New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-06-25

| themselves, to the entire eAcluslOH vi All
and control on the part of Congress; hence he in-
sisted that the States not Congress- shouiu 'h'Ao
laws TO prevent the circulation of abolition pam
nhlcts and newspapers and that postmasters VINO
! transmitted or delivered any paper uea'"'S 70
slavery in n way contrary TO the laws OF INC Haa'o
| should he punishcd bv fine and imprisonment iHo
| paramount authority of the state anu 'ho uoei"
! dation of the Federal Government couu iiaiuiS nc
rr,,,,,1otod mara onensively "Al must feel" sad
! Colho,, that il would be improper iol the laws
&c tbo Ctotes in such case to yield to those OIL inc
general Government, and of course that ohc i"''0,
| oucht 70 weld TO tie former. when say o"9"'
| do not mean the principle OF concession ''ro
higher ground: mean uhucr 'io ooiie" -
! constitution ITSELF"
! The next step in the slavery aggression WAS 'io
! introdpction of Calhoun's series of resolutions IN
| tbo Senate IN 1897 These declarations were
! Marty nrop1amme and ba ais for future action.
Becinning with ID q recognition of the prnclple Oh
State sovereignty, they went on TO assert W Via.
the inteIrcddling of States or OF combination VI
their citizens with the domestic institutions OF
notice of the others on any ground OF under any
pretext whatever political, moral or rehslou''
with a view to their alteration or subyersion'" was
not warranted by tho constitution; (Jj that the
Federal Government was bound to use lts powers
in s,cb \ manner as to give increased stability and
I
that conlpoSe the UnlOn a. that all attacks upon
slavery were q manifest breach of faith and
violation of the most solemn obligations, moral and
rclinious 10 that the ntermcddling of any of tho
States or their citizens 10 abolish slavery i'll the
District of Columbia or any of the Territories on
the ground or plcteXt that il is immoral or sinful,
wonld lie a direct and dangerous attack upon the
institutions Of all the slave-holding States ana 6
that to refuse to annex new territory or states
under the protext that slavery 1t exists among
them is immoral or otherwise obnoxious, would lie
an INFRINGEMENT of the rights of the slayehoIdIng
states After this we need not he surprised ut any
/ filing. We need not be startled if the United
states Government presents itself to the world as
! not merely the protector OF slavery but the cnlh-
mon of its propagation. We need not wonder that
Calhoun planned the annexation Of Texas avowedly
in the interest oil slavery. and had the ehrontery 10
write to the British Minister. Mr.. Pakenham' that
| because Great Britain was using her lniuchce 10
induce Texas 10 abolish slavery, therefore Ohe
United states felt bound to annex that Republic
| as a measure of scll-dcfcnce.
The ,laveocracy declared through its most Gifted
! representatives. in an Oinclal document tlGO "cr
! tween il and liberty there existed cohAci OF
opinion so iTTecOncll9ule That by tue SHPc Iat u
| the neghbOIhOOd OF INDEPENDENT Stattt III mn
slavery did not exist II was OIouGhJ lace 10 lact
| with the question of lie or dcdtl: Diu III HoU
follow directly from this that us pol!ucal Cohhcc-
tion with free states possible OnlF on lc sup,
rostiou of the complete subscrvlencc OF the latter
! WAS there a more forcible proof needed, or even
! possibe than the very demand which the slaVc0c-
! Tacv now made. III consequence ol th"t lacI! De
! cause the slave-hoidmg states thought ther pecu-
liar institution endangered by the existence OF an
lpdcpcndrnt Tree State, 1t was declared 10 nc HC
! " IMPERATIVE duty" and sacled obhgatoh OF
,hn United States imposed by their constitutional
cO,npact to absorb that State INTO the l mon, III
order to prevent the abolition OF slavery IN IL. III
was not only a fact that Texas was 10 be annexed
/ liza he
there but the fact was Othclally declared n'iore
| the whole world by the executive OF the mon
| The democratic republic. which had based us eA,
! stcnce upon the rights of man, was morally anu
constitutionallV bound to prevent the breaking OF
though it could he done only by adding these very
chains to those which already bound Its arms; "a
| houn'S letter TO Iakcnham was the oincl2l pro
| clamatiOn of the natonalizaton oil saver,
only however, so far as 1t imposed duties upon the
| Union bat bY no means with regard To any core
! snoniinr RIGHTS With u.s. the Secretary declared,
the poicv to be adopted in reference TO the African
race is a question to be decided not Only ny Ine
| Federal Government, but 10y each member OF Inns
Union for itself, according TO It's own view Oh Jus
domestic policy, and without any TIM On Vn1 i%v
| of the Federal Government to interfere III any
manner whatever. Its rights ana duties are llmlcu
to protecting under the guaiaitecs OF tuc culsti
! tuti0n, each member of tins Union IN Whatever
| policy it may adopt IN reference 10 the portion
| within its respective limits. The slaNe-hoiuIhe
| states had TO say what was necessary to protect
then in the policy they had been pleased 10 au'pt
| oni No Federal Government had 10 act accord
! ir0lv The President had had no choice. he an
ncx9tion Of Texas was the most eHectua ii not
! The only means OF guarding against the threatened
! danger and therefore he had acted SIMPLY IN
| obedience TO the constitutional obligation OF Ihe
! I-nion In other words. it was the constitutional
OBLIGATION of the Union to engage IN slavery IIopa-
| gandisn IN the defence OF the interests OF uic
! sIavcocracv and. cOnfcsscdly even at the FISK OF
a war; for the Secretary declared, IN an ,1IncIaI
| dispatch TO the American representative in Mexico,
that the step had been taken Ill full view oil al
possible consequences"
But Calhoun was too thought nj an observer not
10 be aware that all his devices for supprcsslng
abojtionsm were failures, and the force OF public
opinion was bearing with more and more fearful
weight against the peculiar institution every day
The North cannot look back upon the record OF
| those times without shame at is long submisscn :;
but we must have been base indeed If Calhoun S
methods had not stimulated the very sentiment he
yeas try1nq TO put down. lie died full of dis
| couracement and f0reboding. "The South! the
| Southw he murmured God knows what will be-
| come of her" But no msgivings as to his own
conduct disturbed his last hours:
In peIfect good faith he had undertaken what no
man could accomplish, because IL Wa9 PnNsiGial
and moral impossiblty antagonlstIc principles
cannot be united into a basis on which TO rest a
huge political fabric. NullihcatIon ana the govern,
ment of law: state supremacy and constitutional
Union endowed with the power necessary to min
lister TO the wants of great people; the national
izaton OF slavery upon the basis Oh H f
i'm a Federal Union, composed Principally OF Tree
communities by which slavery was considered q
sin and a curse equality of States and constltu-
tioual consolidation of geographical sections, Win
ON ARTIFICIAL preponderancc granted to the minority,
| these were ncOmpatibilities. and no logical IN
penulty could reason them together into HE lorna
. five principle of gigantic commonwealth. Inc
speculatlons of the keenest political lOgiclan the
United States had ever had ended in the greatest log
zeal nonstrosty imaginable, lecause his reasoning
started from a cOHrddiCto IN do5ecto. Ihis he failed
70 see because the mad delusiOn had wholly taken
possession of his mind that in this age OF steam and
electricity, OF democratic ideas and the rights OF
man slavery was the most solid foundation of
| liberty" More than TO any other man, the south
! owed IT to him that she succeeded for such long
. 4 L. lnlrnD rltic LII na