The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1850-08-05
No. ~.

spectacle to the American citizen, who had been
taught to regard the sanctity and purity Of the
|ballot-box, as the great palladium OF his liber-
ties, and the elective franchise, as the dearest OF
all his rights.
/ The forcigner-unacquante with our free
institutions--has thus given organic law to a
vast area of country, to be occupied hereafter by
millions Of our own citizens. A large majority
Of the voters there, at the late elections, were
| of this cass--foreigners- have no doubt.
Against our own citizens, who have gone from
the States, have nothing to say. know some
of them to be men of talents, intelligence, and
the highest responsibility and have no doubt,
that such is the general character Of the American
population there. But do utterly deny, sir,
that the foreigner--Mexican if you Flease-oc-
cupying this territory, had the right to exclude,
| by his vote, my constituents from territory nc
CURED, in part, by their vaor, and baptized with
their blood This principle i cannot sanction
by the admission Of California. The whole pro-
ceeding is an act of the grossest injustice Let
her be remanded. Let territorial Government
be. established ana, atter undergoing proper
territorial pupilage, apply for admission, as
all other States have done before her. This
should be done to give our own citizens an OPP
portunity of going and setting there, and to as
certain what number of foreigners are there, and
at the proper time to confer the rights of citizen
ship on them. (The treaty makes citizens of
no one. 1t is matter left entirely to the dis
erection of Congress to say, when the rights of
citizenship shall be conferred on then.) A
large portion of the population now there, does
not intend to remain, and has no permanent in
terest in the country or its institutions Some
have gone on tour of observation, others to
gather gold for season, and then leave. | am
for the permanent citizen of the territory--the
man whose home family, and interests are there
establishing the institutions Of the country.
| Upon the great principles which lie at the very
foundation of this Government, this right must
be conceded to him, and not to the sojourning
foreigner. .ay f t.., @
Mr.. Chairman, ! do not belong to that little
party known as Native Americans" i dsclam
all hostility to the foreign population in this
country. entertain kindly feelings for them
am proud to see them coming to this land of
civil and religious liberty, where their condition
must be ameliorated, their happiness promoted,
and their moral and intellectual standard eleva-
ted-where they will no longer feel the CALLING
expressions Of the Old World Would to God
that more of the brave, but unfortunate Hunga-
rians were here Our Government has always
been an asylum for the oppressed and down
trodden of every nation. 1t is to the political
what the sun is to the natural world-the great
centre and source of light and heat. But in car
rying out this humane policy, let us not forget
or depart from the conditions imposed by the safe
ty of our own institutions. Those conditions are
founded in wise policy, and are of long stand
| ing. j allude to our naturalization laws. This
code cannot be repealed without endangering
our institutions 1t should not be suspended,
even, unless in a case Of adequate emergency.
No such emerge ncy exists in California. Let
her foreign population, therefore, wait with
timely patience, until they are entitled under
this code TO vote. ...... ...... .,.. : ..
Mr.. Chairman, much has been said about the
devotion of the North to the Union. Something
has been said about the disloyalty Of the South
| Let us see how this question stands between the
two sections We assert our right to enter the
territories with our slaves; the North denies it.
The North says Congress has the power to ex-
clude us; the South denies it. How is this is
sue, thus Joined between the two great sections,
to be determined! We have proposed to divide
this common property, by extending the Mis-
souri, compromise line of 80. 80 to the Pacific.
The North rejected this ofier--an offer that the
South ought never to have made. The South
| then proposed that, as it was purely COnsttu-
tional question, to submit this issue to the SUI
judicial tribunal known to this Governments
The North Indignantly rejected this offer. Meth
or mode could have done injustice to the North
either might have done injustice to the South.
Which section, then, permit me to ask, has shown
a willingness to settle these questions, and pre-
serve the Union? BY these offers, the South
proposed to make heavy sacrifices; and the
North, by rejecting them declined making any
for its preservation. The South has shown its
faith by its works She has exhausted the cup
Of forbearance, and stands acquitted before the
enlightened nations of the globe, and justified
in the eye of Heaven. Her rights she is now
firmly resolved, think sir, to demand and have
-peaceably, constitutionally, if she can but
forcibly, if driven to such course If disunion
should be the result the responsibility and con-
sequences are with the North. The South will
go into convention, and | have no doubt but that
every Southern State will be represented there
She would be untrue to herself, and untrue to
her past history, to do otherwise than determine
on course of resistance to these measures of
aggression. The North has the power to SUPER
sede the necessity of even holding this conven-
ton. She has the numerical strengtll-the ma
jority-and can settle these questions at any
time. Upon her. the whole responsibility rests
! Why is this unendng war made upon the in
stitutions of the South-this unholy crusade
What have been her shortcomings, her derelic-
ton, her high offending! She holds in bondage
three millions of slaves, we are told, who should
be free. That their condition is better now
than it would be, if they were manumitted,
think is susceptible Of demonstration. The free
negroes Of the Northern States are in an nfn-
ltely worse condition, than the slaves of the
South A portion of the white population in
those States, would be proud of the comforts
of 40 horn M orf NJ fbo
race upon the face of the globe, enjoying free
dom, is so well supplied with the necessarics
and comforts of life so happy, so intelligent, so
elevated in morals, as the slaves of the South.
Why, is this so, sir? Because he is in his
natural--bis proper condition; one that is adj
vantageous to his master, and a great blessing
to him. 1t is, therefore, for this act of humanity
on the part of the Southern States, in elevating
three millions of slaves far above their race
upon any part of the habitable globe, that they
are arraigncd by the North, and the overthrow
L A a. Al