110^'
NCHirH CAfnUNA ro«TFOUO
♦
“ T'he powers granted under the Constitutian, being derived from the People of the United States, may be restimed hy tne*n. whenever perverted to their injury or oppression.’]—Madison.
VOLUIME 4,t
CHAIILOTTE, N. C, AUG. 16, 1844.
INUMBEll 174
l^tccfelcwfiwru jjcffrrflonCan,
edited and published weekly, by
J. W. HAMPTON & s. C. CRAWFORD.
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Political.
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r.juiinet of the B sltimcre Nai!o:j;il Convention for
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'As i.he approaching political contest will be one
cl absorbing interest to every cinz- ii, w- propof,e to
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hope ouf ifiends will not sutier us to labor without
an adeG'iate reward. Addr* ss
SAMUEL C. CRAWFORD,
ChailoUe, N. C.
March. 1814.
THE PLEBEIAN.
The largest Dollar Weekly.
A IVORDto DEMOCHATS EVEnY»HEHE
We would imnress upon ihe Democracy mat 11
IS THEIR DUTY AT THIS t'RlSl« »o assem-
l.Ie forthwiih by towns, villatres or, JiHtrirts and
make arrungemems lor suhscrihmi? tor 10 20. or oU
T>aperstbr DISTRIBU 1 lOrVi AMOiSG i HE
?LE till after the Presidential Election. 1 he
WEEKLY PLEBEIAN, coniammg all the inaii. r
of the Daily, (the only De.mocratu- mohmnq pa
per PCHLfPHED IN THE CITY OF N E\V '
he liad at the low price ol Ui\E DULL AH 1
AM\UM, in advauce, or twenty copies will t.e
sent one year for ihe sum ot sixteen dollaks. or
live tor four dollars. By a rule ot the Pobi i>tn» »*
Department, Postmasters can Iraiik letters written
by themselves containing money tor euhi'cnpiioiis.
NOW is the time to commence the v\ork. Delays
AltE DANGEROUS, AND THE ENE.MY ACTIVE ANI' VlGI-
L.\NT. Every country su>ke, eveuy village tav
ern shocld BE PROVIDED WITH A DeMOCKAI'IC PA
PER. The Whigs, w'ith an unholy cause to sujtport,
are circulating their tracts anti uewspaperH l»y ihou-
aaniiB and tens ol' thousands. VVe with a iiighteous
Cause, should be on the alert in sea»iOii imlissemi-
nating our principles among the people. 1 he pu »-
lie mind must be Aroused—ihe ignorant Lnlighien-
C'i—the cold-hearted warmeil into lite, and the v\eak
but willing encouraged by the co-operation oi those
Tvho are able to contribute by exemple ami hy tur-
nishing the means to carry on ilie contest to .
cessful Termination. So tar as \\\^ PLEBhlA^
is concerncd, the fight on Federalism aiid Cla\ f>h«ll
be condncted with a vvarmili mcreaseil and inrreas-
ing, until the battle is over ami ilu* victory
Paea the word round.“ subsribe for the DULLAH
PLEBEIAN.”
The Plebeian Tracts.
Notice to Democratic Associations, i'lubs. and
Co7nmitte€S.—ln consequence ol ihe iiicreat»eJ de
mand for these popular Tracts, we have reduced the
price Irom §2 50 to ^2 per 100. and Jji^O per 1000.—
They are ably written, ami completely explode the
sophisms of the modernJitMUS.” They should be
largely ordered by our Democratic frienos through
out the country. No Democrat should be without
them. All orders sent to tlie Plebeian Office. Re
tnittances in bills of spccie-paying banks, accgmpa-
rving the orders will be received.
*No. 1—The Injustice of the Tariff on Kevenue
Principles.
No. 2—The Injustice of the Tariff on Protective
Principles.
LEVI D. SLAMM, Publisher.
TTaw York City, 1844.
LETTER FROM A. H. CHAPPELL, ESQ.
