The Arkansas banner., 1850-05-14
(Frsm the Nashville union The late President and the Question of Slavery
in the TeFHit0fies,

Aithoavh the ,peesnxe of the late President Polk Co Congress explanatory of his reasoas for sigsing the Oregon bill with the Wilmnt Proviso attached to t. entirely satisfactory to the South. VIC yet Gnd his action 10 that matter held by the soatheSn defenders of the northern prOvisionsss as prvce- dent to justify the interference of Congress with t,s subject of slavery Ia California In his Oregon niessags, Mir. Polk stated expressly that he signed the bitil giving that Territory Government. with The Proviso attached, because it lay DoFth of the aompromise line For thirty yeafs the South had sactediy regarded that compromse, ano he was un- willing, as southerR man, to disturb 1t. and give the North tho advantage of charging that the South had violated it, aud that b was no longer bindiaR. Yielding 10 the North what was yielded by that compromise, Mir. Polk distinctly annou need that he would clsim for the South, If the question was pre- sened to him, her portion of the benefit of the com promise. aud promptly veto any bill excluding slave holders from participation in the Territory of the United StaIes south of that line. His course was almost unanimously approved at the South; and the fact that few small politicians now use it as precedent to their detection 10 southern rights, is proof only of their facility at perversion
 The last time we ever the late President Polk l. we had . long aud, 10 us exceedingly interesting conversation with him upon this subject. He sta ted tho circumstances under which the Oregon bill was approved, contained in his message, and re- tlsratsd his determination 10 have vetoed any bill
 
 south Of the Missouri compromise line. He kindly granted permission to refer his papers on this eubject; but he was almost immediately afterwards seized By the disease which proved fatal to him. and we saw him more. The permission then exien. ded to us has, however, since been renewed by Mrs Folk, and during recent visit to the room where the papers of her iilusfious co6sort are filed with ell that method and order for which he dis tngnshed, we copied tc very important extract which w I'll be found below
 Mosi of our readers wiIl recolect that, near the clese of the session Of ls49, Mr Walker, Senator from Wisconsin, Introduced an amendment to the civil anc diplomatic appropriation bill. giving terri toria governments to California and New Mexico. sei;kss: attaching thereto the Wi!mo. Pro-,so Il, was generally supposed thai the Proviso would be attached in the House; and the veto of the Proviso would have been to veto the entire appropriation bill at the last moment of the session Mir Polk did not hesitate a moment to coming to a dciermi hstion. He drep up uFfo mssage, and sat in the office of the Clerk of the House, firmly determined e veto the hill, if presented to him with the Pro. vso attached io the territorial government portion ef It. The message is preserved among the papers sf Mr. Polk, and s one of the documents which he referred to in his conversation with us. We read 1t through on our recent visit to the room where he kept his papers, and with increased admi- Sailsn of his tsieuts and exalted patriotism IL bears, in his own hand writing, the following en. dorsement:
 "Msrch, Is49.-I took this message with me to the capitol the night of the 3d March, IS49, in- tending to return to the House in which it origina- ted, with my objections, the civil and diplomatic bill, to which an amendment offered by Mir. Wal ker, of W sconsin, had been adopted in the Senate for the government of California, had been auen- ded in the House by engraiting upon it the Wmot Provso The bill with the Wno, Prosso attached did not pass, and it was therefore unnecessary to use the message. J.K.P."
 We now make an extract from the message re. ferred to. not doubiug that it will attract geuera attention, and esctnally silence the talk about the r'.esdsnt set by MT Polk approving the Oregon bull:
 ..." cannot consistent with my opinions nd we'll setlled convictions of duty 10 tho constitution and to the country, sanciion by approval of lhis bl the provision which 1t contains. My opinions upon this subject were officially expressed n my message to the House of Represe ntafes of the lih August last, annou ncng 10 that body my approval and sig nature of the bill to establish the territorial govera msnt of Oregon; aud again in my last annual mes sage 10 Congress, recomme Bdisg the eslabishmrn nt of governments over territories of New Mexico and California, acquired by the treaty of peace with Mexico. The doctrine Of oniDterference S-ith ;he sublsct of slavery by the Federal Goyer nn,ent, 1 have never doubted was the true doctrine. The people whs inkabii may nhsbii Inc acquired ter QeCtue what their domestic institutions shall be, without ths intervention or interference of Congress In slgnipg The Oregen biil and a expressing my opin- tsas ia my lest annual msssage. felt myself con strained to yield my original convictions, had this besa an open and an original question, and to con form Ia my action to the compromise established whoa Missouri was admitted into the Union. was tsas constrained to yield, because he Missouri eomPromise, in respect to slavery, had been recog. mixed aud acquiesced in by the slave holding and States for period of nearly thirty years; and had not only been acqulesced in but had bsen distinctly recognized and affirmed without se. risus opposition. in the resolutions passed by on. gress ia February lS45 for ihe annexation oI Texas as State of the Union. l was unwilling, by my action, to attempt to reverse what seemed to have been SO long and so we'll settled.
 "In the provision of this bill, under considera. ton. Congress has dsregarded ,he principle of the Missouri compromise. and undertaken to enact A law which not only abrogses 1t, but in effect de stroys the equality of tho several States and the squsIity Of rights which beong to their respective eiuxens The bill reduces one. half of the State, and their citizens to condition of inferiority as o their political rights, under the constitution to the etbsr hall oi their lister States aud their citizens Inc equality of the States, as political comnu nj. ties. and the equality of rights Of their respective etlzsas. constitute Fundamental principle whicl, lies at Hue foundation Of our Federal Union. and without the distinct recognliou Of which it is well saowa The eoDf.dsracy could never have beeu
 The terrioria! possessions acqui ed by the treaty si peace with Mexico were purchased by the com mon Mood and treasure of citizens of all the State. --s'ase-hoIding and non slave holding h belong. equally and alike to ali the States and the citizen, si A'' ths States have equal rights in it. To exciuds the citizens of the slave holding States from inc jcymeas oi equal rights in it with the citizens of the hen-siave-holding States, for no other reason tau that slavery sxisis in the former aud that h. latte, possesses the majority of the populstiou of the Union aad ths majority of the representation in Congress would be 10 infict vital wound upon he cous,i. tsaen itself, and to destroy the whole frame and d. s'gn of the confederation. of which all the State. under the constitution are equal members Sursiy there can be DO adequate motive for any lover e onf glorious Union to press this delicate question e an extreme point. by which lhe blessings of liberty may be put in jeopardy or lost forever h was be cause Of my deep conviction of the value of ura serving our Federal Union in all its psrts, that ~as willing ia sigaing the Oregon bili. to give up originsl opasns snd yield 10 an established coui promise