Newspapers / Carolina Watchman (Salisbury, N.C.) / May 23, 1850, edition 1 / Page 1
Part of Carolina Watchman (Salisbury, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
f .!: V! i Tciiih of the Watchman Far SHlUcrip ion.p year, Two po..PW' f lhct. tix if not paid 1.1 advance, 1 wo dollars AS: fcf". Col or ers chnd j- lion lo tWT wno ? ' ' i 1 .rc.s to (lie EJitors must be post paid f 7A -THE OAMftMA-1 WATCHMAN. . - ',' . J, - ; , . ' , j y - -. - .. i . 7 ife?- ON PAINTING HOUSES. 1 1 t. Y ROBEBT R. HARDEN. c.r.JWo use paint on our wooden : j - i T( . i buildinglvltb two objects: first, ornament; j SecQrtd, durability.' Was oil used by itself j .uiinnnt Inriv coloring matter, the wood 1 naMv i - j t i - MMER & JAMES, Editors Sf Proprietors. " Keep a CHECK CPON AJ.L VOCR RCLEfiS. i i I SALISBURY, 4 G- T - . , : j Do this, and Liberty is safe.' Gen'l Harrison. NEW SERIES. VOLUME VII NUMBER 2. THURSDAY, MAY 23, 1850. 'would. b? made with paifitj: but rrfore durable than it is , without the spirits of turpentine, 'as there as ornament is a consid ; ;s ;n lne WOO(J turnentine sufficient to in- erable pari of thctjnhjpcts of painting, and ;ure tne ol r we examine the shingles as the ntldUionpf paint to the oil, when , amj WCather boarding of a house, where, ipropcrJyjpp'parWd, does not very materi- ' ever we find a knot or fat place, there the oily 'njuH lnft PresRrVH,ivo qualities of 0j js decomposed by the turpentine in the: I the oil, lhj ornamental elTiiCt of the color- j Wood. and the paint destroyed, even where jing more than counterbalances the injury no spirits 0f turpentine was added to the It does. Ifaintiwhen properly prepared, j pajnt. w Does not this truth, which I be- thf refort while it is highly ornajnental to Jieve aj wijl allow, that turpentine makes ; wooden 3bui Id ings, so materially coutrib-1 paint dry quick, prov.e that instead of , l utes tovvaritls their durability, that there is , SOrtking into the wood the oil is decom economy Hi using it.- ljutasit is general- i posed and evaporates, show the destruc IV prepareU. (I may say always.) the orna- ilve effect Gf this addition of spirits; of tur mental Hrect ot it on the outside of build- I pPntinoto paint and although the! inside ings is rhaUn only temporary, und its pre- ( painting to houses remains when turpen seryative dualities wholly destroyed. It . tine has been added. Yet it would be is only heiessary to look at our quickly j more durable if the turpentine were left decaymgfooden buihliogs, with the pamt j out. The oldest paintings we hak'e, ap- hashed jolf more or less in ditfererit places, accordindas it is exposed to the sun and rainr-to' bp -satisfied that, the expense of i painting ps Ridded very little towards preserving: the 'building ; andwhether a building looks belter without paint, or With pint nearly all washed oil, with . f It A-.. I . . . . here aitd here a little remaining to show 'i that it was painted, taste must determine. If whatl I have stated be a fact, that paint OS tiostJ . prepared, is of little value, it will'be;well to look, into the cause of it bat the c vil may be removed; and if I give the Correct cause, happily the evil is .rttnovd'.vithout expanse or trouble : or rather It Is cheaper to paint well than in this "deject ive manner. We have only to leave dutjthe spirits of turpentine, and we Will have good: paint. Ask the painter wby.bfc ajdds it o the paint and he will tell yojb to make it dry (juick. This is just the sime as saying, to destroy the oil which? readers the paint useless. Now let US reason upon it. and see if this is cor recti. . If wc pour oil on wood it soaks into it, and after it is all soaked up, if we ap ply rnijrejoil it will strike still deeper and "soak yip more ; when it has penetrated 'sufficiently deep into the vood as to pre vent'rhbiiture Irotn rain, c, penetrating as deep fas itself, the wood is rehdered very lastlng.j This wouItKbe the case if jthe buildingwas simply covered with two I cdats iiof . oil) without paint. If we give 1 1 4 , it only one coat of oil, with a sufficient : quantity oi paint to give it color, the wood would so' .quickly soak up the oil thpt the paint,vould be left a dry powder on the DUiiumg, inai wouici oe easily ruonfa or I washed off. ! If we give it first a coat of oil' with; a little paint added to it, the oil -N i B0aks.into tlie pores, another coat of oij t 1 With the proper quantity bf paint, while the pores are filled with the recently put on, or first coat, remains sufficiently long before) the-01 is soaked up by the pores, for a part otjil to dry with ihe paint which forms a'permanent covering of paint. this U the advantage of giving two coats cf pam; if jhe first coat was oil only, it i would be better. When a house is thus painted, all the injury "done