The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1863-08-28
The THE WEEK WEEKLY PIONEER 4R9i AND DEMOCRAT

but surely gaining upon Us acre by acre,
mile BY mile," and unless Providence in
terposes in our behalf of which l see
no indications-we will, at no great dis
tance OF time, be subjugated people. d
| AS to our unbounded credit based up
on the security of King Cotton, it is un-
necessary to speak. When we see one
OF the most influential States in the Con-
federacy discrediting very lar.-e part of
the Confederate cul rency, and the Con-
federate government itself repudiating, to
some extent, its most solemn obligations,
we cannot but suppose that the conf
dence of other nations in the good faith
and credit OF this government is small in
deed. AS regards this promise sto 60 to
war and spill the last drop of their blood
in the cause of their beloved South" I
will say nothing. Every body knows how
the secessionists of North Carolina have
kept that promise. Everybody knows that
the leaders, with few honorable excep-
lions, will neither fight nor negotiate. h
What deplorable spectacle does the
foregoing history present to our view !!
To what desperate pass ohave they
brought US, and for what? They say that
they did it because the North would give
us no guarantee on the slavery question.
l have before stated that not one of the
conventions of the seven cotton States
ever demanded any guarantee whatever.
Nay, they even refused to accept of any
if their friends of the border States would
procure it for them. 43't e@I l.H '1. ..o
The legislature of North Carolina, at it's
regular session in January, 1861, adopted
resolutions appointing Commissioners to
the peace Congress at Washington city,
| and also to the convention which assem-
bled at Montgomery, Alabama, in Febru-
airy, 1861, for the purpose of adopting
Constitution, and establishing Provision
al Government for the Confederate States
of America. On the motion of the writer
of this, the resolution appointing Commits
siOner to Montgomery was amended so as
to instruct them "to act only as mediat-
| ors, and use every effort possible to restore
the Union upon the basis of the Critten-
den proposition as modified by the legisla-
ture of Virginia" The Commissioners
under these instructions were the Hon. D.
L. Swan, Gen, M. W. Ransom, and John
L Bridgers, Esq, who, upon their return,
submitted a report to his excellency, Gov.
Ellis, which was by him laid before the
legislature, and was printed among the
legislative documents Of that year, where
it may be consulted. In this report they
say hat they had the most ample oppor-
tunit!es OF ascertaining public opinion in
the cotton States, and then add: 'We
regret to be constrained to state, as the
result of our inquiries, made under such
circumstances, that only very decided
minority of the community in these States
are disposed, at present, to entertain ia
vorably, any proposition of adjustment
which looks toward reconstruction of our
National Union. In this state of things
we have not deemed it our duty to attend
any OF the secret sessions of the Congress
The resolutions Of the General Assembly
are upon the table of the Congress, and
having submitted them as peace offering,
we would poorly perform the duties as
signed to us by entering into discussions
which would serve only to enkindle strife. 3"
But it will be said that these guarantees
could not have been obtained from the
North. This | admit to be true, and only
produce this piece of history to prove that
whatever might have been obtained, no
thing would have been accepted. But
the Congress of the United States did pass
by the constitutional majority of two
thirds, the proposition reported by Mr.
Corwin, from the committee of twenty
six, to so amend the Constitution as to
perpetuate slavery in the States. What
stronger guarantees could be given SO far
as the States were concerned it would be
difficult to conceive What then would
have been left to quarrel about? The Ter
ritOries During the session of Congress
which closed on the 4th of March, 1861,
acts were passed to provide temporary
governments for the three remaining new
Territories, to wit: Colorado, Neveda and
DacOta These acts contain no trace or
indication of the Wilmot Proviso, nor any
other prohibition against the introduction
of slavery, but on the other hand, express
ly declares, among other things, that "no
law shall be passed i'm airing the rights Of
private property nor shall any discrimin-
alton be made in taxing different kinds of
property, but all property subject to taxa
ton shall be in proportion to the value of
the property taxed me- ..lr .,ll b. ...r
Now, when it is considered that three
of these Territories are north of SO deg
80 min, and that in the new Territory
now owned by the United States south of
that line, slavery actually exists and is re-
cognized by the Territorial law, the ques-
ton may well be asked: "What was there
worth quarreling, much less fighting
about 2" Here was a settlement of the
question in the Territories made by Re-
publican Congress, which gave to the
South all that up to the time of the
Charleston Convention she had ever asked
and far more than she could hope to gain,
in any event, by secession. Indeed, 1
think it must now be apparent that seces-
sion, even if it could have been effected
peaceably, wonld have been no remedy
for, the grievances of which they COM
planned. Nay, so far as any grievances
arising from failure to obtain a return of
our fugitive slaves was concerned, l think
it must now be apparent that it would.
have been an aggravation instead of a
remedy for the evil '@ l.+F 80 . ~ ,g'b
think all calm and dispassionate men,
everywhere, are now ready to admit that it
would lave been far better for us tOahave
accepted the terms offered to us, and pre-