The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1836-1851, 1850-07-09

But will this Government give Its sanction to
such usurpation? The question cannot be too
often asked, Whence came the sovereignty to
these people? Did it exist with the Mexicans,
Indians, and negroes, who lived upon our land!
Did the officers of the army possess it in their
own right? Could the President, without the
authority from Congress, confer it upon them {?
Did those who went there to speculate or dig
gold carry it with theml Those who remained
on the soil, after the treaty. could only be citi.
Of five years, by the law of Congress. The of.
fcers of the army were the mere agents of the
people of the United States, and could not as
such become sovereigns against the rights of
the States. The President has no right to con-
fer sovereignty on any one nor can it be said,
withtruth, that mere visitors in the country have
the right to make constitution for il, and claim
a domain equal in extent to one-half of Europe,
to the exclusion of the rights of one-half the
States of this Confederacy. But suppose there
were some persons there having such rights as
are here pretended, how many were necessary
to do this act? Was one sovereign! were
two! or one hundred or ten thousand? If any
of these numbers, when did the blood Of sover.
eighty begin to course their veins? These are
questions that never could be answered to the
satisfaction of corporal's guard in this House,
were it not that the southern man, with his
slaves, is to be prevented from going there
There is no sovereignty in this country, except
in the people of the States; and no agency OF
this Government can transfer it, except by linn
tied power Of attorney and am utterly oppos
ed to its being usurped either by the President,
aspirants for place, or the heterogeneous mass
that would assume it in California. Let them
60 back into a territorial condition, that the
land may be purged of the spurious voters who
might claim to be such, and her numbers ascer-
tained, not by the shipload, as counted by the
father of compromises in the other end of the
Capitol, who makes no deduction for all those
who return to their homes, or pursue their trade
upon the bosom of the sea, but the actual mum.
ber of American citizens Let her go back un-
til she may come into the Union as other ter
rtories have done.
This whole thing of the Sovereign State of
California" would look better in the pages Of
the Aral ian Nights than the archives Of this
body.
AS to the residue of the Territories | shall not
object to give them territorial governments, pro-
vided they conform to the principles of the Con.
stituton and rights of the States, but these
rights: in my Judgment, utterly forbid the inter-
ference Of this Government to exclude slavery
in any shape or form-under any name, or by
any proviso Of any president.making platform,
| utterly protest against the astounding pro-
viso, which may justly be called MIR. Clay's
proviso. lie, think, is entitled to a proviso;
though should not be willing to award him
more for the free.soi sentiment she has repeat
edly uttered. | have read some little Of con-
quests by Governments, but it has remained for
this age to discover 2 people conquerihg anoth-
or, obtaining their lands, and by the operation
destroying their own property by its touching
their soil, and compelled to abandon their own
religion and to adopt that of the conquered
Yet such is the result of the prevalence OF
the Mexican laws if they be Of force so as
to exclude slavery. Sir, these various shifts
are lamentable and disgusting in this bold
effort to cheat the South. Can any one
believe that the day after the treaty, Ameri-
can citizens could not be allowed in New Mexi-
co to worship their God in any other faith than
that OF the Roman Catholic. Can any one be-
lieve that American officers who had slaves
with them must have stood by and witnessed
their liberatioH9 Suppose the Mexicans with
a view of improving the physical powers OF
their citizens or for their better security in cross.
ing their cliffs and precipces had law pro-
hibiting the use of horses, would it be contend
ed that an American pow on the territory should
surrender his horse to such law and make his
journey on foot. Again suppose the territory
had been conquered shortly after the adoption
of the Federal Constitution, when every State
in the Union had slaves, could there be found
man so lost TO copmnon sense us to contend
that none could 20 with their slaves without ell
counterng their liberation9 | 90 not believe
it; nor do believe it would be SO cOntcnded
now, but for the influence of fabolilionism
As to the proposed compromise from the 9TH
or end ofthe Capitol: If its name was chang:
ed to that Of the ignoninions surrender OF the
South, and | were then to vote upon Its title,
should vote in favor of the change But
could not be induced to vote for any other
feature in the BILL am opposed to it, because
it proposes to admit California with all its enor-
mites am opposed to it, because it proposes
to purchase nearly one.third OF Texas ac-
knowledged by Mr.. Webster himself to be slave
territory with our own money, to become ul-
timatcly subject to some of the tangled
non-interventions or provisions of iree-soillsm.
am opposed to it, because the report OF the
co,nn,;ttna nynrpcSos tho % xi stence of the Mpy-