The southern press., 1851-09-01


gY The Hon Howell CoBB. coalition can
ddate for governor of Georgia, has written q
letter on compro mise. secession, and collater al
questions. As this is the latest declaration OF
faith for the new party in that State, We viii
present It at length to our readers tomorrow
The first part of the letter is devoted to a de
fence of the compromises task which has
troubled the Wits of the submission men from
the first and has never yet been performed Mr.
oRB 10 q gentleman of considerable ingenuity
in dealing with popular passions and prejudice
and it Is worth while to consider his latest efior
the result of his recent discussions, reflections
and improved knowledge of popular sentiment
Mr.. CoDB begins by telling us that " the bills
establishing territorial governments for Utah
and New Mexico. rest on the great constitu
tional principle of g the right Of the people tC
determine for themselves whether or not slavery
shall constitute u part of their social system"
Now, we deny the practical correctness Of
this position. The laws creating territorial gov
ernments for Utah and New Mex co were not
passed, and could not be passed, until i: was as.
certained that the whole of seaboard California
was to be admitted as non -slnyeholding State,
and also that large portion Of Texas was to be
purchased and annexed to New Mexico, so us TO
give her sufficient Mexican population (wl ich
had already pronounced against slavery to en-
sure her non saveholding State. And us Utah
is accessible only through New Mexico or Cali
fornia, (the transit of slaves through either of
the latter being thus Immediately or speedily cut
off, lit became almost inevitable that Utah would
be non-slaveholdirg. Congress, therefore, did
not agree to the principle tina. the people of
these territories had the right to decide the
slavery question for themselves, until measures
had thus been taken to ensure decision against
slavery, by rendering Utah inaccessible to slavery
and New Mexico anti-slavery, by annexing to
her the anti slavery portion of the Texas popu-
lation. To concede principle on paper or in
words and yet to render timpracticable by law,
is fraud and mockery. And this has been done
Mr.. COBB proceeds:
sThe bill to settle t! e disputed boundary be-
tween the United States and Texas, rests upon
equally sound and constitutional principles Its
provisions simply contain q proposition from
the general government to the State of Texas,
to settle the boundary between the territory of
the United States and the State of Texas, by
adopting certain line as that boundary; and, in
consideration that Texas will yield the claim
which she had made to the seeded territory, the
United States agrees to pay her the sum of ten
millions of dollars. There was no threat, no
coercion, on the part OF Congress, to compel ac
quiescence in their proposition. II was a mat
ter for the calm and patriotic judgment of the
people of Texas to determine; and the terms
were agreed to Ly her with unparalleled una
nimity. 1t is equally untrue and unjust to the
brave and patriotic people of Texas, to impute
their action this subject to the fear of federal
power or the equally offensive consideration OF
bribery and corruption. AS wonld not tolerate
such an imputation upon the citizens of our own
States, under similar circumstances, will not
indulge in the ungenerous and unfounded re-
Election upon the honesty and integrity of our
young and prosperous sister"
This is the most intrepid experiment on the
meaning of words we have lately seen. When
the Texas boundary bill was pending, it was un-
derstood that the California bill would pass, and
that the North would thereby acquire great
augmentation of its previous territorial prepon-
derance--and that ii would also acquire ma
jority in the Senate, the only law making branch
of the government where the South possessed
even a nominal equality Of power In the
House of Representatives, and in the electoral
colleges, there was an overwhelming majority
against her. Yet this was the hour when her
power of self-defence in the government was
about to be wrested from her, by an Outrage
that deprived her Mt the same time of all hel
share of the countless gold of Caiforria-thi.
was the hour selected to pass bill to relinquist
vast territory in Texas, in consideration of {
vast sum of money 1t is said that she had only
claim to this territory. Well, whatever rgh
Texas had, was right to territory. And by
the bill it admitted that this right was woril
ten millions Now, why was not ten million,
worth of the territory reinquished to Texas, in
stead of paying her that much money? 1t wa,
because it would have defeated the project o
making free-soi Stnte in New Mexico, anc
would have left the South the means of forming
one more State than she can now Why, wher
the South had been, and was to be, strpred OF
such countless and priceless territorial domain
why was this bill so framed as to deprive her OF
a vast quantity besides Why for the obvious
design of destroying her political power.
Mr.. Com treats this transaction as f il con-
cerned Texas alone 1t was vital to the South.
And is there anything sound 10 principle or in
policy, or in precedent for the federal govern.
ment, (already controlled by the North,) to entel
the market to buy of an embarrassed Southerr
State the elements of political power, and trans
fer them to the North Mr. CoBB says tha
this was n mere proposition to Texas, without
threat from Congress. But everybody know
that there was an Executive threat then hangin.
over Texas, that il she dared to exercise jurs
diction 10 any part of a territory to which thi
very bill acknowledged she had a right TO th
&c fox r,.ii.on, eh, ,.n,,I1 ha v.a,faJ