The Charlotte journal. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1835-1851, 1850-03-20

YOU have heretofore exercised over the er-
! riloiiesl II not, how can you consistently
with your duty aud your oaths 10 support the
Constitution. give your assent to the admis
sion of California as State, under pieien.
ded Constitution and Government.
Again: can you believe that the ject Of
a Constitution which they have adopted, has
the least validity! Can you believe that
there is such a State in reality as the State
&c California No; there is no such State.
IL has no legal or constitutional existence. II
has no validity. and can have none, without
your sanction. How, then, can you admit II
as State, when, according to the provision
Of the Constitution, your power is limited TO
admitting new States. To be admitted, II
must be State, an existing State, indepen
dent of your sanction, before you can admit
ii. When you give your permission to the
Inhabitants Of Territory TO iorm Consiilu.
ton and Slate. the Constitution and State
hey form, derive their authority from the
people, and 10, from you. The State before
admitted is actually State. and does not be.
come 50 by the act of admission, as would DO
the case with Californis, should you admit
her contrary 10 constitutional provisions and
established usage heretofore.
The Senators on the other side OF tho
Chamber must permit me to make few re.
marks, in this connection, particularly appli
cable TO them, with the exception Of a few
Senators from the South, sitting on that side
of the Chamber. When the Oregon qucs.
lion was before this body, not two years since,
you took Qf mistake not) universally the
g,ound, that Congress had the sole and abso'
lutte power Of eslsla,ing for the Territories.
How then, can you now, after the short in.
,erval which has elapsed, abandon the ground
which you took, and thereby virtually ad
mi, thai the power Of legisla'ing, instead Of
being in Congress, is IL the inhabitants OF the
Territories! How can you justify aud sane.
ton by your votes, the acts o! The Executive,
which are in direct deroga,lon TO what you
csulended for But TO approach still near.
er TO the present, how can you, after condein.
ming, li,Ie more ,hana year since, the grounds
taken by the party which you defeated at the
las, election, wheel round and supper, by
your votes the grounds which, as Splaned
recently on this hoor BY the candidate Of the
party in the last election, are identical with
those on which The Executive has IN refer.
enco TO California! What are we TO under.
stand By all th. slus. we conclu1o tina,
there is no sincerity, no faith. in the acts and
declarations Of public men, and that all is
mere acting or hollow profession Or are
we to conclude that the exclusion Of the
South from the Territory acquired from Mex.
leo is an object Of 80 paramount character
in your estimation, that Right, Justice, Con
s,ltutou, and Consistency, must all yield,
when they stand in The way Of our exclusion 7
But. ii NAV be asked, aha, is to be done
with California, should she not be admitted J
lanswer, remand her back TO the Territorial
condition, ss was done IN the case OF Tonnes
see. in the curly stage Of the Government.
Congress. in her CAGE, had established u Ter.
rltouai Goyeinmen, in the usual fuIm, with
h Governor, Judges and other officers, ap.
pointed by the United States. She was en-.
iltled, under ,he deed of cessIon, TO be admit.
ted inln the Union as a State as soon as she
had sixty thousand inhabitants. The Ter.
iiiorial Goserumont, believing II had that
number, lo1k a census, by which it appeared
IL exceeded 1t. She then formed Censti,u.
ton, and applied for admission. Congress
refused TO admit her, on The ground that the
census should be taken by the Ublled States,
aud that Congress had not determined whe,h
er the Territory should be formed into one
or two States, as 1t was authorized to do un.
der The cession. She returned quietly to her
Territorial condition. An acl was passed to
take census By the Unitsd States, contain.
~, ia, I'll e.
one State. All afterwards was iegularIy con.
Quoted, and The Territory admitted as a
State IN due form. The irregularities in the
case ri California are Immeasufably CREATE,
aud of.r much stronger reasons Tor pursuing
tile same course. But, /. may be SAID Cal.
Ifornla may not submit. Thai Is not pfoba
bic but If she should not, when she refuses
IT w, hen be time for US 10 decide what is
10 be done.
Having now shown what cannot save the
Union, ] return % the question With which |
commenced: How can the Union be saved !
There is but one way by Which IL caa with
any certainty, aud tia, IS, BY full and Fl al
settlement, on the principle OF justice, OF all
The questions al issue bet aeea The two sec.
tons. The South asks for justice, simple
JIsiice, and less she ought mol 10 take. She
has no compromise to offer, but the Constr
tuition; and no concession or surrender TO
make. She has already surrendered so muc h
that she has h,lle left TO surrender. Such
settlement would 60 TO the root Of the evil,
aud remove all cause Of discomfort, by Sal.
istylng the South, she could remain honora.
bly, aud safely IN the Union, aud thereby res.
tore tho harmony aud ifaternaI feeling. be.
tween the sections, which existed anterior Ia
the Missouri agitation. Nothing else can
wiih any certainty, fiaaly and forever, settle
The questions at Issue, terminate agitation, and
y eavc Inn IIpi,u