^Concluded )
The next measure ?o v'hich I shall advert is also
Oit> exclusively ptcuiiiary in us avowed auns and
Cnaracter — 1 mean a N tuonal Bank, which V"U
^v uhnily ti»at, in your leu« r lo me, us being ^till a
leadmii an 1 cheiijihrd ot j* ct wiih the Whig paiiy
—ihougn i conh.ss mv o»\n observations hav* caus
ed uie 10 doubt wh thei iheie IS not, among tin*
mou- •nf»gnien'U and judieious o} ihe pativ, n»)W
th i( ilie ciMintiy lias- t*ot a ^ouiid and unifoim cut-*
it*noy w.ih Mil ih h Ip ol Coui^ress. a si ong di.'^po
SI ion u» let in subj alone. What was ih« , great
^ ‘ g C M J u*k>on. m conn .'i4on with thi'
(ii iti r~f \iVii>, in ti \ h* n, umli r ih»‘ a>ispices of
N Oial anil S'at B.inks. » vei v thing somid
n do Mt» w II. ht comm»nc»d uaiiini; U[>on ihe
B mU tnd « X, ( I liiH liling i>n lh ci) reney. and kept
U|) (i s vva! and experiment!! uniii tveiy thing was>
thi wn inio d'lan^eiu'ht .mi c«)iiMt>ion Such
w’a.' ih • head and I on. ot _J n 3 cUsou’s off tid
ing is i th'Migni an I s ud on ail occ.u'ion.'. fiom the
fi St tuint. (t):'"Aa mng ^^itimd ol his tiasiile bu^h*. m
IS29 iind 1S30 Iovmj lu ih* time v\h»u, m 1832
.«mi l^l In- exul mg >hi>uisot inn y-nin> huiid edUis
o ’.rit ih* II S it riglit> (n >w v\ i ii.-) paity ot G* Dr'
• a, h*' c ush d w hai tin y dtliahhd to call the
*m i5i* r.’ wiiti ‘>nt Ht* cuh .m IiIoa of the veto
jiO^v'ei And toi vara atUiwaids niy political
III' iid> (vMin a I w >caU» iin!J excnptions) conMnu-d
lo lau 1 iht old *’io lor ill* dftd. Hiid 'o ihmk ihe
I) I ri ol 111 iiiS Ivt' foi having b ck'd and sustain
t d him in it Dm mi; all lhl^ iim* . my \i* v\s and
|.inguui» vveie Ml a Vtiv '-iff I'lit ton*. 1 In Id lhat
I Gen. JjeUson, .u»d n’l w Ito c^opi latt d wrh him in
I mat par: of nl^ rarenr. had tak n on lhems Ivei a
! iful ami cul;'ab!«- i* sponsihrily; that stability.
ihov* all other ihiOiiS. was mdii^p. nsabh to a sound
system of monev and cu r nc\ ; that it was a suhj cl.
in lehriiH Vi which ii wa? iiiipo^'ihjt lo calculate
o control ih' mi' quMic ^ w hu-h any ijrtu: shock
or levoluiion aiig and piobahly -odld. * ii£i'ndei
— con^^^Uenc» > caiiymt liiS iStei and dismay into
all the wiilks t»f bu>'nt-.' Tn^o all itif * 1 ti»'s and
alley>ot li e.” the huiiibl'>t as wt II a> ih* pioud*>t.
Ffoin coll5ld♦'ri^tl«ln^ of thi> kmd. gi nil* in* n. I navr
aU\ays igaid*d al! paity t.unpiiiiii; and exptii
menimg wiiti the cuiinicy, w h» n it is ahtadv m a
sound Male, as Imle shoii of a cum*' against the
i*nrses and propei'.y of ihe prople.
is not ihe cuirency now in a saitnd stal* ? A:e
not * xchanije>, also, beiWMii ditiei t nt commeri'ial
points, sound and right? In answ r lo lh*st qu s-
tions, the actual i-tale ot things wii, lully josti'y me
in making a remark, which I ustd to consid« i a|.
plicabie to ihi* demand tor a “ beti^r curit ricv,” m
'h- thy? of th- succes.'ful cp r.»ti ot the laie N.i'
;ioij il ’ b. Tik. '.u >v.*; ihil ^ who ,
willing to juit up w nh as good a state of ihe cuiren
'• .*v a: t.xisted then, and now •xist> a^am, but who
nsist on chanjini? and r* voiuii> riizuig ilu- v\ hole
>\itrii!,anl mcuri ing'h» gieat and luimms haZird.'
mi ld' nt to such change, tor the mere cti ince ol an
miiuiiely sm.»ll improvt ment.deserv* not themselves
th*- bie>sii»g of yo>id mon*y. and ought to he held
hound to ind' mnify the people for all the lossis iht y
8u^l tin bv bad nioii' y.
