The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1861-01-11
THE POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL CRISIS.

The Republicans recently held . eau,
Gus at Washington, when certain PROPOSE
tions presented by Senator GRIMES, of Iowa,
were debated, and advocated by Senator
SEWARD, and many others. These propo.
sitions are as follows
1. That the Constitution shall never be so
amended as to permit the interference of the
Federal Government with slavery In the States,
and that this shall be secured by legislative
enactment.
II. That an act be introduced into Congress
granting q jury trial in United States Courts,
to fugitive slaves, in the State from whence the
fugitive is ascertained to have fed. II the claim
of the alleged owner is made good, then the
fugitive is to be surrendered to his master, but
if not, he is to be returned to the State where
he was arrested.
III. Congress will pass q resolution asking
Governors to revise Statutes, to ascertain II
personal Liberty" laws exist, and to request
their repeal "as required by a just sense OF con-
stitutional obligations, and by due regard for
the peace Of the Republic"
These propositions are regarded as the
ultimatum of the Republicans. In both
the House and Senate Crisis COMMITTEES
they have voted down Mr.. CR1TTENDEN's
proposition by strict party vote. In the
House Committee last week, Mr.. ADAMS,
Of Massachusetts, presented a peace. Offer
ing, in the shape of an Enabling Act for
New Mexico-the second section of which
recognizes slavery, if the people desire it.
The District Judge of New Mexico ap-
peared before the Committee, and stated
that the Territory had seven hundred and
fifty white native citizens, two thousand
Mexican citizens under the Guadalupe
Hidalgo Treaty, three thousand Mexican
aliens, forty-four thousand poems, and forty
four thousand Indians, about half civilized;
total, about ninety thousand. There are
fifty slaves only, mostly servants of army
and Federal officers. The idea we suppose
is to admit New Mexico and Kansas at the
present session--the one as slave and the
other as free State. <
The Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle, of the
Goth ult., contains list Of 1913 nominees to
the Convention in that State, of whom sew
enty-one are designated as in favor of i'm.
mediate secession. The others, it says,
"stand upon the ground of firm and un-
yielding resistance-a demand of the repeal
of all unconstitutional and obnoxious laws
"a determined effort to preserve our rights,
honor and interests in the Union, and an
effort at cooperation among all the South
ern States" The whole number of delegates
will be 30l.s The Augusta Const itutionalist,
hitherto strong conservative paper, in
publishing TooMBs' recent manifesto, am
nouncing the rejection of CR1rrENDENs
Compromise, heads its article as follows:
has vindicated the patriotism of his purposes,
and the last refuge of conservatism is destroy
ed! Georgia must secede; all men are COM
mitted to resistance upon the refusal of new
guarantees! h
The fifth section of the Commercial Or.
dinance Of the South Carolina Convention,
published in this paper few days since,
ordered that "all official acts of the Collector
and Naval Officer in which it is usual and
proper to set forth the authority under
which they act shall be in the name of the
State Of South Carolina. According to
this clause Mr.. Collector CoLeock will here
after issue clearances in the name of South
Carolina only. Now Charleston is known
to the foreign world only as port of entry
in the United States. Neither England,
nor France, nor Spain nor Russia, nor any
other nation, has any cognizance(of South
Carolina as an independent State. No South
Carolina official has the right to grant
clearance which any Of these powers can be
expected to respect and all vessels carrying
such papers will be liable to seizure, wher-
ever found. A vessel bearing the Palmetto
flag and South Carolina clearance papers
would be lawful prize to any cruiser. In
a word, the South Carolina Convention, by
the ordinance to which we refer, has closed
the port of Charleston more efectually than
all the navies of Europe could have closed it.
LESLIE CooMBs, of Kentucky, gallant
soldier and patriotic statesman, writes to
HORACE GREELEY, as follows: ...
.l.. FRANKFORT, KY, Dec. %, 1860.
MY DEAR SIB: have no time or inclina-
ton for an argument, much less for contro-
versy with you. You know I am an honest
| citizen of the United States. saved Kentucky
last August from the power of Southern trea-
son; and / now wish to say word to you
which must be needed. ~ ,,...,.. a t.-
| The slave and territorial questions must now
---nosc---be settled on fair and constitutional
grounds, or Kentucky---Old Kentucky, the
land of soldiers and patriots---will be forced
into revolution. Ninety-nine out of every hun
dred men in Kentucky demand this easy solu-
tion of our troubles. With this, sue can take
care of the South; without it there will be civil
war---aoar---and blood, and desolation. $40
You may think jest or am alarmed; but
know what say is true. The coat-Of-arms of
K -ntucky is, two men embracing each other;
and her flag motto, .'United we stand---divided
we fall" And such will be our fate. Throw
away all prejudist ---everythlng---I pray you,
but love 0f liberty and your country.
- 80 y LESLIE COOMBS.
/ To Hnp Ace Gerrrv EIcIJ - E.TiA : I