The examiner. [volume] (Louisville, Ky.) 1847-1849, 1849-06-09

TO THE PEOPLE OF MISSOURI.
DeIisercd ia tls cspital
JEFFERSON CRY, May 25, Isi9.

ing the right Of Congress TO lrgisate upon the
subject Of slavery in Notwithstanding the
right Of the citizens Of every State to remove
TO the Territories, acquired by the blood aud
treasure Of the whole L Mon, with their proper
ty--declaring il 10 be an insult 10 the States ia
exclude any Of their citizens from 50 removing
and settling with their property-allsdging such
insult 20 be cause Of alienation among the States
and ultimately Of disunion and instrueting
the Senators Of the State, and requesting lis
Representatives, TO vote in conformity TO the
resolves so adopted.
These instructions, Of which now only
give the substance, were adopted by the Gene
| raj Assembly after the adjournment Of Con-
gr-ss, and after the time that IL must have been
believed that the subject TO which they refer
had been disposed Of in Congress, and while
other resolutions incompatible with them had
been given by the previous General Assembly Y,
and had been complied with by me, and were
still on hand. They are a mere copy Of the
Calhoun resolutions offered in the Senate, in
February, lS47, denounced BY me al the time
as a hTe- brand, intended for electioneerng and
disunion purposes, and abandoned by him after
their introduction, without ever calling a vote
| upon them, for a reason which will hereafter be
shown. produce them in order to justify the
character give Of them, and 10 show them to
be the original Of those which | have received
| iTOui SCACAol Assembly u luiseOuiis
THE CALHOUN RESOLUTIONS.
| ResOlrsd, That the Territories Of the niieG
States belong TO the several States composing
this Union, and are held by them as their joint
and common property.
"Rssolped, That Congress, as the joint agent
and representative Of the States Of this U MON
has no right 10 make any law, or do any act
| whatever, that shall, directly or by its effects
/ H.. mi, h.e. h. al
this Union, by which any Of them shall be de.
Priyed Ct its full and equal right in any terri
tory Of the United States, acquired or TO be nc
| CURED.
"Resoised, That the enactment Of any Law
which should directly or by its effects deprive
the citizens Of any Of the States Of this Union
from emigrating with their property into any
Of the territories Of the United States, viii
make such discrimination, and would, there
fore, be violation Of the constitution and the
/ rights of the States from which such citizens
emigrated, and in derogstion Of that perfect
equality which belongs 10 them as members OF
the Union, and would tend directly TO subyeri
| the L nion itself.
Resolved, That as a fundamenta principle
in our political creed, people in forming con-
stitution have the unconditional right TO form
aud adopt the government which they may
think best calculated TO secure liberty, prosper
ity and happiness; and that, in conformity
thereto, no other condition lie imposed by the
federal constitution on a State, in order 10 her
admission into this Union, except that it's con-
stitution be republican, and that the imposition
Of any other BY Congress would not only be in
violation Of the constitution, but in direct con-
hict with the principle on which our political
system rests"
These resolutions were brought into the Sen
ate February 10, ls47, and are the prototype
Of those sent me by the General Assembly OF
Missouri. / see no difference IN them but in
the time contemplated for dissolution Of the
Union--Mr. Calhoun's ending (" directly" q nd
those Of Missouri Z" ultimately TO that point.
In other respects they are identical, and this
difference is not material, as the Missouri rsso-
buttons pledge the State to I" cooperate" with
other slsve-holding States, and therefore to fol-
low their lead, which may be- directly, as the
| Aecomac resolutions youched 10 he the voice OF
| the South, call for State Convention, as soon
as bill can be passed for the purpose, to organ
Use the mode Of action. ] consider the Calhoun
resolutions as parent Of those adopted by our
Legislature, and entitled to the FIRST attic niion
and in that point Of view, shall speak Of them
first, and begin with an argument against il,
derived from the conduct OF that gentleman
himself.
In the year Is20, Mr.. Cali oun was a mernbe,
Of Mr.. Monroe's Cabinet, and as such, was re-
quired by the President, in common with the
rest Of the Cabinet, TO gre his opinion in
| writing, TO be filed in the department Of State,
on the question Of the power OF Congress TO
| prohibit slavery in Territories, and on the con-
stitutionality Of the SIh section Of the act for
the admission Of Missouri into the Union, and
1 which section applied 10 the aEIi-Eayery clause
Of the Ordinance Of 1857, &c more than half Of
the whole Territory Of Louisiana. The ques-
lions were mOmeniOUs. Ihs whole Union was
then conVulsed on the subject Of HlsVery, grew
/ ing out Of the Missouri controversy. Congress
/ had Just passed an act for the admission OF
Missouri without restriction, but with prohi-
bition Of slavery in all the tsrriIory north and
west Of her. The act was just coming 10 DIR.
Monroe for his approval or oisipprovEl. II ap-
proved by him, IL became a Law at once; II dis
approved, the act was defeated forever. for il
was known that the constitutional msioriiies
Of two-Ihirds Of Congress could not be obtained
for the act, il dissPProved by the President
The whole responsibility Of passing or defeat
/ ing the act, then, rested on MIR. Monroe. lie
felt the magnitude Of that resPo asibility, and
saw that il was an occasion to require the
gravest advice Of his Cabinet. lie determined
TO have their advice and in the most matlred
and responsible form. The art had passed on
the Sd Of March. He Immediately cOnvolsed
his Cabinet-siaied the uestions--reducedth them
copy 10 eaCn memDeT--hnQ
required them 70 be answered in writing. On
the 9th, all the answers were given, and all in
the affirmative on both questions; and the act
was Immediately approved and signed, and be-
came the law Of the land. The Law bears date
on that day-MErch 9th, ls2O. Mr.. Calhoun
gave his Written opinion with the rest, in favor
OF the cOnsltutionality Of the act, and no
whisper was ever heard from him to the contra
~, or in denial Of the right Of Congress TO pro-
hIbit, or abolish slavery in Taritories, until the
introduction Of his fire brand resolutions, TWEEN
ty-seven years after his Cabiaet opinion had
been given. These resolutions were brought
in near the close Of the short session Of ls46-'7,
and were intended for general debate at the ses-
sion Of l6f7-'s--the long session which pre-
ceded the Presidential eleciiOn--snd TO make
chance for himself at that election by getting up
q test which no northern man eonld stand. Bot
that general debate never came on. Before the
time had ripened for II, the Cabinet opinions Of
$500 had been found out, and were produced in
the Senate 10 the confusion Of Mr.. Calhoun,
and the utter prostration Of hs resolutions
They were first produced by Mr.. Westcott, Of
Florida, and afterwards by Mr.. Dix, Of New
York. The proofs were in writing, and TO the
point, and from two different vitnesses-snd
the two, above all men in the world, the most
eompetent and credible to testify in the case
Mr.. Monroe and Mr.. AdAms--both dead, but
both speaking from the tomb, and in the highest
form known 10 the law Of evidence-thst Of
recorded evidence, written down nj the time as
the true history Of fact, and without the
slightest expectation that IL wan ever to be used
against any human being. Mr.. Monroe's testi-
mony was in his own hand writing, obtained
from his sOn-in-law, and consisted Of two
Pieces-one being the interrogatories PROFOUND
cd 10 his Cabinet and the other the autograph
drsf Of lslf IN a