The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1850-07-09
DAILY.

Irepealed, ana no assurance Wnatever Ii gwen
US that our property shall be secure there. The
very distinguished chairman of the committee
who reported this plan, has repeatedly declared
his belief that those territories are closed to the
admission Of slaves; and If so closed, must re-
main So In the report introducing these COM
promise propositions, it is stated that there
was never any occasion for it (the proyiso) to
accomplish the professed object with which it
was originally offered" And again: The pro-
viso is, as to all these regions in common, mere
abstraction" And, sir, really this view seems
to be carried out in the plan OF adjustment, so
far as it relates to the territories. In order to
maintain their property there, the South would
have, hrst, to meet the question OF the continu-
ed existence of Mexican laws. That being de-
cided in her fayor-if it should be, and | think
1t ought-then would arise the question wheth-
er slavery is the creature Of positive, munich
pal law. She would be told that there was no
positive law there tolerating slavery, and would
insist on her part that such law was not neces-
sary for its legal existence Surprising this
also to be decided in her favor, what comes
next! We have struggled through these diff
culties with much ado, and few slaves perhaps,
60 there. There is among many of the citi-
Gems strong anti-slavery prejudice. They en-
tice slaves away from their masters; they aid
| them in making their escape from the country;
they do thousand things to render the tenure
by which they are held insecure, and their value
worthless 1t is not theft, and under the clause
inserted in the territorial bills by the committee
no laws could be passed by the territorial leg
islature to punish these offences for it is pro-
hibited from passing any law in respect to At
rcan slavery" ""
| But let the amendment offered in the Senate,
giving such power to the territorial legisla-
lures pass. Then all these difficulties are sup
posed to have been met and vanquished, and
slaves are slowly getting into Mexico. What
then? Is the power of Congress exhausted
when she gives territorial government? By
no means. On the contrary, she has the power
to amend that territorial government whenever
she chooses, If she has the power now to pass
the Proviso, she will have it then; and looking
to the report of the committee, it may then with
apparent propriety bepassed The reason there
given for not passing it now is--not that it is
nconstitutional-not that it is unjust-but sim
ply that there is no occasion for it. If the only
reason for not passing the Proviso now is, that
it is not necessary, (and that is the one insisted
on,) of course if it were necessary it would be
right to pass it, and whenever it does become
necessary. Here, then, is an end to all our
hopes. But not content to give up all of the
territory from Mexico by the late treaty of Qua
dalupe Hidalgo, it goes further in its career of
about one-third of Texas which she already
has. . ",'
My view of the resolutions annexing Texas to
the United States is this: Texas was admitted
claiming certain boundaries; the United States
had no care how large they were, provided no
| injustice was done to other nations If Texas
had claimed to the Salt Lake. and no other ma
! ton had set up a counter-claim, she would have
been entitled to retain those boundaries. Mex
leo did set up cOunter-clam to a portion of the
territory claimed by Texas and the United
States representing Texas, had authority to
make concessions to Mexico in adjusting the
boundary with her. And here her power ceased;
she did not exercise that power, and consequent
| ly the claim of Texas remained just as if the
United States had not reserved any such author
| ity over her limits 1t was in effect contract
between the United States and Texas, stipula-
ting that Texas should have the territory she
claimed, unless upon particular condition some
of it should be given up. This condition, how
ever, never having happened the contract is left
absolute. But apart from all this, the annexa-
ton resolutions provide for territory in Texas
cuts her down to about 81 deg. 1t takes, in
deed, for New Mexico great deal of territory,
which was, by the maps, never included in that
| province while part of the Mexican Republic.
| Nor does it stop here in its career of adjust
ment; it contemplates adjusting away sum
supposed to be about fifteen millions Of dollars,
| of which the South must pay her share. To
this, then, we come. All the territory acquired
from Mexico is given up, and not content with
that, two States as large as Mississippi, out of
Texas south of SO deg 80 min., are given mp,
also and for this privilege of being thus feeced,
we are to pay our part of fifteen millions of
dollars. But the tale Of our wrongs is not yet
told We are also to permit the slave trade to
be abolished in the District Of Columbia, by al
lowing Congress to iberate slaves on certain
conditions The power to abolish slavery in
| the District would thereby be conceded utterly,
| because the condition is mere matter of within,
and can be varied at any time. ...''
AS to the fugitive slave bill, proposed as
part of this plan of adjustment, the best thing
that have heard said in its favor is, that It
leaves us still the law of '93, which we have all
along had. 1t does not take that away. If it
did, and left us solely to its own provisions, we
should be badly off indeed. And such is to be
the end of our State resolves, of our brave de-
clarations, and of our Nashville Conventions
Though said thousands of times before, never
were more applicable the words of Shakespeare,
"Oh most lame and impotent conclusion. !"
When the King of France, with forty thousand
men, marched up the hill and then marched
down again, he made creditable performance
"a brilliant maneuvre, indeed, compared to
what this would be. .s.t.. T."
NV objections to voting for the admission Of
California as State, under her present consti-
tuition, if not absolutely insuperable, are very
great. If the citizens of that territory, acting
by virtue of authority regularly granted, and in
pursuance of prescribed form, had made con-
stitution excluding slavery, we could but have
acquieseed. But this constitution is based upon
usurpation and revolution. At the ratification
of the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the sover-
eighty over this territory passed into the people
of the several States. They could have ceded
it, or any part of it, away again Immediately to
raise the money to be paid to Mexico. From
them that sovereignty could never pass except
by their consent given by their agents or by rev.
olution. Their consent has never been given /;
but ON the contrary has been refused, expressly
at the time when the last Congress refused to
pass bill to allow the people of California to
form State Constitution. II is, then, case of