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•titution anJ laws of this Union? Hut attain,
on whoso territory do they propose to exert
this authority of self-government ? Can a
“people,” Mr. Chairman, in any true and ac
credited politic!.! sense of that term, exist with
out a country ? Or shall the citizens of Ca!i
t’ornia, in order to reach the e xorcise of a dispu
ted right, he permitted to usarp territoiial do
minions coniesscdly not their own ? Let me
tic not misunderstood, .Mr. Chairman, as imply
ing that anything demanding censure lias ta
ken place on the part ot the people of Califor
nia in their adoption of their constitution, and
in their application lor admission into the l n
ion. Nor do I wish to lie understood as deny
ingthat it may be a safe general rule to accept
here the sense of the people of the Territories
of what is best suited to their own circumstan
ces and wants in respect of municipal regula
tion. The desire is to demonstrate the right
we have to supervise their action, so far as to
see to it that nothing transpires in their legis
lation at war with the interests and happiness
of the members of this Confederacy. Will we
accept them ? is obviously the only true inquiry.
The committee are aware that the Territory
of California, as defined in her constitution, is
vastly disproportionate to the average size of
the States. Her shore line includes the whole
length of the Pacific coast from Oregon to
New Mexico, a distance of nine hundred and
seventy miles. Should she be received as she
now presents herself, she will have monopoliz
ed all the commercial ports of entry we have
in that most interesting section of our posses
sions on the Pacific south of Oregon. Her
mineral wealth is believed to be unexampled.
These facts, Mr. Chairman, would seem in
themselves to provoke a well-founded objection
on the pait ol all the Stales to her reception in
her present circumstances. And as the con
nection in which my resolutions place her ac
ceptance sinks the objection of the South to
other particulars of her application than that
of her boundaries, I pass from this topic with
out further comment, in order that I may have
the more time to bestow on the second resolu
tion 1 have to offer :
5. Rcsohed, That the Committee on Territories lie in
structed to report to the House a hill to organize that part
of the territory of California south of the parallel line of
36 deg. and 30 min. of north latitude, and the Territories
of New Mexico and Deseret, prohibiting the introduction
of slavery into any part of the said Territories north of
the parallel line of 36 deg. and 30 min., and recognizing
its admissibility into all parts of said Territories south of
said line of 36 deg. and 30 min., until the adoption by the
people thereof of State constitutions, and their admission
into this Union.
I assume, Mr. Chairman, that in the present
distracted condition of American interests,
opinions, and prejudices, springing out of our
territorial possessions, that no human intellect
will be able to decide satisfactorily to the. na
lion the questions of technical power and right
in issue. [ assume, further, that no adjustment
of the existing controversy, hinging exclusive
ly on the one or the other of the opposing opin
ions, so warmly declaimed upon here and else
where, will prove acceptable to tho various
sections of the Confederacy. Are we not then
called upon, for purposes of public utility and
harmony, to sink differences on which opinions
and prejudices are found to be so untraetuble ?
The plan proposed is one rendered by usage
fumiliar here and elsewhere—of dividing that
which being held in common cannot be in un
ion enjoyed. The line chosen has been selec
ted chiefly for the reason that having been acted
upon twice in similar emergencies, I have
thought it probable that it will be more easy to
collect the will of the nation upon it than on any
other of a like kind. To the North it gives
the opportunity to express her dissent from s!a
very. It assigns her more than half the terri
tory. To the South i r extends the privilege of
carrying her slaves as far north as it is likely
she will find motives to take them. It propos
es to quiet disputes as to the security of the ti
tle by which she will hold her slave property
in its new home, should it be carried there, by
throwing over it the protection of undeniable
law.
Now, Mr. Chairman, it is obvious that a
large portion of the people of the South will
continue to insist upon the right of the slave
holder to take his slave, by virtue of the consti
tutional recognition of his property in him in
to the new ‘Territories, despite any supposed
law of Mexican enactment to the contrary. Yet
in the midst of so extensive a denial of that
right as at this time exists, it is obviously de
virable to her, as it is important to the nation
at large, that all doubt be removed from a sub.
ject of so much gravity.
Perhaps a still greater good than all these
would come to the South of the plan of adjust
ment suggested. It would give her the moral I
effect of a renewed recognition by this Govern- i
ment of her property in her slaves—thus
strengthening her confidence in the justice of
it, and discountenancing the lawless violations
that are, from time to time, being perpetrated
upon the properly. To the whole country it
gives that which, Mr. Chairman, it so much
needs— repose.
