kTHlI PUBLIC GOOD SHOULD EVER BE PREFERRED TO PRIVATE A D V" a K T A G E .'
VOLUME 4.
LiNcoLNTON, North Carolina, Friday Morning, Junk SO, 1848.
Number. 22.
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PRINTED AND PUBLISHED WEEKLY, BY
THOMAS J. KCCliES. 4
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TUL RETIIIIXED.
... BVMUS EMILY NELSON.
Jteceive him, oh my lather, :
Ha in permeuce doth tome
, From his long' years' sTtd wanderings,
To hi3 child lio'.ni'i h?ppy' koine.
Nu rnnie Lis brow is haughty,"
- Or his red lip curled in acoin,
My fa'.hf r ! oh ! receive him ;
" . 'Tia thy fcon ! thine own fir?t born !
W.iyJo)k nonhusin anger,'
Oh ! ny sire, it must not be ;
Think ofllim who may refuse
His sweet tnercy onto thee.
Think, think of that Tribunal
..".Where, a suppliant ihou'lt stand,
For. bright, undying fivors, , .
From iie drest Almighty's hand.
Think of thai pji, mournful hour,
i When my sainted n.oiher died ;
A tu liiou in heart's deep" anguish'
' Knelt, all weepinw1, by her bide.
Think upon thy solemn" vow,
The imploring !(,,k sne aVf .
Canst ti-oa break it e'er She fl.ni-rs
- ave bloomed above her grave ?
Fa iher 'tis a horrid thing'
; Unforgiving thus to die ;
Curses un the quivering lip,
And daik anger in the eye.
Thou art now an nged mart,
.. Lifu's bright sands are nearly run,
Nxjii iibuve thy head will cesetj
. TjTgroatn the summer sun.
Father? no it" must. riot he;.. . ,
Willi heart's love and glances mild
Thou'Jt gretycs, I Icnow thou wiit
Thine erring, wandering child.
Cherished bioi her, hasten now,
No longer ihou art fpurnid ;
Pardon and a father's love
y Await ll.e youig RuurntJ.
Leltor. froisi Gets era! C.iss to A.
O. I. iic!ioloii,
WASiilMiTo.'Der. 24, IS47.
.pEATt Sr?i : I havo received u tit let
ter, ;itiii shall answer it as frankly as it
is wniien. '
You nk me whether I am in favor .
the acquisition of Mexican territory, and
what are nv sentiments with regard to
the W ilmol Proviso ?
I have so often and go explicitly s tr
ted my views of the first que-'ion, in the
Semite, that it seemed almost unneces
sary to repeat them hie. As you re
quest il however, I shall briefly give
them.
I think, then, that i:o peace should be
granted to Mexico, until a r a-ouahlc
indemnity is obtained lor lh' ti'j'ine4,
which she. ha done us. The, leiritou
nl extent of llus indemnity i, in the
first ims'isnef, n Pitjct of e.xecu'ive
eofisidera'io!). There the constitution
has placet! it, mid fiere I ;:m willing to
leave it ; ivtonly because! hive lull
confidence in Us jud cious exercise, hut
because, in the. ever varying eucu n-
Manors Ol H Wrtlitt' w-iiU l indiMicci,
lv a publi" declaration, to commit the
country lo any line of indemnity, w Inch
might otherwise be enlarged. as obstinate
ii.justice of the enemy prolongs the con
teit, with its loss of ii!o.)J and tieusuie.
It appeals t) rue that the kind cfme-
taphysical tnagnanimiiy, uhich wou:d
reject all indemnity at the close of "a
bloody ai.d expenstvu war, brought on
-by a direct attach noon our troops by
ihe enemy, and pneeced by a surcessum
of unjusLacts for a series of ears, is as
unwoithy of tlie age m which we live,
as it is rcvo'uitig'to the common sense
Rr.d practice ot manltind.' ft would con
duce but little to our lu ure si-cu'rity, or,
indeed, to our present reputation, to
declare that wo rcpudia e aii expectation
of compensation Irom the Mexican o
vcrnment, and aro fighttni', not for nnv
practical result, but for some vague,
perhaps philanthropic ol ject, which
escapes my penetration and must be
defined by those, who assume, ihis new
principle of national interconmuinsca'ion.
