The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1850-09-14

upon the admission Of California, he wsr'd J q
known th.t psosssssd aayssif rs6dy, ~ hras
could, TO harmonic the difficulties arising out Of
i the acquisition Of this Territory and TO do any-
thing that Il conld do with spsopey regard To NV
constitutional obligations. l went so far and
would have agreed ito avoid delay, to admit Cal
ifornia upon the proclamation OF the President,
/ II the constitution could have been returned and
under proper action upon it. y.4 zT
Mr. CLAY. Prior to yesterday, SIR CaIifor-
MA was State de Jacf0 out Of the Union. Upon
the appreciation by the President of the United
States of the bill for her admission into the Union
she became, and now in, one OF the States of the
Union, having equally all the privileges which be-
long to any State in the Union. Among these
privileges Is that Of being represented upon this
floor by two senator's She has presented TO her
senator's regular credentials Of their elections and
as she has the same privilege with Kentucky,
/ Georgia, or any other State, / do not see upon
what ground we can treat her differently or make
any reference Of these credentials which would
4 not be made in the case Of any other State. If
do, she does not in all respects whatever stand
upon that equal footing which the Constitution has
| assigned to her.
! Mr.. DAVIS, Of Mississippi Mr. President.
do not consider the State Of California as HAVING
| been State out of the Union, but that it was
territory of the United Statesa territory obtained
/ by conquest and purchase, over which the United
States had full authority bat over which Con-
gress fail to exercise that authority from consid-
| eratons which believe to be discreditabe To the
Government Itself. TWAS this failure Of the Gov
eminent to take charge OF the territory which
constituted the best argument for the action Cali
fornia themselves California became State by
the action of Congress, and by the action Of the
President In approving the bill which Congress
had passed II was not State before. The Con-
stituton provides that senator's shall be elected by
the legislature of State If there was no State,
there could be no Legislature of a State. do not
| propose to go into an argument upon this subject
l only move the reference to the committee which
is best capable of judging OF constitutional ques-
tons. do not believe that committee would
have detained us more than one or two DAVIS I
seek for no delay. wished the question fairly
| presented, and l thought that mode was best
adapted for reaching tharesult.
am one OF those who opposed the admission
of CALIFORNIA;; l am one of those who sought to
restrict her boundaries; am not one ofthose who
entered into any compact that would admit afor-
MIA with reduced boundaries consid cred the defect
| IN the whole proceeding inherent and RADICAL and
would have objected to it under any reduction Of
territory. am one Of those who were by their
legislatures instructed to resist the admission of
California by all honorable and constitutional
means. This Is taken as an incidentto State ex-
istence prior to the admission of California: and
this is the ground taken by the Senator from Ken
lucky. If, then, am here under instructions by
all constitutional means to resist the admission of
California State, am here necessarily in
structed to oppose everything which is an incident
to the assertion of State existence prior to our nc
ton for admission. do not wish to be drawn
into any remarks upon this subject. Personal
considerations render me very reluctant to do so:
nor do wish to consume the time of the Senate
| by debate. The views | entertain upon this sub
jec. have been generally heretofore expressed. L
merely state now, without further remark, that
desire to refer the question to that committee which
we must suppose best qualified to give us informa-
ton to question Of constitutional law
| Mr.. DOUGLAS. / desire to state, in one in
slant, the grounds upon which base this cues
ton. California has been admitted into The Union
as State. BY the act of admission she becomes
State from the day of the adoption Of her con-
stitutioii, from the date Of her constitution the
doctrine of relation, known under the law, apply
| ing to 1.-THE doctrine that when an act is con-
sumniated, it becomes valid act from the begin
ming. 1t was upon that principle, and that only,
that the Michigan senator's were enabled to take
their seats here. 1t was upon that principle, and
that principle only, that the senators from In
diana first elected, enabled to take their seats
here. 1t was upon the principle of the doctrine of
relation only, that the two gentlemen now repre-
sentng the State of Texas upon this floor are now
eligible, they not having been for nine years cit-
zens of the United States at the time Of their eer-
ton. But when you annexed Texas to the Union
/ by the doctrine Of relation they, having been for
nine years citizens Of Texas, thereby became fer
nine years past citizens Of the United States. Il
was by this principle of relating back that you
cured the effect in the United States 1t was by
this principle of relating back that you cured the
defect IN the case Of Texas. 1t is BY the same
principle, which was precisely applicable, that
you cured the defect in the State Of Indiana.
It was precisely applicable to the case OF
| Michigan. Now here, California being State,
she was State from the time she made her con-
stituti0n. She has had a legislature from that
time, and all the acts Of that Legislature are valid
The admission relates back, and all the action
under that constitution is valid from the time it
was adopted That is the ground upon which
base my vote, and upon which ask that the sem
| tors be now sworn in. l'
| Mr.. FOOTE. have been instructed also 10
vote against the admission of California have
done so; have complied with my Instructions;
have obeyed Them to the letter. was not in
structed, after the admission of California had
| taken place, to oppose the admission or the sena-
tors elect upon the floor of the Senate. Therefore
present no such opposition. | am free to say
| that 1t would have been exceedingly disagreeable
to me, If not a duty impossible for me to perform
conscientlously, to obey such instructions, if had
received them. According to my Judgment, it
would be matter improper in itself, exceedingly
improper, with my views Of constitutional duty,
| to oppose the admission of senators upon this
floor from sovereign State Of the Union, so re-
cognsed and SO elected into the Confederacy. Such
| being my views of the matter, do not conceive
that this is question about which we ought to
hesitate or delay II is, therefore, that from the
| first objected to the reference.
| Mr.. BUTLER. Perhaps it is proper, as am
one Of the committee which this is referred that
should make a single remark. My opinion, so
far as regards the power of the people Of Califor-
mia to create themselves into. State, is well
known. do not believe that at the time this
body of men assumed to be legislature they had
the faculty of being a Legislature, because they
had not the previous assent of Congress- but they
were still in the territorial condition, not having
the faculty to act State without violating the
| Constitution. IA, arss
| The question being then taken upon the motion
submitted by MIR. DAVIS, of Mississippi,i 1T was
decided in the negative--yeas IL, nays 36--as
| follows: aA gsf-g sr trg.
YEAs-Messrs. Atchison, BarnwelI, Berrien,
Butler, Davis, of Mississippi, Hunter, Mason,
Morton, Pratt, Sebastian, Soule, and Turney--l2.
s--Messrs. Badger, Baldwin, Bell, Benton,
Bright, Cass, Chase, Clay, Davis, of Massachu-
sets, Dawson, Dayton, Dickinson, Dodge, of
Wisconsin, Dodge, of Iowa, Douglas, Downs,
Ewing, Felch, Foote, Greene, Hamlin, Jones,
King, Mangum, Norris, Phelps, Seward, Shields,
Smith, Spruance, Sturgeon, Underwood, Wales,
Walker, White, Whicomb, and Wnthrop--36
| Mr.. GwYN and Mr.. FREMoNr then appeared.