Should, on the other hand, the total excln- I
sion of slavery from the new Territories pre- j
vail, in what relation, then, will the Govern
ment appear to twelve hundred millions of i
property of its citizens? It cannot be less un
favorable than that of an abandonment of it—
nay, a reprobation of it—a reprobation as otfen- !
sive to the feelings of the proprietors of it as it i
is depreciating to the property itself. And have !
honorable members who press this extreme
policy weighed the necessary etfects of its adop
tion by the Government ? It it shall become a
law, can it be believed, Mr. Chairman, that it
will be possible for the people of the South,
supposing them to be tolerably informed of the !
rights ol property in regular government, and 1
t 6 possess a moderate share of sensibility to I
Wrong and insult, to maintain that attachment j
to she Union and that desire for its preservation I
which are necessary alike to its prosperity, its j
peace, and its honor ? Happily for the higher
destinies of human nature, she is incapable, in :
such circumstances, of so gross an act of self- j
abandonment. I am aware honorable mem- j
bers, who take the ground Os total exclusion,
insist that it is quite impossible that any desire
can be telt by them to degrade or disparage the
South, or any other section of a common Un
ion. Conceding that, what, may I respectfully j
inquire, is the stress of that regard which can- j
not overcome the obstacles, if any exist, that
lie in the way of such terms of compromise as
these I have had the honor this day to an*
nounco ?
And what, Mr. Chairman, is the practical
solution, as it lies in prospect, of the propost- :
! tion of the noii-extension of slavery to the new j
Territories? Is it not, that within the short ‘
lapse of a single generation, perhaps, the white
population residing in the slave States, by some
process not yet known in the range of what is
even practicable, shall deport her slaves, or
abandon the country to them ? I am aware
that we are assured that the object of non-ex
tension is not to disturb or impair the institution
of slavery within the slave States. But I urge
attention to the logical, proximate effect of the
contemplated measures. And with how much
more ease may not the North approach the line
indicated of settlement than the South. The
North, by the nature of her internal condition,
us well as her numerical preponderance in the
more populous branch of the National Legisla
ture, is, and mu-t continue secure. Her power
must in every event soon obtain in the other
branch of the Congress. The South is pressed
jby assaults, and is out of power. The North
; is moving on her career of encroachment at
the suggestion of % sentiment—a sentiment
j founded, Mr. Chairman, on a speculative and
j disputed point, in natural rights. The South is
charged with the preservation of a substance
—a vast and now indispensable form of wealth
j --a widely diffused and most influential e!e
ment in the constitution of her civil and domes
tic institutions and relations.
In looking, Mr. Chairman, over the vast the.
atre now appropriated to the display of Ameri
can patriotism and American politics, the eye
becomes dimmed by the stretch of territorial
distances, and the mind throbs with the labor of
comprehending the extent and variety of the
nation’s resources. What comprehensiveness
of policy, what prudence of purpose, what mod
eration of temper, will not be demanded in the
conduct of our public affairs ? Drawn too
stringently together, the weight of the parts
would crush them. Regarded with indiffer
i ence, not to say hostility by the Government,
: they will infallibly separate and fall away.
And shall we be ignorniniously overwhelmed
: by the magnitude and weight of our posses
sions ? Shall t fie overflowing of the cup of na-
J tional blessings but intoxicate us? Do we dis
cover nothing in tire incalculable resources of
j power, wealth, and renown by which we are
i surrounded, to arouse the courage or to stimu
j late the hopes of patriotism ? The grand re
wards, Mr. Chairman, of a wise and tolerant
i .-ystctn of political economy that lie in prospect
| over the wide spread and bounteous lap of the
continent, can never be reaped by tho narrow
and angry counsels of parti/. ‘The govern
ment demands statesmen, not casuists, to ad
j minister its politics. What, Mr. Chairman, is
the source of a!! our present perils? It is the
| effort to convert the Constitution of the country
into a school for the propagation of doubtful
creeds of moral ethics. Hut fanaticism, how
ever ingenious, is proverbially impracticable,
it may ruin, but cannot govern. It was but a
few days ago, that we were called to hear the
reprobation of the institution of domestic slave
ry pronounced here on the authority of the
hackneyed and mystical postulate, ‘'that all
men are born equal.” This, by the way,
! seems io have become a sort of oracle, whose
i sybilistic responses are quoted for the authori
: ty of very much proposed, from time to time, iu
; American politics, that is odd and startling to
j human experience. True may be the asserted
maxim, in some restricted and explained senses.