All wars arc to be deprecated, as. 'we'd
by tho statesman as by the philainhro
pist. They are great evils, but there
are greater evils than these, and subnns-
sian to injustice is among them. .The
nation, which should refuse to defend us
rights and i!s honor when assailed, would
soon have neither lo defend ; and when
driven lovar, it is nut by professions of
'thsintcrostedness and declarations ot
magnanimity, that its national object
can be best obfumed, or other iihIious
tiught a lesson of forbearance tin?
strongest security for pnmauent peace.
e are ai war with Mexico, and its
vigorous prosecution is Ihe surest means
ol us termination, and ample indemnity
the bui est guaranty against the' Recur
rence of such injustice as provoked it.
'I he Wilmuf Proviso has been before
the country some time. " It has been
repeatedly discussed in Congress, and by
the public press.
. I am Rtroiigfy impressed wiih the
opinion, that a reat change lias been
going on m the; public mind upon Uns
uI)hlM in my own as well as others,
nd that doubts are resolving themselves
m'o convictions, iht the principle it in
volves should be kept out of tlw nationul
legislature, and leli io the people of the
conkdeiHcy in their reptctive local
goverom lio
, Tlie wl ole subject is a comprehensive
one, and fruulul ot'imporlditt consquen
cee. li would be ill-'imed to dicus it
here. 1 shall not assume that reponsi
hie la.-k, but shall confine intlfti such
general view, a ate ntct'8ary to the
f.iir exhibition of my opinions.
No mny well regret thu existence of
slavery ni the rfouiliern States, and wish
they had been saved from Us introduc
tion. Hut there it i, and nut by the
act of the ptesent gei.eraiiou, and we
must deal with it as a great , practical
question, involving the ii.ot momenii u
! conrquences. fc. HA V IS Nhrnit.K
I HIS KKiiJT Nldl.TIH Pl)v IJi
IO I OUOII IT wiikke ir 'i-.x,
I6TS ; and if we had both, their exercies,
I by any means licretoloie su;esicd,
nogln lead to iei Hs, which no wi0e man
j would wil ingly encounter, and which
j no good man could contemplate without
uninciv.
'I he theory cf our government pre
supposes, that us v.ui .us members liavi'
reserved to theinseltis ihe reoulation
ol all subjects rei.niiig to what may he
termed tneir iniernl polii-y." They are
soveieign wiihui boundaries, -except in
I hose c-so, where they ha vj sur rend
ered to the general government a portion
of f heir rights, m older to give efl'ect to
ohjeeis of the union, w hether these con.
cern foreign nations or the several States
themselves. Local institutions, if J may
Ft speak, whether tl.ey have reference;
to slavery or to any other relations, do
mestic or public, hic left lo local au
thfirity eitn r original or uenva ive.
Congress has no fight to soy, that there
shull be. slavery in AVtr York t r that
there shall he no slarery in Georgia;
nor is there any other human power,
but the people of those Siatt3, respect'
ively, iihich can change the relations
existing therein ; and they can say, if
they ivill We will have slavery in the
former, and v:c will uboltth it in the
latfc.
in various respects the Territories dif
fer from the Jv.ntes. Some of their
ngntsare inchoate, and they do not pos
sess the peculiar attributes of sovereign
'I
oeir relation to !ho general g"V"
eminent is very imperfectly defined by
;he constitution; and it will be lound up
on examination, that, in that instrument
the oulv grant ol power concerning them
is convened in the. phrase "Congress
shall h;iv the power to c'ispose of and
make aM m dful rules an;! regulations,
respecting the territory and properly ba
lot ging io ihe United States." Certain
ly this phraseology is very loose, if it
were designed lo include in the grant
the whole power of legislation over per
M,s, ot well ..a thlt;. Th rxiirt's-
ion, he " erritory nntl other properly.
