Daily Richmond times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1849-1850, 1850-06-08

personally, would resign and forfeit public station
now and forever before would subject myself and my
constituents to the degradation and the snominy Of
sustaining such measure"
Mr.. Seddon's reasoning furnishes a good illus
tration of the inaccurate logic of gentlemen who
hold extreme opinions. He builds his whole ar
gument upon an assumption which is an error
That assumption is, that the South has pledged it
self to resist any practical exclusion OF slavery
from the Territories, as well as exclusion by act
of Congress- The application OF the assumption
is, that the South is as strongly committed to re-
sst the prohibition of slavery in California by the
act O. her people in forming State constitution,
as if it had been by law of the federal govern
ment. Now we deny that the mere f1ct of ex-
cluson was what the Southern States took their
stand against. twas against the principle, that
Congress could interfere with slavery in the
Territories, that the South united in making war.
The recollection of some well known facts will
fully sustain this position.
When the Mexican Territories were first ac-
quired, there was no expectation in the North or in
the South, that slavery could be proftably in
troduced into them. The opinion, that both Cali
fornia and New Mexico were unfit for negro abour
was so general, that Mr. Polk did not hesitate to
express it (and mostly with regard to California;
even so late as December, 1S4S, when, in his
fourth annual message, he used this language to
Congress:
"The question is believed to be rather abstract than
| practical whether slavery would exist in
any portion OF the acquired territory, if it
LETT to the opinion OF the slaveholdng States them
| selves. From the nature of the climate and produc-
TONS in much the larger portion Of 1t, ii as CERTAIN
1t could neDer eris and in the remainder the proba
blItles are, it would not"
This was said by Mr. Polk after the discovc ry
Of the gold in California, but before the great
gold-hunting emigration had commenced. Inthe
preceding part of the same message, he had in
formed Congress of the surprising reports then
recently received from Col. Mason and other off
GERS in California, and, although he did not anti
cipate the inference that slavery might be prota-
Bile wherever labour was very dear, he was al
ready aware of the fact that the first and most
remarkable effect of the gold operations was an
extraordinary enhancement of the value of la
bour. Wequote a sentence or two in point:
"1he effects produced by the discovery of these rich
mineral deposits, and the success which has attended
the labours OF those who have resorted to hem have
produced surprising change in the state OF affairs in
| California Labow commands a most erorbitant
price, and all other pursuits but that OF searching for
the precious metals has been abandoned. y u
This abundance Of gold and the all engrossng pursuit
OF have already caused in California unpreeedent
ed rise in the price OF all the necessares of life"
The progress of the gold finding operations in
California during the summer of 1S49 was what
first produced an impression in the South that
slave labour might be valuable in that Territory.
But, Congress having provided no government for
the people, they took measures, during the same
season, to organize government for themselves,
and the Monterey Convention, in September,
adopted the form of State constitution now be-
fore Congress, containing a restriction against
slavery. tits not entirely pertinent to our present
purpose to offer an explanation of this proceeding,
but we may say, briefly, that it was evidently the
result of the very cause which theoretically OPEN
ed the way for slavery. The enhancement of the
price of labour, which would have made slave la
bour highly remunerative had it been already at
hand, operated to prevent its introduction. The
gold, for very obvious reasons, caused a greater
rush from the Northern than from the Southern
: States. The emigrants were generally young,
J adventurous, and willing to labour with their own
hands. The great majority of them did not fail to
perceive that it might deprecate the value of their
own labour to permit slave labour to come into d.
rect competition with it, This conviction was
not confined to the emf rants from the Northern
States as was unquestionably proved by the I'M
animous vote of the Monterey Convention for the
provision of the State constitution interdcting
slavery; and we have some reason to know that
private persons, who went from the slave States,
with every prepossession in favour of slavery,
adopted the opinion that it would not conduce to
the welfare of California, and became opposed to its
admission Here, in our opinion, lies the true ex-
PLANTATION of the restriction incorporated in the Ca
lifornia constitution Mr.. Seddon's supposition,
that the delegates in the Convention were in
fuenced by the wishes of the President, is over
thrown by the fact that the body was composed al
most exclusively of Democrats. The influence
that really controlled the votes of such men as Mr.
G. t. Bolts, DR.. Gwin and others from Southern
States, was conviction of the decided wish of
their constituents.
Returning to the point on which we take issue
with Mr.. Seldom, we deny that he has authority
in the declarations of his own State for asserting
thath South is pledged to resist every haz I'd
and to the last extremity" every fundamentally
(other than Congressional interference) which
may effect the exclusion of slavery from the Ter
ritories. The question presented in the appca-
ton of California for admission as a State, was
distinctly before the country, when the late Legis-
lature of Virginia adopted its resolutions concern
ing the Wilmot Proviso and kindred subjects
These resolutions provide for the machinery of
State Convention and Southern Confederation to
resist the Wilmot Provso, Abolition in the Dis
trct, &C., but they contain no alIuson whatever
to the admission of California as a cause of Of
fence. The omission was not accidental for the
subject was mentioned in the debates, and Mr..
Ferguson, leading Democratic member, en-