by the paint, j ii.lhe- qjil wjiich it retains and prevents ; fj'om sqakin intq the wood, ahd this is in part, pfrhaps wholly, couhterbalanced in forming a firm external covering which ouuuing js preserved anu ornamenteu. Now! iv.hat jvvill be the effect of adding spirits p f t U-r pe n t i n e to t h e o i 1 ? We k no w ot nolbing better calculated to destroy our intenti pear as warm and glowing as when first executed, while the paintings of tie first masters of modern times are injured, most ly as I think by the free use of turpentine. The fine paintings of even Sir j Joshua Reynold are losing their beauty. By some it is supposed that the paints now used are not as good as they were in former days. Tis not the fault of the materials, but the preparation. Oil for instance, and white lead are as good now as thfcy ever were, and were they used without turpen tine or anything else, as the painters say. to make them dry, (or as we say to de compose the oil and destroy it.)! would last a strong andbe as good as they ever were. If we calculate the annual amount of money used in the purchase oij turpen tine and to this add the amount of loss from the injury it does we will find it an enormous expense. From such trials a? I have made, I believe the palmaj christi oil to be superior to flax-seed oil jfor pre serving wood. If the two oils bej put on wood, the palma christi oil will bje found much more difficult to remove by decom posing with turpentine, which is. proof it will be found most durable. Palma chris ta oil. when properly prepared by boiling is as clear and as good as cold pressed oil. A good acre of land will produce 20 or 30 gallons of it. Planters who wish to paint their buildings would be able to make the best of paint oil by cultivating a few a cres of it, and when durability, more than ornament is the object, as in out buildings, gates, &c, giving them two coats palma ennsta oil, without paint, would have the sv m t desired ettect. the posts ot my pigeon house, which were dipped in palma chris ta oil, hot, before they' were put in the ground, looked like they would! last for generations to come ; while the posts a- bout the yard, garden. &c.are considera bly decayed. Was the exposed 1 six or eight inch of shingles dipped" in a hot pot L of palma chnstv oil, the expense would be trifling and they would be everlasting. Som years by neglect, a pot of oil, vvih which I was experimenting, was Spoiled by burning, the roof of the house, 'which was very lowjthe building beini; deep in hill side, I threw the oil on the house roof; on taking this house down a few days ago these shingles Were found as sound and as clear of moss as when put on while the others Vere much decayed. But the durability thus obtained would ijiot be the ion. s-i i 1. ons in the use of both the oil and as smink the smallest snark ,, . ' -I- I paint. han the addition of turpentine to j upon it when dry takes fire. lne. Oil. iyery nouseKeeper Knows inai i if oil js on her floor, spirits of turpentine is the ipplicaiori to remove it. Every wash-woman knows that if oil is on her clothes turpentine is the application to remove it; and how does it remove it when the oil and turpentine are added together? A-c Terhica) union takes place, and the qual ties of both are destroyed, and 1 tnough either tho oil or turpentine by thenftselves when applied on wood would add to its durability, yet when added to gether the original (pialities of both are destrpyed arid the application is useless, justjaslan acid and alkali, when mixed to gether destroy the qualities of each other and the effect of neither remains. Now when a budding is painted with two coats shingles only object ; it is known that al become covered with a mossy this growth is nearly aXquteu to take fire that falls growth ; Perhaps fire from" from this produced nine out of ten houses that take sparks falling on the roof, do so mossy growth, which never is on wood that is oiled ; where shingles dip ped in hot oil" before puting them up, it would be a preventative of tire from sparks. A few days ago during almost a almat mid day when-only a few coals were in the fire place, my hous roof Was discovered to be on fire. As there. was no ladder nor any way of getting to the fire, it seemed as if the house would burn down. A veryrong man however, by getting in the -window of a house not far off, was able lo deaden the fire a little by throw ing water with great strength : some drops would reach therfire ; thus some utile time was given for reflection. A iman vvjth i .1 of paint to which spirits of. turpentine is great muscular strength with a small 'added, instead of the first covering of oil, 1 hatchet commencedcutting ttjrough the ' (which has very little paint.) bejng soaked j celling and sheeting. The fire