The examiner. [volume] (Louisville, Ky.) 1847-1849, 1849-06-16

sftsr q yea1. and 20 many changes Of clerks;
= and IL hfe Be sosmbcred thar 90 one Of Mr..
Menrss,S cabinet has been Setrstary Of State
since that time but Mr. Calhoun.
The fact IL ests blidhed--established by the
~ rules Of esidence which convince the human
- mind, even the most unwiiling--that Mr.. Cal
houn, rs cabinet minister under Mr.. Monroe,
supported the eonstitufIonsity &C the Missouri
compromise act This fact berg established,
let Us see what that sct wss5 aud that will be
shown BIZ the title TO the act--byihe act ITSELF
= and hy the nctnai condition Of The territory in
which It was to operate. This.is the title;, -,
:. AN Act to authorize the people of the Mis-,
soarl ter fitofy 10 form q constitution and State
government, and for the admission Of such
2 State iatc the Union on an equal footing with
> the original States, and 10 prohibit siarery ~
certain tfTriienes.H 1s.a aaaee -.
3. A very Intelligent title this, especially in the
csnclsding clause, and enough TO have startled
p Mr.. Calhoun IL he had held the same doctrines
on the powers OF Congress then which he pro-
fesses now. The act itself was in these words:
-. 'sSEc. 8. That In all the territory ceded by
49, France 10 the United States, aader the name OF
Loaisiana, which Hes north of 80 degrees 30
minutes north latitude. not included within the
limits Of the State contemplated by this act, sia-
Bery and an voluntary seTrffude Otherwise than in
the punishment of the crimes nhere0f The parties
shall kaoe bern eoneiefed shall be, ndhsreby is,
fSreusr prohibited"
Such are the words Of the sct-the very
words Of the Wilmot Proviso, and IL any mod
ern copyist is 10 supersede Mr.. Jefferson in the
paternity Of that proyiso il should be John c.
Calhoun, and not Davy Wimot. IL should be
called the Calhoun proviso aud that for many
and cogsnt reasons. In the frst place he was
nearly thirty years ahead Of Davy in the sup
port Of this proviso. In the second place, his
position was higher, being Cabinet minister
and his voice more potential, being southern
man. In the third place, he was part OF the
Oefe power where three votes were a majority;
Davy only member Of the legislative power,
where Il requires a majority of both houses to
do any thing In the fourth place, Calhoun
was successful, Davy is not. Finally, DAvy's
prOviso is a weak contrIvance TO prevent slave
nv from being where IL is not, and where il
never will be; CalhouD's proviso was manly
blow 20 Kill slavery where il then existed by
law, and where it would now exist in point Of
fact IL that blow had not been struck. The pro-
yiso Of Mr.. Calhoun actually abolished slavery
where il existed by LAWN all the upper half
of Louisiana-from $3.50 to ~, and from the
Mississippi 10 the Rocky Mountains, over a ter
ritOry nearly thousand miles square-nsarly a
million square mes-enough to make twenty
States of $4,000 square miles each-more in
fact than all California, New Mexico and Ore
gOn put together. Over all this vast territory
the proviso, supported by Calhoun, abolished
slsvery-abolished it, then existing by law-and
shut IL up from the slave emigration of the
south. And now what becomes Of the dogma,
in his moath and that Of his followers, so re-
Gently invented, Of no power in Congress to
legislate upon the subject OF slavery in terrific
riesl what becomes, in their mouths, OF The new
tangled point Of honor, just felt for the hrst
time in thirty years, Of insult 10 slave States in
their exclusion from settlement in the terrific
ries bought by the blood and treasure Of the
whole Union7 Louisiana territory, and
Congress legslated upon slavery in il, and leg
islated slavery out of million of square miles
Of il, and Mr. Calhoun supported that legisla
ntSf.n iradh
the treasure, il not by the blood, of the whole
Union; and the Proyiso of 1870, supported BY
-- Mr.. Calhoun, shut up the one-half Of il from
slave emigration. IL that is insult he and h'
followers have stood being insulted most remark
ably well for about thirty years; and, perhaps
would consult their own self-respect, and los,
nothing in public opinion, il they should con
tnue stsndingit with like fOrttude for the re
mainder Of their lives.
do not quote this conduct of Mr.. Calhoun
in giving the answers which he did 10 Mr. Mon
roe's inteuogatories, for the purpose Of vindi
eating the right Of Congress TO prohibit, or abol
ish slavery in territories. When | fee, il ne
cessary to yindicate that right shall have re
course 10 very different authority from tina
which can be quoted on every side Of ever,
question il ever touched quote 1t for a verl
different purpose for the purpose Of shutting NJ
the mouths Of his followers completely as /
shut up his own from the day he was confront
cd with IT, From that day 10 the present h.
has never mentioned his resolutions. neye
called for that vote upon them which he decla
red himself determined 10 have when he intro
- duced them,
In giving his cabinet support, where his yoic.
was so potent to the abolition Of slavery ovei
a million Of square miles in Louisiana, Mr.
Calhoun did more than man has ever dons
towards abollshing slavery m the world. Hold
ing, he then did, the one-ffth part Of the veto
power, and commanding his position was, az
M md "A cahi mil Head
ing cabinet mlnister-the largest question evel
started of free slave soil, then in his
hands; and he decided il in favor of Free II
immense boon TO the enti-slaye party
then 90 numerous and ardent; but it was not
the only service which he then rendered them
Texas was then ours-a part of Lousiana-to
the lower Rio Grande; large enough TO form siG
great, or ten common States IL was all slave
territory, and looked TO as the natural outlet oil
the southern States. with their great increasing
slave population. II was given 10 the King OF
Spain-eiven away by treaty, and that treaty
the work of Mr.. Monroe's Cabinet--Mr al
houn being a member. And her. there is no
room for denial or non .recollection. For long
time Mr. Adams bore the blame of that eession
A friend of Mr. Calhoun reprosched him with
-, IL in the House Of Representatives. Mr.. Adams
B. was then alive, and present, and soon vindica.
ted the truth Of history He showed that there
was division in the cabinet upon the point
he was against it-Mr. Calhoun for it-and Mr..
- Calhoun being southern man, ard the major
ity Of the cabinet southern, he Carried the day
and Texas was lost. was not tien in public
life, but wrote against that act, blaming Mr.
Adams when Ishould have blamed Mr.. Calhoun
By that cession the expansion Of slavery was
stepped; the growth Of slave States in the
southwest was stopped; three hundred and
fifty thousand square miles subject to American
slavery, was cut off from American dominion
and presented to foreign King This wa,
another great qualification TO the abotionists
bat IL was not ali. There was a strip Of land
shout large enough for two States, lying upon
the Arkansas and Red rivers, and between Texa.
and the &c deg. 30 min. Of north latitude. Thi.
strip having escaped the compromise line one
side, and the Texas &c sion on the other, wa,
open 10 the formation Of two respectable slave
States. Ms. Calhoun was then still cabinet
minister-Secretary at Wsr-had the Indians
under his care--and was riding the hobby o.
their civilization He required this strip 10 be
given up TO the Indians for their permanent
abode; and thus ii, also, was lost 10 the slave
States. All Louisiana was then gone from them
except the fragment which con tanned in the
States OF Missouri and Louisiana and in the
territory of Arkansas Even this fragment ap
pesred 20 be too much to be left TO the slave
States, aud a slice forty miles wide, and three
-gs huadred miles long, was cat off from Arkansas