The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1850-11-25

| "
and the most valuable mines in the world and if
this great inventor be right, there are no rights or
domain reserved TO the United States for, accord
ing to him, they are sovereign people. is 1t not
monstrous, even In language, to hear such an as
semblage of persons these were, called people,
by which is meant State and to say that before
their admission into the Union, they could eXer-
else sovereignty over large portion of the con-
tinent'
California did not belong to them any more than
it did to the Grand Turk. Ii was conquered by
the people Of the United States, and coded to the
people of the United States in sovereignty. The
sovereignty thus ceded vested either in the
United States a consolidated body, in the
States collectively independent sovereigns. If
the former, the population of California could not
bulge an inch except under the authority OF the
Government Of the United States, which had all
the powers of an absolute sovereign over them.
IL the latter, then the like powers were vested In
the States, under whose acquiescence the Govern
ment Of the Union could control them, was
done in the case of Louisiana. If this Senator be
right as TO the power of the population, they could
have re-anneXed the territory to Mexico instead
Of the United States. Whynot According to
HIM they were not under the control OF the United
States or any other sovereign The true question
is was California fairly admitted into the Union
The negative ofthis proposition has, think, been
already abundantly proved. But | go on.
large portion of the small population Of the Terri
tory was decidedly opposed to the formation ola
State, and DESTROYS OF Territorial Government,
but they were senced by the grossest mlsrepre
sentations An agent Of the General Government
was sent to California to cooperate IN the esta-
bllshment of the State which should exclude slave
labor. He was q secret agent So far the peo-
pie of the Union, or the legislative power OF the
Union, was concerned. No one doubts what he
was sent there for, or what he did, notwthstand-
ing the arts with which the transaction was COW
cred. No trace Of his Instructions can be dlscov-
a1 all hat lao 10 thnf he DHR
the views of the President and his Cabinet and,
Notwithstanding all denals to sthe contrary, no
one doubts that his business was to adVence the
great work Of bringing this territory into the Unit
on as a non -saveholdlng State. Was not this
gross fraud upon the South In better times the
President and his ministers would have been I'M
peached for this gross abuse of power; and, II
ia stce had been done, would have been dismissed
from office To u the South into security or ac
quiescence, it was asserted with the utmost conf
dence in Congress, and by all the agents and pres
ofthe Freesoilers, that the South had no inter
est in the question, slave labor could notsbe en-
ployed in the territory Now this is an absolute
talsenood There is portion of the United
States in which slave labor could be useluIly
and probably employed. Mining is the proper
labor of slaves, and for that purpose, were they
have exs ted, they have been employed in all
countries and times.
Ga this point the slave owners would have
thought for themselves, and soon have dlsslpned
the and misrepresentation. But they were
met by another misrepresentation, which, think,
shall prove to have been equally false, by those
who had the power to make their opinion pro-
phetc; that slaves entering the territory would be,
by that act, enamel pated under the Mexican
laws, which alleged to be of force in the ter
ritory. By this assertion, coming from such
source, the slave owner intlmldated and be-
fore he had time to look about him, the con-
| trivance of free State estopped HIM. The
slaveholding States were thus deprived of vast ad
vantages which their slaves would have yielded
them. These advantages have been enjoyed by
all the vagabonds OF the world, and even by for
eign convcts. Now this opinion believe to have
| been untounded as that the territory was not
| fitted for slave labor.
The alleged law Of Mexico was declared by revo-
Iuonary and military governments, in which the
| people Of Mexico had no agency. The first act
simply declared that slavery was abolished With
| in very sho:t time after, Chis fact proving the
ephemeral unstable, and unauthortatve charoc-
! ter Of these governments,) under a new constu-
ton, it called, taking no notice of the first,
treating it as fit had never existed, it repeat
ed that slavery was abolished, and that the owners
i should he compensated for their property This
1 | compensation was equitable, and, think, in legal
constructions Il condition precedent, Of the per.
fOrmance of which there is not title of evidence
Can slavery then be said to have ceased in NeXi.
co; California distant territory, uncon-
nected with Mexico, Except, perhaps, ~ mira
|
for all the negroes in Mexico did not exceed six or
| eight thousand, and they were all in the ports OF
Vera Cruz and Acapulco, and the hot regions in
the vicinity Of the sea coast. Throughout MeXl-
co generally, it is said, negro was rs rare sight
as in London or Paris. Peonage there substituted
African slavery, and was, in itself and still is,
practically an abject state of slavery. The va
iidity Of such a law, under all circumstances, in
California itself, among the original popuaton
may he considered very doubtful. But, admitting
it to be n valid law, enacted by a Just, free, and
established government it could not be allowed
in conquered country, to contravene a great and
| fundamental institution of the conqueror.
| Such was slavery in the United States when Cal
ifornia was coded. When the union Of the States
was consummated, | believe there was but one
State in which slavery did not exist and in almost
every page Of the Constitution it is recognized and
guaranteed 1t is represented on the floor of the
House Of Representative 1t is taxed in the impo-
sltion of revenue. The restoration of slaves, as
property, is guaranteed. Unlike all other pro-
perty, it is made prominent and visible character
Of the State. Is it not then great and funda-
mental institution of the conqueror having no ref
erence to particular States or localities, but en-
bracing Massachusetts well as Louisiana? If
prejudice could be laid aside in the investigation,
would it not be admitted that it c0Hld no more be
affected by law Of the conquered country than
that which secures to all the people of the States
the freedom of their religious opinions? Now the
unreasonable laws Of Mexico would deny this
right, if they were obligatory in the coded terri
tory yet it would be deemed little short of insan
ity to assert such proposition. When the Con-
stitution rr the United States adopted (and
that is the era to which are to look, in seeking
the true meaning Of the Instrument the whole
civilized world recognized and protected this pro-
perty in all places and under all circumstances
where other property was protected. Ia decree
of the or Attest and ablest administrator and eX
FOUNDER of national law that the age produced
(Lord Stowell, better known as Sir William Sco,t,)
he says: ''Let me not be misunderstood mis-
! represented protested apologist for the prac-
,ce, 1.-The slave trade when state facts 'chich no
man deny, that personal slavery, arising out of
forcibe captivity, is coeval with the earliest pc
RODS of the history of mankind that it is found
existing (and far us appears without animal
version) in the earliest and most authentic records
of the human race that it is recognized by the
codes Of the most polished nations OF antiquity
that under the light Of Christianity itself, the posses
sion of persons so acquired has been, in every civ
iized country, invested with the character of pro
f perry, and secured such by all the protection o
q law that solemn treaties have been framed and
national monopoIes eagerly sought to facilitate
and extend the commerce in this asserted property
and all this with all the sanctions of law, public
. | and munCipal, and without any opposition excep