began! to up. and the second covering, as the pores blaze, the wind began to rise, all hope of '.art 'already fed. soaking up the oil so slow j extinguishing the fire was gonfe : he riad th i a part of the oil may dry in the paint however, cut a hole through, and was able th 4 making a firm coat of paint on the ! to tear off the boards and put out the fire, r .... .r L ...t .:u ...:n . . . f . ... ... h ; BuMicr, wiucu win t-xciuur inoisiure nnu , ne shingles upon examination were prevent the evaporation of the oil, thus i fbund sound, but they were colered with: .Wing the wood almost as lasting as this mdssy growth. Avery small spak. L:time, and the color to remain as long aKm,st have set it on fire, for urjon trial it me .wood lasts ; yvhat win ne ine enect of vvas founti almost as quick to trike as gbn to S addition of spirits o( turpentine f I he I powder. Had these shingles been dipped ? .911 S uecomposeu, anu insicaa oi soaKing ; intq the wood and slowly drying in the paint to give a firm covering, it is quickly evaporated by the sun, the paint is left a . useless powder on the surface ; where it is Wot: sheltered from tp rain it is soon washed away; and in places where it on- i Direct trade with Liverpool A mer 'lyigets wet without eing washed off, as chant of this town informs us thaf a cor- ' thifj qualities of the oil aredestroyed.it re- resrondent of his in Liverpool advises him tains moisture and hastens decay. We that he (the correspondent) has a ship on ; bo only to go to a house which was the stocks, and is preparing to put on an- pointed white and examine the somewhat other, both of which will be roh regularly in oil before they were put on the house, I would have heeh safe from such an acci dent not only now but for many years; to come. 41 ; .sheltered 1 spots where thev eel wet bv between Liverpool and Wilhiingtoni if showers, yet tne rain.Uors not beat upon sufficient encouragement fie given to pe - them.soals fo wash off the naint and enlernrise. We commend th matter? to scratch off the, paint, and we will find the the earnest attention of our merchant. Spjtface in a state of decay from the paint , No outlay is require'd from them for ves not'excluding the moisture but retainfng sels. Nothing more than their favor and ltjj When pine wood is painted it should patronage. Surely these will be given l ore especially have only oil and paint unhesitatingly. WU. Qhroiif Report of the Select Commiltce of Thirteen! j Mr. Clay, from the Select Comnjittee of Thirteen, to whom were referred various reso lutions relating to California to other portions of the Territory recently acquired by l;he Uni ted States from the republic of Meiic4, and to other subjects connected with the institution of slavery, submitted the following j REPORT: j The committee entered on the discharge of their duties with a deep sense of iher great importance, and with earnest and anxious so licitude to arrive at such conclusions as might be satisfactory to the Senate and to the coun try. Most of the matters referred have been not only subjected to extensive and seripus pub lic discussion throughout the country, but to a debate in the Senate itself, singular for its elab orateness and its duration" ;'o that a full expo sition of all those motives and views which, on the several subjects confided to the committee have determined the conclusions at which they have arrived, seems quite unnecessary!. They will, therefore, restrict themselves to a (Tew gen eral observations, and to some reflections which grow out of those subjects, j 1 Out of our recent territorial acquisitions, and in connexion with the institution of slavery, questions most grave have sprung, whi4h, great, ly dividing and agitating the people of! the Uni ted States, have threatened to disturb the har mony, if not to endanger the safety, of the Un ion. The committee believe it to he highly desirable and necessary speedily to adjust all those questions, in a spirit of. concord, and in a manner to produce, if practicable general sausiaciion. 1 ney inniK 11 wouia oe unwise to leave any of them open and unsettled, to fes ter in the public mind, and to prolong, if not aggravate, the existing agitation. It has been their object, therefore, in this report, to make such proposals and recommendations as would accomplish a general adjustment of all those questions. ! Among the subjects referred to the commit tee, which command theit. first attention, are ihe resolutions offered to the Senite by the Senator from Tennessee, Mr. Bell, j By a pro- vision in the resolution of Congress annexing Texas to the United Slates, it is declared that new States of convenient: size, not! exceeding four in number, in addition to said State of Texas, and having sufficient population, may hereafter, by the