The Yazoo Democrat., 1854-03-01

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leoislature Of Rhode Island have unanimously
..assad resolutions against this bill, and nor1A
a,a deroocratic presses are taking the same
r.a,,nd we cannot but regard this action a.
bas,, and iuconsideraie as an abandonment o.
strono constitutional and truly national ground
and as sectionalizing the democratic pariy we
oa,nestlv ask democrats, before they commit
themselves to such action, 10 candidly re'le"
this whole matter. We ask them TO fehec' oi
the facts and arguments Of The recent past %
their own party action. We propose TO aiding
them in making upa Judgment, TO recall lew
facts
CAss's NIcuoLsoN LETTER.
In the first place ve ask attention 70 the re-
markable letter that Lewis Cas- addressed to
judge Nicholson. which we publish to-day. II
is remarkable IN the circumstances under which
| It appeared. 10 the quiet strength Of its agunent'
and in the soundness OF It's conclusions. AT It's
Idate-December 1s47-the Wilmot proylso
was in the zenith of It's demagogue triumph.
This measure was prohibition on the people Of
a Territory fiom establihing slavery, and 1t was
ayowedly urged upon all new governments ior
Territories by the general goyernment-those
south Of the line Of SO deg. 30 min. as well as
those north Of such line. At that time (Decem-
Der, 1870 all the whig Legislatures Of the free
States had passed resolutions urging on Congress
the adoption of this policy and the same thing
had been done by some democratic legislatures.
Such had been, for some time previous, the course
OF the whig party in its meetings and congen-
ton aud this was adopted even before the Mex
;can war had been concluded. Thus the whig
Springfield State convention of 18l7-IIon. Rob
ert G. Winthrop advocating it-passed unani-
nously the following resolution:
"Resolued That if the course of policy (the
| cessation of the war and no territory shall be
rejected, and the War shall be prosecuted to the
final subjugation or dismemberment OF Mexico,
the wings of Massachusetts, now declare, and put
the declaration on record that Massachusetts
I will never consent that Mexican territory, how
ever acquired, shall become part Of the Amen
can Union, unless on the unalterabe condition
that there shall be neither slavery nor involuna-
ry servitude therein, otherwise In the punish
{ ment of crime"
In order to state more fully the position OF th'
. whig party of the North at this period, we pres
ent the following extract from the address Of the
: Massachusetts, whig State convention in 1913:
"The wings of the North. (says the address
| and epecialIy the wings of Massachusetts, MAJ
I rightfully claim the appelaton of the free sol
party. Our whig delegation In Congress- TO
more than quarter of century, have been uni
r form in resisting th3 extension Of slavery; thu
wings in Congress from this commonwealth have
uniformly opposed the extension of slavery anC
the encroachments of its power They have ad-
vocated the right of petition, denounced the gal
rule, and condemned in the strongest terms liz
i annexation of Texas. They have voted agains
the slave feature in the constitution of FloIid;
and Texas; against the introduction of slavery
into Iowa and Oregon, New Mexico, and Califor
MA; against paying tor runaway slaves. and ii
favor OF the abolition Of slavery in the Distric
: OF Columbia In every form in which it has beer
presented. All this has been done by our viii
delegation in Congress, not from any desire L
5 produce schsm among the wings. or to bull,
: up new party, but from an honest conviction
S that slavery an evil, and ought to be circum
{ scrlbed. In this manly course In Congress-th
only field in which the doctrine of free soil cal
be made practical questIon-the whig party ii
, Massachusetts, have noby sustained their repre-
. isentdtives. May we not, then, with prophet
/ claim to be free soil party?'
! Such was the position of parties-such publ
opinion-when Lewis Cass wrote his Nicholson
letter That letter took the ground that the VIII
mot proviso was unconstitutional. 1t advoca
ted the policy of non-interference by Congress
with the slave matter in Territories, and 0
q leaving the settlement Of it to the people wht
should inhabit them