Richmond daily Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1842-1861, 1856-07-19

on THE STATE OF POLITICS
SfftVH
Delivered at ~ Louis on saturday, June ~. isss.

Asrsrcu
Delivered at N. Louis on Saturday, June "a isAs.
Aher the enthusiastic cheering which his sppcsr.ne,
upon the stand excited had snbsicd Col Benton sahi
crrrrsss appear before you ia unexpected char
scter-that Of candidate tor the 6ovcracrship 1t tn
State OF Missouri. IL place which had not soagh
but sheh ieel bound to acceptin the prcseu, eondo,
of the eountry-its peace greatly endangered both
home and abroad aud the services OF all good cit,ens
qured to aid in preventing the double cs.my Of cvi
and foreign war. The nomination President made
Cincinnati encouraged In the hope OF seeing these ca
anites avered and has chiefly contributed 10 my mr..
>ent course will assist the President (ioe lool
upon Mr. Baehanans election certain in doing what
am very SURF he viii do that Is TO say, all in his power
preserve the peace OF the country home md abcosd
and restore the frsternal feelings between the drp
sections OF the Union, now lamcntably impaired.
shall have 10 make some speeches, but such arr
usually made in political canvass Attacks upon IN,
opposite party parties usually constitute burden
such speeches they are proper la other canvascs
not commensurate in canvass for the Governorship II
elected the candidate becomes the Governor the STATE
not o party, and should demean himself As %
give evidence Of impartial administration and as
suance OF respectful Intercourse with all who have
occssion who may feel inclination TO call upon him
Acting upon these principles, | shall make no dis.
Psrag,ng reference TO the parties opposed To me
L shall applaud MY own pzrty-the which tseuty
years ago gave exalted Democratic charsc.
ter TO the Statebut nothing derogaiory of
In standing where have stood for orty wears In thi.
State, aud for all Of manhood before came 10
the State sufficiently show the preference which give
to my oSn without impagnng or dispAragng others |
merely that sectional idea parties have auays
received my oppos'on-iar more than the Wing party
which, being national and resting board foundation
the with the Democratic In the ultimate object
the general good,hough differing about the means of
obtaining IT. With theseiew remarks say nothing more
about parties nor shall nothing about lnyself ~
ly upon long public life full OF incident TO answer eve
ry question that concerns me-nerely reminding NV Eel
lo~-eitiEens that am not Of changes-that What
they have known me In the past still in the present
and expect 10 be in the uture proceed to sneak of the
public affairs, troubled and dsoriered than
have ever known theu. Citizens take for nv text the
farewell words OF the Father OF his Country addressing
his last advice to the children whom he had
and guarded and from who he about 10 be parted for
ever father about to die collects his children around him
otstows his pseral beneiictoa upon them exhos them
to atcrnAl Affection; prayer for their happipe,s
and resigns his Soul to his Maker Uppermost in his
thoughts and deepest in his heart is the wish for family
harmony and for brOhery and sisierly affection Peace
IN the family circle the last sspatou OF his ps-,he
last PuSiion OF his bosom He dies PRAYING for peace
among his defendants Such in the last farewell of The
Natural tather parting iron the Offspring Vt his lon.-
Washington had no children OF his loins but he
took 10 himself whole nation Of beloved and
cherished children, He the Father of his
Country and dying he initiated the natural
father and lett his benedicton his paternal blessing
hi' last adviceaEd his eternal to the national lam.
H which he bad adopted whose infancy he had protect
ed aud whose future welfare and greatness the su.
Prayer. No jeaouses heart-burnnss-no sectional d.
visions or antpatss-no geographical distincons-no
Nohio Sout-was the prayer OF his soul and the bur.
den OF his invocasn and that last and paternA psver
has been granted until lately transient cloud dark and
porientoas had sometimes threatened 70 mar the general
harmony but wise and patriotic men by safe and gentle
measures had always carried off the threatening storm
and lett peace aud sunshine to ovespead the land -Four
ago seemed hare attained the highest point of
harmony and felicity We were in the fullest suoy-
neni OF Wsshingtons wish The harmony and fr.terna
Gf min -ztas
people both politically and socially was At tie highest
President elected with unparalleled unAniuity-
twenty seven States out Of thirty voting the same
man, and he Northern Two-thiTds of each House
OF Congress correspondent sentiment With the President
-showiug unanmity in the national councils never be.
