Daily evening star. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1852-1854, 1854-07-10
DAILY EVENING STAR.
From the Baltimore Patriot.
BENTON Is HIMSELF AGAIN

Is The following letter is published in an
Indiana paper. We copy it to put on
record the conclusive eyidence-which
the words of the letter, and the spirit that
shows itself in its every thought, fur.
nishes-that Thomas Hart Benton is him.
self again, and that no gentleman can-or
'could-write as he does: 1873 I'd.
WASHINGTON, June IL, 1854.
JAMES HOWE, ESQ.,, Lafayette, Ind:
Sir-Your letter has Just been received
informing me that Mr.. Petit, in a public
speech in your town, stated that I was
the first man to break the Missouri Com.
promise-that had q law passed by
Congress, annexing to the State large
territory, &c. Sir your Senator is a
great liar and dirty dog, falsifying pub
lie history for criminal purpose. The
Missouri Compromise line was not vio-
lated in annexing the Platte country.
Both parties to the Compromise agreed
to it, the free States being unanimous.
There were not even yeas and nays upon
it. The general assembly of Missouri
requested it. We applied to the mem
bers personally and individually for their
consent, which they gave: and without
their consent no movement was made, or
would have been made. The journals
prove this.
A full account of this is in my "Thir-
ty Years View" in the chapter headed
g Extension fthe Missouri Boundary
also in my late Nebraska speech it is
briefly alluded to, and that is probably
all that the dirty dog knew about it, and
which he falslfied to answer bis criminal
purposes. l send you some of my Ne
braska speeches, and hope you will find
the chapter in the e Thirty Years." and
see that this change in the line was ask.
ed as a boon from the northern States,
and by them granted in spirit of kind
ness, and in way to prove that they
would not suffer anti-slavery feelings to
prevent them from doing an act of great
favor to the State of Missouri, and for all
which Missouri was thankful at the time,
and | am still. Mr.. Petit must feel that
his cause is villainous when he can thus
stand up before his constituents to falsify
public history, and to justify his own
violation of the Missouri compromise, by
telling lie upon Inc. -..
Respectfully, THOMAS Ii. BENTON.
AS, however, what Benton here refers
to as his course on the Missouri compro-
mise, and the account which he gives of
it in the book he has recently published,
it will not be out of place, and not with
out interest to our readers, for us to copy
the chapter in his book called "Thirty
Years View" which he refers to. Here
it is, and when the reader has perused it,
he will not be at loss to decide whether
Senator Petit or Senator Benton tells the
truth. Here is the chapter:
EXTENSION OF THE Missouri QUESTION.
This was a measure of great moment to
and full of difficulties in itself,
and acquiring double process to accom-
plish it-an act of Congress to extend
the boundary, and an Indian treaty to re-
move the Indians to new home. 1t
was to extend the existing boundary of
the State so as to include triangle be-
tween the existing line and the Missouri
river, large enough to form seven coun-
lies of the first class, and fertile enough
to sustain the densest population. The
difficulties were three fold: l. To make
still larger State which was already one
Of the largest in the Union. 2. To re-
move Indians from position which had
Just been assigned to them in perpetuity.
3. To alter the Missouri Compromise
line in relation to slave territory, and
thereby convert free soil into slave SOIL
The two fiji st difficulties were serious-the
third formidable; and, in the then state of
the public mind in relation to slave terri
tory, this enlargement of a great slave
State, and by converting free soil into slave
and imI airing the Compromise line, was
an almost impossible undertaking, and in
no way to be accomplished without gen.
erous cooperation from the members of the
free States. They were in majority in
the House of Representatives, and no act
of Congress could pass for altering the
Compromise line without their aid; they
were equal in the Senate, where no treaty
for the removal of the Indians could be
ratified except by concurrence of two
all these difficulties to be
overcome at time when Congress was
with angry debates upon aboli-
ton petitions, transmission of incendiary
publications, imputed designs to abolish
slavery; and the appearance of the Grim
mating article in South Carolina entitled
the Crisis" announcing a southern con-
vention and secession, if certain North
ern States did not suppress the abolition
societies within their limits within linn
tied time.
In the face of all these discouraging
obstacles the two Missouri Senators,
Messrs. Benton and Linn, commenced
their operations. The first step was to
procure bill for the alteration of the
line and the extension of the
boundary; it was obtained from the Judi
ciary Committee, reported by Mr.. John
NJ. Clayton, of Delaware, and passed the
Senate without material opposition; 1T
went to the House Of Representatives;
and found there no serious opposition to
it's passage. A treaty was negotiated
with the Sac and Fox Indians, to whom
the country had been assigned, and was
ratified by the requisite two thirds: and
this, besides doing an act of generous
Justice to the State of Missouri, was the
noble answer which northern members
pave to the imputed design of abOliShlng