Southern sentinel. [volume] (Plaquemine, Parish of Iberville [La.]) 1848-1858, 1850-04-03

ing slavery northwest of the Ohio, has the
hand and seal of every Southern member in
Congress.
This was the state Of things, sir. and this the
state of opinion under which those two very
important matters were arranged, and those
two important things done; that is, the esab-
l;shmint of the constitution with 4 recognition
of slavery as it existed in the States, and the
establishment Of the ordinance prohibiting, to
the full extent Of all territory owned by the
United States, the Introduction Of slavery into
those territories. And here, sir, we may pause.
We NAV reflect for moment upon the entire
coincidence and concurrence of sentiment be-.
tween the North and the |outh npon this
question at the period Of tn' adoption of the
constitution. But opinions, sir, have chang
ed-.reatly changei--changed north and cham
ged south. Slavery is not s.,gardcd in the
south now as it was then. I see an honoroble
member of this body paying the honor OF lis
tening to my remarks; he brings to me, sir,
freshly and wildly the sentiments of his .,reat
ancestor, so much distinguished in his day and
generation, so worthy to be succeeded by so
worthy grandson, with all the sentiments he
expressed in the convention in Philadelphia up
on the same subject.
Here We may pause. There was unanlmlty
of sentiment, if not a general concurrence Of
sentiment, running through the whole commu-
nifty, and especially entertained by the eminent
men Of all portions Of the country in regard
to this subject. But soon change began at
the north and the south, and severance OF
opinion soon showed itself-the north growing
much more warm and strong against slavery,
and the south growing much more warm and
strong in its support. Sir, there is no genera
ton Of mankind whose opinions are not sub
ject to be Influenced by what appears to them
to be their present and emergent and ex'gent
interests. impute to the south no particular
ly interested view in the change which has
come over her. | npute to her no dishonest
view All that has happened has been natural.
1t has followed those causes which always influ-
ence the human mind and operate upon it
What, then, have beeu the causes which have
created so new feeling in favor Of slavery in
the south--which have changed the whole no.
menclature of the south on the subject--and
from being thought of and described in the
terms have mentioned and will not repeate 1t
has now become an institution, cherished in
stitution there; no evil, no scourge, but a great
religious, social, and moral blessing, as think
have heard it latterly described. l suppose
this sir, is owing to the sudden uprising and
rapid growth of the cotton plantations Of the
South. So far as any motive Of honor, justice,
and general judgement could act, it was the
cotton interest that gave lew desire to pro-
mote slavery, to spread it and to use its labor
again say that this is produced by the causes
which we must always expect to produce like
effect-their whole interests became connected
with it. If we look back to the history of the
commerce Of this country at the early comnlen-
cement of this Government what were our
| exports? Cotton was hardly, or but to a very
itaI vf< NFn fuhI llIlIS CHI
that the exports of cotton for the years 1890 and
nineteen were hardly more than forty or fifty
thousand dollars year. 1t has gone Oh in
creasng rapidly until it may now be, perhaps
in season of crest product and high prices,
hundred millions of dollars. Then there was
more of wax, more Of almost every thing ex-
ported from the south than Of cotton think
have heard it said, when Mr. Jefferson nego-
tiated the treaty of l794 with England, he did
not know that cotton was exported at all from
the United States; and have heard it said that
after the treaty which gave the United States
the right to carry their own commodities TO
England in their own ships, the custom house
in London refused to admit cotton upon an
allegation that it could not be TN American
production, there being, as they supposed, no
cotton raised in America. They would hard.
ly think so now! m3 240
Well, sir, we know what follows. The age
of cotton became golden age for our south =
ern brethren. 1t gratifed their desire for inn
provement and accumulation at the same time
that it excited it. The desire grew by what it
fed upon, and there soon came to be an eager.
ness for other territory, new area or new areas
for the cultivation Of the cotton crop, and mea-
sures were brought about, somewhat rapidly,
one after the other, under the lead of south
| ~ A.
having majority in both branches Of the Gov
, ernment, to accomplish their ends. The homo
rabIe member from south Carolina observed
. that there has been majority all along in IA
vor Of the North. IF that be true, sir. the
North acted either very literally and kindly, OF
very weakly, for they never exercised that ma
i. jorty FIVE times in the history of the Govern
. ment. Never. Whether they were out-gene.
raled, or whether it was owing to other causes
shall not stop to consider, but no man ac-
quainted with the history Of the country can
deny that the general lead in the politics of the
country for three-fourths of the period that has
elapsed since the adoption Of the constitution
has been southern ,lead.--In 1902, in pursuit
of the idea Of opening new cotton region, the
United States obtained a cession from Georgia
: of the whole Of her western territory, now
embracing the rich and growing State Of Ala
r bama. ..,.rst ls.f hs.ss d. .s
, In 1903 Louisiana was purchased from
| France, out of which the states of Louisiana,
! Arkansas and Missouri have been framed al
slaveholding states. In 1916 the eession Of Flor
ida was made, bringing another cession Of slave
J holding property and territory. Sir, the honora-
bic member from South Carolina thought he
saw in certain operations of the Government,
such as the manner of collecting the revenue
and the tendency of those measures to pro-
mote emigration into the country, what ac-
counts for the more rapid growth Of the north
, than the south. He thinks they were not the
. operation Of time, but of the system of Gov