The North-Carolina standard., 1850-03-13

10 W % tdken tnlS year, Wnlcn must d0o kIedy "
the decided prepondeance Of the North in the House
of Representatives and in the electoral college. The
prospect is. also, that great increase will be added
to its present in the Senate during the
period of the decade by the addition of new States
Two Territories, Oregon and Minnesota, are already
in progress, and strenuous efforts making to bring
in three additional States FROM the territory recently
conquered from Mexico which, if successful, will
add three other States in short time to the Northern
section, making five States; and increasing the pres.
ent 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 IN the
Southern section and no certainty that any additional
State will be added to it during the decade: Inc
prospect then is that the two sections in the Senate
should the efforts now made to exclude the South
from the newly-acquired Territories succeed, Will
stand, before the end of the decade, twenty Northern
States to fourteen Southern considering Delaware as
neutal) and forty Northern Senators to twenty.egh
Southern. This great increase of Senators, added to
the great increase of members of the House OF Rep
resentaves and the electoral college on the part OF
the North which must take place under tho next ae
cade, will effectuay and irretrevab!y destroy the
equilibrium which existed when the Government COM
menced.
Had this destruction been the operation OF time,
without the interference of Government, the South
would have had no reason to complain; but such was
the fact 1t was caused by the Legislation OF this
Government, which was appointed as the common
agent of all. The legislation by which it has been
effected may be cassed under three heads. The hrst
is, that series of acts by which the South has been
excluded from the common territory belonging 10 all
of the States, as the members of the Federal Union
and which have had the effect OF extending vastly e
portion allotted to the Northern section, and restrict
ing within limits the portion left the South
the consists in adopting system OF revenue and
disbursements, oy which an undue proportion OF the
burden Of taxation has been imposed upon the South,
and an undue proportion of its proceeds appropriated
<o tho nd tho Last n
by which the original character OF the Govern
ment has been radically changed. l propose to
bestow upon each of these, in the order they stand,
a few remarks, with the view of showing that 1t IS
owing to the action of this Government that the
whole powers of the system centered in sectional
majority.
The first of the series of acts by which the South
deprived of its due share of the territories, orig
mated with the Confederacy, which preceded the ex-
istence of this Government. 1t is to be found in the
provision of the ordinance of 1887 Its effect was to
exclude the South entirely from that vast and fertile
region which lies between the Ohio and the Missis-
sppi rivers, embracing FIVE States and one Ter
rory. The next of the series is the Missouri COM
promise, which excluded the South from that large
portion of Louisiana which lies north of 36o 3V ex-
cepting 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. what are called slave terrific
ries, and not free soils that is, territories belonging
of masters with their slaves. BY these several acts.
the South excluded 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 Territory of Louisiana lying south OF
$50 3O including the States of Louisiana and Arkan-
sas 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, makes
in The whole 2s3, ,5O3 square miles To this must be
added the territory acquired with Texas. II the
= a.. -
would make an increase of s25,52O, which would
make the whole left the South 6O9, ,O23 But large
part of Texas is still in contest between the two
sections. which leaves it 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 acquired
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.
If she should succeed, it will add to that from which
the South has already been excluded 5s6o7s square
miles, and would increase the whole which the North
has appropriated herself to ,O23, not incud-
ing 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 2,373O46 square miles Of territory, from
which the North will have excluded the South, If
she should succeed in monopolizing the newly-ac-
quired territories, from about three-ourhs of the
whole, leaving to the South but about one-fourth.
Such is the first and great cause that has destroy
ed the equilibrium between the two sections in the
Government.
The next is the system of revenue and disburse-
ments which has been adopted by the Government.
1t is well known that the Government has derived
its revenue mainly from duties on imports. shall
not undertake to show that such duties must neces-
sary fall mainly on the exporting States, and that
the South the great exporting portion OF the Un-
ion. has in reality paid vastly than her due pro-
portion of the revenue because l deem it unneces-
sary. as the subject has on so many occasions been
fully discussed. Nor shall l. for the same reason,
undertake to show that far greater portion OF the
has been dsbursed at the North than its due
share, and that the joint effect of these causes has
which, under an equal system of revenue and dis
bursemen,s, would not have been lost to her, 1t to
this be added, that many of the duties were imposed,
not for revenue but for protection that is, Intended
to put money, not in the treasury, but directly into
the pockets of the manufacturers, some conception
may be formed of the immense amount which, in the
long of sixty years. has been transferred from
South to North. There no data by which it can
be estimated with any certainty but 1t Is sale TO say
that it amounts to hundreds of millions of dollars.
Under the most moderate estimate, it would be sufi-
cient add greatly to the wealth of the North, and
thus greatly increase her population by attracting
emigration from all quarters to that section.
This, combined with the great primary cause, amp
ly explains why the North has acquired preponder-
ance over every department of the Government by
its disproportonae increase of population and States
The former, as has been shown, has increased in f-
ty years 100000 that of the South This in
crease of population during long period, is sat-
isfactory accounted for by the number of grants,
and the increase of their descendants, which have
been attracted to the Northern section from Europe
and the South, in consequence OF the advantages
derived from the causes assigned. 1t they had not
existed !; if the South had retained all the capital
which has been extracted from her by the fiscal ac
tion of tho Government and If II had not been