The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1850-08-05

Carolina ! |, Mississippi o, Louisiana 8, Teas
A, Tennessee II, Kentucky II, Ohio %, lndi-
ana II, Illinois 9, Michigan 5, Iowa a, Ms
souri 7 Wisconsin 4-2l6.
In the course of his remarks in support of the
resolution reported by the minority of the com
mittee, Mr.. YANcEY was interrupted by dele
gate from Pennsylvania, who desired to know
in what the views of General CAss differed
from the resolution reported by the minority of
the committee? Mr. Y. answered as follows:
81 will answer the delegate from Pennsylva-
MIA. Gen. CAss understand holds that, while
Congress cannot interfere with slavery in the
States or Territories, the inhabitants of Ter
ritory, while yet under a territorial govern
ment, may make such regulations as will eX-
clude slaves from being held in such Territory.
The minority of the committee hold" sc.
Here, it is worthy of remark, that when Mr..
YANcEY, thus pointedly called upon, stated
what he understood the views of General CAss
to be in regard to the right of the people
of Territory, while yet a Territory, to ex
clude slavery therefrom, no member of the CON
vention undertook to correct him! No friend
of General CAss-and he must have had some
in that body who perfectly understood his
views-rose in his place and said to Mr.. Y.
that he was mistaken, that he had ascrbed SEN
timents to General CAss which he did not en-
terrain, and the ascrption of which to him was
not warranted by any thing contained in the
Nicholson letter.
Furthermore: After Mr.. YANcEY had con-
cluded his remarks, Mr.. HILL, delegate from
Tennessee, inquired of him whether, by intro
ducing his resolution, she intended to deny the
right of the Territorial legislatures to regulate
slavery within their limits?'' Certainly"
was Mr.. Y.'s reply.
Do not these facts all go conclusively to
show, that the whole convention well under
stood General CAss to hold the doctrine that
the people Of the Territories acquired from
Mexico, while they were in a territorial condi-
ton, might lawfully, through the agency of
their Territorial Legislatures, exclude slavery
therefrom, and that SO understanding him, they
had nominated him for the Presidency-the
delegates from Virginia voting for him on every
ballot, although, but short time before, the
Virginia Democratic State Convention had pro
claimed that identical doctrine to be as ''inde-
feasible in principle and as dangerous in prac
lice" as the lpihnot proviso itself, and that
-'under no political necessity whatever" would
they vote for any man, either for President or
Vice President, who maintained it?
When the vote of North Carolina was called
on the resolution of the minority Of the com
" catI bo tod h,r
the delegation from that State to say, that they
believed the resolution of the majority Of the
committee covered the entire ground of non
interference with the rights of shareholders on
the part of Congress, either in the States or
Territories, and that therefore they voted eleven
nays" against the resolution Of the minority.
Then, Mr.. STRANGE and the North Carolina
delegation understood all the delegates from the
-slaveholding States who voted in favor of
the resolution reported by the majority of the
committee-and every man of them voted for
it-as pledging themselves and their constitu-
ents against The H7ilnot propisol For, he said,
he and the rest of the delegation from North
Carolina understood that resolution as denying
the power of Congress TO interfere with slavery
either in the Territories or in the States.
But did the delegates from the -slavehold-
inc States so understand the resolution Not
at all. They understood it as only denying the
power of Congress to interfere with slavery in
the States-which, in fact, was all that it did
deny And yet they sat by, and silently acqui-
esced in a construction placed on the resolution
by Southern delegates, which bound them, the
delegates from the non-slayeholding States, to
course of action they never for a moment in
tended TO pursue-a construction in which they
did not concur, and TO which they knew well
their constituents never could be brought TO
assent
This, at first blush, looks like an enormous
fraud practsed on the innocent, unsophisticated
Southern delegates by their dearly beloved
brethren Of the North. But if the charge Of
wilful deception be brought against the latter,
may they not urge, with some appearance Of
plausibility, that if the delegates from the South
icould insist upon stultifying themselves by pre-
tending 10 understand the resolution as deny
ing the constitutional power Of Congress to in
terfere with slavery in the Territories. when,
IN express terms. it limits the denial Of such
power on the part Of Congress to an interference
with slavery in the States, they the Northern del
egates, couldn't help III And may they not point
TO the resolution itself, and dare any Southern
man of the least pretensions to character and
intelligence to lay his hand on his heart and
say. if he can. that it does either directly. OF
by implication, deny the right of Congress 10
pass the provisol Upon the delegates from the
South, certainly, the chief Odum Of this scandal
Gus piece Of deception must rest for it was
their own constituents who were 10 be hum
bugged. and whom they subsequently did most
successfully humbug with that humbugging
resolution.
Throughout the canvass which followed. that
old resolution Of 1910 and the Nicholson letter
were held up to the people Of the South by the
whole tribe, with a very few exceptions, Of
Democratic speakers and writers, as being call
the law and the prophets" Of Southern rights
and interests in reference TO the slavery ques