The national Republican., 1862-07-08
WEST VIRGINIA.

WEST VIRGINIA.
The motives for desiring the admission o
West Virginia into the Union as free State
are various and powerful.
Rid Of the Incubus OF slavery, West Virginia
would soon attract dense population by Il,
foe, healthy climate, its enormous mineral
wealth, and its great agricultural and pastoral
resources. 1t only needs population to become
powerful, and It's situation, wedged down be
tween Kentucky and old Virginia, aud touch.
ing East Tennessee, would give II great ion.
portance In some OF the possible sventnslities
Of this war. So, also, II commands both 0i the
actual approaches to the Ohio river, Of the
great railroad which connects Baltimore with
The West. 1. WAS the tact that that railroad
ruo through Virginia, which was used by the
secsssonsts OF Maryland ~ 40 Argument for
lhs necsstiiy Of going ont Of the Unioo, II vir.
pinia did 10. That argument would have .
different bearing, With West Virginia ~ a Tree
stat Maryland would then be bound to an
alliance with the free. rather than The slave
Statss, by all her possible relations Of internal
commerce.
But IL is ouly as u free Stale that West Vir
ginia is desirable. To admit her with slavery,
Is simply to cut Virginia into Two slave States,
sud thus double bsr weight In the Senate aud
s-nsbiy inereas. II iu the presidential elections
Heuc. it Ia that We did aud DO utterly scout the
idea of admitting West Virginia into the Union
under the constitution adopted al Wheeling
which sacrificed the will aud voice NJ we'll M
interests Of whole people, to the pis. headed
obstinacy uf . lew sisveholders, ssd to the
cianOIs Uf a handful Of pro slavery deina
g'gues. Th- constitution adoped at Wheeling
leaves slavery a. It now exists, and lheI efore
dooms the State asking admission under 1t TO {
perempt0ry exclusion from the Uuion. The
preteuce is too bald, that State. which re-
fused ~ abolish slavery when sh- had drec
motive TO do NJ In the strong desire to get int.
the Union, would forthwith proceed to abolial
slavery, after admission into the Union. Equall,
vain are the suggestions, that slavery Is u veal
interest In West Virginia, that the number Q
slaves is not large, aud that the institution wi!
soon die out. We know too we'll how little
takes Of the virus Of slavery to corrupt grea
body polite. We know how easily q fs,
shareholders Sacrifices the interests OF who'll
communities IN their own. We know tha
there are more slaves to day In West virgiui
than there were seventy years ago 10 Delaware
which still holds on to the acc,irsed thing. W,
have heard too much Of the "dyng out" o
slavery to have any sort Of confidence In !
anyw here. Robert J. Walker told US sigbtssI
years ago, and, we doubt not, really believed
that II would " die out" in Maryland and Ken
lucky, il we would only annex Texas, insteat
OF which 1t forthwith to.k o new start 10 botl
States as sooa Nv that event WAS brought abou,
Some things rarely die y natural death, an,
one Of them is negro slavery. 1t will die OIL
when 1t il killed out, and not before.
10 view, then, of the great reasons whic
render lhe admission Of West Virginia as fle
State most desirable, and Of the utter impossi
bli,y Of admitting her under the constitutio
actually adopted at Wheeling, and which leave
her o slave State, the course proposed by th
Territorial Committee Of the Senate seems
be lin ssbstance) a wise one. The bill reporte
by that committee Oilers West Virginia udmis
zion Into the Union, upon the condition that
constitution abolisbing slavery Is adopted. Tbs
Ia the general outline Of the bill, aud We hon
that it may be adopted by Congress, with sue
amendments az will remove objections In mat
tsrs Of detail.
The objections which We have heard are lwt
That It ties up the future action of West Vir
ginia In The matter Of slavery, In such wa
that she will not be upon the same footing 1
the old States, whereas 1t is upon that footiD
only that new States can bs admitted;
That the abolition Of slavery provided for
not sufficiently complete, in not applying To Il
present generation.
As 10 the first objection, II the bill 10 resll
open to II, II can be easily rsmedied. All v
want ID y clause prohibiting slavery In the CO.
stituton OF the proposed new State. A GOV,
nsnt never to rs.esiablish slavery is supsrfuou
because that would w 10 guard against dal
ger wholly imaginary. ...
A 70 the second objection, It can b. rem,
died by sasndmsnt; and Indeed, Nr. SUNNI,