So .'troiiii and sell e\id*nt is this view, that it
wo il l t'6 siraiif^e if th* N *'ihern Whij; paiiv.
w ch so un«p.«nngly c» nsur. d G n. J;»-Us^on tor
I'lu-inii to let cilon* a cui'incy that was alieady
good *noUi;h. should now bt found “ lollow ing m
Mis tooistt p.',” as >ch' in* rs and * xpri im» l)ler^‘ for a
• b' I' I cm It ncy,” wh» n a sound and good one ac
'U I ily exists
i\l VV'» l»^ter. the gr» at expone nt of Whig prin
ci[ile' at th- No !h, has. v»»'i know, m a spee.-h
Ml d ay ar o two ago. pion >oni-»d a National
B nk *■ an obsoletf uieij’ and, in his lat'-sp*ech at
'rimion in which he eXlols- »h' Southern Whigs
S » hii»t>ly to havini; taken so manly a stand loi th*
)' O'* ctivt syytein. h» fjoes into a most ^lat. smanlik*
. xaminai:0:» of ih* subject of the currency, and
tian li'S It ill a manner clearly showiut: that, in hi>
opinu)ii, It n*ds not thr h* Ip ot a Ni'ion I Bank
li IS inv coiifid nt b* li* f. that ttie mas> ot th*-- ini* l!i
g. nee ot ih* W^hig party aMh* N >i!h is with Mi
W'lister in this opinion, howevei they may r*mam
m1* nt. or ev* n giv* coloi (or the bun tit of the paily
111 ihos* s*'Ciions of the couniiy w’h»‘ie the bank
question can still he m.i«l* availabh- as a political
si ilkuii.' horse Noi does the manner in which the
VV^hiiis in th* Hou^t voitd on S-ituiday last, on cer
I ill! ies»>lutions unexp*ct*'dly spiung on the House
from ihe Commille*' on El'Ctions, weak* ii or alt* r
inv bell* f. Those resolutions ai«- so f.aiiied, lhat,
IO volt aiiaaist th* ni. amount^ not * v* n it) an mma
lion m favtn of the * ^tablishiiu-ni ol a Bank, thi>Uijh,
lo Vote foi ih'm, 19 a veiy stiong expiession against
such an m?inuiiun.
ese nsolut;ons were un* xpectedly intioducic
it the opt nil.g of itn ses.-'ion in tlie morning; and
it s«i happ* i»Ml that I was abs* ni fiom my seat, hav
mg lemain-d in my looin an houi or two, *ngai>ed
III writ ng this hltei. I am, ih* r«foie, paiticulai
ly r*joic* 'i at tht »pnoituoity yo'jr call ui^t s nu- to
*-X|'r ss my v;ev\s more expliciiy than could hav*
ill en done by a vo't on ih'>se r* solutions
(ji nth men. wi'h the protound conviction 1 ent* r
lam of the w.int of ev- n thi semhlance of nec\"Silv
or the creatii.n of a Nition.il Bank on account of
tne pre>enl or prohaldi stai* Ol li^* cui rem y, believ
ing also that such is the s* niiment ot most consider
at and eiilij>htinul men, « ven-{imonti ihe Whigs,
A ho are not willing lo mak' such a qutsiion a par
ty foot ball,— 1 am saiisfitd that, il a bank ^hall be
. ^labllsh♦ d du iny the coming admmisliation. it will
be done as a m* le party mtasure, and the fit ice
ii. ss of tht paity vv ii of which it will be the obj* ct
thioughoui Its exist'nee, will be without example
If (h*‘ G* neial Gov rn i.eni desiies to piovoke the
States of this Union lo nullification and every spe
I-,, s of danyt lous * xtr* mity, l^'t 't, as now pio/osed,
.siablish a National Bank as a mero party mt asure
—a paity Migin*^—as a vast*money power for
strength' ning the hands of the Government For,
genilt nit n, if tfus thing shall b* *hme, is il not clear
lhat it inus^ be done with th se vi' ws—ai h ast with
this effect? For to tsk for a bank for ihe sake of
a sound curreijf'y, afier the currency has woik* d
iiself sound, IS quite as preposterous as »i would be
lo subj'Ct a man to a strong couiseof m*dicme after
he had recovered from a severe malady by the mere
iht- Bank w ill comt
y iht tale of Its pi* d»
futile madness ot sM
power# of nature, without the help ot medicine.—
Surely, a consttiution lhat can get vvell without the
aid ot physic, may be propeily trusted to keep well
w iihoui il' aid. At all events, ii is certainly enlill* d
to u lespite liom the doctor’s hands until it shall
bt gin 10 show some symptoms ol returning disease.