consent of said Stale, be form ed out of the territory thereof, which shall be entitled to admission under the provisions of the Federal Constitution ; and such States as may be formed out of that portion of s4id territory lying south of 86 30' north latitude, common ly known as the Missouri compromise line, i shall be admiited into the Union with or without slavery, as the people of each Stat asking ad mission may desire." f The committee are unanimously! of opinion, that whenever one or more States formed out of ihe terrhory of Texas, not exceeding four, having sufficient population, with ihe consent of Texas, may apply to be admitted into the Union, they are entitled to such admission, be yond all doubt, upon the clear, unambiguous and absolute terms .of the solemn compact con tained in the resolution ol annexing adopted by Congress and assented to by Texas. But, whilst the committee conceive that! the right of admission into the Union of any j new States carved out of the territory of Texas, not ex- l: .1 I i , ceeaing ine numner specinea, anq under ihe conditions stated, cannot be justly controverted, the committee do not think that the formation of any such new States should now originate with Congress. The initiative, iij conformity with the usage which has heretofore prevailed. should be taken by a portion of the people of lexas themselves, desirous of constituting a new State, with the consent of Texas. And in the formation of such new State, it will be tot the people composing it to decile for them selves whether they will admit or will exclude slavery. And however the.y mays decide that purely municipal question; Congress is bound to acquiesce, and to fulfil in good faith the stip ulations of the compact with Texa. The com mitteeare aware that it has beeti contended that the resolution ot Congress annexing Tex as was unconstitutional. At a former epoch of our country's history, thefe were! those (and Mr. Jefferson, under whose auspices the treaty of Louisiana was concluded, was among them) who believed that the States formed out of Lou isiana could not be received into the Union without an amendment of the Constitution. But the States of Louisiana, Missouri, Arkan sas, and Iowa have been all, nevertheless ad milted. And who would now think of oppos ing the admission of Minnesota Oregon, or other new States formed out of ancient prov. ince of Louisiana, upon the ground of alleged defect of constitutional power ? In grave, na tional transactions, while yet in their earlier or incipient stages, differences ; may; well exist ; but when once they have been decided bya constitutional majority, and are consummated, or are in a process of consummation, there can be no other safe and prudent alternative than to respect the decision already rendered, and to acquiesce in it. Entertaining these views, a majority of ihe committee do not think ft ne. j cessary or proper to recommend, at this time, or prospectively, any new State ori States tq be formed out of the I erritory of Texas. Should any such State be hereafter formed, and pre- sent itself for admission into the Union, whe ther with or without the establishment of slave ry, it cannot be doubted that Congress will, on der a full sense of honor) of good faith, and of all ihe high obligations arising out of the com pact with Texas, decide just as it will decide under the influence of similar considerations in regard to new States formed jof or out of New Mexico and Utah, with or -without the in stitution of slavery, according to jhe constitu tions and judgment of the people who compose them, as to what may be best to promote their happiness. 1 j : i In considering the question of the admission of California as a State into the Union, a ma jority of the committee conceive that any irre gularity by . which that State was organized without the previous authority of an act of Con gress ought to be overlooked in consideration of the omission by Congress to! establish any territorial government for the people of Califor nia, and ihe consequent necessity which they were under to create a government for them selves best adapted to their own wants. There are various instances, prior to the case of Cal ifornia, of the admission of new States into the Union without any previous authorization by Congress. .The sole condition required by the Constitution of the United States in respect to the admission of a new Slate is, that its con stitution shall be republican in form. Califor ma presents such a constitution j and there is no doubt of her having a greater population than that which, according to the practice of the government, has been heretofore deemed sufficient lo receive a new State into the Un strained, it is urged, to lake or reject both. On the other hand, there are other