Part 73

Next, followed a bill making proposals to Texas for the settlement of her western boundary, and proposing to pay her ten millions of dollars, provided she should relinquish all claim to the United States for territory beyond the boundaries prescribed. The bill was debated for several days, and on the 9th of September, received its final passage. Yeas 30, nays 20.

On the 14th, the bill providing for a territorial government for New Mexico, was taken up and finally passed.

The above several bills were sent of course to the House of Representatives, and by that body were passed with amendments with regard to some of them, but only after as warm and even heated debate, as was ever, perhaps, known on the floor of Congress.

Two other important bills received also the sanction of a majority of both houses; the first was a bill to facilitate the recovery of fugitive slaves; and the second, a bill abolishing the slave trade in the District of Columbia.

Congress adjourned on the 30th of September; the session having been protracted to the long period of ten months, and having proved more stormy than any other session since the adoption of the Federal Constitution. The effects of the above measures time only can determine. While to the South, the abolition of the slave trade in the District of Columbia, is most obnoxious, being, as is affirmed, a precursor of further action by the general government in relation to the abolition of slavery, the fugitive slave bill has received the loud and decided condemnation of individuals and assemblies at the North. The opinion, however, of the Attorney General, that this latter bill does not suspend the writ of Habeas Corpus, has served in a measure to allay the wide-spread hostility to it, as such suspension was supposed to be contemplated by it, and was condemned as unconstitutional and unjust.

FOOTNOTES:

[90] This office, first tendered to James A. Pearce, of Maryland, was declined; also by Hon. Charles J. Jenkins, Georgia, and Hon. Henry S. Geyer, of Missouri; but it was accepted by Hon. T. M. S. McKennan, of Pennsylvania, who resigned at the close of a single day.

[91] Edward Bates, of Missouri, was originally appointed Secretary of War, but declined the appointment.

Transcriber's Notes:

Obvious punctuation and spelling errors have been fixed throughout.

Inconsistent hyphenation has been left as in the original text.

The illustrations referred to as being on page 610 and 872 in the list of illustrations does not exist.

Incorrect page numbers in the list of illusatrations have been corrected to the real page numbers in the original text.

Page 838: The discovery of Venzuela by Ojeda is listed as 1449, independant references place this at 1499. Changed the text to match historical references.

Page 862: The resignation of Ramon Frier is listed as 1816, independant references place this at 1826. Changed the text to match historical references.