The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1836-1851, 1850-04-12
.WAsalNeroN April 6, 1850.

nresented numerous petitions in. favor of giving
the rgrt of trial by jury to fugitive slaves, and
against the admission ofnew slave states, all
of which were regularly referred.
Mr.. Clay presented memorial from man
named Ralph Bulkley, who has invented a ma
chine for,extinguishing fires on board OF vessels,
asking that Congress will authorize experiments
with #. He also presented the memorial OF
Henry Grinnell, and other merchants OF New
York CITY. praying detachment Of sailors from
the naval service to aid in the expedition getunS
up in that city by the memoIlallst Tor the
discovery of Sir John Franklin. There cannot
be a doubt but that the request will be granted
unless some Senator shall raise constitutional
scruples, =, :,
MIR. Atchison, who was appointed to fill the
vacancy occasioned by the resignation OF Mr..
Benton as q member on the Committee on FOR.
eign Relations, was, on his motion excusea
from, serving. His reason was that his ousl'
ness as member of the Indian COMMITTEE does
NOT afford him sufficient leisure to attend TO
both
The Deficiency Bill from the House was re-
norted from the Finance Committee with Sun.
dry amendments, and the bill made the speciai
order for Monday next. 1t will probably pass
next week, the demand for the appropriations
being urgent. ;,
Robinson, the man who was imprsonedb by
the Senate, on the charge of threatmng to XII
Mr. Clay, having beset Senators most perse-
.,yeriugly for the last month, and holding over
their heads representations of the direst calaml'
ties. unless they did him justice, has at last sue.
scaaaed for this morning Mr., Dickinson offered
aresolution proposing to pay him forty dollars
as q remuneration. After some debate the
sum was increased to 800, and the resolution
adopted SO amended as to admit that ne was
imprisoned by mistake. What value there is
in perseyerence! A month ago, when Sena-
tors saw Robinson coming, they would en-
deavor to avoid him as a nuisance; but they
might as well have tried to avoided their own
shadows, for he stuck to them day after day,
worrying them at their boarding houses and in
the street, SO that they were at Last compelled
to snccomb.
The consideration of the motion of Mr.. Foote
to refer AIR. Bells Compromise Resolutions to
a Committee of thirteen was then resumed.
Mr.. Shields said he had been instructed to
vote for the Wilmot Proviso on every bill admit
ting new territory, and he would obey these
instructions, under the belief that Congress has
the power to. legislate on the subject. He was
in favor of the admission of California as State
and keeping that question distinct from all
others. He then went over the whole ground
Of controversy, but gave no original views. In
fact, this is now impossible, rs the subject is
exhausted.
MR. Mason, of Va. followed and declared that
the South would claim and maintain the con-
stitutional right of her citizens to go into any
of the new. territories with all their property -
Heargued that the admission of California, as
a separate and distinct measure, would be con.
siaered by the South, as determination on the
part Of the majority to deny the South any pro-
lection in the formation Of the territorial gov.
teernments And if California should be forced
into the Union against the appeal and protest OF
every representative from the Southern States
they would be forced to consider the Constltu-
ton as not worth the parchment on which 1t Is
written Under such circumstances the South
ern States would show as much alacrity in going
out of the Union as, they did in entering it
He denied that slavery is excluded by the law
of nature from the Territories, and contended
that but for this continued agitation, thousands
ofSouthern men would have gone to California
with their slaves. He showed that in the Cali
fornia Convention free negroes were excluded,
because it was known that if blacks were al
lowed to live there, slavery would come there
too, and that masters in consideration of the i'm.
mense value of the labor of their slaves would
enter into contracts to iberate them after one
or two years He also argued that the labor
of slave which in the Atlantic States would
not be worth more than $50 per year, would
in California, be worth five or six thousand dol
lars. In conclusion he advocated the considera.
tion of all the Territorial bills together, after
which California could be admitted without
difficulty.
After some brief remarks from Messrs. Un.
derwood and Butler, Mr. Clay expressed his
willingness to vote for any proposition tending
to peace and harmony. To those who desire
the speedy admission of California he would
say that the shortest way of attaining the object
was to include her in bill giving governments
to the Territories After further remarks, he
went on to say that he could not vote for the
pending amendment of Mr.. Benton to exclude
California in the motion of reference, and to
keep that as separate question.
Mr.. Benton said his reasons for moving to
keep the California question distinct from all
others were becoming stronger every day. He
would never consent that her admission should
be weighed as part Of a system of measures.
m II ,o,. aonsont thot tho admission of