j I iriy construed, relates to the public
i land, as uch, to arsenals, dockyard.),
lorts, ships, ami all tlie varion kinds ot
' property, winch the V. Slaves may and
must porses.
j L'ut surely the simple authority to
j dispose of and reghlatc. thrse, docs not
J extend nulimiltd power ot legislation, to
i the passage c "all laws, in the nioft yen
erl acceptation of the word, which, by
the by, is carefully excluded from I he
sentence. And, indeed, if ihis were so,
: it would tender unnecessary anovher pro -
vision ol the con-titutioti. which grants
to Congress (hepo ier tu iegislate, with
the consent of ihe States, repectlvcly,
over all places purchased lor the "erec
lion ot (oris, m-ji'azmes, arsenals, dock-
yards & c." Tuese being ihe "proper
rv" i t the United States, it the oower
j t.) make n ediul rules and regulations
concerning" ihem includes ihe general
power of legitdaiion, then the grant of
authority t regulate ihe t-iritory and
other properly ot the Univd Stales" is
uulnniud, wherever suniecis nre found
f ir u operation, and it exercise needed
no auxiliary provision. II, on ihe other
hand, il does not include such power ot
legislation over ihe oilier properly,"
of ihe United Slates, then it does not
include it over their "territory" for the
same terms which grant the one, grant
the other. Territory'' i- here cbed
with property, and treated as such, and
the object waa evidemly to enable, the
general government, as a property hol
der which, Irom the necessity n must
be to manage, pr serve, and "dispose
of" such property as it might possess,
And which authority is essential almost
io its bfiny. But the lives and pcrsou
o. our ch.Z'Mis, wtih the vast variety ol
object connected with them, cannot be
Controlled by an authoiity, which is
merely called into existence for the pur
pose of makiu'; rules and regulation
for the disposition and management of
property.
Such, it appears to me, would be the
cousiiuction put upon this provision of
Ihe constitution, were tins question now
first presented for - consideration, .anc
not controlled by imperious arcMinisian
ces. Tmc ori-u.H ordinance of the
Congress of the Confederation, , passed
in 1787, and which yaa the only act. up
on this subject in f rc"e 8l the adoption of
the toitiiuiiou, provided a complete,
Irame of Government tor the country
north of the Onio while in a terri'omtr
condition, and lor irs tventlul admission
in separate Slates into the Union. And
ihe peisuasion that this ordinance con
tained wiihui it.-elf all ihe necessary
ilit Hiis of execution, piobiblv prevented
any duect iclerehce tu the subject in
the constitution, further that vesting in
Congress the right lo admit the Slates
formed under it into the Union. How
evei, circumstances arose which requi
red legislation, as well over t tie leriiio
ly north ot the i. hio, as uvr other ut
ruory, both within and without the ori
ginal Union, ceded io the general go
vernmeni; and, at various times, a moie
enlarged power. has been exercised over
ihe Territories meaning- thereby the
1 erriiurial tovernmtuts-man is con
veyed by the limited grai.t referred to'.
How far an existing neeeasiiy may
have operated in producing "this legisla
tion, and thus extending by rather a vi
olent implication, powers not directly gi
ven, 1 know riot. Hut ceitaiu it is, Uit
the principle of inte.-fereuce stiuuld not
be carried beyond the necessary impli
cation, wlucu producer it. Il snould ue
limited lo thecieunori id' proper govern
menis for new countries, acquired or
setiltd, and io the necessary provision
for then evemfui ad'nisiou inio the U
ninn, leaving lit the meantime, to the
ptopte inhabiting them, to regulate
tfttir internal corn-tins in their own
way. Tne; aie just as capable of do
ing so as the people of the Slate; and
titey can do sti at any ra e, as soon ub
ilieir politioal independence is retog
nZfd by aUininis.i atu.n into the Union.