Invoked in the sense and for the purpose con
templated, it is but a weapon with which infat
uation or folly, unrestrained, might sever the
bonds of every conceivable political organiza
tion which it is in the power of human nature to
endure. If an appeal lie taken from text to
commentary, we find that the authors of both
were slaveholders—and, what is more, Mr.
; Chairman, slave.importers. If we go to the fi
nal authority of the Creator of rights and nat
j ural conditions, do we not find the reverse of
| the proposition, taken in its broad and common
j acceptation, to be the truth ? Not a leaflet
; that trembles in the breath of the zephyr on
the bough of the aspen, finds in the eye of the
naturalist an exact measure in all the myriads j
of its vernal associates. The equilibriums of j
| natural forces are graduated, Mr. Chairman, !
’ need it be said ? on scales of endless diversi- 1
ties. But, Mr. Chairman, we are not called j
here to the defence of slavery. We are to de- j
mand only that the character of property in j
i slaves, which is fixed by the Constitution itself, \
j be recognized as such by the Government, the j
j creature of that Constitution, in one as in an- j
i other of the dominions of its jurisdiction.
I have, Mr. Chairman, purposely said nothing,
as yet, of the alternatives of the adjustment of j
existing dissensions on the basis 1 have had the ,
honor to submit, or on some other embracing at
least its principles. I refer to them now and
very briefly, alone as sources of additional ar
gument. One of three results, all sufficiently
deplorable to awaken solicitude, must, I respect
fully suggest, follow rash and intolerant counsels
here. Should such prevail, an effort will be
made to effect a separate political organization, j
Should this succeed, I leave the consequences
of it to the thoughts and imaginations of the
committee. Failing in that, separate State mea- j
suros of a retaliatory kind may be anticipated. j
And how, Mr. Chairman, will this condition o(
our relations, Federal and be endured ? j
‘To what may it not lead ? The third, and per- !
haps the most to be regretted of all, would be, I
that exhausted by their own struggles in the es- j
fort to agree upon some plan of effectual defence, j
the suffering States might sink back into the
arms of those who would be then found no lon- j
ger disguised but triumphant and mocking per- j
secutors —shorn of equality, wounded in honor,
in pride humbled, in affections alienated, and
thenceforth but looking anxiously forward to final
overthrow or fortuitous escape. And did I sup.
pose, Mr. Chairman, there were one citizen in i
the tepublic worse than all the rest, who could
contemplate with composure or indifference the
prospect of either of these melancholy pages in
our political history, I know not, whether he
should be viewed most with abhorrence or pity.
The young Greek, Mr. Chairman, who held his
life at the bidding of his country, found the path
way of patriotism by the twilight of political civ
ilization. Shall we, with such momentous is
sues of good or evil suspended on our councils,
fail of terms of adjustment so easy, so accessi
ble, so commended to us by the most sacred
considerations of duty to the country and to our
selves as are those at nur command ?
And now, finally, Mr. Chairman, since the
character of (he times gives consequence, in the
eyes of my own beloved State, to the line of the
conduct of thx* humblest of her Representatives,
in contingencies of our public affairs in view, I
must bog leave of the committee to say, that 1
have ventured to present a mode of quieting the
public discontent with the slnccrest desire that
§®QJ)7B]iM ® 1 0® 7 Q 551 iH □
it, or some equivalent of it, may prove accepta
ble to a majority of the committee and to the na
tion. Should ail efforts, however, fail to avert
the dishonoring brand of inferiority of privilege
and rank, now threatening the South, by her to
tal exclusion from participation in the common
Territories of the Union, except on an onerous
condition, having no application to other sections
of the Confederacy, I shall return from this
place, to unite with others of her sons in coun
cil, to devise some method of escape from evils
present and prospective, which, in my humble
judgment, Mr. Chairman, will then have become
intolerable. \\ hatever measures may be adop
ted in that bitter emergency, with a view to the
sacred defences of security and honor, will
doubtless be right.
