The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1850-06-19
Presidency. He denies the constitutional power

the territorial legislatures, he believes further
that the territorial legislatures of New Mexico
and u tab will, if the power be conceded to them,
undoubtedly exercise il 50 as 10 exclude slavery;
and believing thus, he voted the other day
mise inhibiting the territorial legislatures
from admitting or excluding slavery Why,
if the power Of the territorial legislatures
10 admit or exclude slavery be recognised, as
General CAss thinks it ought; and if those leg
islatures will certainly exclude slavery, as
General CAss thinks they will; will not the
practical effect of that doctrine, when carried
out, be as much in contravention of the rights,
and as much opposed to what are alleged TO be
the vital interests of the South, as the enact
ment of the Wilmot proviso itself! Most unques-
tionably And yet, to measure emanating
from such sources, and urged along under such
auspices, the Union has the effrontery to call
upon the South To lend its support upon the
ground that if it fails, the South will scarcely
have an inch of land to expect" and that, by
and by, New Mexico and Utah will come
knocking at the door for admission into the
soil Senators to help the other Senators from
the n-slaveholding States TO ''crush the
South" Can open trickery and shameless inn
pudence go further2
In the same article in which this treacherous
appeal is made TO the South the Union speaks
of the compromise as ga system of honorable
adjustment" which, if adopted, is destined
to give ''peace to troubled land! :" 6 Hon
orable !" when the Union knoaos that, if the
grounds upon which it has called upon the
South to support it were believed to be true by
its Northern Democratic supporters in the
Senate, they would spurn and repudiate it!
" Peace to troubled land - when even now
is heard the din of preparation for a struggle at
the next elections between its supporters and
its opponents
How many Southern members of Congress
who support the measure, does the Union
suppose, will be without competitors at the
next elections who will charge them with
having surrendered the rights of the South?
How many Northern members of Congress
who support it, does the Union think, will be
allowed to walk over the track, without being
compelled to meet the charge, from formidable
competitors, of having basely abandoned ''the
cause of freedom?' And thus will this mea-
sure, which, we are told, is to ''give peace TO a
troubled land" open anew all the fountains of
bitterness, discord, and agitation in both sec
tons of the country, and cause the election Of
an increased number of members of the next
Congress from both sections who will be COM
mitted TO extreme opinions!
To the line of policy recommended by the
President no such objections be justly
urged, and from its adoption no such mischiev
GUS consequences can or will result. To the
principle of adjustment proposed by him--the
reference of the question to the people of the
Territories themselves, when they should come
to form State constitutions, preparatory to their
admission into the Union as States-no man of
any section or Of any party can be found to OBJ
ject. The wisdom of his further recommended
ton, that Congress should, in the mean time,
abstain from legislating the question, whe-
ther the introduction of slavery into the terrific
ries should or should not be prohibited, seeing
that il would be. Gin the end, certainly settled
by the silent effect of causes independent of
the action of Congress" was obvious at the
time, and has been demonstrated by what has
since occurred in that body. Ii was absolutely
certain that the causes" referred TO would ul-
tmaiely settle the question, independent of
the action of Congress-" Left thus TO be- set
tied, no pride Of opinion would have been
wounded; no just ground Of complaint could
have existed in either section Of the country.
In neither section could il have been urged,
that the interests Of the one had been sacrificed
by Congress Ia those of the other. Agitation
would have ceased in Congress and out Of
il. But, unfortunately. as we believe, for the
best interests Of the whole country. this recon-
mendation of the PRESIDENT was not acted
upon by Congress. Instead Of the simple. Elf
cacous. and practical course Of policy proposed
by him, grand scheme, called 1.-THE compro-
mise. !" was got up, which was TO do wonders.
Upon that scheme the Senate have been at
work for couple Of months-to say nothing Of
the time consumed in connecting t-altering
and mending il up from day 10 day Still. az
ter the months Of labor and care bestowed upon
it, the very difficulty which, from the beginning,
il was obvious would present itself, still stares
the authors Of the measure in the face. That
difficulty was. and is, 10 - form and fashion the
measure that its Northern supporters could 90
home and boast TO their constituents that they
had, in effect, provisoed New Mexico and Utah.
while its Southern supporters could 90 home
and proclaim to their constituents that they
had acquired for the South more "land' 10 stand
spon, and had succeeded in preventing New
Mexico and Utah from soon coming into the
Union, as free States, with four Of those wicked
"Free- soil Senators" to crush that section OF
the Unionl
This difficulty yet remains to be solved.