Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1867-09-10

I " AAAA Thy H~N ~AaN~NH
| large portion Of the Southern Democrats
were not prepared to insist On the right
| 90 protection. A division OF the party
| followed each faction had its candidate,
and by that, and the folly Of Southern
| Wings in running Mr.. BELL, the Repub-
| Iieans triumphed, and the ruin Of the
| country followed.
The South should have insisted upon
| all its rights in the Territories at the be-
ginning, and have made the broad and
unqualified admission Of them a cOndi-
ton of any political alliance whatever,
with any party IL lie North. instead OF
being content with vague declarations
which only meant that slavery could
not be constitutionally interfered with
in 3 State. For this, no one needed
thank the North, since it was merely a
promise that val should not be Unlisted.
For any such interference would have
been, not a stretch Of power, or a mere
violation Of the Constitution, but a pal
pabIe outrage and monstrOus usurpation,
/ a mortal blow given 10 State sovereignty
and independence, and an eP6u apt Of
hostility. When such pledges were
gravely given, the cheat was trsnspa-
rent-the South, asking for bread, re-
ceived a stone.
Or, II it were not thought fit to do that,
and if the Missouri Compromise was to
rest u~ndisturbed for near fifty years, and
be owe and again recognized and rati-
fed, then a permanent line Of division Of
territory should have been agreed on,
and q positive compact made by way of
amendment to the Constitution, that into
all territory South Of that line, slaves
might be carried that neither Congress
DOR the Territorial Legislatures should
interfere with slavery there, or withdraw
the protection of law from slave prop
erty aud that il the latter did so, Con-
gress should annul the legislation, and
thereafter govern the Territory so offend
ing, without the Intervention Of q Terri
teriaI Legislature; and also that slavery
should be prohibited there only in one
mode, tO-wit: by 3 provision in the Con-
stiutiou, under which the Territory
should become a State, that Constitution
receiving a majority of the popular vote,
and becoming operative on the admiss-
ion Of the State. Then the question
would have been st rest for the agree
ment should have been made to extend
to aIl territory thereafter acquired.
We ought to have effected this, when
it was proposed to create the Territories
Of Kansas and Nebraska, which should
have been left to the North. A still bet
ter time was when the Missouri comprO-
mise WIS made for then every consid-
Grafton made q permanent settlement OF
the question proper. It might have
been done when Texas was acquired.
At these two periods We omitted to de-
maDd enough when Kansas and Ne
braska were created, we grasped ut too
much and lost all. The Missouri COM
promise should never have been dis
turbed, but it should have been suffered
to stand, only upon the condition that
the line should extend to the Pacific and
be permanently settled. II this had
been denied, Kansas and Nebraska should
not have been created. Our proposition
would have remained, and when the is
sue came, as il would have come at last,
the South would have been united, and
on that question three-fourths OF the
North would have sided with US. Offer
ing the North all the country on its side
Of SO so, and resolute not TO create a
Territory there, until a permanent line
wa established, We could have forced
the issue upon the Northern States, and
should have prevailed. There could
have bsen no charge Of violation Of
agreement; nor should we have become
implicated in the Kansas frauds. The
Republican party would have lost its
capital. Without this settlement. we
never ought to have created the territory
Of Oregon, or that Of Washington. By
each Of these acts we recognized the
compromise as morally binding upon US,
without any assurance that the North
would hold it binding upon itself. We
had fair warning, too. The knaves re-
fused TO extend the line TO the Pacific,
and served Us often with notice that they
would never consent that slavery should
be introduced into any territory, free, as
they termed it, when it should be ac-
quired.
Instead Of either Of these courses,
neither steadily refusing any compro-
mise, nor insisting upon a permanent
one, the wretched system Of temporar
swifts and expedients was resorted To-,
for a two-fold reason. One was to main
tain the hollow alliance between the
Northern and Southern wings Of the
Democratic and Wing parties, by means
Of which each party hoped to secure viz
tory and its spOils and the other was
that the slavery question was profitable
and especially useful as a means Of
bringing forward sm~all-beer politicians
in the South, and developing them into
/ Governors, Members Of the Lower Housa
Of Congress, and Senators. Without it
for capital, many a l~oquscious Congress-
man would have been doomed to cackle
| out his life in small neighborhoOds, pet
dfogging, and stump-speaking with stem
torian lungs and front Of triple brass,
and perforce content with a seat in the
| Legislature, or some other small pittsnce
Of honour, a world too wide for his
shrunk intellect. Prudent and wise men
were forced to retire from the State and
National councils and men Of real in
teIlect and genius were constrained either
TO remain content with private station,
or TO strive to Guido ia zeal. the small
and pestiferous sgitstors, that swarmed
and buzzed everywhere. The penalty Of
want of abundant zeal, wa 10 be called
a a. submissiOnist," and be odious to the
people. Even 10 be eentent with the
compromise measures Of the year 1850,
was TO be untrue to the South !" and
the creed Of the American party was
heretical, because it declared that it
would pass by, for the time, the question
of power in Congress to prohibit slavery
in a Territory; which question the Dem
ocratic party Of the South had been
sometimes passing by and "pretermit-
ting" and sometimes by its acts aud
votes admitting the power, for thirty