The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1850-12-30

properly W uis properly about two hfths Is
taken from the South, and she receives only one
ffth Of the expenditure. Thus ten millions are
taken annually, equal TO principal Of two hun.
dred millions from the South to encourage the
industry, enterprise, and capital of the North
aud BY taking from one and giving to the other
creating difference Of four hundred millions il
favor Of the favored section. Such is the pre-
MUM offered TO population, enterprise, capital
and ambition TO desert one section for the other
The evils of taxation threatened BY British
power before the revolution, and which made
the revolution, were trivial in comparison with
this. And what Is the remedy Representa-
ton! Where one section is distinguishable by
geographical, social, and political differences
from another, what il representation worth fol-
the purposes of self protection, unless it be
equal in power TO the antagonist! What is the
power Of a fixed and hopeless minority! The
power Of talking only, and not always even
that.
Ii may be said that the expenditure here at
the seat OF Government, Is In the South, and
ought to be charged to her account Bnt this
is no longer central TO the South as it was origi.
nally. This city is practically ss near the North
as the South. The population invited here by
this expenditure, has no vote to Increase the
power of the South. The commodities con-
sumed here are more manufacturing and CON-
mercial than agricultural, and come therefore,
more from North than South. The office
holders are equally from the North as well as
the South, and destined in future to come more
from the North than the South, and return with
the residue, if any, Of their salaries to the North
And our diplomatic corps abroad will be, in fact
are already, more from the North than South.
1t will be said that all this is invidious-is
sectional. Ii is national to give the votes, to
appropriate lands and money to one section. 1t
is factious and sectional only to state the fact
and show the consequences.
We have said that the imposition of perma-
nent tax amounts to the appropriation Of as
much private property to Government as that
tax is the income of. A tax of five millions an
nually is therefore equivalent to the se4nestra-
ton Of hundred millions of private property.
The North henceforth controls the Government
is the Government, unrestrained in the taxing
power! With the power thus of appropriating
property BY vote, does any man Of sense be-
lieve that it will not be exercised at the expense
of minority odious for its institutions! Will
not fanaticism take unto itself mbtion, avarce,
NJ
and vanity-srven other devils-and will not
the last state of this Government be worse than
the first?
We hear men assert the utility Of party d.
visions rs conservative Of free government, and
yet denounce sectional divisions. What is the
difference! So far as one is sa!utary, so is the
other It has been the safety, the glory of our
system, that it was divided into States and sec
tons. 1t has been its peculiar good that it
was divided into North and Southland about
equally divided. We owe to that very division,
as the history of the country shows, almost all
that now remains of the Constitution. The
moment that Congress, at the late session. pros.
trated the power of one section, it inflicted
calamity greater infinitely greater, than the ex-
tinction of one of the great national parties !;
leaving the other without criticism and without
restraint For Predominant section is more
intolerant, proscriptive, aggressive, and destruc
tive, than a party-because the rulers and the
ruled are more distinctly divided in position, or
interest, and in sentiment and afford greater IA
cility for the operations Of tyranny.
The late acts of Congress- were the work of
one sectional party to destroy the other, and the
very conception, the announcement of such a
scheme as the {" adjustment ought to have ad.
monished every statesman and patriot of the
terrible fact, that sectionalism was already over
grown, and of the disastrous consequences of
giving it overwhelming and irresistible power,
by giving it such /" a settlement" as that.
Instead of that, party, political party, was i'm
mediately sacrificed to sectional aggression,
under pretence of nationality.
The evil is done. 1t will have to be undone,
or it will undo us.
sy"We Weld up large portion Of our space