members who would be willing to vote for both united, but would feel themselves constrained to vote against the California bill if it stood alone. Each party finds in the bill which it favors something which commends il to acceptance. and in the other, something it disapproves. The true ground, therefore, of the objection to straight line, and theiice eaitwardly to a point where the hundreth degree of west longitude crosses Red river; being the southwest angle in the line designated between the U. States and .Mexico, and the same angle in the line of the territory set apart for the Iudians by the United Stales. If this boundary be assented taby Texas, she will be quietted to that extent in her title. And some maysuppose that, in consideration of this concession by the United Slates, she might, without any other equivalent, relinquish any claim she has beyond ihe proposed bound- ary ; that is. any claim to any part of New Mexico. But, under the influence of a senti ment of justice and great liberality, the bill pro. poses to Texas for her relinquishment oPany such claim, a large pecuniary equivalent. As a consideration for it, and considering that a poil ion of ihe debt of Texas was created on a pledge to her creditors of the duties on foreign imports transferred by the resolution of annex, ation to the United States, and now received and receivable in their treasury, a mnjoiity of the committee recommended ihe payment of ihe sum of millions of dollars to Texts, to be , ' ,,,c .s no. any wan. oi ,jed n ,he firg, in5lailCe lo ,he rxlinclion of affinity between them but, because of the fa- ,hal jon of h,f d,t f be rrmburiemenl voror li.fkvorw.th .which they are respective- I of which lhe duties on foreign imports .were ly regarded. In ibis conflict of ; opinion, it , p,d d as afon.Jlid . a(Mj lhe" reJue in uca i a ..,,. o. ine commmee mai a manni.P .u. m.lmri. TKa ..irl ...mi. j to be paid in by the United Slates in a stock. In regard to the proposed boundaries of Cal ifornia, the committee would have been glad if there existed' more full and accurate geograph ical knowledge of the territory which those boundaiies include. There is reason to believe that, large as they are, they embrace no very disproportionate quantity of land adapted to cultivation And it is known that they contain extensive ranges of mountains, deserts of sand, and much productive soil. It might have been, perhaps;, better to have assigned to California a morejlimited front on the Pacific: but even if there had been reserved on the shore of that ocean a portion of the boundary which it pre sents for any other State or States, it is not ve ry certain that an accessible interior of suffi cient extent could have been given to them to render an approach to the ocean through their own limits of any great importance. A majority of lhe committee think there are many and urgent concurring considerations in favor of admitting California with the proposed boundaries, and of securing to her at this time the benefits of a Slate government. If, here after, upon an increase of her population, a more thorough exploration of her territory, and an ascertainment of the relations which may arise-between the people occupying its various parts, it should be found conducive to their convenience and happiness to form a new State out of California, we have every reason to believe, from past experience, that the ques tion of its admission will be fairly considered and justly decided. A majority of the committee, therefore, re commend to the Senate the passage of the bill reported by the committee on Territories for the admission of California as a State into the Union. To prevent misconception, the com mittee also recommend that 'the amendment reported by the same committee to the bill a. dopted, so as to leave incontestable the right of the United States to the public domain and other public property in California. Wbilsta majority of the committee believe it to be necessary and proper, under actual cir cumstances, to admit California, they think it quite as necessary and proper to establish go vernments for the residue of the territory de rived from Mexico, and to bring it within the pale of the Federal authority. The remote ness of that territory from the seat of the Gen eral Government ; the dispersed state of its population ; the variety of races pure and mixed of which it consists ; the ignorance of some of the races of our laws, languages, and habits ; their exposure to inroads and wars of savage tribes; and the solemn stipulations of the treaty-by which we acquired dominion over them, impose upon thetjnited States the imperative obligation of extending tothempro tectipn and of providing lor them government and laws suited to their condition. Congress will fail in the performance