M'arthur Democrat. (McArthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1853-1865, 1856-01-10
was absolutiteII superced

edlby the constitute )n. But the recollecti0I
of the fact excited { le zeal OF social progro
grandson is some Rrlions OF the conledera
and when a social State that Of Missouri
came so be formed in the territory Of Louis
lana proposition y Bs'made 10 extend 10 the
latter territory the restriction originally ap
piled 20 the countI situated besT-een The RI
yeTs Ohio and Mis- issippl.
Most questionab as was this proposition
in all It's constitute )Dal relations, neyerthe-
less il received the sanction Of congress with
some slight modtii, i,ations OF line 10 save the
EXISTING rights OF th intended new State
II was reluctantly cquiesce in by Southern
States as a sacrifice 10 the cause Of peBce aud
Of the Union, not o My Of the rights stipula.
ted by the treaty OF Louisiana, ,bHt of the pTin
lcipnl Of equality among the States gusnn-
teed by the COnstit nion. II was received by
the Northern States wish angry and resentiul
condemnation and complaint because it did
not concede all wi lich they had exactingl,
demanded. Having passed through the forms
OF legislation, it to ok its place in the statute
book, stand ing OPP n TO repeal like any other
act of doubtful C Dstitutionali'y subject TO
be pronounced null and void by the courts OF
law, and possessing as possible efficacy to
control the rights i the states which nights
iheieafter be organ lied out of any part of the
original territory III Louisiana.
In all thisifany sggessons there were any
innoIacation upc q pre.existing rights, to
which portion Ut be Union are they justly
chargeablel
The controversy passed away with the oc-
casion nothing sur living IL save the dormant
lettes Of the statute.
But long after wards, when, by the
proposed accessi on OF the Republic OF
Texas, the United States were to take
their next step in territorial greatness,
a similar contingency occurred, and be-
came the occasi on for syslematized al
tempts to inte rife re in the domestic at
airs OF one sect ion of the Union, in
defiance OF their rights az States, and
OF the stipulations Of the Constitution.
These assum ed practical direction,
in the shape of lperSevering endeavors,
BY some Of the representatives, in both
houses OF Congress, to deprive the
Southern States of the supposed bene-
fit of the provis ions of the act author
izing the organization of the State of
Missouri.
But the gootl sense of the people,
and the vital fofce of The constitution,
triumphed over sectional prejudice, and
the political err ors OF the day, and the
State of Texas returned TO the Union
as she was, with social institutions
which her people had chosen for them
selves, and with xpress agreement, BY
the re.ann!.eeS,::nnE at.t, that she should be |
susceptible of sub division into pIu-
rslity of States.
Whatever adv antage the interests Of
the Southern Sta les, as such, gained
by this, were lar Inferior in results, as
they unfolded in the progress of time,
to those which sI,rang from previous
concessions made by the South.
TO every thol lghtful friend of the
Union-to the true lovers of their coun-
try--to all who lol lged and labored for
the full success of this great expert
ment of republican institutions-it was
cause Of gratulatio n that such an op>
portunity had occn rred to illustrate our
advancing power n this continent, and
to furnish to the 'orld additional as
surance of the strer 18th and stability Of
the constitution. Who would wish
to see Florida still European colony?I
Who would rejoice to hail Texas as a
lone star, instead Of one in the galaxy
of States? Who does not appreciate
the incalculable bene fits Of the acqui-
silion of Louisiana? And yet mario W
vie ws and sectional purposes would
inevitably have excluded them all from
the Union.
Blu. another struggle on the same
point enSush, when our victo rious ar
mics returned from Mexico, and it de.
volved on Congress to provide for the
territories acquired by the treaty Of
Guadalupe Hidalgo. The great rela-
tions Of the subject had now become
distinct and Near to The perception Of
the public mind, which appreciated the
evils of sectional controversy upon the
question OF the admission of new
States. In that crisis intense solicit
tude pervaded the nation. But the
patriotic impulses of the popular heart
guided by the admoni tory advice oi
the Father of his Country, rose super.
ior to all the difficulties OF the incor.
poration of new empire into the Un-
ion. Inlhe counsels Of Congress there
was manifested extreme antagonism Of
opinion and acton between soma rep.
resentatives, who sought by the abus-
i've and unconstitutional employment
of the legislative powers OF lie gov
ernment to interfere ia the condition or
the inchoate States, and to impose their !
own social theories upon the latter,
and other representatives, W no repel!ed
the interposition Of the general govern
ment in this respect and maintained
the self-constructing rights OF the
States.
In truth, the thing attempted was,
in form alone, action OF the general
government, while in reality it was the
endeavor, by abuse of legislative pow
er, to force the ideas internal policy,
entertained in particular States, upon
allied independent States. Once more