The Oxford intelligencer. (Oxford, Miss.) 1860-18??, 1860-08-22
The Repeal OF the Missouri Com
promise.

Didch he IIuoicau party itscii, 10 soicii 10 De
ascribed to the repeal of the Missouri Com
promise, and laid at the door of the Eek
tremists" of the South, as the authors Of that
measure. The assertion is believed, too, by
many honest and well-meaning persons, who
have never been properly informed upon the
subject, and who, in consequence are haunted
by secret apprehension, that, by possibility,
the Black Republicans may turn out to have
been in the right when they denounced the
South for her "breach of faith" in violating
''that sacred and time-honored compact"
What says history, upon that point!
In 1900, we acquired from ethe Loui-
siana Territory-whch included all our pre-
sent possessions, West of the Mississippi
River, not embraced in the acquisitions, for
merly belonging to Mexico, which we have re-
Gently obtained. Throughout all that vast
territory, slavery was established by law at
the date of its cession to us; and an express
article of the Treaty of cession provided that
we should protect the inhabitants in all their
rights Of property.
In 1919, Missouri carved ont of the Louisi-
ana Territory, applied for admission into the
/ Union. The Northern States, almost en-
masse, opposed her application, upon the sole
ground that she had a constitution rccogniz-
ing slavery. The. whole country was con-
vulsed by the violence and bitterness of the
struggle which ensued. The Union, for the
first time since its formation, was seriously
threatened with disruption. Let it be re-
membered, however, that there had been no
previous agitation of the subject of slavery,
and that there was then no controversy in
regard to the merits or dement's of the insti-
tuition. The free States had simply deter
mined, at that day, that they would acquire
rrcpouderancy in the Union, in order that
they might employ the powers of the govern
ment for their own aggrandizcmcnt; and, ac-
cordinglv, without even seeking TO disguise
: their conduct under the cover of a pretcxt,
they openly ayowed their purpose to snbsti-
tutc the law of might forthat of right. In
view of the pcris to the Union with which
resistance seemed to be fraught, the South,
for the sake of peace, reccded from the asscr-
ton of her clear aud manifest rights, and
consented to the insertion, in the act of 1920,
admitting Missouri into the Union, of pro-
vision which prohibited slavery, in all the
Territory acquired from France, North of 36
deg. 30 min. This was the Missouri Com
promisc-a compromise wrung by greedy
and INSCRIPTIONS majority from a minority
which believed itself incapable of ehcctual
rcsistance-just such compromise as help
less travellers have often made, when sudden
ly assailcd by prowling marauders, and called
upon TO answer the demand-"Ior money,
or your life
Thirty years passed on. Daring that pc
Rod, the North realized the full benefit ofthc
provisions of the Compromise, 10y excluding
slavery from a large scope Of territory into
which it would otherwise have gone and
then, having nothing further to expect from
its operation, it unbushngly rcpudiated "the
sacred compact" The South was willing,
and proposed in 1850, to run the line Of the
Missouri Compromise, through the newly ac-
quircd territory of California, to the Pacific
Ocean; but the North rejected the propo |
sition, and announced the dogma Of "no /
more slave States" as a part of her future |
policy. The compact, thus secuted 10y the !
North, was no longer iigatory-waiying all
discussion Of its justice or eonstituionality |
upon the South. II stoodupon the statute
book mere dead letter; and the repeating /
act of 1854, while it amounted TO lcgisa-
tive recognition of that fact, simply restored /
the South to her normal position, in theory,
ofcquality in the Union, from which ;he com
promise of 1920 had degraded her.
Meanwhile, the sentiment of anti-slavery
had been making rapid strides in the free
States; and the Northern politicians, who
have never lost sight of their traditionary
policy Of acquiring a political ascendancy
over the South, determined 90 enlist that "a
natieal sentiment in support Of their designs.
Therefore it WAS that they raised the cry Of
"brcach Of faith against the South, and pre-
tended to be alarmed by what they affected
TO style '.thc aggression Of the slave power"
They commenced the "agita'ion,' now so
much deprecated by some Of our quict-Ioving
orators, for purely political purposes, and
merely made the repeal of the Missouri Com
promise a prctext for that agitation which
had been Predetermined on. Ii that repeal
had never taken place, they would either
have found or invented some other prctext-
and anything would have answered their
purposc-or, as in 1920, they would have
made open war upon our rights oifhout pre-
text.
We do not know that Southern man who.
does not admit, that, as the Supreme Court Of
the United States has decided, the Missouri
Compromise was unconstitutional. We have
never heard one say, that, in itself, It was not
unjust, and degrading to the South But
alas that II shoul ha so--vre .,f.cr, laar Il