The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1850-10-10
Slavery In California.


Slavery In California.
THE TRUTH AT LAST CONFESSED.
No man who has been attentive to the discus
sion of the California question in the papers, in
Congress, and in conversation, can have failed to
notice the pertinacity with which it has been in
sisted by Northern aggressors and Southern
submissionists. that slavery would not 60 into
California il it could: nor could he fail to be
struck with the hypocrisy or futility of the pre-
tence For il it were true it would destroy all
objection to the recognition Of the constitutional
rights of the South, even by anti-slavery men,
since slavery would obtain no practical extension
thereby. Our readers will bear witness to the
emphasis with which We have uniformly repealed
and repudated the Humbug We have, indeed,
from the very beginning, known it to be utterly
unfounded. We therefore condemned Mr. Polk
for enlisting in New York, regiment of colo
nists for California, when the scheme Of conquer
ing that country YVES formed II WINS giving to
the North the start-the pre- occupation of ter
ritory that ought to have been equally open to
Of one OF his messages, that the right of the
South to take slavery to California was abstract
rather than practical. We always believed it u
practical right of immense value. And when the
Northern States proclaimed the Wilmot Proviso
for the new territories before they were acquired,
knowing the effect it would have in lettering
Southern emigration we repeatedly advised
some Of our Southern friends in Congress to
recommend to the Southern legislatures each to
provide for sending thousand men from the
South when the treaty was concluded, and guar
antee to them, by the power of the Southern
States, the enjoyment of theic rights as Southern
citizens
We looked upon Mr.. WEBsrER's notion-that
the laws of God forbade the colonization of
the new territories by slaveholders--as a fila-
cy or sham, unworthy of his intellect and char
acter.
We now publish a letter to the New York
Tribune, from a Free-soiler in California, ack.
nowledging and exposing the whole imposture--
and crushing the miserable excuse which South
ern submissionists have relied on whilst claim
ing to be practical men, and denouncing what
they called distractions
We also append extracts from another letter
equally conclusive, and we maintain the South
is yet to have her share of California.
Correspondence of the New York Tribune.
SAN Francisco, Sunday, Sept /, 1850.
My last, 18th ult, was filled with the account
Of the Sacramento difficulties the sequel of
which had not yet TRANSFERRED. The papers will
give you all the facts. The secret workings of
the minds of men here, however, are not pro-
perly represented by what has occurred and
described by reporters.
You are fully aware that great completely,
not only Of people but of rights, exists here
Had mere gradual and a smaller immigration
come to this country, We should not have been
found SO much in each others way. OF neces-
sity the rights of the majority are most worthy
of respect and ought to be maintained.
The send" Of the difficulties at Sacramento
is not yet though stay to the shedding of
blood, it is to be hoped, has come
Allen but represents large host of Ameri-
cans here, and it has yet to be proved that he is
guilty of the first overt act, unless it be guilt to
attempt self-defcnce. 1t il pan that Sheriff
Mckinney had no acrI for his arrest as the
author Of the report in the papers to the con-
trary well knew, and confessed to our reporter
But will not take up time with further de-
tails or remarks on this subject Sheriff Nc
Kinney and Mayor Bigelow (now probably
dead) fell as monuments Of their own rash zeal,
to use the mildest term to characterize their
conduct.
The heavy failures in Sacramento of late, will
not fail to attract your attention. Many hard
working miner, who had amassed handsome
sum, regrets now not having buried his gold
again in the earth, sooner than have deposited it
with the cunning and guilty broker. whose
''tailnre" has robbed him of his ALL Ii is too bad
One remark more, and have done witt, speak
ing Of Sacramento. A false impression has
certainly gone to the States respecting the great
ness Of our inland towns There is Jui lille
capital in Sacramento. If man has little
money there, he becomes merchant and
makes or breaks, as luck will haveit Ofcourse,
this leads to great insecurity, ard lack of conf
dence in the sofvency Of su:h community as
that where it is formed.
This is precisely the case with our sister city,
| have no motive to traduce or msrepresent her.
give you facts which are believed in mems
minds, though not published in this community
Forever San Francisco-not Benicia. nor Sacral-
meIto-ls to be the great emporium of this
coast.
have few words to say to you, not affect
ing real but only mooted question Daniel
Webster stated in his great speech on slavery
and California, that "by divine law" involuntary
servitude was impossible this side of the Rocky
Mountains-that from the arid nature of the
country, &c, &c, it would never admit Of it.
No greater mistake could be made; slaves
have always existed in such circumstances ms we
have here. Instance the Barbary states, Arabia,
Persia, the East. Mr. Webster also greatly
erred IN stating that those who came hther never
felt the desrableness of their slaves, and that the
ineompatibity of the case with respect to the
existence of slaves alone prevented their bring
ing them along. This is all simply not the fact
The men of the South here only regret that they
had not known before what they now know, to
wit: that they might have brought along their
slaves, and been unmolested in the possession
Of them and the profits of their labor.
So far | knnw fhOaa ,yj m hron uht a1oycs