1 tell you, genilemen, that for any parly to lay us
siiong huntl on ihis now heahhy couniry, and force
a N.itional Bank down us lhrt .«i, as a nure paity
measuie, will be ibe mosi fearful currency experi
ment lhat ever was practised m the tide ol limes.
1 iiusi that lhat poition ol the W higs of the South
who signalized themselves by bi*ing agamsi a Bank,
at a time when they sfiuuld have bttn foi it, v\ell
weigh the matter well b* loie > ley signalizt them-
s» lvis attain by bt ing foi il, wSen they should b«
a^ain.^i it. For, m connexiMi «\ith theaigum*nis
agaiii'^i such an msiiiuiion, fouiuUd on ihe absence
ot ans nec*->siiy tor it m the currency, pres* ni oi
piosptcuvt . Stiuihern m« n bound to look at it
ill aiioihei VI* w, \^hlch ought 10 be decisive with
th* 111 against it. Such an institution, if established,
v\ ill add anoth* r, and the mi powerful of all, lo
itiat list ut money-Migines which i have enum* ra-
I* d. as constituting a policy K^ing to strength* n th*
G'v* inm*nl unduly, and to secure and consididat*
Us poweis and managt im r.t m the hands ot ihe
N tiihein sectional majontv For, in regaid to u
B.ink, no man can doubt ihai the control over it
w ill lie where the commerc^- and mon* yed capn J
ol ihe couniry are mainly —and that is in the
North Wt II, the weight population and ol ccm*
tiol over the Govtrnm^nt li"S ami will forever hi,
Iheu also; htnee, the B.mk and the Gov. rninem
w ill both tie exlrtm* ly cerlaui lo imbibe the spn il.
and to ob» y the influence anii impulse 61 the mti i
est and views of ihal quatle i»f the country 'I'his,
alone, would nutuially if ad to a gt neial alliance
and co'opt latioii between t.fi'in. But whin w»
bear in mind that the Govei^ment ss not only to b(
the CM'ator, but also the |fiU;tSl stockholder and
customer of this Bank, and i
into existence, toiewomed !
c« ssoi, not to be guilty of tl
ting us* It in opposition to ill Governiiunt, can we
diiut'i itiat Ihe It lalions belVM>»» thtm will be lht>se
ul • nllit subst rvjency ot Ihi Bank to ihe Govern.*
m* nt, or rather to lhat povt llul sectional majority
III tht Government, which i» its natural ally ar/.J
sup^'Oltei ?
Gentlemen, whrn I sur the four great
i:ve m asures of Wing po.|y. which 1 hav^ now
hi ought m review, and poi Vr upon iht u tendency
lo slitngihtn and aggland l^' tht Ftderal Govern
meiii toihe most fcarlul ; and when I remem
bt r lhat this Goveinim nt, liU‘‘ h artully strengthen
td and aggiandtztd, will ttlways be a uiachint,
conlroiltd by a stclion ot '• Conftderacy, distant
I u:n lhat v.-‘. ch ourJk^*** t--a:_r.ud moie widely
distmcl from U3 in vievvs,.pit re3ts, and" policy, lh.n»
tvtn m local posiiK*n, I cVi.fis jny .he^rt siL'k- ■'p*
presstd with dtspondtni lev bod mgs. And whtn 1
see th> South heis* If co 4'*'taiing bt adlong m all
tti.se Uiings, and raising, in addition, her suicidal
hand io aid the stronger stlion in tearing f/om th*
Constitution «he only chi'k it has interposed b*
iween the rights and interelsof the weaker section,
and the ovt rmastering ligislalure power ol th*
siiongei, i am ready to low my head to the dust,
and lilt up my voice and weep aloud at the heavy
and dismal doom which .)bvlou^ly overhangs the
land of my biiih and of tiy soul’s deep and undy
ing allegiance. For, genh nitn, you have but ic
succ*-ed m one other mtbure, which you indicatt
lo me as a leading point if Whig policy—the des
iiuciion ol ihe veto poyver—and the will of the sec
tional mujoiity ot iht Noih, animated and guided
by Noiihein interests, vi ws, and prejudices, will
reign, uncht cked and uii mbai rassed. al all iiiius,
