The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1850-03-11

1
Mr. CONRAD addressed .the committee as fol-
| lows:
Mr. CHAIRMAN: So many gentlemen have pre-
ceded me in this debate, and the discussion has
| taken so wide range, that do not rise with the
hope or expectation OF presenting any thing new to
| the consideration of the committee. But the ques-
ton before us is one in which my constituents fee
deeply interested, and consider il due both to
them and to myself to state as briefly as can the
| principles by which shall be guided.
| Before doing SO, however, must be permitted to
say that, in my opinion, the importance, not Of the
question ITSELF but Of the action OF Congress upon
| it, has been greatly exaggerated. Any one who
| would witness the heat and excitement that per-
vades this assembly whenever this subject is before
| it. would naturally conclude that the question,
whether slavery should or should not exist through
| out all time in that vast region OF country which
| we acquired from Mexico, would depend upon the
result of deliberations. But such Is not the
| fact Sir, there is law maker whose power is SUI
! preme-whose DEGREES cannot be controlled by hu-
| man enactments. That law maker is Nature. II,
from the of this country its climate its SOIL
its position, its productions, it is adapted to slavery,
slavery will assuredy find its way tbereany thing
we may say or do to the contrary notwithstand-
ing. IT, ON the contrary it be not adapted TO slave
| ry-if slaves would be Improbable there-then no
Legislation could permanently establish it. 1t must
be recollected that any laws We may enact In re-
gard to this Territory would become imperative as
| soon the country ceased to be under our con-
| troll, and that soon as State governments are
organized there, they would in this, as in all other
L
| own interests
Now, sir Il must candidly confess that have long
since come reluctantly to the conclusion, that ma
ture has decided this question against the South
| What is the general character of this country!
Why, sir, if the map of the world were spread be-
| fore you, doubt whether you could place your
| finger on spot of the habtable globe, where, in
equal extent of territory there is so small pro-
portion of FERTILE even cultvable soil. All ac-
counts concur in representing 1t as land cf rocks
and of deserts-of arid plains and snow capped
toonn ntan larp nrtlO 0f
| uninhabitable where the grizzly bear perlshes
with the cold, and the wolf with hunger, and the
remainder only be sparsely inhabited. A
country so remarkably deficient in water, so desti-
tute of animal and vegetable life, that the hardy
pioneer who attempts to traverse it is exposed at
every step to perish for want OF sustenance and
| water. In order to show that this picture Is not
overcharged, allow me to read brief extract from
a work prepared, believe, under the direction OF
the War Department, and published by order OF
Congress. mean the notes Of a military recon
noissance from fort Leavenworth, in Missouri, to
San Diego, in California, by Lieut.. Col. w H. EN-
ory. AT PIP. 9S and 80 of this work, we read the
| following passage:
"The country, from the Arkansas to this point,
more than 200 miles, in its adaptation to agrcul
ture has peculiarities which must forever stamp
itself upon the population which inhabits it. All Of
North Mexico, embracing New MEXICO Cmhua
hua Sonora and the CALIFORNIA; far north as the
Sacramento, are, far the best information
goes the same in the physical character OF its sur
face, and differ but little in climate or products
Il
heaven be relied upon TO any extent, for the cuti-
vaton of the SOIL The earth is destitute OF trees,
and in great part also Of any vegetation whatever.
"a few feeble streams flow in different directions
from the great mountains which in many places
traverse this region. These streams separated,
} sometimes by plains and sometimes by mountains,
without water and without vegetation and may be
called deserts, so far as they perform any useful
| part in the sustenance of animal life.
The cultivation of the earth is, therefore, con-
fined to those strips of land which are with,
4 IL. I'D gafEA and
wherever practised in a community with any sue
cess or TO any extent, involves degree OF subor-
dination and absolute obedience TO a chief repug-
nant TO the habits Of our people.
The chief who directs the time and the guam
tity of the precious irrigating water must be i'm
| plicitly obeyed by the whole community. depar-
ture from his orders, by the waste OF water or un-
Just distribution OF it, neglect 10 make the proper
| embankments, may cndanger the means OF sub
| sistence Of many people. lie must, therefore, be
armed with power TO punish promptly and imme-
| diately.
1.-The profits Of labor arc too inadequate for the
| existence Of negro slavery. Slavery, as practised
by the Mexicans, under tho form OF peonage, which
enables their master TO get the services OF the adult
while in the prime of LIE, without the obligation ol
rearing him in infancy, supporting him in old age
or maintaining his family, affords no data for csti-
mating the profits Of slave labor, as II exists IN the
| United States.
| "No one who has ever visited this country, and
who is acquainted with the character and value oi
slave labor in the United States, would ever think
Of bringing his own slaves here with any view to
profit much less would he purchase slaves for such
purpose. Their labor here, If they could be re-
tanned slaves, among poems, nearly OF their own
color, would repay the cost Of transportation,
much less the additional purchase money"
This, sir, is the opinion Of an intelligent and
scientific officer, formed upon personal observation
Of the country; and this opinion Is confirmed by all
have ever read or heard OF the country.
If this opinion be correct, II would be about as
easy to introduce the culture Of the cotton and
sugar plants on the parched plains and the snow
covered mountains Of this country, as permanently
to establish slavery there. For these reasons, from
the moment that The acquisition Of this territory
was first suggcsted-from the moment that the cry
"of indemnity for the past and security for the ia.
ture' first went forth from the White House, and
was caught up and re-ecboed as war-cry, by a
powerful party in this country, | was satisfied
that this "indemnity'' would be no indernnity-this
"security" any thing but a security TO the South;
and said then, have ever since said, and say
now, that would willingly give Mexico twice as
much 20 take back the country as II coet US. Even
| the discovery of the gold region in California did
not reconcile 10 the acquisition; for experience
has shown. that IL matters little who owns the soil
| that contains the precious metals, or by whose
hands they are cxcavated, as they will ultimately
find their way where the rolling tide Of com
merce carries them. In fact, the history Of Spain,
when She possessed nearly all the gold and silver
mines in the world, and in more modern times, Of
| Mexico herself prove that the country that owns
the mines often gets the smallest portion OF their
products.
The only portion Of this territory that did
need, was an harbor two the Pacific, which
| might have been purchased at trifiing cost and
| the government of which would not have exposed
| the country 10 all the agitation and excitement
which this question has produced.
| But we arc told by gentlemen from the North, as
an excuse for the pertinacity with which they adj
here 20 their purpose, that great principle s in
volvcd in the question. True, sir, there is princ
pic involved in it-an important principle, but II is
a principle in the preservation of which the South
is more directly interested than the North That
principle s the absolute exemption Of the subject of
slavery in all its bearings and under all circum-
! stances, from the control Of the General Govern
ment--s principle the rigid maintenance of which
s indispensable 20 the security of the South and 60
the harmony Of the Union. All that is demanded
| by the Sosth Is, that this principle should remain
| invioate. We do not ask that Congress should 80
legislate to force slavery into this territory invid
naf,rd, and against the wishes Of its inhabitants
All that ask, all that insist on, Is, that you
should not nterpose your authority TO prevent sls
very from being introduced into the county, or TO
abolish il, IT, as some suppose. il already exists
there. Is there any thing unjust or unreasonable
in this demand,
Mr.. Chairman, l. for one, deny that Congress has