The western Democrat. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1852-1870, 1856-05-06
WILLARD FILLMORE.

L
is believed to be now in the possession of
gentleman of Wilmington, y. C.; and the
Washington Organ states that MIR. +. has
declared himself at the service of his friends,
and his formal acceptance may be expected
in the course of few days. Francis Grund,
however, friend of Mr. Fillmore, writing
from Rome, whittier Mr.. +. was at the time,
states that, that he will not accept or reject
the Know Nothing nomination, until he is
Informed of the result of the Cincinnati
Convention, and ascertains the chances of
Ids saaccss aIrund tells us, moreover, that
if Fillmore should accept the nomination,
che will not commit himself by any pledge
ar declaration, but will stand solely on his
personal merits" The personal merits of
rs man viii he sufficient protection for
the South at this crisis. His political mer-
it, will be the standard by which he will be
Judged No man will be trusted in the
I,sS th2t Inc was opposed to the annexation
of Texas, to thss Union, under any circum-
stances, se long slaves are held therein"
that he is ''in favor of Congress exercis-
ing all the constitutional power it possesses
to abolish the slave trade b etween the States;
that he is in favor of immediate legislation
for the abolition of slavery in the District
81 Columbia" and that he is in favor of
"Cnrg-css receiving, reading and respect
fully considering petitions on the subject of
Il \,
ions Mr.. Fillmore has expressed, and never
revoked, and his friends are challenged to
gaimsay, if they can, the truth of the asser-
ton. When reminded of these opinions,
they point t. the signing by Mr.. +. of the
COMPROMISE bills-bills making far greater
concessions, as every body knows, to the
1,orth than to the SOuth-bills which he
called upon to sign by nearly the en-
tire Wing party of the country. And his
Northern friends now declare that he signed
the Fugitive Slave bill because she got
other laws on which our (their) hearts were
set" Talk of the Compromise bills They
Welded every thing TO the North. First in
magnitude, a. in iniquity. was the admission
of California into the Union, with bounda-
Iics usurpcd and defined by lawless adven-
;urcrS, with n constitution excluding the
Stakeholder and his property from every
foot of land held by the United States on
tie Pacific coast South of Oregon. From
Oregon we had previously been excluded
10y law "f.EnmgresS.
The next act was one giving ten millions
of dollars (SI0,GGO,GC0) out of the public
treasury, the properly equally of the South
IND North, to cxtinguish the just claims of
TcSn> To territory obtained by the war with
Mexico, which was thus, by enactment of
Congress, taken from the jurisdiction of
slave state and placed under the control of
Congress itself under the rule of a free-soil
mai"rity--the South being thus not only
deprived of the wealth and strength TO be
derived from the possession of the territory
and its inhabitants, but actually made to
contribute money to pay for its own spolia-
tion.
Next came the act abolishing the slave
trade in the District of Columbia, by which
:he Federal Government assumed the power
To dcnounce and punish as crime the
transfer or sale of property by one citizen
20 another; and, farther, usurped the power.
IN certain contingency, to destroy the
property altogether; thus establishing, as
far as such precedent could, its right to
make sale of goods, legally held as pro-
perry, crime, for which the owner was
.l lH-o s. Al
natv made to lose all benefit of the article
aS property-an authority not rightfuIly
held or exercised by any sovereign State in
this Union.
For all these aggressive acts. we were to
be compensated by the passage of bill to
which the constitution gave us an unques-
toned and unconditional right-a bill for
the reclamation of fugitive slaves, which,
when passed, many Northern legislatures
nullihed; which Northern politicians de-
hounced' and Northern mobs with impunity
dehed' resisted and defeated And this bill,
thus rendered inefficient, thus made a
remedy so costly that the sale of the pro-
perty recovered does not pay for the cost
OF Its prosecution, was our only comnensa-
ton for submission TO acts so offensive and
wrongs so oppressive, gave the dolusive
promise that this was to be a final settle
ment of our sectional difficulties. The COM
pensation was fraud and an insult; the
promise never was intended and scarcely
expected to be kept.
ara these are the bills, the signing of
which Is to recommend Mr.. Fillmore to the
support of SOutherners for the next Presi-
dency!! His personal merits" are nothing
compared to the Importance of his political
merits. The next President NAV hold in
MS hands the dcstinies of this Union. The
a"'I!tioAlsts have possession of the popular
o'ahch q Congress, and the only hope of
southern rights and interests NAV, and in
~ probability will, depend upon the politi
-1' sentiments and frmness of the Presi-