uvt 1 the whole legislatiiA ol ihe country, and ih*
condition ot lit land ai ihi day, us a minor mt mb* 1
ot tht B.itish Empue riprest nled in the Imperial
Pailiameni, will b* a iru , though faint pictu:e ot
w hal will be permaneiillyine condition ot the South,
as repitsenitd m, and |overned by, the Ftdnal
Congiess. Take notice,! pray you, that il is the
stc'.ional It^islative majaity in Congress, which
we have no hand in electing, from which we hav*
t veiyihing to lear Thtfti rt member, fu'ther, that
Iti. veto power is but a ntjyaiive—a restraint on iht
will ot lhat majority — aniy ou will pe'^ceive al once
iht- Sectional btaiing aganst the South ot ihe pro
position to dtslioy the power, And il will be des
troyed with equal cer.lamly by allowing the majoi 1
IV of th*- two Houses to overrule the veto, whtiht 1
it be requiied to be dote al the same session at
yvhich a bill is passed, oral a substqu.ni one—the
only propositions, 1 believe, which have been n»tde
on the subject.
Tak. notice, also, that the same sectional majoi-
iiy which frets under the Prtsidenlial veto, and de
mands Its removal from the Consiuuiion, does, atth*'
same time deny and sccut lhal righi ot Stale veto,
01 State interposition, for which we have been wont
so siionglv to contend in Georgia. Bear m mind,
moreover,'lhal as pari and parcel of the same sys-
it in of politics, supreiiKVCy is as|eit*d for the
eral G.)verninenl and its Dt^parlments, over iht
Stale Governu'enls and then departments.
Gt nllemen, we are solemnly bound—as Soulht rn
mtn and St.uihern palriois, chaigt d by a favoring
Heavt n with th* caieof the fair*st and fet bhsipoi
tiKhVol tins great ConledtMacy — lo Itiok *1 all thtse
nf>i‘.h* r explore the sources from which ihey havt
spiung. and scrutenize their concalt nation and I* n-
dency. And if any man who will do so, shall tail
to peict ive lhal the inevitable tffecl of this whole
system of politics is lo unbridle ihe majoiUy po^'el
of the Noi them or non.slaveholdmg section ol iht-
Union, and lo give it full sweep and unobsiruct. d
swav over all the inleresis and affairs ot the counliy
of every sort and character, there must, it seems l.)
me, be something very unfoitunate in the iniellectua
medium thiough which such a man lo*>ks at thing'
But this is noi all. Nothing can be im.re evident
than that the possession of such powei by iht N 1
them or stronger section, is subjugation andenslavt-
ment lo the Southern or weak*;r section. And what
they desire to hold us in subjugation for, is glaring
ly discovered by the character of the obj. Cts lo
which ihey are so eager to exercise the taxing pov\
tr and by the region of country in which they hav.
ever taken care lo concentrate an overwhelming pio
portion ol the public expenditures. Why, g» ntf
men, despots want provinces mamly lor ihe sake
of the tribute they may be made to pay to the rich
es and grandeur of the governing country. And
whal greaJei subserviency to ihe&c? obj* c s could ev
en a despot ask ot his piovinces, tha.. to submu pa-
iiently lo be tax*d lo the * xtent of his pleasuie, (or
the benefit of such branches of mdusliy as he may
choose lo favor, and such objects of expenditure as
il may please him lo st lect ? And it is on just such
a contiol of ihe taxing power and the public expen
ditures, that tht majoruy di^potism of the North
has set its heart and laid Us hand in this country.—
And that it is the profound study and anxiety ol that
majority to maintain and strengthen its hold on pov\.
er, IS manifested as well b\ the war il is waging
against the annt xation of Texas, as by the hostility
it shows to ihe v*to power.
