Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1850-03-20

and wherever there was any departure
from established usage. il was done Oh The
presumed consent Of Congress, and mol in
defiance of its authority. or the sovereign
~ Of Tie United States over The Terrific
ries. In this respect California stands
alone, without usage, or single example
to cnver her case.
1t belongs now, Senn'ors, for you TO de-
eide wha, part you will acl in reference 10
this unprecedented transaction. The Ex-
ecutive has lail the paper purporIins 10 be
The Constitution Of California before You.
and asks you to admit her uto the Union
as State, aud The lqueston is: will you
or will You not admit her? 1t is a grave
question. and there rests upon you heavy
responsibility. Much, very much, will
depend upon your decision. you admit
her, you endorse and give your sanction
10 all that has been dOne. Are you pre-
pared to do so! Are you prepared TO sur
render ynur power Of legislation for The
Territories; power expressly vested in
Congress by The Constitution, as has heen
fully established Z! Can you, consistently
with your oath TO support the Constliu-
linn, surrender the power! A'e you pre-.
pared to admit that the Inhabitants Of the
Territories possess the sovereignty over
them, and That any number more or less,
may claim any extent Of territory they
please may lurm Constitution and Gov
ernmenl, and erect j, into Slate, without
asking your permission Are you pre-
pared 10 surrender the sovereignty OF The
United States over whatever tcrrt0Iy may
be hereafter acquired, 10 the frs! adventus
rers who may rush into it? Are you pre-
pared to surrender virtually to the Execu-
tive Department, all the powers which you
hnve heretofore exercised over Territories !
] MOI, how can you consistently With your
duty and your oalhs TO suppol, The Con-
stilurion. give your assent TO the admission
Of California as State, under aprelsnded
Constitution and Government! Again
can you believe that the project of a Consl.
'ulion which they have adopted, has the
least validity? Can you believe that there
is such Stale in reality as The State Of
California ! No; there is no such State.
II has no legal or constitutional existence.
Ii has no validity and can have none.
without your sanction. How, then, can
you admit il as Stale when, according
10 the provision of the Constitution. your
power is limited to admitting new 'Stales.'
TO be admitted it must be a Stale, ali ex.
isling Slalc, independent Of your sanction.
before you can admit it. When you give
yonr permission TO lhs inhabitants OF
Territory 10 form n Constitution aud
Stale, thef Constitution and Slate they
form, derive their authority from the peo'
pie. and mol from you.
The State before admitted is actually
State, aud does not became so by The act
of admission. as would be the case with
CaliGrnia, should sou admit her contrary
10 constitutional provisions and established
usage heretofore.
The Senators on Tho other side Of the
Chamber must permit me 10 make few
remarks, in This connection particularly ap'
pIica.le III ,hem. w:lh she exception of a
few Senators from the South, sitting on
that side Of The Chamber. When The
Oregon question was before this body. not
two years since, you took lifl mistake noI)
universally The ground. that Congress had
the sole aud absolute power Of legislalnG
for the Territories. How. then, can you
now, after The short interval which has
elapsed, abandon The ground which YOU
took, and thereby virtually admit that the
power pf lesislaline instead Of being III
Congress. is in Tho inhahilans of the Ter
ritories? How can you justify and sane
tion by your voles, The acts of The Execu-
live, which are in direct deroga,ion 10
what YOU then conlcnded for? But to ap.
nroach still nearer to The present lime. how
can you. after cnn'lemning. little more than
year since, the grounds taken by the
parry which you defeated al the last elec'
ton wheel round aud supper, by your
votes The grounds which, as explained re.
Gently on this n>or by the candidate Of The
parry in the last election, nre identical with
those on which the Executive has acted in
reference 10 California :? What are we
10 understand by all this? Must we ccn-
clude thai there is no sincerity, no faith, in
acts and declarations of public men, and
that oil is mere acting or hulow profess
sion J.? Or are we to conclude that The
exclusion of the Snn,h from the Territory
acquired from Mexico is an object of SD
paramount a characteri in your estimation,
that Right, Justice. Constitution, and Con-
sislency, must yield, when they stand in
the way of our exclusion
Bur. il may be asked, what is TO he dnne
with California, should she not he admit
ted answer, remand her hack 10 the
Territorial condition. as was done in the
case of Tennessee, in the early slate u' the
Government. Congress. in her case, had
established a Territorial Governments IN
The usual fnrm, with Governor. Judges,
and other officers, appointed by the United
States. She wos entitled under The deed
of cession, to be admitted into The Union
as Stale as soon as she had sixty thou
sand inhabitants. The Territorial Gov.
ernmenr, believing i, had that number, loos
census, by which it appear ed it exceeded
it. She Then formed Constitution, and
applied for admission. Congress refused
to admit her, on the ground that the census
should be taken by the United STATES, aud
that Congress had not determined whether
the Territory should be formed into one
or Two States, as it was authorized 10 90
under the cession. She returned quietly
to her Territorial condition. An act was
passed to lake census by The United
States, containing a provision that the