THE SOUTHERN SENTINEL.
COLUMBUS, GEORGIA, MARCH 7, 1850.
00~ Being about to remove our office, we
offer for rent, the Room which we have here
; tofore occupied. Apply at this Office.
The Evil amt the Remedy.
M hile the congregated wisdom of America
is busy at Washington in devising a mode of
j escape from the evils which now so seriously
I threaten the Republic, it may nol lie modest, but
j certainly is patriotic, in one who occupies a
| position so humble as that of an Editor, to exert
i himself for the accomplishment of the same ob
ject. We have watched with painful anxiety,
the result of the constant deliberations of those
into whose hands the destinies of our country
have been committed ; but as yet, we confess
we have been cheered with no brightening pros
pects ofsuccess. Among the multiform schemes
which have been suggested, we have seen none,
which gives promise of a return of peace and
quiet to all sections of the country. The con
| troversy which has so unfortunately sprung up
i between the different members of this confeder
j acy, is as old as some ot those who are now en
deavoring to settle it. The issues involved in
j that controversy are numerous, but the principle
! involved, is the same in all. As has been very
i wisely said by Mr. Clay, therefore, a settlement
I ol one isolated point of difference, will not be
j effectual for restoring concord. They must all
be settled at once, and it is only because the plan
j which lie suggests, looks to the settlement of the
; whole, that it can be termed a compromise at all.
j Ihe issues immediately involved iu this con
j les, j may be briefly enumerated as follows:
| The first, and most prominent difficulty grows
out of our territorial relations, embracing under
this general head, the YVilmot Proviso, and the
admission of California. The second is the re
fusal on the part of the non-slaveholding States
to deliver up fugitive slaves, and the third is the
attempt to abolish slavery and the slave trade iu
the District of Columbia. These classifications
embrace all the matters of controversy between
the North and the South, and an adjustment that
promises success, must comprehend in its provis
ions, each and ail of these issues. The all ab
; sorbing question is, can such an adjustment be
made which shall be consistent with the co.
j equality, the honor and the interests of all the
; different members of this confederacy ? If such
j an adjustment is practicable, then the Union
may be saved; if not, then its dissolution is in
evitable ; for as certainly as night follows day,
; dissolution must succeed a continuation of these
! evils.
We believe that such an adjustment is practi
cable, and we do not, therefore, yet despair of
the Union. Ihe plan is easy in its application,
and immediate and certain in its remedy. Its
general features may be succinctly stated as fob
! lows :
| A Bill providing territorial governments for
| California, New Mexico, and Deseret.
A Bill providing for the retrocession of the
| District of Columbia to Maryland, and,
A Bill providing more effectually for the re
j covery of fugitive slaves.
And first, a Bill providing territorial govern
ments for California, New Mexico and Deseret.
I With the single exception of Texas, there is not
I one of the new States, which has nol undergone
©
a territorial pupilage, previous to its admission
; into the Union as a State. Texas formed an
\ exception to the general rule, for reasons per
fectly consistent with the intent of that rule. This
prerequisite has been founded in undeniable rea
son, and there is no good cause why the gener
al course should be departed from in this in-1
stance. Has any good reason been yet assign- !
ed, or can any be mentioned why California
should be admitted as a State ? Many may be i
urged why she should be provided with a gov - j
eminent, but we have yet to learn the reason of
the necessity for a State government. May not j
all the ends proposed to be effected by the insti- !
tution of a government, be accomplished as
well by a territorial as by a State government ?
The rights of person and of property will be se- ;
cured as well under the former as under the lat- j
ter, and where then the particular necessity for j
a Stale government ? So far, therefore, from
any good cause having been shown, why that
country should be admitted to the rights of a 1
sovereign member of this confederacy, there are
many and weighty reasons why she should not I
thus be admitted. The first and principal rea- i
son is, that such an admission will, we think, re- j
suit in a dissolution of the Union. The South
believes that she has been most shamefully ;
cheated out of her rights, in the organization ‘
which has been made, and rather than submit
to it, she will d : ssolve the Union. In tho se
cond place, that country was not, and is not yet, ‘
prepared to be admitted into the Union. It has
not a sufficient population, and that population, l
even if it were sufficiently numerous, is not of the
character to entitle it to frame a government.
Then why press her admission as a State ?
