Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1849-07-25

lie cruel to strip him If the honor Of hcn;
it's author al his lac date, aud 10 hrSInN
il upon another, villa no one ever suSprc'cr
Of being So until Colonel Benton discover
cd it.
Eu. if he could really make ont, that
mise, he musl 30 one step further to make
ne tho author Of The Wimnl Proviso. lie
must prove the Two measures 10 be idcnlI
cal This he has not done or even attempt
ed. Instead Of that he has adopted his
usual course Of assuming whar he is inca.
pAhlc Of proving. /! is IL very easy way
to reach a conclusion that is desired. In
this too, he has disclosed his wonderful ap,
tilndc To sec what no one ever before saw
or suspected. Heretofore all had sup
posed that they were very different things
that compromise was essential 10 one,
willie The other necessarily excludes! il
that one pre-suppoScs conflict OF opinion
between parties, on a question of right or
cxpcdicncy, to have hccn adjusted on
ground, in which neither surrendered lis
rights nr opinion. The other, on the con-
lrary, pre- supposcs Il positive assertion of
right nr opinion to The exclusion Of all COM
promise. Thus. in tho case Of the Mis-
souri compromise, The nnrtll and south dii-
fcred on the constitutional question, whc.
thcr Congress had the right TO prohibit the
introduction of slaves, as condition Of
admitting Stale Into the Union. Onc
conteudcd, that Congress had The right to
impose whatever condition it might think
proper OH Il Territory about TO become Il
Stale. and The other, that it had no right 10
impose any, except that prescribed hy the
constitution, that its government should be
republican. The nnrlh. in lta; case,
waived The claim Of power. on the pro-
posa made by Mr.. Clay, to fix The north
ern lines Of The territory, into which slaves
might be Introduced. at :}G 50. This pro-
posal, although madeby "A southern mem
ber. was taken up and carried by the
vnte Of the north, and thus became, in
fact, their offer IN compromise. The south
acquicsccd, without, however, yielding her
principles, or asscnrins or dissenting us 10
the power Of Congress. 10 exclude slavery
from The Territories. Ii was a cn1iprn.
misc, in which both waived, but neither
yielded lis opinion, lis to l!:c power Of Con-
srcss.
Very different was The case in reference
to the Oregon bill. passed at the scssinp
'iendedrnr- the aLsnInrn nseiL.4l..-
slavery from all the territories, aud an
nounrcd their determination to do 81,
against The clInrts of the south 10 compro'
misc the question, by extending the Mis-
souri, compromise line 10 The Pacific
Ocean. The offer was scorniully refused,
and The bill passed without any comrro-
mise. 1t WAS intended indeed 10 he tho
practical assertion of the naked principle,
that Congress had the power to claim for
il, bv the Wilmoi PrDrso. II WAS the
first acl Of The kind ever passed. and WAS
carried bv The ,lcscrlon from your cause
| nv Col. Benton and Gen. Houston. 1t is
not surprising that the turmcr should he
lcsiruus of coufnunding this far more
odiuus measure with The Missouri conIprO.
| niI>c, Il much less OhiUus one, in the lupc
Of mitigating your deep Indignation, occa-
.ioncd by his betrayal Of yuu, Oh qucs-
tiun 81 vital to llic south. Bun he has an
other motive which will hc explained here
after, and which makes il still more de-
sirahle 10 him that the Two should he con-
founded aud rcsarIcd,,as identical. When ii
comes to he explained, it will be seen, that
il was necessary that they should be, in
order to cxlricac him from Il very awk-
ward dilemma in which hc has placed
| !. 4, Il ", 4, l,,I
adversary had written a book" and well
might have exclaimed. oh that my adj
vcrsary might make speech. His atlvcr-
sary must have been very much like mine.
We have never heard whether his mad tho
f,lly TO accommodate him as niue has had
to accommodate me.
have now cilrcually y repcllcd his pre-
pnstcrous charge, that am the author ol
lhc Wilmnt Proviso; for il is utterly i'm.
possible lha, he ever can show that am
ihe author Of The Missouri compromise. or
that That compromise and the Wllmol Pro.
viso arc the same. But rs he has made il
tho pusiiun from which to aSsail me with
The charge of disunion, aud through inc
Won, including his own constituents,
Snall lDIloN hlib S'' ~ W o'C' lh'buSi ih.
long process by which he makes The dcsrc,
ratc rntcavor 10 establish his prepnsIrroi:
charge, by attempting 10 show that ] have
changed my opinion, as 10 the powers o
Congress over tho territories. But my rur
pose is more TO expose his Inconsistency
contradictions anl alsurd,ics, than to ro
lutc what he advances as argument. L
he could prove 10 Il demonstration that
have changed my opinion, it could have
no weiS int whatever towards showing lia
my resolution aimed AT dsunion. Nor d'
deem it matter Of any Importance, IL
. This connection, whether my opinion LA
! or has nuI undergone a change, IN The Ion!
period of 80 years, since the adoption u
The Missouri compromise. Al that time
the power of CpnSrc>s over the tcrrIi"nc
had received but liIIlc consideration, wl,il
j., for The last few years it has hccn snhIac
ol vital interest Inyuu anl. as SUCH la
been thoroughly investigated by myscI
$ and o,hc,s, whose duty it has been 10 dc
, frn,I your rights in The councils ol Ih
| Union, in yrirrcnre 10 ii.
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