Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1851-05-30
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FRIDAY MORNING.. NAY so. 1851.

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mere Is not in or out of an attorneys office in tho
w VI i,fie, or elsewhere, who cuul raise doHU',
VI ;" Patticlo at doubt about the mcanin. Of this pro-
sislon of The Constitution He may act as witnesses do.
eometlies on the stand He may wrgcr and twist, and
say no can't tell have many such exhibitions in my
.he on The part OF Witnesses fa<y ard beifay and deny
M e ta 69 there is no man who read these words ol
e constitution OF the United States and say they are not
ccur and imperative. "No person" the Constitution sny =,
held TO service or labor in State urdcr the laws thereof
escnng into another shall in consequence Of any law
regulation therein, be DISCHARGED from any such service
labor but shall be delivered up the claim the party TO
who s9ch service or labor may be dur.' Why you arc
W !"fty conventions in Massachusetts in Uhio, 10 New
loik' In Syracuse, and elsewhere, il cniored man
zane hec, he came as freeman. rha, is Sq@uT
II hc caic as fugitive from labor the Constitution says he
40 o teman ana that he shall be delivered up 10 his own
ers who are entitled to his service
NOW, gentlemen, that is the Constitution Of The United
.1'es' uehlleIneni do We or do not To execute
Ihat part OF the Constitution well le Of it J
suppose mere arc before members OF Congress. sup
pose there are members of The Stale Legislature
i've Icers, under the State government suppose llcrr
are Judicial magistrates of New York executive officers
SCISSORS supervisors Justices of the peace consabes be-
iore me- Allow me TO say, gentlemen, there no that
there cannot be any of these officers this assembae,
or elsewhere who has not according the form Of his obl
eatons bound himself by solemn oath before his God
support The Constitution They have taken their oa,s on
the Holy Evangelst of almighty God or by uplcd hand
as inc case may oe or BY solemn asseveation the
pracuce IN some cases Bnt and all ihe there is
man who holds nor there any man who can hod any
hce In the gilt OF the United States or in this State or
any other State who does become bound by the solemn
obligation of IN oath before God that nc will spport the
Constitution of the u. States We'll is he TO arnper with
NUT IS ne 10 latter! Gentlemen our political duties
uch OF conscience any other dutes-our sacred
aomesic Ties. our most endearng several eatinns
more ne SUBJECT for conscientious consideration and
scenous discharge than the duties we enter into under the
Constitution OF the United States The bonds of political
brotherhood The bonds which hold us toe ether from Maine
70 georgia now gentlemen that the main story of the
constitution OF the United States the question Of slavery
The justice of these remarks Mr. Webster is str-
King they have called down some three columns of sops
tical assault from the free soil n. Y. Tribune
Mr webster next proceeds at length vndcatc his
slstency IN resisting the introduction Of any territory
into the unon and freely confess that he has succeeded
In close Imitation his Federal prototypes of New England
ne denounces the admission into the Union of Louisiana
Florida and Texas slave States He declares that he
nercr would tina, there should one foot slave
territory beyond what the old thirteen States had at
Of the formation Of the Union and that that man would be
hypocrite and falsic" who would say that he (Websle
departed from that doctrine Mr. Webster boasts Of
the fact that far back 1887 in speech Niblos Gar
den he went out of his way show what he anticipated in
the attempt TO annex Texas as slave territory and declared
that time that :" should be opposed by (hn) The
last crtrcmn His objections he bases the false prnc
pie that in admitting States Constitution has
operation being confined to the old 3) and that the old
members of the political partnership have right say
hat terms the new partners n, and what they
bring along with them is such doctrine viola
VI every VI tIudyi JuSllCe Inc
right Of introducing States has been pausby contested
but when territory shall be introduced it is
strous argue Mr. Webster does that majority of the
partners shall have the power exclude their associates from
equal and unrestricted enjoyment of the territory thus
admitted This is the fatal hcrcsy-the wild doctrne-whch
has led usnto the present troubles that convuse the Union
Mr. Webster more boasts OF his original free. soil
s whose "thunder" the Builaonans stole in the last
Presidential canvass We give him credit for boldly
proclamng the truth in the midst Of the fanatics and urging
them carry the laws for the protection OF Southern
rghls-but this speech contans selfcondcmnaton
Of Mr. Webster as one of the mos; efficient and influential
agents in assang the constitutional rights Of the South,
and thereby raising the of agitation which
his giant mind can control The "utaors' he may
condemnbu he forgels that he himself the prince Of
acutors he bousted in 1915 and virtually admits in
vindicating his past history.
