The southern press., 1850-11-05

/
this brings me to make few remarks in relation
to that body and its action Few bodies have
been more abused and few more misunderstood.
IL has been held up TO the public gaze as an as
semblsge Of men congregated together for dis
union purposes Far from Tit was a conserya-
tive body Such take to have been the feelings
of large majority Of its members, though there
may possibly have been exceptions. 1t originated
as far as know, with the committee Of the Octo-
Der convention. believe it did, and that it was
designed not to destroy, but to preserve the Union
unimpared. II originated, as believed, from
such motives as have ascribed to the October
l Convention, and it was designed to consummate
the same object. Still it is looked to as having
| furnished more extended platform. Let us see
then, what that platform really is. And here
take the liberty TO say must look to the resou-
tions for it. They, it may be supposed, consti-
tute the solemn enactments Of the convention,
and contain the principles it intended TO promul-
gate. They were its substantive action, far as
it could act. The resolutions do not 60 further
than those of the Mississippi Convention on the
four great subjects embraced by our convention J,
perhaps they do not go as far. Resistance is not
spoken of or alluded to, except on one contingen-
cy--that is, if Congress should discriminate
against the right to take slaves into the territories
This seems to have been the only aggravation
! thought worthy cf resistance by the convention,
although it was a body organized to devise and
adopt some mode Of resistance to these aggres-
/ sions. We may fairly infer that nothing else was
! thought worthy Of resistance, or that It was con-
ItemPlated on any other contingency, or the con-
1 vention would have said so. The eleventh reso-
luton takes wider range than was taken by the
October convention, and proposes readiness to
acquiesce in the Missouri Compromise line ex-
tended to the Pacific ocean, and this is the only
one that touches the California question. This
seems geperally to have been construed laying
down an uItimatum, but cannot believe it was
so regarded or understood by the convention. i
did not so regard it, and am satisfied many others
did not. As such, / do not believe 1t would have
received the vote Of the convention. A particu-
lar solictude was felt on this subject by myself
and many others.
regarded the admission OF California as mere
question for Congress to determine, as did also
others. We were, therefore, unwilling to commit
ourselves in binding form to that line as an ult-
maiian. Indeed, the resolution itself virtually
had the power to admit all above that line as a
State, it must have had the same right below.
We certainly did not intend to bind the States to
resistance, even if we had had the power to do so
on question involving no constitutional principle
! 1t was regarded as mere proposition. We did
not mean either that Congress had power to es-
tablish compromise line on u is subject, but
merely that the people would acquiesce in that
line. With this understanding, approved the
resolutions, and approve them still. II was not to
be expected that they should conform in Ian
guage to the notions of every one. Minor objec-
tons were not sought for. The general desire
to have them free from objection in principle.
But it is said the address is the true platform. II
was not, nor can it be justlyso regarded. 1t is a
mere argumentto the Southern people on the prin-
ciples of the resolutions. The resolutions passed
unanimously; the address did not; it was violently
! opposed, and by no more than by myself.
But even that does not hold the position that the
admission Of California would violate the Consti-
tuition. In my opposition to il ! took the ground
that it did SO in argument at least, and for that
: al Il
was stopped by the gentleman who had intro
duced it and told that this was an unwarranted as
sumption. Itsmeaning was certainly understood ty
that gentleman. and it must be equally an assump-
ton in others to construe it. Thus is that those
who maintain that our constitutional rights have
been violated by the admission of California, can
not build on of the proceedings Of either Conven-
ton. They must look to other sources for au-
thority. By both, the question seems to have
been regarded as one of expediency. Nor can
the authority of the Convention. 1t neither pro-
posed or recommended any such thing. II pro-
posed compromise, and then left the question for
the people to deal with as they might think pro-
per, leaving every free to take his own course,
both as to the necessity and character ofthe reme-
dy. The compromise was proposed from an anx-
iety to obtain it, so that the alarming difficulties
might be settled on an enduring basis. To that
end | anxiously desired to see the South unite in
claiming to have the compromise, believing that
by uniting we could obtain it. But we could not
unite, and our division may have contributed to
, the defeat Of the measure. To those who desire
to see the discord between the two sections Of the
Union cease, it may yet be of regret that
: proposition was not adopted. The North may
regret it as well as the South. The Union is as
necess ;ry to them as to uS We may now ac-
quiesce, but agitation may and probably will again
go on, and we have often said we will not submit
to violation Of the guarantees of our compact.
i A compromise would have been better even than
1.-THE present measures--the whole South would
have been satisfed--as it is they are not. Every
true lover Of his country must desire to see peace
restored. -7@ " &s' yl.
!. Thenit appears, according to Judge SHARKEY,
| that the recent measures of Congress are pretty
much in accordance with the views of the Nash
vile Convention, the Mississippi Convention,
and Of himself-that there was great mistake
prevailing in the South and in the North as to
each others designs-that the Nashville Con-
J vention decided on nothing, made no ultimatum,
and only gave a little good advice, which the
North not only followed, but had no serious dis
position to do anything else. @
4 The Nashville Convention passed twenty
eight resolutions unanimously, and Judge SHAR-
KEY says he concurred in them all. When they
! were adopted, all the region acquired from Mex
leo was territory of the United States. The
first resolution declares that the citizens of
the several States have equal rights to migrate
pith their property to these territories" The
second resolution asserts that Congress has
no power to exclude from the territory any prop
erty lawfully held in the States of the Union,
and any act which may be passed by Congress
TO effect This result, is a plain violation of the
Constitution" The fifth resolution says, q that
the slaveholding States cannot and wiA not sub
mil to the enactment by Congress Of any la,o
imposing onerous conditions or restraints upon
the righks Of masters to remove with their prop,
erty into the territories of the United States
or to any la,o making Determinations in faror
ofthe proprietors Of other property against them"
III The eleventh resolufiop ia in tbasa yn ords