tore witnessed at the accession administration
The commencement OF the session OF Congress- ls5SS4
political millennium Universal harmony prevailed
\ brotherly feeling pervaded the Houses National
good will and desire do well the public business Was the
temper Of all IL seemed that nothing could rufae or
mar, tie universal good feeling which prev vailed Two
members iron the tree States tried it and failed They
delivered their customary harangues upon the evils OF
slavery their hArangue- fell dead upon the hoor-And
we're not repeated They died out under the cold 81
lent indifference OF the House. Abolition agitation Va
deadr1tinci under public opinion and the laws OF the
iad which had settled it even where and left not an inch
OF Territory which the question slavery could be
ise Ii mas been circulated that the compromise mea
Of lSa1 settled ii; it mistake il was seitled be-
fore and the merit OF that session that OF settling
question: but that Of disturbing what the laws had
already settled Its nonintsrerence was non-nerrsne
with law and the lesson which taught was the wise
lesson let the laws alone There no, an inch square
of territory at that time in the Union which the slavery
question was not already settled by law. Look over the
map OF the Union and YOU will see IT, In the remnant Of
the Northwest Territory above Wisconsin it was settled
by the ordinance OF 1885, in the former Province Of Lou.
i-IIna IL settled 10 the Rocky Mountains and out
To the British line, by the Missouri Compromis line Of
s5 ia Oregon it settled by the organic Territorial
la~ OF ls4s ia New Mexico, Utah and California IL ras
settled by the laws Of Mexico ia the District OF COLUMBIA
a u he firm. f.h
District had been acquired This constitutes the entire
extent OF the United states Territories that tne-a
quiet under the operation OF existing laws and way 10
open the slavery question anywhere except 10y repeating
some Of these laws; and that thing which the Con
gTes- of ls5O would not do, and did not do Aue,np,.
were made 10 repeal the Mexican Anavery laws IN New
Mexico, Utah and California, Congress refused 10 do il
Attempts made TO extend the Missouri Compromis
line TO the Pacific Ocean, Congress refused to extend il
Attempts were made 10 confirm the Mexican laws by the
NilmOt prOvso Congress refused 10 adopt
IL would pass no new Law upon the subject OF slavery he
cause 10 do thai would require the repeal some existing
laws and thereby reopen the slavery question Congress
refused to pass the Wmot provsO because the Mexican
a"s IN the Territories to which II applied had alrea
dy abolished slavery there and the provso while unne
cessary in itself 10 the object Of friends was pestop
6y re-oPeng the slavery agitation. At the session VI
1901 ana before commenced the question Of slavery h
gaton had been iorecosed throug the whole eren
OF our territories iOreclosed by previous legislation and
congress refused TO reopen the question by repeating alb
rogating, or altering, in any way that prevou.
This was the state Of the slavery question and the
slavery agitation, when the first Congress met under
Mr. Perce's Administration IN the session Of lsS354-
The agitation dead legislation closed ND upon H.
there was no way 70 reopen the question but 10
abrogats or repeal existing law; no wAy 10 get IN
agitation but by breaking down law, and that vas
done bill was brought 10 abolish the Missouri com
promise line, petezted upon the principles established by
the legislation OF 1880. The peteI libel upon the
legislation OF that year and especially upon the memory
OF NJ CAY, WHO bad taken prominent part in that L.
gsAhon IL was assumed by the authors Of the repeal
that the legislation established the principle Of nonnter
ference With slavery in Territories IL vas un assumption
without ioundson-contrsry % the act-and eontradc
ted by recorded history The principle established so IA.
"a any pucple could be established by negative action
was exactly the contrary exactly the principle Of not in
teierng with existing Laws exactly the principle Of
opening the slavery agitation by altering repesinR any
IA" that had iorccosed the subject that was the fpc
pe decred7n the plihorm Of 1852 And thus the prert
Tor the REPEAL OF thc Compromise was just a. unundeJ
and gratutous, A. the itse derlorabIe and mis-
cnievOus. NJ, cuLensi lhe autsOrs os thst rs,-1i
hnd not Qualification, hut condemnation in the legs,
hon Of 1850 And the further prcteKt (ior bad eso..
requires many pfetexts and even coftradictorv and
inconsistent onesl the further preio1t that the Com
promise was unconstitutional and void i. iu,t AZ ora
tuitous and unoundcd aud hagranhy contradef,d bv
~ Hm III