The southern press., 1850-09-04

numbers or the strength or the Democratic q
Wing parties on the old issues, The nomina
ing. convention adopted resolutions which on th
one side endorsed and approved of the administrs
ton Of General TAYLOR andth Compromise bill d
the Committee of Thirteen the other was eauall
clear in denouncing that Administration, and Ell
pressing preference for. the Missouri Comprd
mise line as basis of settlement. The peopl
have passed upon the issue-they have give
judgment for Southern rights, and the work j
done. S'71s5 tiEgE satalt -.77s 10 "'." ..p "ts
know, sir, that opposition to this Texas bound
ary bill, or any one Of the class of measures in
eluded in what was called the adjustment, or Com
promise bill, so long before the Senate, has bee
described az indicative of our unwillingness
quiet agitation. That those who cannot approy
of any or all of The provisions OF that plan, are dc
nounced as disuniopists and disorganizers. lTh
charge is untrue, and can only be intended to cove
gross dereliction of duty to the South by thos
who make IT, am willing to pay that portion O
the debt OF Texas which was secured upon tn |
customs Of the Republic before annexation. pro
yided Texas shall sell to the United States land
for indemnity;--not part with the sovereignityI
and thus expose it to the Wilmot Proviso, but Sc
the land, as the United States owns land in all III
States within whose limits the lands lie. Th
remaining debt of Texas is land scrip, and she ha
land enough to pay it. Let, then, those who ar
so liberal in denunciations OF Southern gentlemen
who are resolved not to betray their constituents
unite to effect this desirable end, and they will
entitled to much higher consideration now and
hereafter than they can attain by misrepresentnM
the motives of others. Iwish this question sci
tied, but wish it settled right. A settlement
injurious to the South--which abandons thei
right, will only increase agitation and secure tn
condemnation ofthose who advise or effect'it.
For these, and many other reasons, Mr.. ChairS
man, cannot vote for the bill sent down by tn
Senate for the settlement of the boundary
Texas and the sale of her domain. What, sir $
vote ten millions for fifty thousand square miles
but ordinary lands! For fifteen millions we pur
chased the whole country from the Gulf of Mex
leo to Canada and Lake Superior, thence over tn &
Rocky Mountains to the Pacific ocean down tdS
the California line, including the Mississippi river
the noblest stream in the world "a domain largo
enough for thirty States of convenient size, ane
combining more of agricultural, mineral, and com
mercial wealth than any region on which the SUI
shines. For twelve millions, part now unraid
we epurchased all the territory from the Rio Grandd
to the Pacific, surface enough for ten States, ant
we are asked to pay ten millions to compose d
difficulty gotten up and festered by this Admins
traton against the settled policy Of the Admins
tration Of Mr.. Polk; and for WHAT To permit u
government, all of whose policy is frees soil, tt
extinguish one more hope that the South shal
ever increase her representation in the Senate,
exert her proper influence in the councils Of thu
Republic. Should this bill pass, along with the
appropriations now reported to the House, ant
claims likely to be passed and provided for by tn
treasury, we shall be compelled in one session I'd
appropriate more than seventy millions, in a time
Of peace-exceeding the appropriations when VIZ /
had fifty thousand troops in the field, with all tn,
incidental expenses of war; A large loan oi
issue of stock will be necessary; the existing deb \
largely increased, taxation rendered indispensable
Should vote for such prodigality, such waste
full disbursement Of public money, such a deb \
upon posterty, should expect, as would mos
iI,Ix tha tnIr sc
They are not so national as to consent that shout,
utterly disregard their interests their rights
They know that when an individual spends more
than his income, ruin is the result. They believe
the same thing true as to nations; and they are
right
1t has become SO common, Mr.. Chairman, tc
close speech on this floor with shout of glory
to the Union, that speech without some sucf
appendage, subjects member of this House to
injurious suspicious. 1t has been so often exalted
and described in all the figures of rhetoric, and the
decorations suggested by cultivated taste, that il
am at a loss 10 know how anything, either new i
interesting, or instructive, can be said heartily
concur in all that has been said about the Unionl
as means Of securing the good and great bless.
lngs enumerated in the preamble of the Constu.
ton. l honor and revere the memory of those
who framed the compact upon which this Confe.
deracy is formed | am admonished, however
by high senatorial authority, that it is not al
Government, and that we owe paramount allie
glance to that Government. dissent from suchI
an opinion, and the consequences which result
from its adoption. My allegiance is not due toll
this Government, but to the sovereign State oil
North Carolina. She commands me to obey this
Governmental cheerfuly acquiesce IN her COM
mands. The oath Of aegian which | took was)
to her and to her constitution. When that OATH
was framed so as to require me to maintain her1
constitution when not inconsistent with the Con-
stitution Of the United States, it was not intended
to acknowledge paramount allegiance due to anyI
above her own sovereign authority. 1t was thel
acknowledgment of that constitution as a conpactI
not with her citizens, but with sovereign sister,
States, which her good faith was pledged as al
sovereign to observe, and which she accordinglyI
commands her citizens to maintain. 1t was nots
allegiance, but obedience which she inculcated i
Sir, was not born citizen of the United States u
nor have ever been such in any other sense than
Constitution, that the citizens Of each State shall
be entitled to all privileges and immunites Of c:i
zens in the several States"
This is the grant by which my American cti-
zenship is recognized, and this, and this alone !
the sense in which any person can enjoy that
right. 1t would be asserting the absurdity of two
citizenships in one and the same individual, cotem
poraneous and yet distinct from each other. II
AM an American citizen because am a citizen
of North Carolina. That gives me equal rights
and immunites by compact, and it is 10 this thai,
North Carolina agreed when she came into The
Confederacy amongst the last. | will obey as
long as she shall require me to do so. To her
owe allegiance, to her bow as my sovereign.
When she in convention shall revoke the edict
which she adopted in convention, | shall owe my
allegiance still to her, and will adhere to her for
tunes and her decisions, whatever may be the con-
sequences to myself. North Carolina, with dig
nifty demands equal rights, according to the COM
pact. She has historical reputation in reference
to her determination to resist wrong and oppres-
sion. She was in advance Of the Old Thirteen at
least year before July, l776. She was the
last to come into this Union-she will not be the
first to go out She will, justice is awarded
but her people know that yielding to wrong, be-
cause power claims the right to infict it-that a
public notice that whatever may happen submis-
sion is intended. only provokes aggression and
secures degradation.
North Carolina asks for acts of justice, not
empty words; and whilst both here and in the Sen
ate she has heard that her rights, in common with
those Of the whole South, were dsregarded, do
not believe that mere honeyed words about her
grievances, ping up the agony, or the conse-
quences to flow from resistance, will influence the
determination Of her citizens. | caution gentle