The southern press., 1851-08-07

treating party would constantly become w0rae
Il was not the spirit that had estimated Jsfferson
county Tor ~ mAs,y ysass to flee from ditd-
cuity--u was not her soul " hang like lag
gard in the rear, Or ~ be terrified by threats Of
dsannciation, but IL such spirit had come over
her, taen forever had PASSED away the same fe l.
ings that dweIt in the breasts OF those whose
glory and heroisn had been the fame of the
State, [chsers
Why was California admitted as State, and
what power had Congress to admit California
u there was no power to admit California, then
a fraud had been committed and he asserted
that CAlifornis at the time of her admission was
not State, but territory OF the United States
their territory as well M any others, and that
there was not citizen upon it. The Mexican
Inhabitants We're not citizens, for the treaty re-
atiye to the territory went to prevent the claim
Of citizenship being exercised, a. they were no,
sufficiently advanced to exercise the right OI
suffrage. And who were the rest Of the inhabit-
ants, AM what were their claims! None other
in the eve of the law than trespassers upon the
public dOmain--adventu:ers from all parts OF
the word-from China, and the Pacific coast
and islands, mixtures of all classes of society
having but the object of gain in yiew--to pro.
cure gold. No one ever dreamed that California
could be introduced az State, till Congress by
its act recognized the principle that but two
years before, during the presidential canvass
was 80 violently opposed by the Wings. viz
the principles advocated by Cass in his Nichol-
son letter, principles that were denounced in
every form by the Whigr, because Cass was said
to acknowle ige asquatter sovereignty" In Cali.
fornia, the Wings might hnve found Indian
Zambos, Chinese Europeans OF various nations
Mexicans, Spanlards, and the outcasts Of society
from all parts of the earth, all joined together
for the purpose Of searching the rich sands for
gold. What were all these human beings but
1squatters" upon the soil, and If Congress ad-
mitted them to Union with the States, what
was this but recognition of "squatter sover-
eighty 2" Indeed it was more full and explicit
adoption of the principle than the Nicholson
letter ever implied. Whence, therefore, THE
change of platform! At one time the Wings
denounced in unmeasured terms the very doc.
trines that subsequently,, when it served their
purpose to override the South they quietly
adopted He held that in the abstract Cass
was wrong, but he supported him because it
was merely a choice of evil, and he preferred
the least.
1t had been said that interest moved OF
prompted many of his party to take the bold
stand they had done; but such statements were
1siO y" ~ S'oP-h"P VI P"ity. " "oS iucCtC,t
could he have when he had sacrificed all the
ties of family and friendship He had opp ,sed
the election of Gen. Taylor, which was source
of pain but to the altar cf freedom he deemed
it duty to make all sacrifices of domestic
or private character, and what was very strange
for him, the press bv which he had been so
often assailcd in so malignant manner, raised
its voice in Communications of his conduct
whilst that same press now proceeded again
t. assail him, anl attempted to bear him down
in every violent and possible shape.
A species Of evasive sophistry had often been
INDUCED in by saying that the people of Cali
fornia had right to form their own institutions
Who denied such a right! But who were
those people in California? HID she any citi-
zens; he replied no she had nof'--iuhab bitants
if they pleased, she might have had but not citi-
zens. He asked them ii they ever knew one
who went to California for the purpose of re-
naming to settle thereg Whether those who
went, did not claim to belong to the State that
they had left, and whether, immediately upon
their return, any one of them neglected to exer-
else in full his right and title of citizenship
stating his reasons to be that his absence to
Calf, rnia was merely on business! Would
any one say that there were others in Californis
than mere adventures in search of gold? And
if such were really the case, what right had any
of them to exercise an interference with the
fundamental institutions of the country! II
! there were no citizens, with what justice could
an admission to the Union be made? At any
rate, a delay ought to have taken place, unit
settlers upon the soil had acquired the ri hit Of
citizenship-[appause.
But further, there was not one in Califsrnia
who could open the polls! There was no Off
| H.. 80 II.
was no suffrage in fact; and when the question
came as to what was the population, no answer
could be given, for no census had been taken
Thus their territory was wrested from them
and transferred in most unjust and unholy
manner to the ant. slavery people of the North
the slavehoding States, without any justifica
ton, were excluded from rich territory, and
their balance and equoipoise of power lost, per.
hnps, for all future time through unjust legis-
Iation. Cooper, who might be taken as a
shining light upon such matters, had said that
if the exclusion Of slavery did not result from
the Mexican law, California should have la s
enacted to exclude slavery from the territory, so
that the principle of Southern exclusion was to
be made at all hazards.
There were two ways Of creating the sover-
eig ty of State. One was by grant of ter
No grant had ever been made of California, nor
had it been wrested by force from the United
States, but by fraud and injustice it had been
dedicated to free soilism, and by the same means
the institution Of slavery had been excluded
from the territory. Cheers When the ques-
ton was before Congress, the South objected
to the introduction of California, and asked for
one or two things. either a territorial govern
mept or division of the country but both
propositions were rejected, and Gwin, whom
Trey all had heard of, was called tn ,he Senate
Enthusiastically, in the whole affair. the Sou'h
had been cheated and cajoled--defrnuded, and
even insulted and they ought therefore to adopt
such sentiments as would give unmistakeable
evidence Of their determined stand for their JUS
tice and equality. Thus far had they been de-
ceived, but now he hoped that their eyes would
be opened, and that for the honor Of Mississippi
they would determinedly stand or fall to the
last lie did not appeal to those who were
transieutly resident amongst them, and who felt
no identity with Southern institutions, nor to
,Lo.. o.,croo ch,, c,tfoood unoy tho Snntharn