Richmond daily times. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1853, 1852-05-21
SLaueru IN California.

The California papers brought by the las
tsteamer inform US of the passage of law, re
fering to slaves that carried to California by
heir masters before the adoption of the present
constitution. and at time when it was undeter-
mined whether slavery would be tolerated in the
country. This law provides that within one year
after its passage the owners OF slaves shall have
the privilege of removing them from the State; if
they fail to do SO within that time the slaves are
= be free. The correspondent of the New
York Herald states that this measure was violent
" opposed by the abolitonists, of whom there are
a great many in California. The same writer
says further:
Every that arrives here brings to California
importation of this species of property should continue in
the way for few months to come, large add
ton will be made to the slavehoding interest Of Calor
MIA, sufficient perhaps to counterbalance the slavery
interest this should be the the State dsunion-
istzthose persons who in favor of division of the
State into Northern and Southern Cahforna-will
coed in their enterprises but until then There is
agitation on the subject intense, and marked by
much acerbty and bitterness agitation the
subject that took place IN the United States AS it
there parties this question of slavery here
elsewhere but has taken place between
them The time however is far distant when this
subject will ofself be the dividing line between political
parties The result will be division of the State and the
incorporation of Soathern California slave territory
pet The Phsnes will soon be upon him, and heis
pected at all make effort avert the eaami
ty "ih which California is threatened He might, per
haps make capital for his friend Seward out OF the
matter.
We have always been under the impression that |
the constitution OF California positively prohibited |
the institution ofslayery within the limits OF that
State, and we therefore at loss to understand
what the Herald's correspondent means, when he
81, +,o
brought to California by every steamer that ar
credit the opinion expressed by the writer, that
riyes there.
We are not disposed to attach much slavery |
is destined to be established in Southern |
California, in that State shall be divided
The emigrants to the Pacific coast from the free |
States have thus far largely out-numbered those
from the slave States, and it is reasonable to infer
that the same disproportion will be kept up in fu-
ture. Admitting that the people of the two sec
ton. enjoy equal facilities of emigration yet, as
the white population of the North is about double
that of the South it is but fair suppose that the
former will continue TO send forth annually twice
as many emigrants as the latter. We look upon
it scarcely within the range of probability, that
such population could so far divest themselves
of early impressions, as to consent to the estab-
lishment of slave institutions in their midst. Born
and reared in hostility to slavery, the emigrants
from the free States have always carried and will
ever continue to carry to their new homes in the
West, the came bitter and relentless prejudices
against that Institution which carefully and
systematically instlled into their minds:in infan-
cy. and which are constantlyskept alive by the
agitation ofAtnis question: inathe North. The
same remark will apply to the enigrants from
Europe that are f5eking oCalifornia the great
body Of whom are more deeply imbued with
abolition and free-soil sentiments than our North
ern people 1t should be borne in mind, more
over, that all the emigrants from the Southern
States are not shareholders slavery propagandists
On the contrary, but a very small proportion of
those who leave the land of their nativity to seek
a home in the far West, the owners of slaves,
and however prompt they might be to maintain
and defend the institution at home, yet it by no
means follows that they would desire to see it es-
tablished where it had never existed. In proof
OF this we may cite the proceedings of the
California State Convention that framed the
present constitution of that country. The
Conventioncontained large number of Southern
members aud yet the clause ofthe constitution
prohibiting slavery was adopted almost unan-
imousy. We have little doubt butthat the
same result will bsw7tnessed should California
be divided and its Southern portion erected into
new State. Whenever the question of establishing
or prohibiting the institution Of slavery shall come
I'D for consideration, the prosayery advocates will
have to contend not only against the fanatical pre-
;udices Of the Northern and foreign popul alton,
but against the more sober and rational opposition
of those who may have conscientious scruples
On the subject, but VINO, owning no slaVeproper-
~ themselves, and depending on their own man