G* ml* men, iht que>ii*>n of iheanne.xaiion of Tex
us IS the laai baith-h. Id of the South againsl the
majoiity despotism ol the Norih. If it be lost u
will be the fit Id ol Wateiloo to us. All hope of
that equality and balance oi power in the Legisla-
tuie oi ih. Union, w hich is indispensable to our safe
ly and .self proitcHijn. will be extinguished; and we
must thenccforih apply ourselves to the task of re-
concilt nient to oui chains forever, if you want
pioof of ihis, beyond whal th>^ case carries on its
lace, you have but to look lo :ue leading ground on
which opposition to annt xation is based at the North.
That gMiund is that annt xation would extend the
>lavt^hol ling region ol the South, and augment its
power, and cons* qut ntly t ndanger or lessen the fu-
lurt prepondeiance of the Noith. Yes; sooner
than put that p^epondeiance m riazard—sooner'^jan
risk ihe loSs ol the powei ol ruling i*nd tax. is
toiev* r, accoiding to tht 11 own will and interests—
th* wholt Whit» and pa it of the D* niocralic party
ol itie Noith. t)ave taken an immovable stand, not
against immedial- annnxation meiely—not against
ani.exaiii'n under existing ciicumstaaces merely—
but agaiusi ann. xation uo'v and forever, under all
and any circumstances. The hostility tothe.recep-
tioii of T.-xas into tiie Union, springing fiom this
m.tin and hading giou.iil, is heigiiteiied by a relig
ious stniim.nl very pu valent at the North against
slavery, and by an apprehension of an armed mter-
ft rt nce from Gn at Britain- You will al once per
ceive, that these ai- not in their naiure transient and
rontroilabie, but peim»ner>* id irremovable objec
tions t» the measuiL in il.Li portion of the NoitheiD
iTiinu by v\hich they are t ntei taint d. And 11 was
with a iuli knowledge of the unyit ldmg character
ot ttie fteling to wiiich ^bey have given rise, and
w iih a politic ye to it, ihat iVi' play penned bis
article against annexation, and pur following
s* ntence in it; *• 1 dt> not think ihai TeSai ought to
be adrniUed into the Union as an integral p«Tit of U,
in dtcided opposition to the wishes ol a considera
ble and ies;)t ciable portion of the conlederacy.”
H?' kne'.v when he penned these lines, two things:
1st. That there was a coiiside.able nnd respectable .
I „Kfon of ihu ^robraciPg the body Gompromis
Ihr Wing party, and a fraciion of ihe Democracy'
ol th. No.ih, lhal never would consent to Texas '■''n. n s.rur
coming into th. Union as an integial partol il, and
2d. He knew, further, that Texas never would con
sent to annexation or any olht r terms. 1 inviieyou,
gentUmt n, to revit w Mr Clay’s htter. You will
perct ive that it amounts lo an un quivocal declara
lion that there ought to be no attempt to acquire
Ttxas—at least for a long time lo come, if ever;
or lalht I tht- construction which forces itself on my
mind is, ihui the aitempi ought never to be made
at all
I What a spectacle have we hert 1 A man illus
trious by ih*- long c.*lebrity of his talents, by the
high stainms ht; has filled, and by the brilliant fi
gure he has made in his countiy's eye for the full
third of -i century—a man amhuious of glory in
the set vice of his couniry, and occupying a most
co mmanding and infiui niial poMiion —such a man,
in the very act of aspiring' to the pre-eminently
highest post III the public seivice, with millions
backing his pretensions and laboring for his eleva
lion—such a man, under such circumstances, has
con>ented to do whal? Why, lo tie up his own
lands, in adv.iih'e, agamsi even making an effoit.
no matter how honorably or successfully it mighi
be made, for the recovery of what he himself ad
mits to have been ihe formeily owned and most un
wisely alienate teiiitory of the republic, Yes! H.
Clay binds himself in advance, and in view of his
election to the prt sidency, to make no effort, lo em
jiace no opportunity, of reinstating his country in
the possession ol the bt)undaries which the irnmor.