of a high duty if it does not give, or! attempt to give, to them the benefit of such protection, government, and laws. They are not novy, and for a long time to come may not be, prepared for State govern ment. The territorial form, for lhe present, is best suited to their condition. A bill has been reported by the Committee on Territories, d i v i . ding all the territory acquired from Mexico not comprehended within the limits of California into two Territories, under lhe names of New Mexico and Utah, and proposing for each a territorial government. The Committee recommend to the Senate tbet; establishment of those territorial govern ments ; and in order more certainly to secure that desirable object, theyalso recommend that spirit of mutual concession enjoins that the two measuies should be connected together; the effect of which will be, that neither opinion will exclusively triumph, and that both may find in such an amicable arrangement enough of to be created, hearing five per cent, interest annually, payable half yearly at ihe treasury of me uuiiru oiaies, anu ine pnncipa. reimours- able at the end of fourteen years. According to an estimate which has been I O I made, there are included in the lertitory to i which it is proposed that Texas shall relinquish ! her claim, embracing that part of New Mexico ; lying east of the Rio Grandd, a little ks than : 124.933 square miles, and about 79.957 120 acres of land. From the proceeds of sale of this land, the United States may ultimately be ! reimbursed a portion, if not the whole of the amount of what is thus proposed to be advanc- ed to Texas. , It cannot be anticipated that Texas will de- good to reconcile them to the acceptance of the combined measure. And such a course of leu tslation is not at all unusual. Few laws have ever passed iu which there were not parts to which exception was taken. It is inexpedient, if not impracticable, to separate these parts, and embody them in distinct bills, so as to ac commodate the diversity of opinion which ex ist. The Constitution of the United Slates contained in it a great variety of provisions, to some, of which serious objections was made in the convention which formed "it by different members of that bodv and when it enh. milted to the ratification of the States, some of cline to cced o hese liberal proposition ; them ohjected to some parts, and others to oth- j b,,t ,f she should 11 he distinctly under er parts of the same instrument. Had these ! s,ood ,hal the lil,e of lhe Uud States to any various nan and nrnvi.mni l.n en rat ov I territory acquired from Mexico East of the Rio acted on in the convention, or senaratelv sub. I Grande will remain unimpaired and in the same I j milled to the people of the United States, it is by no means certain that lhe Constitution it self would ever have been adopted or ratified. Those who did not like particular provisions found compensation in other parts of it. And in all cases of constitutions and laws, when ei ther is presented as a whole, ihe question to be decided is, whether the good which it contains condition as if the proposals of adjustment now offered had never been made. A majority of the committee recommend to the Senate that the section containing these proposals to Texas shall be incorporated into the bill embracing the admission of California as a State, and the establishment of territorial governments for Utah and New Mexico. The is not of greater amount, and does neutralize ' definition and establishment of the boundary any thing exceptionable in it. And as nothing : between New Mexico and Texas has an inti. human is perfect, for the sake of that harmony niate and necessary connection with theestab so desirable is such a confederacy as this, we ! lishment of a territorial government for New must be reconciled lo secure as much as we Mexico. To form a territorialgovernment for can of what we wish, and be consoled by the j New Mexico, without prescribing the limits of reflection that what we do not exactly like is a 'he territory, would leave the woik imperfect friendly concession, and agreeable to those who ' and incomplete, and might expose New Mexi being united with us in a common destiny, it i co lo serious controversy, if not dangerous col is desirable should always live with us in peace i liins, with the State of Texas. Xnd most, if and concord. I not all, the considerations which unite in favor A majority of the committee have, therefore, ! of combining the bill for admission of Califor- been led to the recommendation to the Senate i ma a" a State and the territorial bills apply to thai two measures be united. The bill for es tablishing the two Territories, it will be ob served, omits the Wilmot proviso, on the one hand, and. on the other, makes no provision the boundary question of Texas. By the Un ion of the three measures, every question of difficulty and division which has arisen out of the territorial acquisitions from Mexico will, it for the introduction of slavery into any part of' is hoped, be adjusted, or placed m a train nf saiisiaciory adjustment. 