Why not let her take the course that all the oth
er new States have pursued, and be organized,
as they were, into territorial governments, pre
paratory toiler elevation to the dignity of a State?
Certainly it should be a sufficient inducement to
this course, that by it, our glorious Union may;
be preserved, and by the other it must be des- I
•roved. Thus we deduce the policy of the first
measure in the plan proposed. In the forma
tion o( such a government, all questions of do
mestic policy should be left to be determined by
the people of the respective Territories, when
after a sufficient pupilage, they come to form a
constitution preparatory to their admission as
States.
Secondly, a Bill providing for the rotroces
sion of the District of Columbia. An all suffi
cient argument in support of this measure, is fur
nished by the. fact that the question of slavery
and the slave trade is forever put to rest.
There is no sort of reason why the District
should not be retroceded, and the reason previ
; ously stated, is, as we humbly conceive, conclu
sive of the position that it should be.
In the third place, a Bill providing more effec
tually for the recovery of fugitive slaves. Or
j tainly if the constitution is so plain as not to he
mistaken, in any particular, it is in the provis- 1
! ion made for the surrender of slaves escaping in
to the Free States. We do not, therefore, un
dertake an argument on this point. If the con
i’ stitution is wrong, then change it, but if it be
right, we are surely asking no sacrifice at tire
hands of the North in demanding that she should
abide by it.
This is our plan, and it is one which may be
adopted by all parties, and bv all sections, with
out any surrender of honor, interest, or principle. !
Delegates to the Nashville Convention, from the
2nd Congressional District.
We luve received through the mail, a hand
bill, calling a meeting of the citizens of Baker
county, “for the purpose of selecting delegates to
attend the District Convention for the 2nd Con- I
gressionai District, to put in nomination suitable
men to represent this district, in the Nashville
Convention, to be held in June next.” This
call is signed by twenty-four of the most respect-!
able gentlemen of Baker county, irrespective of
party, and it is accompanied with “an earnest I
request to the country of the 2nd Congressional
District to meet, and both the Whig and Demo- I
; cratic party send to Americus each the usual
! number of delegates that they respectively send
|to congressional conventions. As no other pro- |
i position has been submitted, it is proposed to
| hold this convention on the 4th Monday in March !
! next.” . ‘ i
We are pleased with this movement, and |
hope it will be promptly responded to by all the !
counties ol the 2nd Congressional District.
| Col. Henry L. Benning, who had been previ- i
! ouslv nominated as tire democratic delegate to j
the Nashville convention, at a caucus meeting !
t? j
of the democratic members of the Legislature j
from the counties embraced in tire 2nd con- |
! gressionai district, has waived that nomination j
| as informal, and agrees with his friends, in sub-1
! milting the selection to the District convention, i
The plan now proposed, it strikes us, is better i
; every way.
For once we are glad to see party distinctions j
abolished. If there ever was an issue, in which !
it became men of all parties at the South to ar- !
ray themselves on the same side, that issue is!
involved in the objects contemplated by this con- j
vention. No party purposes are to be subserv. i
ed, no individual ends to be advanced ; the cause i
; is emphatically the cause of the South, and al] ,
| true Southern men should stand squarely up in i
i its support.
We sincerely hope that no differences of opin- |
I ion, as to the best mode of redressing the griev- !
| ances which all unite in denouncing, will deter
i any from participating in this matter. Those
differences of opinion, will exist, even among
those who are determined upon resistance, and
| inasmuch as the grand object to be effected by
j this convention is to heal those differences, and
| by a conference among Southern men to pre- ;
| sent some plan on which all may unite, it is prop- ‘
; er that all who think or feel in any way on this j
i vital question, should attend these primary as- j
J semblies, and aid in the selection of delegates, j
who will properly represent them.
This is no ordinary convention. In the mag.
nitude of its possible results, it is second only to
that memorable convention of patriots who met
in ’76 to resolve upon liberty or death. This
| convention will either arrest the progress of
! northern aggression, or it will dissolve the Un
| ion. How incalculable, therefore, the impor
j tance of making a wise selection of delegates.
! Compared with the responsibility of this station,
there is not an office within the gift of the peo
ple more important. We want men who are
j wise enough to appreciate the occasion, brave
| enough for its every emergency, and as prudent
| as they are wise or brave ; no submissions
! who would tamely yield to wrong; no reckless
desperado, who would heedlessly destroy his
country, should be allowed a place iu that con
; vention.
