under Government
which has preserved order and secured to
every citizen life, liberty. and property
We have now become an example for i'm
ralon 10 the whole world. The friends of
freedom in every cline point with adtnira-
tion 10 our institutions. Shall we then, al
The moment when the people Of Europe
are devoting all their energies in The at
tempt to assimiIate their institutions 10 our
own, peril ell our blessings by despising the
lessons of experience and refusing to Tread
in the footsteps our fathers have ,rodden !?
Aud Tor what cause would we endanser
our glorious Union? The Missouri Com.
promise contains prohibition Of slavery
Throughout, all that vast region enlendiug
twelve aud half degrees along the Pa
ci6c, from the parallel Of thirty six degrees
thirty minutes TO that Of forty nine degrees.
aud east from that ocean 10 and beyond
The summit of The Rocky Mountains
Why. then, should our institutions he en-
dapgered because it is proposed to submit
to the people Of the remainder Of our new
ly acquired territory, lying south Of thirty.
six degrees thirty minutes, embracing less
than four degrees Of latitude, The question
whether, in The language Of the Texas
Compromise, they "shall be admitted (as
Stale) into the Union with or without
slavery Is this question TO be pushed
to such e1tremities by excited partisans,
on The one side or the other, in regard to
our newly acquired distant possessions on
the Pacific. as to endanger the union of
thirty glorious States which constitute our
cnnfederacy? l have an abiding conf
dence that the sober reflection and sound
patriotism Of the people Of all The States
will bring them 10 the conclusion that The
dictate OF wisdom IS 10 follow the example
of those who have gone before US, and set.
lie this dangerous question on the Missouri
Compromise, or some other equitable COM
promise which M6u'3 :ccSisct The rights Of
Giall, and prove satisfactory to the different
portions of the Union.
Holding as sacred trust The Executive
authority for the whole Union, and bound
10 guard The rights Of all, should be con-
strained. by sense Of duty, to Withhold
my official sanction from any measure
which would conflict with these i'm pportant
objects.
| cannot more appropriately close this
message than quoting from the farewell
address Of The Father of bis Country
His warning voice can never be heard in
vain by the American people. II the spir-
il Of prophecy had distinctly presented TO
his view, more than half century ago,
The present distracted condition Of his coun-
try. The language which be then employed
could not have been more appropriate than
j, is 10 the present. occasion. He declar
ed -
"The unity Of government which con-
s,itules you one people is also now dear to
you. Ii is justly So; for it ID main pill.
lar in the edlfice Of your real independence,
the support of your tranquility at homo,
your peace abroad, Of your safety, of your
prosperity, Of that very liberty which you
so highly prize. But. as it iseasy 10 fore :.
see that, from different causes and from
different quarters much pains will be taken.
many arifces employed, to weaken in your
minds the conviction Of this Irulh-as this
is the point in your political fortress against
which the batteries Of internal and external
enemies will he most constantly Y and active
ly (hough often covenIy and insidiously)
direc,ed-it is Of infinite moment that you
should properly estimate he immense val
ue of your national union to your collec.
live and individual happiness; that you
should cherish cordial, habitual and i'm
movable attachment to it.; accuslomiug
yourselves 10 think and 10 speak of it as a
palladium Of your political safety and
prosperity; watching for its preservation
with jealous anxiety; discoun,enancing
whatever may suggest even n suspicion
that i, can in any event be abandoned /;
and Indignantly lrowning upon the first
dawnins Of every attempt to aIienae any
portion Of our country from the rest, or 10
enleeble The sacred ties hich now link TO-
,h yoriono