1 ne committee, avail ing themselves 6f-the arduous and valuable la bors of the Committ.ee on Territories, report a bill, herewith annexed, (marked A,) embracing those three measures, the passage of which, uniting them togetherthey recommend to the Senate. The committee will now proceed to the con sideration of, and to report upon, the subject of persons owning service or labor in one State the new territories. That proviso has been the fruitful source of distraction and agitation. It it were adopted and applied to any territory, it would cease to have any obligatory force as soon as such territory were admitted as a State into the Union. There was never any occa sion for it, to accomplish the professed object with which it was originally offered. This has been clearly demonstrated by the current of events. California, of all the recent territorial acquisitions from Mexico, was that in which, if escaping into another. The text of the Con- anywhere within them, the introduction ofjstitution is quite clear: ' No person held lo slavery was most likely to lake place ; and the j service or labor in one State, under the lairs constitution, has expressly interdicted it. There 1 thereof, Escaping into another, shall, in conse is the highest degree of probability that Utah quence of any law or regulation therein, be dis and New Mexico will, when they come to be 1 charged from such labor or service, but shall admitted as States, follow the example. The ! be delivered up on the claim of lhe party to proviso is, as to all these regions in common, ' whom such service or labor may be due." a mere abstraction. Why should it be any Nothing can be more explicit than this Ian longer insisted on ? Totally destitute, as it is, 1 guage nothing more manifest than the right lo of any practical import, it has, nevertheless, demand, and the obligation to deliver up to the had the pernicious effect to excite serious, if claimant, any such fugitive. And the Consti not alarming, consequences. It is high time ; tution addresses itself alike to lhe States com-' thai the wounds which it has inflicted should ' posing the Union and to the General Govern be healed up and closed ; and that, lo avoid, in ment. If, indeed, there were any difference all future lime, the agitations which must be in the duty to enforce this portion of live Con- stituiion between the States and the Federal Government, it is more clear that it is that of the former than of the latter. But it is the du- ineon- they have attained to a condition which enti- not perilous, collisions. An owner of a slave ties them to admission as a State, to decide for it is quite notorious, cannot pursue his property,' themselves the question of lhe allowance or for the purpose of its recovery, in some of -lhe prohibition of domestic slavery. The com- ; Slates, without imminenLpersonal hazard. mittee believe that they express the anxious This is a deplorable stale of thins. which desire of an immense majority of the people of ought to be remedied. The law of 1793 has tne united otates, wnen they declare that it is neen lound wnoiiy ineiiectuai. and requires high time that good feelings, harmony, and fra- ternal sentiments should be again revived, and that the Government should be able once more to proceed in its great operations to promote the more stringent enactments. 1 here i. espe. cially, a deficiency in the number oftpublic functionaries authorized to afford aid in the seizure and arrest of fugitives. Various States happiness and prosperity of the country undis- ' have declined lo afford aid and co-operation in produced by the conflict of opinion on the slave ry question, existing as this institution does in some of the States and prohibited as it is in others, the true principle which ought to regu- ty of both. It is now weli known and late the action of Congress in forming terrifo- , testable that citizens in slaveholding States en rial governments for each newly acquired do- ; counter the greatest difficulty in obtaining lhe main is to refrain from all legislation on the ; benefit of this provision of the Constitution. subject in the territory acquired, so long as it ' The attempt to recapture a fugitive's almost retains the territorial form of government always a subject of great-irritation and excite. the bill for their establishment be incorporated leaving it to the people ol such Territory, when ment, and often leads lo mot unpleasant, if in the bill for the admission of California, and that, united