Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1855-08-08
STAUNTON SPECTATOR.
"WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 8, 1855.
The Old Land-raarks'

Amid the prevailing confusion ofpolltlcal opln-
ion re,son and natriotsm alike dictate the WIS
dom of frequent recurrence to the basis princi-
pies of our government. Whatever may De 0ul
n3vdual views. in reference to the questions Of
r,,;onal and international policy now generally
discussed no honest mind, properly lnbued with
tho shirt Of allegiance to the country and It's IN
,,;,,t;ors wonld refuse to admit the paramount
,oc,;,v ofthose political truths which lie at the
vorv foundation of our national existence In all
cases of proracted personal litigation not only are
,ho literal terms of a written contract acknowl-
oa,-od hv both parties as binding on themselves
Int the bearing of we'll established facts is equally
admitted. so far as the circumstances unuef
which the contract was made, can in any way
sxn,ain the meaning of the instrument. Inc
circumstances under which our government was
Grmed and the present Constitution adopted
h,ve for similar reasons, an admitted value IN
the INTERPRETATION of the federal compact; and
those who entertain truly patriotic desire 10 ut-
derstand and abide by the requirements OF that
solemn bond, will not shut their eyes against 'he
historical associations by which it is surrounded
Suppose, then, we should seek for clear un-
Outstanding of the agltating questions OF the cay
in the light to be derived from such an inquiry
what would be the teaching of American history
ON the subject of free soilism, or IN reference 10
the relative claims Of natives and foreigners 10 DC
entrusted with political power? What do we
o.-, in rerard to these subjects from the clrcum-
stances under which the government was iouno-
ed Were not majority OF the oia 'h"'ee"
States slave States, when the Constitution was
adopted? Could proposition, having lree-son
tendency, have been incorporated into 'na' III
strument with any prospect of success! 10 us
rothno appears more absurd than to suppose that
thirteen States, majority Of which then toiera-
tod slavery. would have sanctioned platform
which should embrace among its articles the CON-
mon free. soil dictum, "No more slave States 70
bo admitted into the Union" If this be true,
and we NAV safely challenge the ingenuity OF any
adversary to gain.say it, nothing can be more OPP
posed to the spirit Of the Constitution than sucn
condition applied to the admission OF new o'a'eS
for II is incredible that its authors could have con-
formulated terms which would have excluded IRON
the Union many of the original parties TO Inc
comnact. Let the honest portion of the northern
people look at this question fairly, and deal win
tho doctrine of free-soilism accordingly.
Again, let us enquire into the opinion ana leei-
nos of the people and their representatives. at 'he
fine Of the adoption Of the Constitution, in regard
10 the leading principles of the American party
VIII any intelligent reader call in question tue
trnth of the declaration, that a native American
en;yi, generally prevailed at that day. WIN any
presume to assert that, in the estimation OF the
republic. natives and foreigners were regarded as
eoualu we'll qualified Cor offices OF important 'faS'
rrder onr government? Let them therefore ex-
rla;n the careful exclusion of men OF foreign
birth from the Presidency of the United States'-
let them account, on some plausible grounds re-
veaed by the history of the times, Tor 50 eS'raoi,
binary provision. Thus far, the most toF'u'eu
ingenuity has sought in vain to unlock the mys!e-
~ on any other theory than that which forms the
corner stone Of the American party.
With strong convictions of the truth OF these
views, we conclude with recommending 10 1aul-
cal agitators of every stripe, the scrptura inunc-
tion, so often repeated Remote not The an
cient landmarks"