During this temporary condition, it is
Imdiy expedient lo call lino exercise a
doubil'Jl and invidious authority, which
qatsuons the intelligence ot a reepecia
bi portion of our citizens, and whose
Iiinttalion, whatever it uny be, will ue
rapidly approaching us termination
uu au Horny wnicti would give to con
gress despotic power, uncontrolled by
Ihe Constitution, over must important
sections of our common coumry. For,
ll Hie relation of master and serva.it may
be regulated or annihilated by its legis
lation, so may me relation of husuaud
and wife, ol parent and ciuld, and other
conditions which our instiiu ions and ih
banns ot our society recognize. W nai
would be thought .1 Congress should uu
otrttke to prescribe '.lie terms ol mai
tiae in New lork, or iciiulate the
;i it ; r i rvri i ? tt n:irnntri twr flittr nitrlrAn
in Pennsylvania? And yet ll would
be as vain to seek one jusiilving the in
lerterence of ilio national legi.-laiure in
toe cases referred lo in lue original
oiaits oi ine union. bpeak here ot
lite iiniercni power of Congress, nd do
not touch ihe questions of oucn contracts,
as may be honied wun new States who.
! admuted into the couiederacy.
Ut all the que&lions that can agitat'
us those whicn are merely secttotirtl in
ttietr rharacier i.ro the most dangerous,
and ihe most to be deprecated. The
warning voice of lino who, I mm his
i character, and services, and virtue, had
! the bei right to nam us, proclaimed
i to bis coumrv men in his Farewell Ad
urts lhat monument ot wisdom lor
j boo, s I hope n vul be of salety for
j them now much we had lo apprehend
from measures peculiarly atTecwng geo.
j giapincnl p-ruai ot our country. 'J he
j gr.iVe circumstances in which we nie
i now placed make these wo: d-, wrds ol
safety ; lor I am satried from all 1 have
seen audheaid here.Ad a successful at-
tempt to engraft the principles of the
Wilmol 1'rociso upon the legislation
of th is government, and to apply them
to new territory, should new territory
j be acquired, would seriously aifect our
j tranquility. I do nut sutler inyselt to
foresee or to foieted the consequences
j that would ense; for I trust nd believe
j there is good sense and good feeling c
j nough in the country to avoid them by a
j voiding nil occasion which might lead
'; to them. 4 - .
Kriefly, then, I am opposed to the ex
ercise of any jurisdiction by Congress
over this matter, and I am in favor, of
loHvu.tf to the people of any territory,
which may he hereafter acquired, the
right lo regulate it for ihemselves, un
der the general principles of thecWi
fution. I'ecause
.1. 1 do no! see in the constitution any
gram of ih r.qusite power to Com
gress ; : 1 a w nclt disposed lo extend
adouhifn! precedent beyond its necessi
ty ihe establishment of territorial gov
ernmei.'H when needed, leaving to ihe
inhabitants nil ihe right compat.ble with
the relations they bear to the confede
ration. 2. Because I belice this measure, if
adopted, would weaken, if not impair,
the Union of States; and would sow ihe
seeds of future discord, which Would
grow up and ripen into an abundant har
vest of calamity.
3. Becauso 1 believe a general con
viction, that such a proposition would
succeed, wou'd lead lo an immediate
withholding of the supplies, and thus to
a dishonorable termination of the war.
I think no dispassionate observer at the
aeat of goverui- ent can doubt this tesult.
4. If, however, in this 1 am under a
mUapprehensioti, I am under none in
practical operation of ihis resmc
lion, if adopted by Congress, upon a
treaty of peace making an acquisition
of Mexican territory. Such a treaty
would be rejected just as certainly as
presented to the Senate. More than
one ihird of that body would" vote against
it, viewing such n principle as an ex
clus on ot the citizens of the slaveho d
ing Stales from a participation in the
benefits acquired by the treasure and
exertions of all, ana" which would be
common lo all. 1 am repealing nei
ther advancing" nor defending these
views. J hat branch ol the eul-tect does
not lie. in my way, and 1 shall not turn
aside to seek it. .