together, they both be passed. The combination of the two measures in the same bill is objected to on various grounds. It is said that ihey are incongruous, and have no necessary connection with each other. A ma. jority of the committee think otherwise. The object of both measures is the establishment of government suited to the conditions respective ly, of the proposed new State and of lhe new Territories. Prior to their transfer to the Uni ted States, they both formed a part of Mexicor where they stood in equal relations to the Gov. ernment of lhat Republic. They were both ceded to the United States by the same treaty. And in the same article of that treaty, the Uni ted States solemnly engaged to protect and go vern both. Common in thejr origin, common in their alienation from one foreign government to another, common in their wants' of good gov. ernment, and conterminous1 in some of their boundaries, and alike in many particulars of physical condition,. I hey have nearly every thing in common in the relations in which they stand to the rest of this Union. There is then, a gen eral fitness and propriety in extending the pa rental care of government to both in common. If California, by a sudden and extraordinary augmentation of population,; has advanced so rapidly as to mature her for Stale Government, that furnishes no reason why the less fortunate Territories of New Mexico and Utah should be abandoned and left ungoverned by the United States, or should be disconnected with Califor nia, which, although she has organized for her self a State government, must be legally and constitutionally regarded as a Territory until she is actually admitted as a State in the Union. It is further objected, that by combining the two measures. in the same bill, members who may be willing to vote for one and unwilling to vote for the other, would be placed in an turbed by this distracting cause. As for California, far from feeling her sensi bility affected by her being associated with oth er kindred measures she ought to rejnire and be highly gratified that in entering into the Un the surrender of fugitives from labor, as the committee believe, from -a misconception of their duty arising under the Coni Motion of the United Stales. It istrue lhat a Suprcm Court of the United Stales has given countenince lo ion. she mav have contributed 1 3 the tranquility them in withholding their assistance. But tha and happiness ot the great family of States, of committee cannot but believe that the intention which, it is to be hoped, she may one day be a of the Supreme Court has been misundf rstoorl. distinguished member. .The committee beg leave to report on lhe subject of the northern and western boundary of Texas. On that question a great diversity of opinion has prevailed. According to one view of it, the western limit of Texas was the Nueces; according lo another, it extended to the Rio Grande, and stretched from its mouth to its source. A majority of lhe committee, hav. ing come to lhe conclusion of recommending an amicable adjustment of lhe boundary with Texas, abstain from expressing any opinion as They cannot but think that lhat court merely mean' the laws of the several Slates which ere. ated obstacles in the way of the recovery ol fu gitives were not authorized by lhe Constitution, and not lhat State laws affording facilities in tho recovery of fugitives were forbidden by thai instrument. The non-slaveholding Slates, whatever sym. paihies any of their citizens may feel fr per sons who escape from other States, cannot di. charge themselves from an obligation to enforce lhe Constitution of lhe United State.?. All parts embarrassing condition. They would be cen to the true and legitimate western and northernof lhe instrument being dependent upon, and boundary of that State. The terms proposed connected with, each other, ought lo be fairly for such an adjustment are contained in the bill - and justly enforced. If some States may ek herewith reported, and they are, with incon- to exonerate themselves from one portion of the siderable vaiiation the same as that reported ; Constitution, other Stales may endeavor lo e. by the committee on Territories. jvadelhe performance ofoiher porM.-nof il ; According lo these terms, it is proposed to ! the instrument, in .omef its mot Teias that her boundarv 15 recognised to the , imporiani provision., uu.c..u.rM;- Rio Granderand up that river to ihe point com monly called El Paso, and running thence up lhat river tweutj miles measured thereon by a and invalid. But, whatever may le the conduct of indi vidual States, the doty of the General Guveru- i
Carolina Watchman (Salisbury, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
May 23, 1850, edition 1
1
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75