The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1850-07-08
Vol. Il.

his conntrymen. shall secure, viii frown upon
the first effort to mar the harmony and destroy
the confidence Of his countrymen in each other.
His reward wll be richs it viii be the gratitude
CT nasterity. trust, sir, that the Oregon bill
! will be passed; thai itwinii not be delayed by
this unnecessary proviso; that thenry Of dis
tress which reaches us from the nliseries OF sa-
wage warfare, may be forever hushed, BY send
ing promptly a territorial government and NIL
| itary force to their immediate relief
I Ihave said thus much, sir In passing, in rela-
tionto the Missouri Compromise and lbs legiti-
mate results, MS rendering one platform oriwhich
we all can stand, both North and South: the
South, indeed, shorn of some Of her privileges,
but willing TO concede them for tranquility and
rcpose yielding, but with a ptoiestar,do; acqui-
escingin, but not approving, the means, or &c
knowledging the right to enact it. But sir, the
Iconsummation Of peace with Mexico, (Which,
suppose, may NOW be considered a fixed fact,)
presents this question in an interesting and
practical position before us, involving most I'M
portant results and leading directly to the devel
opment of the policy to be adopted inrelationto
the territories of the United States We are
called upon to meet the question directly, and To
decide whether tire Wilmot Proyiso shall be
brought to bear upon the territorial acquisitions
OF the Mexican war, or in what other manner
this vexed question is to be settled.
And here, sir, permit me to say, that / adopt
the doctrine of noT-intervention on the part of
Congress in its fullest extent. As deny the
right of Congress to legislate slavery into ,ex-
istence in any territory OF the. United States. SO
| also deny tho right to forbid it. adopt the
language Of the resolution Of the late Baltimore
Convention, as meeting my appreciation: That
all efforts Of the Aboitionists, or others, to in
duce Congress to interfere with questions of
slavery, or to take incpent steps thereto, arccaL
culated to lead to the most alarming and danger
GUS consequences, and that all such efforts have
an inevitable tendency to diminish the happiness
Of the people, and to endanger the stability and
permanence of the Union, and ought not to be
countenanced by any friend of our political in
stitutions:" Language which most strikingly
illustrates the folly, as well as the deplorable
consequences of assuming the right of Congress
to interfere with. this relation,--a declaration
which, if adopted and sustained in good faith,
in all its intent and meaning, must forever re
move from all our delibcration and intercourse
this exasperating difficulty If the right of Com
gress to legislate in the promises be granted
then the whole question is settled. There is no
limit but their discretion, no safety but the elem
ency Of a majority. But, sir, the trainers Of that
instrument were wise men, whose profound 81
gacity and immaculate virtue, combined with a
patriotism unsurpassed in all human history,
qush6ed them to guard the infancy of the nation
which sprung into existence BY their prowess, as
wellas to provide for the development of that
greatness which they distinctly foresaw. No
aspect of the future escaped their observation,
no contingency which might arise was omitted
in their provisions; and it is to this Constitu-
ton that we refer to adjust this question and
hx the principles on which, i trust, we may
agree. -as'f ze ~qzs ~ ta@
The extent of Legislative power over the ter
ritories of the United States, which may be con-
stitutionally exercised by Congress, is to be
found in the third section of thefourth article of
the Constitution, which provides that Congress
shall have power to dispose ofandmake allneedful
rules and regulations respecting the territory and
other property of the United States; and Moth
ing in this Constitution shall beso construed as
toprejudice the claims of the United States or
of any particular State" The clear and .un,
questionable meaning Of which must be, that
territory is regarded as property, and the rules
and regulations referred to are such as shall
be necessary to make the territories and other
property available. ANY rule needful for this
purpose, secondary to the intent and meaning Of
the provision. Ne person can suppose that the
words dispose of" can have any meaning BY
which Congress shall have power to waste, to
cede away, or otherwise render the territories of
the United States unavailable for the great pur-
pose Of supplying the national treasury and
ministering to the wants Of the people of the
United States. Any other construction of
those words might transfer the treaty-making
power to Congress, and give authority to cede
awav the public domain. 1t is true, that the
power to acquire territory implies the power to
govern it when acquired but it is also true, that
such government must be in accordance with the
Constitution. Z But Congress does not acquire
territory. The people of the United States ac-
quire it, and have the right to govern it. andhave
limited Congress, as their trustee. in the name
of Government, by the Constitution. Congress
could have no power to establish religion orto
create titles of nobility in the territories, because
expressly denied by the Constitution; and when
the laws of the United States are extended over
territory, it must be understood that the Con-
stitution and laws are so extended, and that
nothing repugnant to the Constitution can be
in force as a law know that it is asserted, and
that by Southern, statesmen, that Congress has
unlimited, power of legislation over the terrific
ries; but ii this be true, then Congress may, by
law, commit the entire government of the per-
sons and property III the territories to the viii of
a single individual, and thus present the anon
ally Of despotism created and sustained BY the
Constitution itselfs-a conclusion somonstrous
as only to require the annunciation to carry home
the conviction of its fallacy to every mind
There can be no doubt Of the proposition,
that whatever was property when the Fed
eral Government came into existence, under
our Constitution so far as that Government is
concerned, must ever remain property The
States, as sovereigns, alone can alter the
rights of things within their own jurisdiction,
and that by virtue of their sovereignty. The
Federal Governments therefore bound to con-
slider as property all that was so considered at its
adoption, md the Constitution guarantees the
enjoyment of that property in tranquility and
security to all the holders, so far as the laws of
the United States are operative in the premises.
And this is true whenever that property is pla-
ced under the jurisdiction of the laws of the
United States. Now, the territories are the pub
he domain, the common property Of all the citi-
zens of the States--acquired by the expendi
ture OF the common purse, or purchased by tile