Washington telegraph., 1856-01-23

people OF the Southern States conf1ne Their s,.a
,.on 70 thelr own affairs not presuminy offc;ons-
~ ~ ln.ermeddle with the social institutions of
/ of -. ueih otates, too many of the inhabitants
- .e idIter are permanently organized in asso
d'ohS 10 1nf1ict In)ury the former by wroo.
i aecs which would be cause of war as betxres,
ofeisn powers, and only fail to De such in an
+ Union eo'ef OIL the
1t Is impossible to present this srbe.t .s 1T
ana the occasion require. without NOTICING tba ra
,'eia'ed but groundIess allegation that tba Sc'th
mas persIsenty asserted claim and ob.;nad al
vantages IN the administration of the Cener.I
government, to the prejudice OF the North and
t 1n " hich Inc latter has acquiesced That Is tha
States which either promote or tolerate ..ti
on the rights OF persons and of property in other
STATES 10 disguise their own Injustice nretend or
imagine: and constantly aver that they. whose
soiisJ rlSntS are thus systematically as
saiied; are themselves the asgressors. At the
present time, this imputed aggression. RESTING as
/ uoss- only IN the vague, deciamatory charoeS of
poiitcal aSitators, resolves itself into misannre
henslon, or misinterpretation, of the PRINCIPLES
ana facts OF the political organization of the new
Territories '''' ''e
What IS the voice of history When the or
dinance which provided for the government of
! tne territory northwest OF the river Ohio and
lot It's eventual subdivision into new States was
adopted IN the Congress of the Confederation it
Is not to be supposed that the question OF future
relative power as between the States which re-
tanned and those which did not retain numerous
coiored population escaped notice. or~faieI to be
considered And yet the concession of that vast
territory to the Interests and opinions of the
NoTtheri. States territory now the seat of five
among the largest members of the Union was
IN great measure. the act of the State OF Vfr
einIa and of the South.
When Louisiana was acquired by the United
States, ut was acquisition not less to the North
than to the South for while 1T was important To
the country at the month q the rfv
pI to become the emporium of the country above
1t. 50 also 1t was even more important to the
whole Union to have that emporium and aItho7
the new province. by reason of Its imperfect set
tiement, was mainly regarded the Cult of
Mexico yet IN fact it extended to the opposite
boundaries OF the United States. with tar greater
! breadth above than below. and was in territory
as In everything else, equally at least an acces-
sion to the Northern States. Ii is mere deIusion
/ and prejudice, therefore, to speak of Louisi,ua
/ as the acquisition in the special interest of the
1 South
The patriotic ana inst men. who participated
IN that act, were influenced by motives far above
all sectional Jealousies- 1t was in truth the great
event which, by completing for us the Valley of
the Mississippi, with commercial access to the
Gulf of Mexico, inpartins unity with strength
to the whole confede ration, anG attached togeth-
er by lndissoluble ties. the East and West as
well as the North and South.
As to Florida. that was but the transfer BY
| Spain 10 lHc OHiteU SsdleS OF te- rItOry the
/ East side OF the river Mississippi in exchange
( for large territory, which the United States
transferred to Spain on the West side of the river
as the entire diplomatic history OF the transac-
4 ton serves to demonstrate Moreover. it was an
acquisition demanded by the commercial inter-
ests and the security OF the whole Union
| In the meantime, the people of the o. States
/ had grown up to a proper consciousness of their
! strength: and in a brief contest with France and
ia a second serious war with Great Britain. they
had shaken oil all which remained OF undue rev
erence Tor Europe. anG emerged from the atmos-
phere OF those transatlantic influences which sur
rounded the infant Republic. and had began to
turn their attention to the full and systematic
/ development OF the internal resources OF the
/ Union.
Among the evanescent controversies of that
period the most conspicuous was the question OF
regulation by Congress o. the social condition of
of the future States To be founded in the Terrific
| ry OF Louisiana
| The ordinance for the government of the ter
rItOry northwest OF the river Ohio had contained
aprovIsion which prohibited the OF servile
/ labor therein subject to the condition OF the
tradition OF fugitIves from due any 9TH
er part of the United States. Subsequently to
the adoption of the constitution, this provision
ceased to remain a law, :or its operation as
such absolutely super ceced by the cons titu-
ton But the recollection o. the fact excited the
zea OF social propagandIsm IN some sections of
the coniedeTacy; and when a second State. that
OF Missouri came 10 be formed In the territory of
. Louisiana proposition was made to extend to the
latter territory the restrictions originally applied
to the country situated between the rivers Ohio
and Mississippi
Most uDquestIonabe was thiS proposition in
all its constitutional relations nevertheless it re-
ceived the sanction of Congress, with some slight
notifications OF line, to the existing rights
of the intended new State 1t was reluctantly
acquesecd in by Southern States as sacrifice to
the cause of peace and of the Union. not only of
the rights stipulated by the treaty of Louisiana.
but OI the principle of equality among the States
guaranteed by the constitution 1t was received
/ by the Northern STATES with angry and resentful
condemnation and complaint, because it did not
concede all which they had exactingly demand
Having passed through the forms Of legislation,
1t took its place in the statute-book standing open
to repeal, like any other Ict of doubtful consttu-
tionalIty; subject to be pronounced null and void
by the courts of law, and possessing possible
efficacy to control the rights of the States. which
might thereafter be organized out of any part of
the original territory of Louisiana
In all this. IL any aggression there were any
innovation upon the pre-eXIstins rights, to which
portion of the Union they justly chargea-
bic
This controversy passed away with the occa-
SION nothing surviving it the dormant letter
of the statute
But long afterwards, when by the proposed
cesSion OI the repuDlc OF IeNas. Inc u StateS
were to take their next step In territorial great
ness similar contingency occurred and became
the occasion for systemat:zed attempts to inter
fere in the domestic affairs OF section of The
Union In defiance OF their rights States and OF
the stIpulatIOns of the constitution. These at
tempts assumed practical direction in the shape
of persevering endeavors. by some OF the repre-
sentatives. in both houses OF Congress to deprive
southern States OF the supposed benefit of the pro-
vision OF the act authorizing the organization OF
the State of Missouri
But the good sense of the people. and the vital
force of the constitution. trnmphed over section
al prejudice, and the political errors of the day,
and the State of Texas returned TO the Union
she was with social institutions which her peo-
pie had chosen for themselves, and with express
agreement by the re-annexng act. that the should
be susceptible of subdivision into plurality of
States.
Whatever advantages the enteresfs of the south
ern States, such. gained by this were far infe
ror in results, they unfoded In the progress of