The prairie news. [volume] (Okolona, Miss.) 1851-1875, 1859-08-18
GOV. WISE DEFENDING HIS POSITION


The New York papers contain a six-col-
umn letter.from Gov. Wise, Of Virginia,
in reply to certain questions addressed to
him by number Of New Workers who
fatteringly allude to his position as q
candidate for the Presidency. The main
questions upon which Mr.. Wise dilates at
such length are the protection due to nat
uralized citizens returning to the country
of their birth, the re-opening Of the slave
trade, and the enactment by Congress Of
slave code for the territories.
In the first place, Mr.. Wise goes in for
the fullest protection to naturallzed citi-
zens. In the second place, he declares
himself opposed to the rc-opening Of the
slave trade, which he considers offensive
to the large majority of the Shareholders
and Of the people of the South. In the
third place, he does not consider the en-,
actment of slavc'rodc'' fUfFfIi6terri-
tories judicious or necessary, but he holds
that the Shareholder going into terrific
ny of the United States with hs slave
pr, perty is entitled, under the constitu.
ton, TO be projected in the possession
and use of that property. He would not
permit the people of a territory, previous
to their assuming the responsibilities Of
state government, to exclude slave prop
erty by unfriendly Legislation. Such are
three planks Of the Governors platform,
and he may be fairly considered on the
course for the Presidential prize
The opinions of Mr.. Wise in relation
to the slave trade, We give in full as fol-
lows;
3. You ask my views regarding the
legality and expectancy Of re-opening The
Airivan slave trade"
This subject is but too fruitful Of dis
QUESTION and discussion, upon which !
cannot enter here. In short, my views
are:
BY article l, section 9, clause 1, of the
Constitution of the United States, /" the
migration or importation" oScertam per
sons" known to be African slaves, may be
prohibited by the Congress subsequent
ITO the year lS0S."
cite what conceive to be the plain
implication Of the clause, according to
the Interpretation of the Congress and
| the courts.
Congress passed laws to prohibit the
African slave trade by our citizens, and
under our flag, in our vessels. The au-
thorities of the United States, in every
department of the Government, for near
ly half a century, have sustained and en-.
forced these laws For more than three
years, as Envoy Of the I'm ted States at
the Cont ofllrazil ] was zealously en-
gagged in snatcliing ,lic fing of orr coun-
try from the pollution of tia, trade, car
ried on chiefly by New England $ vessels
and Old England "paaos da cosfa'-
"g00ds fil for Tie cuast of Africa !" and
my voluninous correspondence with the
Department of State, tr,,m .Angasd, t64I,
TO August, 1s47, will SLOW What effect |
gave the laws Of the Uuitcd States for
the suppression Of the African slave trade,
as valid and constitutional laws. You
will there see my reasons for saying, not
only that 1t would be " illegal" and "in-
expedient," but immoral and disgraceful
for the nitrd States TO reopen the slave
trade, or to tolerate the new Importation
of African slaves into this country. /
can easily defend the slavery of the Uni
ted States, as it now exists and has exis-
ted from first to last, and show that 1t is
now, at least, well founded on principles
wholly opposed to the re-opening of the
African slave trade; that the one is Who'll.
ly irreconcilable with and opposed to
the other; and there opening Of the slave
trade would be as offensive to the moral
sense of the large majority Of slavehol-
ders and of the peopleIo the South as to
any other people in our own or in any
other country. So much for that ques-