Washington telegraph., 1851-07-30
ROBERT W. JoHNsoN,s ADDRESS.
WASHINGTON, JANUARY 80, 1850.


Matters of the gravest import will be
under constant consideration during the
rrssent session of Congress. There are
tsw Southern men in this Congress who
,,,I not subscribe 10 it when | assert
,he Union of the Northern and Southern
safes. under a common Government, for
. penod beyond the present Congress,
;s matter that may be seriously ques-
toned.
Legislatures and Conventions have
o, m many of the Southern States, and
hove declared that they will regard the
a,,acrment Of the Wilulot Provlso as a
.,;o,,riou of the Constitution, alike de-
fading 10 the Southern people aud des-
srncl,ve of their rights and property
Without descending TO particulars. the
.ct;ou of every regularly constituted as
.smby of Southern people has resulted
:, the declaration that Tie South cannot
and will not submit.
The Legislatures of number of the
Southern States have passed resolutions
a,nroviug the call of d Southern Con-
,'..nt,on. TO sit at Nashville III j une next;
have provided for the appointment OF
d.Iepales TO that Convention, by leglsla-
uve. executive, or popular action: aud 1t
!, on loot TO appropriate means 10 defray
Their expenses.
Il seems expected of that Convention,
Whenever IL shall assemble, that our true
condition. shall be realized, and that the
impending destruction OF The political
eoualIty Ut The South. The future subJuga-
non OF her Interests 10 hostile power, aud
The ultimate proslratlon of her people,
s!uLI be mute manifest, II true, and that
,uch action, IN view y: ali Facts, shall be
reeonmeuded aS shall be most proper ior
the South.
Mississippi. Ala abama, Georgia, South
CaroIIna, aud Virginia, have. already
uulled IN the call OF d Southern Conven-
uou. North Carolina exhibits the strong
est sympathy. Maryland has declared
that II we have dIosO. utiOn. her stalId
ard Shall be raised with the South
kentucky, i'll her recent struggle, has
repudlated the Northern spirit. Florida
!, extreme; aud our own State has re-
peatedly declared her position with the
South, upon The subject OF the Provlso,
by solemn resolutions oi her Legislatures,
and her various State Covenllons. Her
prde aud spirit, her devotion To Southern
r,phts, none Will dare question. My
confidence Is equally strong IN The zeal,
tir,uue,s and Devotion of Tennessee,
Missouri, Louisiana, aud Texas.
Thus we are uulted and will present
TO The world Que united brotherhood, and
will move III one column under banner
on whose folds shall be Inscribed
Equality OR INDEPENDENCE; OUR RIGHTS
UNDER TUE CONSTITUTION, WITHIN OR
WITHOUT THE UNION.
now write to express the hope that,
whenever a meeting OF the Southern
States in Couvention shall occur, Arkan-
sas will not be uurepres sehted; and that
her representation may be selected from
the wisesl aud ablest of her so.s, with
oLt respect to amy ordinary prejudice.
The immediate difficulty Is, as to the
admission of California, from which. 10y
her Cunstlt utlou, the South Is excluded;
and the disposition of ali other of :he na-
,ional territory, from which it is boldly
and lmperiJusly declared, the South aud
Ter institutions shall be expelled.
These are stern isues, when we consid-
er that the receut position ot CaliiofnIa
is a shameless traud upon the South,
fraud IN Inception aud IN execution, aud,
il carried out, will be fraud III consum-
issues, when we consider
that there are those who claim her ad
mission on principles of non-lntervention,
aud yet who (the whole of them alnosL
would havo scorniully repulsed this APP
pllcatIou for adDISslou, had California,
i'll her organic law, recognized slavery,
or even preserved silence on the subject.
shall vote against her admission. as l
shall believe the perpetui,y OF the Union
involved, aud as loyal citizen of the
Union, | shall embrace every resort aud
exhaust every means, 10 aid III the de-
feat of the measure. believing as | do,
that with her admission, unless all other
of these questions be first satisfactory
settled, the Union ought aud will dis
solve.
These issues involve the whole Of the
slave States, to the extent of their polltl-
cal equality. That political equality Is
without it, III ten years,
slave holder will become an object tor
the finger of shame i'll the North, and
contempt, if hot abhorence, throughout
the world. Even now Ouf most plous
ministers are reIigiously rejected 10y their
Northern brethren from the Northern
pulpit on the score of slavery. And III
thirty years more, we SHALL be utterly
overpoWered, aud our people proslrated,
should we yle,d to the present frighuul
demands.
How can we submit to a Union thus
perverted? We know that the Constr
tuition recognized aud guaranteed the
rights OF our people to hold aud ENJOY