The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1850-03-07


: IN estimating Federal Numbers, FIVE slaves coun
Uu' 'hree out II was too small to affect sensibly
'ne perfect equilibrium which with that excep.
uon, existed at the time. Such was the eauality
OF the TWO sections when the States composing
mem agreed to enter into Federal Union. Since
J greatly disturbed '''N
According to the last census the ,o,ro,o,o
population OF the United States amounted %
1908 317, Of which the Northern section con
! tanned 9,72s 900, and the Southern 733i a.
making difference in round numbers Of
2,400,000. The number Of States had increased
from sixteen 10 tweniy-six, making an addition o
ten States. In the mean time, the position o
Delaware had become doubtful as 20 which sec
ton she properly belonged Considering her a
neutral the Northern States will have thirteeI
} and the Southern States tweve-making differ
ence in the Senate Of two Senators in favor OF tn
former. According to the apportionment unde
the census Of 1870 there were 223 members O
the House Of Representatives. of whom the North
crn States had l3j. and the Southern States icon
sidering Delaware as neutral Shaking diff
ference in favor of the former in the House Of
Representatives OF Is. The difference in thu
Senate of two members added to this gives to tn,
North in the electoral college a majority Of 80
Since the census Of 1910, four States have beer
added TO the Union-Iowa Wisconsin, Florida
and Texas. They leave the difference in the Sen.
ate as IL stood when the census was taken; but
add two 10 the side Of the North in the House
making the present majority in the House in its
favor of 80, and in the electoral college Of 50.
The result of the whole is to give the Northern
section predominance in every department OF
the Government, and thereby concentrate in il
the two elements which constitute the Federal
7 &''"''' 's-ant s"'et"sj'y Of St@'eS - 80
iority of their population, estimated in Federal
numbers. Whatever section concentrates the
two in itself possesses the control o. the entire
| Government
But We are just at the close of the sixth de-
csde, and the commencement Of the seventh. The
census is TO be taken this year, which must add
greatly to the decided preponderance Of the
! North in the House Of Representatives and in
the electoral college The prospect ia also that
great increase will beaded to its present prepou-
derance in the Senate during the period of the de-
cade 10y the addition of new States Two Terri
tories, Oregon and Minnesota, are already in
! progress and strenuous efforts are making to
bring in three additional States from the territory
recently conquered from Mexico which if sue
cessful will add three other States in short time
TO the Northern section, making five States; and
increasing the present number of its States from
fifteen to twenty, and of its Senators from thirty
TO forty. On the contrary there is not single
Territory in progress in the Southern section,
and no certainty that any additional State will
| be added TO IL during the decade. The prospect,
then, is that the two sections in the Senate,
ShodfS the efforts now m ,de % exclude the South
from the newly-acquired Territories succeed. will
stand before the end of tbe Aecanc twenty-o
Northern States TO fourteen Southern, consider
log Delaware as neutrall and forty-two Northern
Senators to twenty-eght Southern. This great
increase of Senator'S added to the great increase
Of members of the House of Representatives and
electoral colleges on the part Of the North which
must take place under the next decade will eff
fectually and irretrevably destroy the equilibr-
um which existed when the Government COM
menced.
Had this destruction been the operation Of
time, without the interference of Government, the
South would have no reason to complain but
such was not the fact Ii was caused by the legis-
lation Of this Government, which was appointed
as the common agent of all, and charged with the
protection of the interests and security of all.
The legislation by which it has been effected may
be Chased under three heads: The first is that
series of acts by which the South has been exclu-
ded from the common territory belonging to all
of the States, az the members of the Federal
Union, and which have had the effect of extend
| ing vastly the portion allotted to the Northern
section, and restricting within narrow limits the
portion left the South the next consists in adopt
ing a system of revenue and disbursements by
which an undue proportion Of the burden Of tax
alton has been imposed upon the South, and an
undue proportion of its proceeds appropriated to
the North and the last is system Of political
measures by which the original character Of the
Government has been radically changed ! pro-
pose to bestow upon each Of these, in the order
they stand, few remarks, with the view OF show
ing tnst IL IL owing 10 the action OF TINS Govern-
ment that the equilibrium between the two sec.
tions has been destroyed and the whole powers
Of the system centred in sectional majority.
The first of the series of acts by which the
South was deprived Of its due share Of the Terri
tories originated with the Confederacy which
preceded the existence of this Government. Il il
to be foond in the provision Of the Ordinance OF
1887. Its effect was 10 exclude the South entire
ly from that vast and fertile region which lies be-
tween the Ohio and the Mississippi rivers now
embracing five States and one Territory The
next of the series is the Missouri compromise,
which excluded the South from that large por-
ton of Louisiana which lies north Of 80 deg 30
min, excepting what is included in the State of
Missouri The last of the series excluded the
South from the whole Of the Oregon Territory
All these, in the slang of the day, were what are
called slave Territories, and not free soil that is
Territories belonging to slaveholding powers, and
open to the emigration of masters with their
slaves. By these several acts, the South was ex-
cluded from ,23S 025 square miles, an extent Of
country considerably exceeding the entire valley
of the Mississippi.
To the South was left the portion of the Ter
ritory of Louisiana lying south Of $50 30 and the
portion north of it included in the State of Mis-
souri--the portion lying south Of 800 3O' incu.
ding the States Of Louisiana and Arkansas, and
the territory lying west of the latter and south of
$50 80 called the Indian country. These, with
the Territory of Florida, now the State, make the
whole 49,, 500 square miles. To this must be
added the territory acquired with Texas. II the
whole should be added to the Southern section IL
would make an increase of 325,520, which would
make the whole left TO the South G09,02 But
a large part of Texas Is still in contest between
the two sections, which leaves il uncertain what
will be the real extent OF the portion Of territory
that may be left to the South.
have not included the territory recently nc
qured by the treaty with Mexico. The North is
making the most strenuous efforts TO appropriate
the whole to herself by excluding the South from
every foot of it, II she should succeed, IL will add
TO that from which the South has already been
excluded 500 07s square miles, and would increase
the whole which the North has appropriated to
hersefto 7GI 023, not including the portion that
she may succeed in excluding us from in Texas
TO sum up the whole, the United States since
they declared their independence, have acquired
1919 OlG square miles Of territory, from which
the North will have exolofed-the South, il she
should succeed In monopolizng the newly acquired
Territories, about tbree-fourths OF the whole,
leaving TO the South but about ope-fourih
Oh - Al G--s --I t.u-s u".Su tnnt mas de. |
siroyed the equilibrium between the two sections
In the Government.
The next II the system Of revenue and dis
bursements which has been adopted by the Gov
eminent. u il well known that the Government
has derived it's revenue mainly from duties on
imports { shall not undertake to show that such
duties must necessarily fall mainly on the ex-
porting States, and that the South, Ms the great
exporting portion OF the Union, has in reality
paid vastly more than her due proportion OF the
revenue because | deem II unnecs ssary, as the
subject has on 30 many occasions been fully dis