P. S.—Since writing the above, a public
; meeting of the citizens has been called, to take
place at the Court House on Saturday morning
next, to respond to the action of Baker. The i
following call appeared in the city papers of
Tuesday :
PUBLIC MEETING.
The citizens of Muscogee county, without distinc
tion of party, are invited to meet at the Court House
on Saturday next, 9th instant, at 11 o’clock, A. M., j
for the purpose of selecting delegates to attend the !
District Convention, for the 2d Congressional Dis
trict, to put in nomination suitable persons to repre-1
sent, said District, in the Nashville Convention, to 1
be held in June next.
James Wimberly, | A. H. Cooper,
John H. Howard, R. B. Murdock,
W. Y. Barden, John Forsvth,
A. Iverson, j M. J. Thweatt,
H. S. Smith, 1 Martin J. Crawford, I
P. T. Schley, /. R. Jones,
J. J. Boswell, Wareham Cromwell, i
S. A. Bailey, J. K. Redd,
Wm. T. Smith, i Jas. M. Chambers,
Jno. E. Davis, John Woolfo'k,
Van Leonard,- John Banks,
D. P. Ellis, W. A. Redd,
S. A. Billing, Jno. A. Urquhart, ; 1
W. E. Jones, _ P. Thweatt, I
R. R. Howard, j A. S. Rutherford, j
Thos. Iloxev, Joeephue Echols.
W. 11. Chambers, i /
LEGISLATIVE REVIEW.
We continue this week, the design mention
ed in our last, of presenting a series of reviews,
j of the more prominent points of the session
just closed. Among the most interesting fea* |
tures of that history, is the disorzanization of the
lower House attending the passage of the Con
gressional District Bill. The following article,
taken from the editorial columns of the Federal
Union, will be found highly interesting, and
we therefore adopt it, in lieu of attempting our
selves, a portrayal of the discreditable scenes
connected with that event:
The House of Representatives Disorganized.
It lias become our painful duty to lay before
j the people of Georgia, occurrences of the past
week in the hall of the House of Rcpresenla
i tives—occurrences that have obstructed the leg
j islation of the country, which are unprecedent
ed in the history of the State, and as disgrace
ful to her as they are subversive of order and |
good government. Shortly after the recess, the 1
I Senate passed a bill, re-organizing the Congres- ;
sional Districts. On Monday of last week, that
bill was taken up in the House, on its third
reading. As soon as this was determined up
on, a whig member moved an adjournment of
the House, sine die.. That motion rejected, it
was instantly followed by others, from the same
side of the House, to postpone, first to one day
and then to another, and by motions to adjourn.
0:i all these, the yeas and nays were demanded, j
A proposition by Mr. Wiggins, to make (lie bill
| the order of the day for Thursday, was rejected
by the whigs. In this way the greater part of;
Monday afternoon and evening was occupied.
On Tuesday the subject was resumed, till the
j previous question was demanded by a democrat
and sustained, when the main question was or
dered. At this time, when the bill was put up
on its passage, all the whig members, (Mr.;
Jenkins, of Richmond, only excepted,) retired
from the hall. The vote shewed that there was
|no quorum present. After a call of the House j
j was thrice ordered, the vote was again taken,
when the bill was passed —yeas 57, nays 8. Os
those voting in the negative, all are democrats :
j with the exception of Mr. Jenkins, the only
whig who answered to his name.
On Wednesday, Mr. Jenkins moved the rc- ;
consideration of the bill. After this motion |
was discussed for some time by the whigs, and
some, of them (not including Mr. Jenkins) had •
as heretofore, indulged in acrimonious and harsh
i language, in reference to the democratic party, |
: reiterating their determination at all hazards to 1
: defeat the bill, the question was put, when all the j
whigs (except Mr. Jenkins) again retired. The ,
; vote showed that there was one less than a
; quorum. It also shewed that every democrat
: was at his post, with the exception of Mr. Ham
j rneli, of Dooly, who had this morning left fur
home on leave, and Mr. Thomas, of Carroll, !
[absent on leave, and Mr. Beall of Baker, re-j
j signed. The House continued in session for j
| some time, and then adjourned to 3 o’clock. In
! the afternoon, there was no quorum. Since
then, the democrats have daily met in the hall, i
| but finding no quorum, have, as required by the
i constitution, adjourned from day to day. This is I
the condition of tilings at this day.
