The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1850-07-26

uSent meeting OF the citizens VI INC County AIN
city of Montgomery, Ala. assembled at the court
house, to ratify and approve the action of tn,
Nashville Convention.
Mr.. Thomas L. Brothers moved that Col. II
M. Williams and John A, Elmore, Esq, be re
quested TO preside over the meeting, which wa.
unanimously agreed to, and these gentlemer
having taken their seats, on motion, Adam G.
Fielder and Jefferson Noble, were appointed Sec
retares. eEfsf
The chair having stated the object of the meet
ing, Col. Seibels moved that the Hon. Georgs
Goldwhaite give an account of his stewardship a.
adelegate IN the late Nashville Convention, which
motion was carried, and Judge G. was loudly and
warmly called on TO take the stand, which he Inn
mediately did, and chained the attention Of thu
audience in speech of two hours, of which it il
but bare justice to say that in point of legal and
statesmanlike ability, il has been but seldom
equalled, and in point Of manly and stirring elo
quence rarely surpassed by any who have writer
or spoken on this vexed and now all-absorblns
slavery question, which sagitatng this broad and
giant land from its circumference to its very centre
He commenced by giving full account of the
formation Of the convention and its proceedings
He passed high encomium on the abilities
and patriotism of Judge Tucker, of Virginia
Langdon Cheves, the fayorite son Of South
Carolina, from the generation Of aformer age
around whose venerable brow clustered the
honors of more than half century's devotion
to the cause of his country, and upon whose head
had fallen the SHOWS of eighty winters, was there
TO lend to their councils the wisdom Of expert
ence and the dignity of age. Mississippi was
there represented by her learned Chief Justice and
other distinguished citizens, as firm in the cOun
ellis as they had been gallant in the field and
so on Of the rest He traced the unjust and un
constitutional action Of the North from the ord
nance of 1857 down to the present time-their en-
tire faithessness in observing the constitution as
well as the Legislative compromises which they
forced upon the South--the associated and afia-
ted abolition presses and societies, all intended to
effect one common object, the overthrow of slavery
in the States. Urged on by blind and bigoted
hnaticism, they claim dignity and religion
higher and purer than that Of Christ, and politi
cal conscience above the Constitution. All this
they claim for the purpose of supporting those in
surrectionary movements, which will spare neither
helpless infancy nor hoary age. e
The Missouri Compromise was offered in the
Convention an extreme concession-this had
been in effect rejected by the Senate of the United
States, which offered only another indication and
an additional proof Of the urgent necessity for
prompt and efficient Southern organizations.
II was the fashion of late to depreciate the
wealth Of the South. This was great mistake;
he believed that under separate government they
would advance to degree of prosperity which it
would be impossible for us to attain under the
existing government He had ever been inn
pressed with the dangers and disasters likely to
attend the sudden and violent disruption Of gov
ernments, and the recent revolutions in Europe
had impressed these considerations more firmly
upon his mind. He was now and ever had been
attached to a constitutional union Of these States,
but there were far greater evils than disunon and
am no disuniost for the sake of disuno,a, but If
the assertion ~ oar rights brings disunor, then let II
come. This was the closing sentence of the
speech, and the house came down with storm
tn ha frua
timents Of the speaker. We do not pretend to give
sketch of the substance or language Of the above
address, but desire to convey to all who may wish
to know, the tone and spirit with which Nash
vile delegate of this latitude speaks his const
tuents, and the manner in which it is received
Governor Bagby moved that committee Of
six, three from each of the political parties, be
appointed to draft resolutions for the adoption of
the meeting. The following gentlemen were ap-
pointed: Gov. Bagby, DR.. r. P. Ware, John M
Cheney, Thomas H. Watts, Esq, Judge Mays,
and Judge Bib.
jouned until clock, p. m.
At 3 o'clock, the meeting re-assembed, and
Gov. Bagby, as chairman of the committee, re-
ported the following resolutions, to wit:
/. Resolred, That we cordially and heartily APP
prove Of the resolutions adopted by the late Con-
vention held at Nashville.
2. Resolped, That the act of Congress providing
for the annexation of Texas, and the acceptance
by Texas of the terms proposed, gave to Texas,
as against the United States, the boundaries pre-
scribed by the Texas constitution-that the United
States but reserved the right to settle that boun-
dairy line with Mexico, and Mexico having by
treaty with the United States yielded that boun-
dairy, the benefit inures to Texas.
Judge Mays then moved the following resolu-
iions-the report of the minority committee-as a
substitute for the resolutions reported by the ma
jority, and spoke in their favor.
L. Resolped, That the Congress Of the United
States does not possess the power to exclude
slavery from any territory belonging to the United
States; but such territory is and ought to be
equally free and open to all the citizens of the
United States, without any prohibition or restric-
ton in regard to slaves, or any other description
of property recognized as such by the Constitu-
ton Of the United States
g. Resolped, That we admit the right of all free
men not owing allegiance to any form Of govern
ment, and owning the soil on which they live
to establish whatever form of government and
enact such laws as they may think best calculated
to promote their interest and happiness. But
while we admit this principle, we deny the right
of any number of inhabitants residing on territory
belonging to the United States, to establish therein
a political government without the previous sane
ton Of Congress. We deny the right of the peo-
pie inhablting the territory Of California at the
time they adopted their State Constitution, con-
sisting as they did of various nations, kindred,
colors and tongues, and mixture of all, to be
admitted as State into the Union, until they
were authorized by Congress to form territorial
government, and until the number and description
Of population, inhabiting said territory was ascer-
tanned by the authority Of the United States
3. Resolved, That while we concede to tho
Congress of the United States the constitutional
power to admit new States into the Union, we
insist that, like all the others contained in the
Federal Constitution, is a horsepower, delegated
to the General Government to be exercised by
them for the common benefit Of all the States, and
for the citizens thereof. And that to admit Cali
fornia with her assumed limits and present con-
stitution, would be destructive Of the rights of
nearly half the existing States Of the Union, as
well Of such States as may hereafter be formed
out of the other territory acquired from Mexico,
and for these reasons, ais well as Others a viola
ton of the Constitution of the United States
4. Resolved, That we are unalterably opposed
to the main provisions of the bill reported to the
Senate of the United States by their Committee
of Thirteen, and can never be induced to give our
assent to it; not only because it would be highly
inc xpedient and dangerous to the integrity Of the
States to admit her with her present limits, cover
ing as she does front Of seven hundred miles on
the coast Of the Pacific, to the exclusion of all