In this ngpect of ihe matter, the peo
pie. ol the Untied Stales must choose,
'.'tivifii this restriction, and the exten
sion of their territorial limits. They
cannot have both ; and which they will
surrender, must ihpeud upon their rep
resentatives firs', and then, it these fail
them, upon themselves.
5. But alfr all, it seems io be gen
erally conceded, that this restriction, if
carri'-u into cfh c, could not operate up
on any State to be toimed from newly
icquired te-ritory. J rie well known
ai'rihutes of snverfc'gn'y, recognized by
us as belonging to the Slate government-,
would sweep before them any
such barrier, an 1 would leave the peo
ple to express and exert their will at
pleasure. Is the object, then, ofiempo
rary exclusion for so short a period as
ihe duration of territorial government",
worth ihe price at which it would be
purchased ? worth the discord it would
engender, the trial to which it would
expose our Unian, and the evils lhat
would ce the certain consequences, let
that trial result as it might ? As to
the course, which has been intimated,
rather than proposed, of engrafting such
a restriction upon any treaty of acquisi
lion, 1 persuade myself it would find but
little favor in any portion of this coun
try. Such an arrangement would ren
der Mexico a party having a right to
interefere in our internal iustitu ious in
question le.fi by ihe constitution to the
State governments, and would inflict a
.-.erious blow upon our fundamental prin
ciples. Few indeed, 1 trust, there are,
among us, who would thus 'rant to a
foreign power the righl to inquire into
tue constitution and conduct of the sov
ereign S.aiesof this Union ; and if there
are any, 1 am not among mem, at.d nev
er shall be. To ihe people of the couu
: i y under God, now and hereafter, are
its destin'esc minuted ; and we want no
foreign power to intei rogate us, treaty
in hand, and to say, by have you done
this, or Why have you left that un
done ? Our own diyuny and the prin
ciples of national independence umie to
tbspel such a proposition
But there is another important consul-! aeiy-inruugu many u lio'Jblc, cnu i
eration which ought not io be lost sight I "U3 x,tl earry us safely through loany
of in ihe investigation of this subject. , shou d many moie be destined tu
rite question lhat pre-ems itseii is nui j aaJ" u- Tne N iim.i Proviso set ks lo
a question of the increase, but of the j lake lrum l'e legitimate tribunal a qu.
diffusion of slavery. Whether us sphere '" domestic policy having no itlai.on
be stationary or progressive, its amount j lu l,ie Union.as such, and io tru.siei u i
will bethesan.e. I he lejection ofthn re i another , cteid by lh j eoplr h-r a pe
striciion will not ad i one to the class of i '- purpose, and loe:go to me sul j. ct
servitude, nor wi 1 ts ad pti n give, free j mailer involved in ibis is.ue. By go
dom K a single being who is now ! " principles, we go back to
i.lnrP.I -ilii-rcm. '! hi same numbers I htf road of peace and sale ay. latc to
will be spread over a greater !erniry ;
and so lar as compression, wiih less a
bundance of the nei essane3 of life, an
evil, so far will that evil ba nntiguled
by transporting slaves to a new country,
and giving them a larger -space to oc
cupy. f say this in ihe event of the exten
sion of slavery over any new acquisi
tion. But can it co there ? This may
! well be doubted. All the description?,
which reach u of ihe condition of the
Cahfornias Ind of New .Mexico, to Ihe
acquisition ff which our efforts seem at
present directed, unite in represeniinj
ihoe counijies as agricultural region,
similar in their produces to our middle
Slates, and generally unfit for the pro
duction of ihe great staples which csn
alone render slave lubor valuable. If
we are not grossly deceived and it is
difficult to conceive how we can be
the inhabitants of those regions, wheth
er they depend upon their ploughs or
their herds, canr.ot be'" slave holder.
