The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1850-05-22


ly determined upon the recommendation
contained in the message transmitted
by him to Congress, on the 2lst OF
January last, on the subject of California
and New Mexico. In doing SO, he had a
right to expect that the principle OF adj
justment therein recommended would COM
mend itself to the acceptance of very
large proportion of the people of the Uni
ted States, and that none would be so in
consistent as, regardless of their own pre-
vious formal committals on this subject, to
impute to him infdelity to the rights and
interests of either section of the country
because of such recommendation.
In addition to the considerations al
ready mentioned, it was well known that,
on repeated occasions, the House Of Rep
resentatives, by adopting the Wilmot pro-
viso, had indicated fixed purpose not to
permit the establishment, by Congress, of
territorial governments without that pro-
vso, and that similar result might rea-
sonably be expected, whenever an attempt
to establish such governments should be
made.
1t was under these circumstances that
the PRESIDENT, in anticipation of the
speedy formation of constitutions, prepar
atory to their admission into the Union as
States, by California and New Mexico,
transmitted his message TO Congress, in
January last, on the subject Of those Ter
ritories. In recommending the course he
did, he was actuated, he said, "princi-
pally by an earnest desire to afford to the
wisdom and patriotism of Congress the
opportunity of avoiding occasions Of bitter
and angry dissensions among the people
of the United States" He thought it was
his "duty to endeavor to put it into the
power Of Congress, by the admission Of
California and New Mexico as States, to
remove all occasion for the unnecessa-
ry agitation of the public mind" And
would not the adoption of the line of poll
cy recommended by him have the desired
effectl Is it not simple, practical, con-
stitutional, and perfectly unobjectionable
mode of settling the question whether or
not the introduction of slavery shall be
prohibited in the territory acquired from
Mexico, to refer it to the people of that
territory themselves, with whom alone
all acknowledge the right will exist to
decide the question, when they come to
form State constitutions, preparatory to
asking to be admitted into the Union as
States' Will it not, if adopted, effectu-
ally put stop to all agitation, in Con-
gress or out of it, on the subject of the
prohibition of the introduction of sla-
very into the territory; relieve Congress
from the necessity of bringing itself into
conflict with the passions, prejudices, and
opinions of either section of the Union, by
legislating on the subject, and terminate
the sectional struggle which threatens the
harmony and perpetuity of the Union'
We are aware that objections are urged
against it in various quarters, and that
another plan is preferred by many. These
objections, we think, it will not be diff
cult to answer; and it appears to us its
friends and advocates will have it abund-
antly in their power to defend it success
fully against all assailants. The truth is,
considering the state of parties in Con-
gress and the weakness of human nature,
it is not at all likely that any mode of
adjustment which the PRESIDENT could
have devised and recommended would
have been readily, and with any thing like
unanimity, adopted. 1t may even admit
of doubt, whether, if he had proposed
the Compromise now under discussion
in the Senate, exactly as il is, it would
have met with the support Of all who
now advocate that plan of adjustment.
If any better plan, therefore, than the one
proposed by him be devised and adopted,
most unquestionably he will be entitled to
the credit Of it.