It is proper here to state, that propositions of!
i compromise, on Tuesday, Wednesday and
I Thursday, were made by leading democrats to ;
j leading whigs. One of these was, that on j
i the meeting of the entire House, a sufficient :
number of democrats would retire to enable the I
whigs to carry the vote on the reconsideration, :
Another was, that a sufficient number of demo-!
crats would vote for the reconsideration to carry
it, provided a sufficient number of whigs to con
stitute a quorum, would pledge themselves to
retain their seats, when the reconsidered bill
j should, in its order, come before the House.—
; These and other similar propositions being re
j jeeted by the whigs, the Speaker directed a list
|of the absentees to be prepared, and the Mes
senger to summon them to attend. The Mes
senger reported that his papers had been forced [
from him by some of the absentees and himself (
insulted. A second iist was furnished him* 1 i
which he reported had in like manner been ta
ken from him and himself threatened with vio
lence, when he was released by a democratic (
member.
The question here presents itself, what justi-
J fications have these recusant members, for their
; mobocratic revolutionary proceedings—proceed
ings which, to the honor of the State be it said,
are without a parallel in the history of her leg- J
islation. The bill objected to, is one of legiti- :
mate legislation. In'its features, it is not even 1
as exceptionable as the act of 1843, passed by j
the whigs, to which the democrats then vehe- I
mently objected, but to which they peaceably j
submitted. The election preceding the organi- ■
| zation of 1843, shewed this state of facts :
] Ist Dist. 769 whig maj. 2J Dist 194 Dem. maj.
3 “ 817 “ “ 5 “ 820 “ j
4 “ 523 “ “ 6 “ 750 “ “
i 7 “ 1503 “
! 8 “ 1492 “ “
Shewing that the whigs had given 5 Districts
to themselves, conceded 2 to the democrats, and
leaving one doubtful. Did the democrats, rode
over as they then were rough shod, leave the
j Hall ? Have they ever resorted to such an ex
pedient ? Never. The party claiming to be
the “decency,” “conservative” party, were guilty
of the same act in 1340. The annals of the
democratic party are not blurred by any such
outrages upon the proprieties of legislation.
But what is proposed by the bill, that has oc
casioned this ouibreak ? It gives to the whigs the
7th and Bth Districts certain, and the Ist ac
*
cording to the results of the last Gubernatorial
election ; leaves the 2d untouched, in which ;
Judge Wellborn was elected by the meagre ma
jority of 86 ; and gives to the democrats the 7th
and Bth certain, leaving the 3d and 4th Districts,
taking the general votes in them for tho last lew
years as the basis, doubtful.
But admitting that injustice is done by the
bill, are the whigs justified in the course they
have adopted ? Is this the way to meet it ? Let
•such a precedent be recognized and approved,
and our legislative halls will be converted into
bear gardens, order will be banished from them,
law will lose its sanctity, and we may bid a long
farewell to any security in republican institu
tions.
The conduct of Mr. Jenkins, we doubt not,
will meet the cordial approval of all the friends
of good order, of both parties. Undeniably the
| ablest whig in the House and the acknowledged
leader of that party, he has done all in his pow
er to prevent its disorganization. Solitary and
alone, he retained his seat and answered to his
name, rebuking by the moral grandeur of his
course, his political associates.
On l'hursday, it was rumored, that disgusted
at their proceedings, he had resigned his seat.
His resignation on Saturday, was sent to the
Governor, and yesterday, he returned to his
home, bearing with him the laurels, won in an
able legislative career untarnished, and enjoy
ing the increased confidence and respect of his
I fellow citizens.
Judge Wellborn’s Speech*
We are indebted to this gentleman for a pamphlet
copy ot the speech recently delivered by him in Con
gress, on the slavery question, and we are sure that
our reader.- will be equally indebted to us, for laying
it before them. Judge Wellborn’s position on Ibis
question is briefly comprehended in the following res
i olutions, which lie introduced in the course of bis re
marks :
1. Resolved, That California be admitted into the
. Union with her present constitution, ‘restricting- her
southern boundary to lire parallel ot 36 degrees and
30 minutes of north latitude,
j 2. Resol red, That the C mmittee on Territories be
instructed to report to the House a bi 1 to organize
that part of the territory of California south of the
parallel line of 36 deg. and 30 min. north latitude,
! and tire Territories of New Mexico and Deseret, pro
i bibiting the introduction of slavery into anv part of
; the said Territories north of rbe parallel line of 36
I deg. and 30 min., arid recognizing its admissibility
into all parts of said Territories south ol said line of
36 and. and 30 tn. until the adoption by the pen. le there
j of State constitutions, and their admission into this
I Union.
