The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1856-01-07

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tr1eted, hostile ones, with little capac
ity LETT for common advantage, but abun
dant means Of rsciprocal injury aud mis
chief. ~
Practically. it is immaterial Whethc
aggressive Snterfsrence between tn
StAtss, or deliberate refusal on the par
Of any q ofthem TO comply With con
sti~tutional obligations, arise from er.o
naoos conviction or blind prejudice
whether it be perpetrated by direction
or indirectiou In either case, it lie full
sf threat and ofdsnger OF the durabilit,
70 the Union.
CONSTITUTIONAL RELATIONS OF SLAVERY
Placed In the once Of Chief Magis
tFats az The executive agent of the whole
country, bound to take care that th'
lava be faithfully executed, and special
b enjoined by the constitution to Civ
information to Congress on the state o
the Union, it would be palpable negleci
Of duty on my part to pass over 3 sub.
ject like this, which beyond all things al
the present time, vitality concerns indi.
vid1al and public security. &
1thas been . matter of painful regre.
. o see States, conspicuous for their
services in founding this Republic, aud
equally sharing its advantages disre-
gard their constitutional obligations to
e.. Although conscious of their insbili.
~ 20 heal admitted and palpable social
evils Of their osn, and which are com
pleseiy within their jurisdiction, they
engage in the Offensive and hopeless un-
dertaking of reforming the domestic in.
Stitutions ofother States wholly beyond
their control and authority- In the
vain pursuit Of ends, by them entirely
unaffainable, and which they may not
legally attempts to compass, they peril
Che very existence of the constitution,
and all the countless benefits which it
has conferred. While the people of the
8outhern States con6ne their attention
other own affairs, not presuming off,
eieusly to intermeddle with the social
institutions Of the Northern States, too
many of the inhabitants of the latter
are permanently organized in a%ssocia-
ticns to inaics injury or thc former, by
wfongful acts, which would be cause for
war as between foreign powers, and only
fail TO be sues in our system, because
perpetrated under ove of the Union.
It Is impossible to present this sub
ject ~ truth and the occasion require,
without noticing the reiterated. but
R~roundless, allegation, that ethe South
has persistsntly asserted clsims and ob.
tsined advantages Ia the p-aeticai ad-
mi1istration of the general government,
90 the prejudice Of the North, and Ii
which the latter acquicsred. That is,
the States which either promote or tot
erate attacks on The rights of persona
aud OF property 10 other States. to dis
gui5e their NJ injustice, pretend or i'm.
agins. and constantly aver, that they,
whose constitutional rights arethus sys.
tematically assaulted, are themselves the
a9gresrors. At the present time, this
imputed aggres ion, resting as It does,
only in the vague, declamat1ry charges
of political agitAtors, resolves itself in
tomisapprehension, OF misinterpYetation,
Of the principles or facts of the ploiti-
cal organisation of the new Territories
of the United States
What is the voice Of history? When
athe ordnance. which provided for the
government of the territory northwest Of
the river Ohio, and for It's eventual Sub,
division into new States, was adopted in
che Congress of tn. confederation. il is
not TO be supposed thatthe question Of
future relative power, as between the
States which retained, and those which
did not retain, q numerous colored pop
ulatiCn, escaped notice, or failed to be,
considered. Aud yet the concession of
that vast territory to the interests and
opinions Of tho Northern States, q ter
Titory BOW the seat of FIVE among the
largest members of the Union, was, in a
great measure. the act Of the State of
Virginia and of the South.
When Louisiana was acquired by the
United States, it was an acquisition not
less TO the North than to the South for
while It was important to the country at
the mouth Of the river Mississippi to be-
come the emporium of the country above
il, so also it was even moro important to.
che whole Union TO have that emporium
and although the new province, by reason
ofits imperfect settlement. was mainly
regarded as on the Gulf of Mexico. vet,
in fact, is extended to the opposite boun-
dariea of the United States, with far
qester breadth above than below, and
Was in territory, as in ~ercrything else,
equally at least an accession 10 the north
ern States. It is mere delusios and
prejudice, therefore, to speak of Lorisi
o a. al acql;sition in. the special in
terest Of the South.
The patriotic AID Just men, who par-
tieipatsd in the act, were Influenced by
motives far above all sectional jealous.
les. II Was IN truth the great event,
which b. completing for US the posses,
sion. of the valley Of the Mississippi, with
commercial access TO the Gulf of Mex
icos impaired unity aud strength to the
whole confederation, and attached to-
gethsr by i~ndissoluble ties the East and
the West, as we'll asthe North and the
South. > s-s5ss ~
As9o Florida, that was bat the trans.
fer By Spain to the United States of
territory on the east side of the river
Mississippi, in exchange for large terri
tory, which the United States transfer.
red to Spain on the west side of that
river, a. the entire diplomatic history of
the transaction serves to demonstrate.
Moreover, it Vas an acquisition deman.
ded BY the commercial Interests of tho
whole Union.
In the meantime, the people of the
United States had grown up toa prop.
er conscientiousness of their strength.
and In brief contest with France, and
N ssscond serious wal with Great Brit
ain, they had shaken off all which re-
manned Of undue reverence for Europe,
AMI emerged from the atmosphere of
those transatlantic Influences which,sur
rnnndad the infant annhlin.an -