We make for another long extract which givcs
interesting and generally sketch of the difficulties
surrounding the question in $50 and the importance of ad-
Jus,ng It, to prevent outbreak Of civil We ask the
attention of the reader to the natural inference from The
statements of Mr.. Webster that had General Taylor lived
he would have attempted whip Texas with United States
| troops, and set the Union in blaze Of civil war:
Gentlemen these things the commencement, of
the year lS50 There twU great questions bcfurc
the public There the question of the Texan boundary
and of government for New Mexico which consider as
question and there the question Of muking pro
vision for the restoration OF fugitive slaves Gentlemen on
these subjects have something To Texas you know
established her independence OF Mexico, BY her revolution
and the battle Of San Jacino, which made her sovereign
power have already stated to you what have anticipated
from the movement-that she would ask into the
Union slave State We admitted her In 1915 and we
admitted her slave State We admitted her in 1915 and
| we admitted her with her own boundaries remember that
She claimed by conquest all that territory which was com
monty called New Mexico east Of the Rio Crande She
claimed also by these limits what her Constitution had de-
c!acd and established the proper limits of Texas This
h.rn ntairr pJ,rI,ap
States the United States did define her territory They
admitted her she We took her as she defined her
slave States say 1--WE" but did always remember that
Now, in this state of things let 90 back 1850 Whnt
the of things 1850! There Texas claiming a
that great part of that which the United States had ac
qured from Mexico New Mexico She that il be.
onged her by conquest and by her admission into the
United States and she was ready enforce her claims by
the force of Recollec that is not ALL 4 man must
be ignorant of the history of The country who does not know
that the Of 1850 there grcat agi,a
ton throughout the whole South. Who does know thai
six or seven the largest States Of the South had ALREADY
taken for separaonwcrc preparing for disunon
in way? They concurred with Texas for Texas was
prepared preparing enforce her rights by force OF arms
Troops enlisted and don't you remember gentlemen
that at this Of things how many thousand persons in
the South were disaeccd towards the Union or were dcs
breaking up ready TO join TcXnsto Join
her ranks and what they could make in csab
Iish the rights Of Texas to New Mexco The public mind
was disturbed There thousands and thousands read,
TO join Texas. Now, all the extreme South this time was
dsatiecred towards the Union. These very were in
condition fall into any course of things which should be
violent and destructive.
Well them gentlemen what was 10 be done again. as far
as Texas was concerned? Allow to say gentlemen
there are two SORTS Of foresight There is military fore
sight which what will be the result Of appeal to
arms; and there is also staesmankc foresight which
the results Of political Disturbances the violence Of faction
carried into military operations, and the horrors attendant
on civil war had doubt, gentlemen that if the
administration of Gen. Taylor had war; and had
troops into New Mexico thai he icoud hare rhppd them in
1reek The power side was far superior all the
power other But what then What if Texan troops
assisted by thousands of volunteers from the dsaIeced
States had gone New Mexico and had been defeated and
turned back would that have settled the boundary quesnn
Now gentlemen, wish had ten thousand volcs-I wish
could draw around the whole people of the United
States-and wish could make them all hear what now
declare my conscience before the Power who
high and who will Judge you and hereafter, my
lemn belief that il this Texas controversy had not been set
tied By Congress the called the adjustment ea
sures civil would have ensued-bood, American blood
would have been shed and who el what else would
have been the consequence
Gentlemen, in honorable war, if foreign foe invade
us-if rights threaencdfi necessary de-