Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1856-01-17

OF ls49, do us great injustice. That yoar
was one Of unusual disaster to the farmers
o. Ohotheir wheat crop having been al
most deA,royed by tie wesvil. 1t may
thers(ore. be safely assured, that Ohio oc-
'upies the position of the first agricultural
State in the Union.
The mineral resources Of the State are
but partially developed There are no means
by which to fore, an accurate opinion Of
their extent, but sufficient is known to su.
thorize the belle that when capital and
sc ience shall have ascer,aned the full
amount OF mineral deposits which underlie
a large portion of the soil, ,sthe State will
occupy no secondary rank in this re-
spect.
Notw outstanding the drain which emgra-
tion to Western States and Territories was
supposed by some 20 have made upon this
State, IL will be seen by the returns of the
enuineratiuns Of persons over the age of
twenty one years, that the average annual
increase of that class Of our population
during the last fifteen or twenty years, has
not been diminished.
For progress and prosperity SO eminent,
Ohio owes much to the great natural ad-
vantages already enumerated. but more To
that generous policy, which tolerstes no
lliberal tests of birth or creed, and to in
sttutions which embody the vital principles
Of popular sovereignty. Loyal to the Ut ion,
and prompt to observe every obligation Of
the National compact, her citizens cannot
fail 10 recognize, in the broadcast sense, the
just and salutary principle that to tue p'o-
| pie of every organized State and Territory
belongs the right and preros atye of tegula-
tin. Tor themselves their own domestic and
local affairs, within the limits OF the Con-
stituton. Our brief annals as a State are
emphatic in vindcation of such policy.
| The Constitution of 1909 was welcomed by
the people as relief from Territorial mis-
! government, and because it secured to the
Inhabitants the election of their officers and
the uncontrolled regulation Of their domes-
tic affairs. Indeed, all experience demon
strateS thot the harmony Of :he Union, and
the success of the great Republican ex-
! pertinent in progress among us, require the
infleXible application of the doctrine Of
State Rights and Popular Sovereignty,
limiting The interference, by federal authority
to those few objects of National interest
which are specifically enumerated IN the
Constitution. Capitalization is the greatest,
danger OF Republics; and against such
tendency, whether the motive be the ad-
vancement of special interest or the gratifi
cation OF sectional animosity, the American
people can establish nd barrier more secure
than the admirable division of political
power defined BY tie founders Of our in.
sti'u,ions.
Nor 10 II necessary, in order to command
the public dbprosa, of these fundamental
principles, to add any appeal in behalf of
the Union. No citizen OF the Valley of the
Mississippi will ;olerate,,any doubt of the per-
petuty Of our league of States. With our re-
lations TO the Lake, River and Gulf COASTS
of this mighty basin, any scheme of dis
memberment, which sectional infatuation
may engender, caIinot be received otherwise
than with mingled scorn and Indignation
by the patriotic communities of the West.
Let it be understood that the centre of our
Republican Empire will soon reach the
shores of the Mississippi. constituting the
vast reg ion drained by its tumultuous food
ami innumcfabIe tributaries, the natural
arbiter-nevcr a beligerent-in sectional
controver sizes. And as Ling as the ashes of
Andrea Jackson are inutned among the
Western People, SO long will we cherish,
in sentiment and in action, his stern and
patriotic uttsranco, "The Union--it must be
preserved" WILL M MEDlLL.
Columbus January Z, 1856.