Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1849-11-15
EREEMAN, MONTPELIER, VERMONT, 1919.

territories as safes into the Union, leaving to the
people of each The POtCer 10 regulate The domestic
question of slGey as TO them respectively shall
seem ft Thenoment G lifornia is admitted as
State, she his the exclusive right to decide all
questions of dmestic policy as she pleases, and
Congress zen have no more power to regu,
late the subieG of slavery within her limits than
it now has to produce il into Massachusetts, or
to abolish itiE Louisiana. Yet Massachusetts
may become ssave State tomorrow if she choo-
ses, and Louisana may at any moment abolish
slavery wthinher limits, and there is no power
in Congress torestrain either ofthem in theirac
ton on this subject, Suppose California should
present hersei with written constitution 10
CONGRESS: if bat constitution should be repubh-
can, and she hould have the requisite federal
Dopulation. sht is entitled to admission into the
Union as soereign State. and Congress has no
right to prescribe any terms whatever to her as
State On the subject OF slavery. To demon
strate this it ionly necessary to show how fer
tile or nugatof such an attempt on the part OF
Congress woud be. Her constitution will con-
tain a clause rohbltlng slavery within her lin.
its. or a claus, establishing slavery within her
limits, or it wi be entirely silent on the whole
subject. Suppose it prohibits slavery and that
Congress shold refuse to admit the State on ac-
count of that rohibltion, California could iInme-
diately strike hat clause from her constitution,
| be admitted ito the Union, and then call Con.
vention to chnge her own domestic policy on
the, subject a She should think fit, either by
prohibiting orestablish slavery, in defiance Of all
! laws CopUres could make
| If Caliiornr should present herself with con-
stitution siIeh on the subject Congress could
not engraft lie Wilmot proyso on that consti-
tuition, or Il chuse establishing slavery, because
the unqucstocd right OF the State, when odmit-
ted to aboIhh any measure of domestic policy
contrary to her wishes, would render any such
attempt on the part of Congress iroperative and
absurd. The only period when lhe Wllmot pro
viso could hive been efficient was at the mo-
meni when the treaty Of Guadalupe and Elidalgn
passed the Senate. 1t was then moved rs an a.
mendment to the treaty, and il received but 10
votes from 30 Senators representing the Is non
! slavcholdirg States ofthe Union. Yet il, at that
moment, the non saveholding Senators had all
voted for it, and adhered to it,, and carried it as
/ an amendment TO the treaty, it would have pre-
scented a ase precisely like that of the ordinance
of 1857. That was a compact between the U
nted States and the State of Virginia; and it
has been held that in the States embraced within
that ordinance, slavery could not be introduced
by any domestic regulation, because the ordn
ance was the paramount law of the land. If that
holding be correct, the same result would have
| followed in California and New Mexico had the
| WimOt proyso been inserted IN the treaty OF
Guadalupe HIdaIgo; for the treaty, like the Or
dinancc, would have been the fundamental law
of lhe land But the friends ofthe proviso sub
fered that OCCASION to pass away; andwe hold
that it is nowclearly not within the constitution
al competencyOf congress to regulate the domes-
tic instltuIouwithn The States of California and
New Mexico however it may possess that pow
Ell when leglaating for them merely as Terrific.
RES.
That the Administra ion of Gen. Taylor will
encourage The admission Of California and New
! Mexico as Safes, whenever they shall present
themselves for admission to congress with repub-
llcan constitutions and the requisite population
we have every reason to know, from the sources
of information to which we have already refer
red and orthc adoption of a measure of policy
so manfesty eXpedient, wise, patriotic, g. just
we think the President and his Administration
will be entitled to the thanks of the country
Such u mcasle will still the voiceand break W
the landmarks OF the only pray in this cOun
try which can be supposed to menace the UniOr
of the States-those geographical parties, which
WASHINGTON denounced in his Farewell AID
dress, and which, in the judgment of the wlses
statesmen of this county, have ever been helC
as most dangerous to the Constitution"
The position here taken by the Adminstra
ton, upon our territories, is exactly the position
which has been assumed, and maintained, b,
ing propagardists. The first scheme which wa
submitted by the South, to which allusion is her
made, was Cayton's compromise bill, which fail
ed, and went down with the indignation" an
contempt of a. the free States upon it. ".4nOH
er mode" if We are to give credit to a paper
whose editor declares he has reason to know,
is to be adopted. Another insiduous, OrtfJ
scheme, is set on foot. influential men, mem
bers of Congress, have been posted off TO Cal
fornia, and train of circumstances are put i
operation; a correspondence is opened, and th
thing so far matured, as to lead the Adminstra
ton TO calculate en- ito ultimate success Hence
the organ now speaks out.
Hitherto the people have been told that Ge
Taylor woudnot Interfere with the lcgslatio
of Congress. The wing press in the free State
constantly affirmed that his Administration wouI
never permit slavery to set its unhaIlowed fot
on an inch free territory. Wing orators ha,
ooldly declared that he was opposed to the e;
tension OF slavery, and in favor of the Wilmt
proVlso, and the smaller fry have even gone
far as to declare that they had held private col
versatlon with the President, and they were read
to swear that all the influence and patronage
the Government would be cxertcd to prevent Il
curse of slavery from entering into California ar
New Mexico. True, the people witnessed
dreadful change in the votes of proninant viii
members of Congress, after Gen. Taylor arrive
at Washington True, when Joshua R. GiC
dings charged it directly upon tae newly electe
President, that he was interfering with the lee
islation OF Congress, contrary to the pledge
which his friends had made to the country, TIL
volume OF abuse was Immediately poured upc
his devoted head-the charge den ed, and NJ
Giddings represented as a base calumnator
the President. The people were therefore lie
to draw their own differences as 10 what wou
be the precise position which The present A,
mnistraton would take upon this question:
That Ger. Taylor would take the side of fire.
dom, and use his influence and power agaia
slavery-agalnst his own interests, and again
the whole South that elected him man
his senses Except whis) could believe for
} moment. But the veil has at length been draw
aside. The declarations which have been mat
to the North, that they were deceived, are like
TO prove true the fears which we have espresso
are more than realised. The miserable, unteI
able subterfage, has been boldly avowed, tn