The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1852-07-15
THE EFFECTS OF A FALSE POSITION.

The Sandusky TO- Mirror, well known
Free Soil paper in ls4s, has concluded to sup
port ticket representing deathless hostility to
the Principles it once held sacred and it thus
strives to reconcile its readers to its change of
policy;
"The question of slavery has formed an i'm
portant element in our late political cOntro-
versies, owing to the questions growing out Of
the acquisition of Mexican territory. These
questions no longer exist. They have been
settled by the action of Congress-nOt entirely
to our atisfaction-but yet placed beyond our
reach, from the nature of the legislation itself
California is State with a free Constitution.
New Mexico and Utah are Territories, with
the Mexican laws on the subject of slavery
still in force and unrepealed. And from the
hearty willingness with which our Southern
friends expressed their determination to abide
by the Compromise, We are bound to presume
that we shall have no agitation on the subject
of slavery, for the purpose Of dividing Calitor-
mia, to form another slave State nor witness
any effort to procure the legal recognition Of
slavery in New Mexico or Utah. We acqu-
esce in and abide by such a determination.
And much as we dsapprove of the Fugitive
that are used to enforce its nefarious provi-
sions, still we are willing in quiet composure,
to see the hunters of Kentucky and their
Northern hounds, chasing an occasional runa-
way negro, if by this the immense Territories
acquired from Mexico shall remain as we
found them, free from the stain of Southern
slavery, and open for the labors of American
enterprise"
Such is the effect of n false position. The
Sandusky Mirror knows that Slavery is still
sustained by the Federal Government-was
palpably in the ascendant at the Baltimore
Democratic northumberland the .nOmina-
tiOns--has abandoned none of it's pretensions,
none of it's schemes and yet it talks as if
nothing now was to be done by its opponents,
and is willing even to tolerate that most infa-
nous of statutes, the Fugitive Slave Law
And we are bound to presume, it says, from
the hearty willingness with which our South
ern friends expressed their determination to
abide by the Compromise, that we shall have
no agitation on the subject of slavery for the
purpose of dividing California, to form another
slave State nor witness any effort to procure
the legal recognition of slavery in New Mexico
and Utah. Yes we should be bound to pre-
sumo this, if our Southern friends had not fully
advertised us of the fact that they do not re-
gard the Compromise as precludng agitation
with view to convert the lower half of Cal
fornia into a slave State, and also advertised
us that they do not admit there is any legal
prohibition Of Slavery in the Territories, and if
we did not know that their fixed policy is, to
extend Slavery whenever and wherever they
may have a chance
The peculiar position of those of our Free
Soil friends who support the nomination of
Mr.. Pierce tempts them constantly to dspar-
age the questions at issue between Liberty and
Slavery, and to lull the public mind into false
security in relation to the unchanging policy of
the Slave Power, or to delude themselves and
the people in regard to the views and inten-
tons of Mr.. Pierce.
How could it be otherwise! In advocating
the election of candidate to fill the highest
Executive Office, they must either adapt their
views and policy to his, or his to theirs-n other
words, corrupt themselves, or practice imposi-
ton upon themselves.
How many exceptions are there to this gen.
eral rule