Involuntary labor, requiring the invest ,
ment of large capital, can only be profi;
able when employed in trie production
of favored articles, confined by nature
to special districts, and paying larger
returns than the usual agricultural pro
ducts spread over inuie considerable
pot uons of the earth.
In the able letter of Mr. Buchanan up
on ihis sutjeci, not long store given to
the public, he presents similar consider
ations with great force. Neither,4
says the distiuguhed writer, ilie so,l,
the clunate, nor productions uf Caliior
ma south of 35 deg. 30 nun., nor indeed
any portion of u, north or south, is a
dopted io slave labor; and besides every
facility would b iheie hffoided lor the
slave to escape from his master. Such
property would be entirely insecure in
any part ol California. It is morally "
impossible, therefore, that a majority of
me emigrants lo thai ponton ot ihe tern
tmy soi.th o SO deg, 30 inin.. which
will be chiefly composed of our citizens,
will ever re-esiab!iii sluverv within us
limits.
In regard to New Mexico, east of
Ihe Uio Grande, ihe question has alrea
dy been seulcd by the admission of Tex
as into ihe Union.
"Should we acquire territory beyond
the Uio Grande and east of ihe Rocky
mountains, it is still more impossible
that a m.j -ri,y f'f -he people would con
ftiit to the re'tstublishmtnt i f slavery.
i ney are ineuiseives a colored popula
tion, and among ihem the negro does
not belong socially to a degraded race."
With thus last remurk Mr. U alker
fully coincides I'm his letter written in
1844. upon the annexation of .Ttxs,and
which every where produced so favora
ble, an impiessiou upoti the public mind,
as io have contributed very materially lu
the accomplishment of ihal great mea
sure, "lieyoud the Del None," says
Mr. Walker, "slavery will not pa-s; not
only b cause it is forbidden by law, but
because laecoloied race there prepon
derates i'i ihe ratio of ten to oi e over
the whiles, and holding as they do the
government and most of the Vflices in
ineir possession, ihey will not pennit
the enslavement of any portion ol the cop '
ored race, which makes and executes
ihe laws of the country ."
Tli- question, it will be therefore seen
on examination, does not regard the ex
clusion of slavery Irom a region where
it now exists, but a prohibition agaiut
us introduction wtiere it does not exist;
and where, irom ihe feelings ol the in
habitants and laws of nature, "it m mor
rally impossible," as iMr.Buchanau eays,
thai il can ever re-establish ueif.
It augurs well tor ihe permsueuce of
our couiederaiioii, that during more
ihan hail a century, which has uUp4i
since ihe establishment of thu govern
ment, many serious questions, and bi.
of ihe. highest importance, have agitated
ihe pubnu mind, and more than once
ihreuiened ihe gravest consequence!;
but lhat they have oil in sucieiun pas
sed away, leaving our inaliiuiions "un
scathed, and our country advancing iu
numbers, power, and wealth, and io ml
Ihe oiner elements ol national prosperity ,
with a rap ddy unknown m ancient or
modern ouys. lu limes of political ex
ciiemeii', when dtfiicuit and delicate
questions, present themselves for suluiioo
there is o..e ark oi saleiy lor u.; ai d that
is an holiest appeal lo the iimdamenUi
principles of our Union, and a Sieiu dt
lermioaliou In abide iheir dictates. Tns
fuume ul L-rt-eetdtiiir has carried us in
I ii t fjx.'"- u,nv u. ili. ic J) tu. y t turn
t ... ..... t . . . .. 4 L
('iciiuu, u uujuri ii t.puit iiir oicn
Tespoi.n.Util;y, and irithtir oicn wunner,
and ue ihuU render another tribute
,he original principles of our gwertr
ment, andjvrnizh another guaranty fur
its permanence and prosperity.
I aav, dear si', resprctfully,
obtditni set v ant,
Lewis Cars.
A. O.P,Nir.J20I.S02l,E'-ji ashville1 cos