Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1863-03-17

from its territorial formation until It "a,
admitted. Kansas was admitted mon tbs
1 ' fundamental conditipn," as the act da.
clares, that certain propositions should ht
Submitted to the people of Kansas. in lieu
of the eLecompton ordinance; and the dis,
tinct proviso2was, thatSony the accentancs
\ of these propositions Kansas should be
admitted, on the condition that the said
State of Kansas shall never interfere with
| the primary disposal of the landsFof the
United States" within its limits. and that
no tax should be imposed on them. The
case of Missouri has been before the coun.
try forty years. The Consultation on which
Missouri made application contained .
clause requiring the Legislature to enact
laws to prevent the immigration of free
negroes into the State and the act admit
ting Missouri declared her admitted ON
condition that the claneh should never he
construed to authorize5 the passage az a
law excluding any citizen of either Of the
States of the Union fp9m the privileges
aud immunities. OF any such citlaen under
the Constitution of the United States: and
on condition, further, that the legislature
Of the State should declare by public act
its assent to that condition. There is a
great similarity between the case of Mis- !.
souri, and that of West Virginia, for the
condition of Congress related in each case
to the same class of persons it having been
part OF tue condition admitting US that the
provision making similar prohibition to
that of the Missouri clause should be-
stricken out. More of this iusits proper
oonuection.)
Ohio was admitted, every one knows, on
express condition that the people Of that
State should Enever authorize slavery or
involuntary servitude therein" Michigan
was admitted on condition that Congress
should fix the boundary;iwhich it did in
the act of admission, Wisconsin was ad.
mitted on conditionit shotld assent to Ger.
tain regulations respecting the sale of
lands, &c. Indeed, it apptars that the en-
tire absence of condition. in the admis-
sion of States has been the exceptionally
er than the rule; and that the power of
Congress over the subject has never before
been questioned. We do not learn that
the people of any of the States SO admit
ted resented the annexiugpf conditions as
unwPrTantable or offensive, or as ssCon-
gressional dictation," "in the current phrase
of the auti-new State gentry. They may
have preferred admission without them,
but they preferred admission with them to
exclusion on account of their rejection.
But the very men who laise this objec-
ton betray their own .insinSerity. Mr. Car
lille, the chief of them, is faced down by
his own record. He drew the first bill for
the admission of West Virginia, and in that
1.-THE theory of Congressional Dictatiou"
not having been elaborated at that time).
he attempted more oft, tlRn was ever at
tempted in any similar document in Con-
gress. His DILL started out by declaring
that the State of West Virginia should be
admitted &c. son the following copditions:"
tue 6rst which ms lat - boundary
should be so chang eus6sl to sincItde dozen
more counties than the 1Sekislatuts had
consented to have separated; and the se-
cond, that q certain Convention which he
provided for, and even went so far as to
dictate" the represention for "a sort of
legislation altogether unhelrd of in Con
gress before, should frame another Cousti-
tuition and in it provide (the language is
''shaI make provision forfreeing all the
children of slave mothers born within the
limits of the State after the fourth of July,
eighteen hundred and sixty-three. AS if
this were not arbitrary enough to satiate
his greed for "dictation" he proceeded to
declare that the usual formality of sending
the Constitutions of applicant States to
SSSS SANO luGLh pOu kuEll
presentation by regular act, should in this
case be dispensed with; and that although
his new Convention was to frame q new
Constitution, and Congress could know
nothing of what it would contain except
the single provision which they had declar-
ed it should contain, and although it might
embody score of most odious provisions,
yet Congress was not to see it, not to act
on it, not to admit the new State under it
or refuse as might appear proper; but the
people were to ratify and the new State
was to be declared admitted, without ac-
ton Ot Congress ut all. 1t was most ex.
trHor'iiunry proposition. 1t was drawn by
Mr.. Gnrlile's own hand, without consuita-
tiOn with the rest of the Senate Territorial
Committee, as its Chairman testified on the
tisor of the Senate; without suggestions
from the New State Commissioners, or the
friends of The New State from West Vir-
.ginia, at that time in Washington, as they
all testify; without consultation with his
colleague, as he has borne witness to time
and again ;-entireIy of his own motion
and without the advice of. any one, we are
bound to believe, unless it was that derived
in some secret caucus with some of those
dastardly traitors from whom about that
time he began to form intimate assocIa-
tions, and who being the deadly enemies Of
the general Government could 40: but be
the enemies of people proposing to erect
a loyal State government under it. Such
is the record of the man who while he
could drive the new State wagon, went fur
ther than the furthest in proposing condi-
tions of admission, but who when the reins
were taken from him because he was driv-
ing over The precipice, raised the howl of
congressional dictation" which has been
caught up and echoed by all the little dogs
from the Big Sandy to The Pennsylvania
Rne.
In dealing thus infinitely with this ques.
tiou we must not lose sight of general prin-
ciples, or of.the leading proposition which
is before,t the people for consideration. The
condition on which the New State was adj
mitted is very similar to the least objee-
49, 90 \ ~, ", Harl;Ia ,,,I,a,