The Woodville Republican. [volume] (Woodville, Miss.) 1847-1853, 1850-11-26

portion Of the labor. row employed In their
growth. and thfeatning IN time over pfo-
dncii)n. Had these profitable and pefma-
q neat fields Of labor beca Ish open 10 us, al
nieagsld saca results. would haze been iofey-
- ,eld ssip.sd.
-. These samato Of pecuniafy Interest arc
AR aud Just They au founded upon the
=. INCL opinion OF almost every well informed
- person among Us, that had the Government
4. II justly, and left these territories free and
~ open TO the people 81 1.-THE slaveholding States,
Al X q reasonable time, a large portion OF
"a. puld have eventually CONS into the Union
d. a. slayeholding States. But deeply rs this
3easnrs may have affected cur pccuniary
~, %inleyssts, II is far more important when re.
: s, garde1 ia is political aspect. The sdmis-
slonpf California has furnished Cor all time
10 come, a most dangerous precedent Of Ex.
ecutive Interference. in the creation Of states.
BY its admission. il Is now conceded, that
the FIRST body Of adventurous who may chance
20 assemble onthe public domain, may usurp
absolute dominion over II. and appropriate
il 70 themselves, regardless Of the rights Of
The people OF the sovereign States OF this
Union. The precedent is now set that no
80 legal authority, civil organization, enumera.
"a ton Of inhabitants, qualifications of electors,
or other formalities are necessary TO consti-
(. Il tute a Siate. or to admit her into the Union,
provided the institution Of domestic slavery
be excluded.
We cannot see in this violent, hasty and
@1=Fpprecedented act Of ushering a State into
this Union, the purpose Of unsettling the
r. equilibrium between the slayeholding and
wv ncn-slavehoiding Statesi And how long
re will II be, before this monstrous precedenl
u Z will be fesorted to, 20 create and introduce
my other new States for the purpose of attaining
!, other nnti.slavery objects ! The whole
: Ivy character and structure OF our Government
~, has been changed by this act, and the pfin.
~ ciple admitted that new free States may be
created at Rbtuni. And how has this been
done | assert, by a most fragrant violation
not only of the principles of justice and
(6eqnality, but also by a breach Of the Con.
4stitutional compact between the States, !
mean to shy, that the act Of Congress ad.
uniting California, although not a question
equitable by the Judicial department, was
~ irregular, demonstrations and void, as to
altfit the other States.
The power granted TO Congress over the
~ territory, or other property belonging to the
- 'iiltU ClhltH, UtEtASdIny CAGluueA Tie rs
sumption that The right Of empire or Of SOY.
.t eseignty resides in the inhabitants Of the ter.
as ritory while such, because the authority del.
cgated TO Congress is utterly inconsistent
with the existence Of such sovereign power
in the Inhabitants. This right Of sovereign.
~ over the territory, not resting in the in.
habitants, under the Constitution, must re.
side in the States or the people ofthe several
States ofthe Confederacy. Their ownership
Of the soil. right Of eminent domain, and
sovereignty. are joint and equal.
The Constitution Of the United States
consers upon Congress the right to admit
into the Union, 'new States not territories,
and as they are to be admitted on an equal
footing with the original States, they must
be necessarily at the time of their admission
political communities, possessing all the
rights and attributes OF sovereignty. As the
inhabitants Of tho territories do not possess
sovereign power, there must be some act on
the part of the States, who do possess IL,
equivalent TO a grant, by which hat power,
before residing in the States, become vested
in the inhabitants of the territory. This act
must be performed by Congress, the consti.
tuted agent Of the States, and the power to
do il Is included in the delegation OF author.
ity to ''admit new States"
The act Of California, erecting herself into
a State, and assuming the attributes Of SOY.
ereignty, being without such authority, was
not predicated on her territorial relation to
the United States, nor by virtue Of authority
derived from the Constitution. Il was in
fact a revolution, a seizure Of sovereignty
and a con ~iscation Of the right Of soil, which
belonged to the States.
am aware that il is claimed, that as
Congress possesses the right to admit new
States, and as no specific limitations are
placed upon the exercise Of that power, they
may at option overlook any ~irregularity
which may have occurred in the preparation
for admission. But this right must necessa.
rily be governed and limited in its exercise,
by the spirit of the Constitution. The as.
sumption Of tho right Of Congress to admit
new States without limitation, and without
reference to other provisions Of the Consti.
tuition, would imply the power in Congress,
in the case of California, to give validity to
an act, which by the Constitution is not on
" irregular, but absolutely void. This in.
wolves a palpsble ahsurdity. The assump.
ton implies the ability on the part of Con.
gress, to adopt as their own, an act void aud
forbidden by the instrument, from which
they derive their whole power over the sub.
ject.
II seems. then, too evident to admit Of
dispute, that all the acts of California, the
assumption of sovereign power, the creation
ola State, the fixing OF her extensive boun.
daries, and the exclusion Of slavery there n,
ifvalid derive their validity solely from the
action OF Congress. Intact they are the acts
of Congress and, as Congress has no pow