Daily American organ., 1856-08-30


And see how much you'll gain. -.
From the Augusta Georgia. Chronicle.
Mr.. Yancey's Impotent Defence.
The pamphlet that the Hon. w. L. Yancey, of
Montgomery, published in l848, In which he ex-
hbited, with great force and truthfulness, Mr. Bu-
chanan in all his hideous colors i'll accords with
Mr.. Yanceys present position as lector for the
State Of Alabama in the cause of the Democratic
candidate that he has deemed It prudent to pub
lish very long and very lame explanatory letter
in the Montgomery Advertiser of Thursday. In
the pamphlet of lS4S, Mr.. Yancey had shown
how, with serpent's power, James Buchanan was
working to ipjure and degrade the South. He had
referred to Mr. Buchanan's seeming Southern face
in 1847, when he advised that the line of the
Missouri Compromise should be extended to any
new territory acquired from Mexico, and exposed
his real Northern face by alluding to his declaration
that should we acquire Mexican territory, 1t was
impossible that a majority of the people of that
region would consent to re-establlsh slavery, as
large proportion of them were colored, and among
them the negro was not socially degraded. The
comments of Mr.. Yaneey on his treachery were
pertinent and just.
"To Mr.. Buchanan, therefore, is due the credit
of first giving the go-by to the Wilmot Proviso,
as a means of excluding shareholders from our
new Territories, but at the same time of point
ing out to the North how much more effectually
the great end of the Provisoists-ths keeping
these Territories exclusively for Northern emigra-
tion-could bo obtained by advocating the new
doctrine, that the inhabitants Of Territory,
while yet in its Territorial State, could prevent
the emigration thither of shareholders.
Lest this should startle the South, and thus
leave him (Buchanan) between two fres--one
from the North for opposing the Wilmot Proviso,
and one from the South for throwing her rights
upop the tender mercies of the 'colored' pOpua-
ton of these Territories Mr.. Buchanan proposed
to both the alarmed sections to unite on the Mis-
souii Compromise line-a compromise which ad-
mits of the power of Congress over the matter,
and derives all its stability and force from an act
of Congress"
Previous to the publication Of the pamphlet, Mr.
Yancey had written to Mr.. Buchanan to learn If
he would endorse the constitutional resolutions
passed at Democratic Convention at Montgom-
ery, in the previous February, protesting against
slavery being restricted from the Territories, and
had received his reply dated May Is, lS48, and
worded thus
"On the 26th of August last, after much refec-
ton. [ addressed letter TO the Democracy OF
Berks county, Pennsylvania on this important and
exciting question, in which expressed strong
opinion in favor of the extension OF the Missouri
Compromise to any Territory which we might ac-
quire from Mexico had entertained and freely
was first agtated and every days experience, since
the date of my letter. has but served to strengthen
nv conviction that the Missouri Compromise is the
best if not the only mode, of finally and satisfac-
torly adjusting this vexed and dangerous question
"Under these circumstances cannot abandon
the position which / have thus deliberately and
conscentiously taken, and assume any other that
can be presented"
Thus deliberately and conscientiously (if such a
word as the latter can be applied) James Buchan-
an was opposed, in 1848, to the South gaining one
inch of land in the Territories, although in the
previous year he had appeared to approve OF ex-
tending the line to the Pacific. The publication
of the pamphlet, il is well known, produced the
famous Sanford letter of August IL, lS4S, In which
Mr.. Buchanan expressed surprise that Mr.. Yancey
should so have construed his words as to pervcrt
their "plain and obvious meaning; that, In his
opinion, the inhabitants of q Territory as such had
no political rights, (athough they possessed all the
private rights of American citizens that they had
no power whatever over the subject of slavery, and
tbey could neither nterdict nor establish it. except
when assembled in Convention to form State
constitution
In this same letter he states that Congress, in
his opinion, possesses the power to legslate upon
the subject of slavery in the Territories, and that
this sovereign power in Congress, must, from ifs
nnture. be exclusive" This unconstitutional doc
trine passes unnoticed by Mr.. Yancey, and he re-
fers only to that portien OF the Sanford letter
which is in direct contradiction to the latter part
Now, the reason Mr. Yancey gives for being, IN
1856, the supporter Of the man he denounced in
l84s,. are that he Inexperienced Mr. Buchanans
views in supposing him TO be either squatter
sovereign or one in favor of the Territories being
controlled by Congress, and that "the rehec'lng
reader viii discover, too, that Mr. Buchanan op-
| posed the Wilmot proviso, and advocateo sne
| Missouri Compromise instead and that the SEN
tences from which deduced the idea that he was
in favor of squatter sovereignty, we're nosnng ou.
ARGUMENTS advanced by him, not in advocacy OF
so5atter sovereignty, but in support OF the Mis-
sour. Compromise On re-rendng that pamphlet,
| I am disposed to blush for the defectiveness OF
INV reasoning at that day"
II occurs to us that Mr.. Yancey should rather
blush for the Effectiveness of bis reasoning to-
day. when he can, on such frivolous testimony
ayow that Mr.. Buchanan, the great provisoist Ton
keeping these territories exclusively for Northern
emigration" is "a friend Of the South and OF the