Columbus Democrat., 1849-08-18

CT CnuttCu on X. It's power Auu dutunTtN
having for its object the more perfect protection
aud promotion ol the safety and rights of cacl
and all, it is bound to protect by their united pow
er, the safety, the rights, the property, and the in
terests OF the citizens Of all, wherever its author
ity extends. That was the object for conierrin.
whatever power and authority il has, aud il
fails to fulfil that, it fails to perform the duty 10
which il was created. Il is enough for il L
know that it is the right, interest, or property o
u citizen of one ofthe States, to make il lis dut,
4 20 protect il whenever il comes within the spheTi
Of ITS authority; whether in the territories, or ol
the high seas, or any where else. It's power
and authority were conferred on II, not TO esiab.
lish or abolish property or rights OF any descrp
ton, but to protect them. To establish or abol,
ish belongs to the States, in their separate SOW
ereigu capacity--thc capacity in which the,
created both the general ana their separate State
governments. Ii would be, then, a total and
gross perveTson of its power and authority 10
use them to establish or abolish slavery or any
other property of the citizens of the IT, States in
the territories. All the power it has, in that
respect, is to recognize as property there what.
ever is recognised as such by the authority Of
the States, tits own being but the united aulhori.
ty Of each and all Of the Slates) and TO adopt
such laws for its regulation and protection as
the state Of the ca Sc may require. Nor is there
the slightest danger that the recognition of the
property of citizens of each aud all the States
within the territories would turn them into ba.
bel, as Col. Benton contends. All may co.cx.
ist without conflict or confusion, by observing the
plain and simple rule ofduty aud justice.
There is another error akin to this, that the
Mexican law abolishng slavery is still in force in
New Mexico and California when not n particle
of its authority or sovereignty remains in either
Thcirconquest by us and the t,caty ythat'foIlowed,
eStinguished the whole, aud with it, annullcd all
her laws applicable to hom, except those relating
TO such rights OF property and relations between
individuals, as may be necessary TO prevent an-
archy; and even these are continued only by sui.
ferancc, and on the implied auIhorit, ofthe con.
quering country, and not the conquered, and on.
ly from the necessity of the case. Her laws a.
boli>hing slavery, are not embraced in the cx.
cepton; and tl We're, it would be taken out of il,
as the assent OF Congress could not be implied to
continue law, which it had no right to establish.
But still higer ground may be taken. The
moment the territory becomes ours, the consitu.
ton passes over and covers the whole with all its
provisions, which from their nature, are applica.
Die to territories, carrying with it the Joint sovcr.
eighty and authority Of each and all tho States
OF the Union, and sweeping away every Mex,
can law incom patible with the rights, property,
and relations belonging 10 the citizens the u.
s., without regard to what State they belong, or
whether il be situated in the northern or southern
section Ofthe Union. The citizens of all have
equal rights Of protection in their property rela.
tions and persons in the common territories of
each and all the States. The same power that
swept away all The laws Of Mexico, which made
the Catholic religion the exclusive religion of the
country, and which let in the religion Of all de-
nominations, which swept away all the laws
prohibiting the introduction of property of
almost every description, some absolutely
aud Others under the condition of payinp
duties, and letting them in duty free until other
wise provided for, swept that which abolished
slavery, and let In property in slaves. No dis
Iinction can be made between il aud any other
description OF property or thing consistently with
the constitution and the equal rights Of the seve
raj States The Union and their citizens.
But we etold by Col. Benton, that the question
has become mere abstraction ofno Importance:
that few have gone into either territory except
citizens olthe north and foreigners; and that they
are all opposed to us. What insult What
a'lnt us by telling us we cannot go into them. !
because foreigners and others who have been
let III freely, and we kept out by the threat Of con
our property by himself and his asso- |
ciates, have become sufficiently numerous to keep
ms out, without the Intervention OF congress To |
aid theml lie knew that property is timid, !" and
could be kept out by threats, and that TO keep US
Dut for short time was one OF the ways to ex.
,lude us ultimately. What a comment on the
equity and justice Of the Government that we,
who have so freely spent our blood and treasure
10 conquer TIE country, should be excluded Gom
lll its benefits, while it is left open for the use
and enjoyment OF all that rabble Of foreigners /
who enumerates with such zeal. as the ellicicicni
means OF our exclusion. IL thero another in
stance of such an outrage to DO found in the his.
ory OF any other Government that ever existed |
His avowal Of the doctrines ofthe abolitonsts, |
will have an effect he little suspected, when he |
made it. II furnishes ample evidence to show
hat he used deception in assigning his reasons
or declining to obey the instructions of his leg
stature. 1t will be remembered, be offered his /
reasons that their resolutions insirlctng him
we're borrowed from mine, and that mine we're
Tor disunion purposes, and that there
was no difference between them, except that
nine aimed directly at disunton, and theirs uIt.
malely at the same thing He added, in effect,
that his devotion 10 the Union would not permit
him to vote for resolutions so deeply tainted with
disunion. That was at the commencement of
his speech. We now have in its conclusion, con.
elusive evidence from himself, that all this was
a mere tetch-a stratagem to conceal his real
motive for declining to obey them. His real mo.
tive, as il now appears, was that he could not
vote for them under any circumstances--fo how
could an aboitionisi, as he avowed hmselfto be,
possibly obey resolutions which are utterly at va
rance with their doctrines. To obey would
haye. involved them in papable contradiction So
ch that it could not fail to PROSTATE, and to1
overwhelm him with shame, if he is not TO shame
L., II AZ L. LII