lal Ji fff rson gave it. One would have thought that
the rich biaz* of glory, which the splendid acqui
sition vvould shew atound his name and administra
tion through futute agef, rivalling lhal ot iVIr. Jef
erson himsi II wotild haVt* been irresistible lo such
a mind as M Clay’s. Why did that, and every
other consideration, fail of tfft-ci upon him? Has
u come to light, m the slowl made revelation of
time, that M J fferson was guilty of a blunder—
of a mis si. p—in the purchase of Louisiana, and
T- xas as a part of it ? Nobody thought so al the
lime, or has thought so since—except that intensely
selfish and sectional party al the North, with which
now, as then, northein ascendency in the councils
of the nation was and is the uppermost and alUab
sorbing object. They well knew lhat, with the
Rio Giande for our boundary, the equilibrium of
iht Union would be mdestrutible, and ihe South
her merely the conduU of passing the litle from us
10 iht then revolted, and soon to-be independeni, Gc-
vernment 01 M> xico—at lhal moment it was, when
11 had become broadly apparent that, vvuhin a few
years at most. Spam would be as glad to quu claim
Texas to us, in t)rder to thwart her rebel Mexican
dependency, as France had been, in 1803, lo sell
us Louisiana, U si the Br itish should conquer it from
her—such a moment 11 was, 1 say, lhal Mr. Mon
roe’s administration select*d lor swapping of Texos
for Florida. Is ti not maniJested, by the after course
of evtnts, that a litth of that wisdow which wait5»
upon lime to woik out her designs in our favor,
vvould have enabled us to get clear of the Spanish
claim to Texas, by only giving a very sniali addi*
tional price tor Floiida? Bui ihe Adminisiiaiio’j
lacked lhat kind ot wisdom; or, in its eagerness 13
pat an end to diliiculiies with Sp.iin, growing oul
of our ludra’^i ent A IS- "ad their instigators fi^llding
a rc/ugG in Itloifda did noi exercise 11. The
was, that we got Florida, and threw aw&y Texas.
The deed was no sooner done, than it was de
nounced by Heniy Clay. Opposed as he then waa
to the severance of 'i exas from our couniry, it
noi strange lhai he sh.iuld now be unqualifiedly op*
posed to a re union ? Wh at things have changcd
since, to produce such a change in him? No stich
change had conit. over him as late as 1817; for i.^
that year, he himsi If tells us he made an effort,'s.9
Secretary ol Slate, to open a negonatjon with iViex*
ico for us rtirocession io us. Ay, with ^lexicol-^
although Spain did not, for yeais afterwards, gi?9
up her claim, or recog.nise the independence cf
Mexico. Whal things, I ask agciin, have changed^
smce that time, to makt- Mr. Clay’? views so differ*
eni now from what iht y were thtn^
The answer to thi.'* question presents matter of .
the most sell run import to tht South. 1 have al
ready adverted io the hostillity vvh.ch exists at tha
North against Mi Jtflerson's purchase of Louisia
na—a hystillity eman-titmg from the first statesman
ol that quartei ol the country, and based e.\clusi7e-
ly on the fear of tht efftcl of the measure in caus
ing the eventual and perpetual loss ol Northern a?-
cendelicy in the Union. They were not wiilir»gj
there should be an .quilibtium—a happily adjastc 1
balance ot po^^er between the North and South.~-
Whal they wanted was prepond. rance and suprC'.
macy pt rmanenily secured to Iheir side. This ob-
j. Cl they !>aw was d* feated by the acquisition cf
such a vast and teriil* Southern territory as that
which sirt achtd fiom tht Perdido to the Rio Grande
del Norte. Bu they took heaa, and became rca«-
suied alter iht ctssion ol Texas to Spam by us i'l
1819. They sutv. yed the wide expanse* of all tha
; States and remaining national domains of the U:.*
ion; and were satufi d that the deciees of Na’tura
had placed the Nonh in a perpetual supremacy^
provided the prohibu?on of slavery could bo efFec.’-
ed within a certain twe of laiiitide. Hen.cg
Missouri Gompromise, ind the feariul struggli le.-
■ e No th uijd l>Vath by which it was pre
ceded. it was a struggle for political power
ly. Abolition had not then reared its snaky creil
m the laud.
