Weekly national intelligencer., 1850-02-23

ways, and in every stage Of the question, again,
the admission Of another Slarehoidiag State int
the Federal Uaion." We have thus briefly state
the general character of the Resolutions, before ad
verting to the following concluding one:
, "Resoived, That the Governor be requested &
transmit a copy of these resolutions to the Cor
er7lor of each State in the onion, and also cop,
: TO each of our Senators and Representatives ii
l. Congress-
In the substance of these Resolutions, as in tha
Of the Vermont Resolutions on kindred subject
al an earlier period of the session, we find tn
fruitful cause of much (all that is reaD of th'
excitement which has within the last few month";
manifested itself in the Legislatures of the South
ern States the exemplifcation of practice repre-
hensible in itself, inconsistent with friendly inter
course, and justly offensive 10 those who are the
objects of it. 1t is idle preence that it is from
any motive ofcourtesy that copies ofsuch resolutions
as these are forwarded to the Governments of States
whose feelings, more than their interests they cal
culated deeply to wound: they can be so addressed
with other intention than to incense and irritate
those whose known opinions and convictions they
wlfully assa. The practice is, at best, an inyidi-
i Gus and ungenerous one, and ought TO be " re.
formed altogether" The States are, in all mat
ters Of opinion at least, sovereign and independent
of each other, and no one Of them has right to
invade $50 to speak) the domesticity of another
What does the reader suppose would be the conse-
quence, were one of the Governments OF Europe to
address such missive another with respect to its
peculiar institutions Suppose, for example, the
Government of France were to send its compliments
to the Government Of Russia with message that
the Emperor's holding of serfs or permitting them
to be held in his dominions was lin the language Of
the Vermont Resolution) crime against h,mani-
ty, or lin that of the Connecticut Resoves) a na-
tiond disgrace, &C., and demanding the abolition
of that feature of the Government. We lay out of
view, in this argument the truth or the falsity OF
such propositions. True or false, what answer
could Russia be expected to make to such propo-
sition but Declaration Of War, or war without
declaration And, in matters of internal govern
men, what more right has one of our States to ad-
dress such language to another, in matter of con-
stitutiona right, than one European Government
would have to do it 10 another Government on the
same continent, and not more remote or distinct
from it than the Government of Vermont is from
that of half Of the States on this continent! We
see but little difference in the two cases, unless that
insult and aggravation of one Of our States by an
other is the less jusfable, because every consider
alton Of relationship and comfy especially requires
Of them that they shall act with friendship and cour-
tesy TO one another
The Resolutions of Connecticut are indeed. in a
measure freed from the reproach Of grat,atous in
suit, which properly attaches to the transmission of
Resolutions to States to whom they are sure TO be
offensive by the fact Of their being in part at least,
in reply to Resolutions on the same subjects re-
ceived by the State of Connecticut from the States
of South Carolina Virginia, and Missouri; in send
ing which, by the way, 10 the Government of Con-
nectcut, those States become obnoxious themselves
to the same censure as they cast upon Northern
States for the same practice, with the exception,
however, that their Resolutions related TO matter
over which the States have common jurisdiction ;
that is to say, to legislative for the government
of the Territories of the United States. ,~:
The Resolutions of instruction 10 the Senators of
New York by the Legislature Of that State, which
have Just come to hand, are free from the deIibe-
rate ofiensiveness of those which we have Just been
speaking of; for they are not directed to be trans
mtted to other State Governments. They abstain
also from any attempt TO interfere with the Instu-
ton of Slavery in the District of Columbia, with
which no State i'll the Union has any right TO busy
ITSELF But their transmission TO Congress al this
moment appears to us 10 be unwise, if not often
sive, because, though in the form of Instructions to
their Senators, they obviously used only the
vehicle, at an unpropitious moment, Of sentiments
which they know are matter OF angry controversy
| in and out of Congress, and Of controversy of "A
character which the great State orNew York might
well have refraned from doing any thing to infame.
The Senators of that State both Of them gentle
men who have arrived at years OF discretion, and
might have been safely trusted TO discharge duties
which the Constitution con6des TO them, and over
their discharge ofwhch the Legislature ofNewl ors
can exercise no lawful control.
| As the growth of the Evil of the Day,
the morbid influence Of which is felt all around us
and in our most distant borders, has been more
stimulated by the extra-conslitutional acts OF the
State Legislatures TO which have been adver,ine
than by any other agency, we do not know that any
occur for us to denounce the whole doctrine OF the
Right of Instruction Senators, being lraugh viii
more ills than any other practice against the prln
cipes of the Government. When we protest agans
the right of a Stale Legislature to instruct Senate
of the United States, we utterly deny, OF course, h