The argument accompanying and enforcing these
| resolutions, is ably and fairiy stated, and if any com
j promise of the question is to be made, we are satisfied
1 that Judge Wellborn’s position indicates the true
j course for the South; but it strikes us that the argu
ment contained in the first part of the speech, must
, irresistibly refute the conclusion embodied in thew>
resolutions ; indeed we do not see*well how a:i eca|a
! can be effected from the result of Judge Wellborn's
; cogent reasoning against the power of Congress over
| this subject. To our mind, his argument is per
! fectly conclusive of the position, that Congress ean
j not under the constitution, legislate at all upon the
| question of slavery in the Territories. In its appli
cation to the question of the Wilinot Proviso, tiio
reasoning is, it seems to us, an end to the debate and
we confess that we are at a loss to see how those
reasonings, do not with equal force, apply to the
doctrine of compromises. The fact that Congress
[ may have hereto foie exercised the power in question,
; we submit, does not argue that it was right then, or
would be right if repeated now; nor should the fact
! that the South has once submitted to the Missouri
Compromise, conclude her against the right to object
!o it now.
As we have said before, we are opposed to anv
compromise (properly speaking) in tins matter, but ip
I we are to have a compromise at a", we prefer that
j suggested by our Representative. In our humble
[judgment, the South is furnished with no surplus
: guaranties by the Constitution, and we are opposed
therefore, to yielding any of them. It tliai instru
! merit, does not allow us to carry slaves to California
i we. donut desire to carry them ; but if it secures us
in the right to do so, then Congress shall not dir
! franchise us, nor are we to he deterred from itisisf
; ing upon that right by tiic fire and fury of northern
j demagogues.
Judge Wellborn, as we well knew he would do,
has calmly and fearlessly stated the position of the
South, and has declared his deteirninatiun to defend
that position at all extremities; and though we are
thus forced to differ somewhat in opinion, yet, we
believe that a cooler head and a more loyal heart to
the South, is not to he found among those to whom
her honor has been confided, and we are ready to
submit into bis hands, the safe keeping of the l ights
of the people.
We need not refer our readers to his speech,,
found in another part of tiiis sheet. AH will read it>
and all will be gratified at it.
J OO” We have been complained of. fur having
: indulged in some rather severe reflections upon
I the character o( one of our readers, in our article
!of last week, on Dr. West. Justice is one of
! our cardinal principles, and if we have been
i guilty of a departure from its demands in any in
! stance, it always affords us pleasure to make
| reparation. In this case, the impression origi
nates almost altogether from a misapprehension
iof our remarks. It is unnecessary to mention
! names, or to enter into a detail of circumstances*-
Suffice it to say, that it was by no means our in
’ tention to detract in any measure from the char
! acter of one, of whose moral rectitude we did
not, and do not, have the slightest question. We
do not desire to injure any one, much less one
whose character is so invaluable to him as the
individual in question ; and we therefore will
endeavor, as far as possible, to repair any wrong,
that we have done.
03* We have been requested by Prof. Williams, to’
tender his acknowledgments to the people of Colum
| bus, for their patronage during his stay here, and to
i state that at the urgent solicitations of his frieuds in
this city, he will return after a brief visit to N. Or
leans, to remain some time in our midst, llisdeter
, mination has been the result of a disposition on his
j part to satisfy the curiosity of those who have ex
pressed a desire to examine his science, and to exert
I its magic influence in behalf of those whose afiec-
I lions he believes he can relieve.
Almost a Duel. —ln consequence of certain
reflections made upon the Mississippi Regiment
by Col. Bissell of Illinois, in the course of his
recent spepch in Congress, a challenge passed
between that gentleman and Col. Jeff. Davis of
j the Senate. The challenge was accepted, and
the terms were agreed upon—to fight with mus
kets, distance fifteen paces. President Tavlor
interfered, and the difficulty was amicably ad*-
jujtcd.