Well, gentlemeh, that compromise wa3 a grer.l
thing, and evt n greater as a sign than as an event,
il pioved, beyond all possioility cl doubt, tlial,bot?i
ID the Norih and South, slavery, or the slavehol.1*
mg instiiution, was fell as ihe great political lie, pa
ramount to all others, among those State.** in whic!j
il existed. It provt d lhat it was a tie so strong as
to band logeiht 1 the States in which U existed, on
one side, and those m which it did not exist, on the
other; and to array them as two great sections of
country m an attuude of peimanenl opposition and
contest* for power in the Confederacy. And if any
man will just take up the map, and compare tho
number ol the Slates and ihe extent and character
of the terriloiy on the North side of the iiae of tha
compromise, witn the same things on the South
side, a still hmh* r tiuth will burst upon him, with
overwheliMing sell t vidt nee, to wit: lhat frotn the
moment of the loss of 'lexas by Mr. Monroe’s trea
ty, in Ftbiuaiy, 1819, the doom of ihe Souib, r.3
the weaker, subj ci'section of the Confederacy, be
came as firmly fixed as the boundaries of the cour;-
iry themselves. ^
The map will also show' him how widely ditTer-
enl her fate and relativ* slrengih would nave per
manently been, but for the loss of T*xas. Yes; it
will tell him that, but for that loss, the South, imho
Federal Lt^islaluie, would always have been siron^^
—noi, mdted, to bt' an opprt ssor, bui full strong
enough for st II piolt'Ciion against the wrongful and
ojtpressive legislation ol the Noi'h.
So far, then, as the balance of power between the
iw’o grt at sections is involved m iht question of Tex
an ann* xation, all that the South asks is. that tha
Government shall not let slip the prt st nt tiansitory
opporturiity ot reinsialing us in those boundaT«c9
whi- h J. fferson gave, which Monroe lost, and which
Adams and Clay soUi»hi lo restore. To this most
reasonable and jusi demand ot the South, the Noith
—paiticularly ihe Whig Paity of the North—has
answered peremploiily No! And so peremptory
was the temper m which the answer was given, that
iNlr Clay ^\ho had thrown himsell into ihe arms of
lhal party for his eh clion, found himself obliged to
echo tht lesponse, or coiiipioipise all his piospect*
for the Piesidt ncy; for, beai in mind, Mr. Clay
had no hand m forming 01 duecting Northern whig
llJI WililVVlJ I I U11 WiV ^ UWW kJUUliJ 1 • i
loievei Sale against Northern domination. Hence sentiment on the subject ol annexation. L was per
the lears they shed, and the constitutional scruplcs
they m*Utered. over Mr. Jefferson’s vast acquisition
of territory in the West and South. The feeble,
compromising, short sighted administration of Mr.
Momoe. was a God send to this band of politicians,
it saddhd firmly upon the county their darling sys
tems of a protective >ariff and internal improve-
m* nts. It involved us, by a treaty with Great Bri
tain for joint occupation, in difficulties about the
Oregt)n Territory,, which everybody now sees are
Ilk* ly to troce upon us war, or the surrender of our
rights 10 a vast domain. Would to God this had
bet n all! But. no! A deadly blow must be let fall
most bunglingly on the equilibrium of the Confed-
eiacy. and on the self protecting capabilities of the
South m all future lime. At a moment when Mex
ICO, and all the contin* nidi Aineri'*aQ dominions of
Oi I Spam m lhat qiiarter, were drpping from her
hands, bv th* irrrsislible process of war and revo-
fectly formtd, and m* xoiably s» itl* d, as it now stand?,
a long time in advance ot the publication ol his sen*
limtnts.
Now, gentlemen. 1 appeil to you to say wheth
er there is any ciicumsiaiice, in the prt Sent situation
of our counliy, to rendei the possession of Txas
less politi** or desuablt- than m 18/20 anc> in 1827 ?
.Mr. Clay has not attempted 10 point out any such
circumstance No man can point out any such.—
Whal, then, has changtd the opinion and course cf
Mr. Clay 2 Whal has caused him to declare him
self against the policy of annexation, presmt or fa*
lure % The cause is lo be found in the necessity
under which he lay, of bowing lo the behests of tho
Norihern Whig party, in order to retain their favor
and leceive their suflfrages. In no other way can
we account lor the gro s contradiction between hia
lait anti*anni xation bulletin, and his opinions ol the
policy and nnpoitance of our possessing Texas, as
lidljii?, uv II Iuiuijroa ui wai aiju it:vu- t ^ ^ i r j -it i
lution—when, const quently, our relinquishment 1820. and a flu wa ids still more solemn
oup undoubitd right to Texas in favor of Spain’s Iv repeat^tl and .ici*d on m 1827 In naother way
mete shrtjd ol a claim, was tantamouat *0 making 1 can we explain the eiliaordinaxy faci, lhal such a