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Mississippi. Legislature

United States. Congress. House

English

eGrove (Univ. of Mississippi)

University of MississippieGroveMississippi Territorial Documents General Special Collections12-23-1816Report of the committee to which was referred, onthe 9th instant, the memorial of the legislature ofthe Mississippi Territory praying for the admissionof said territory into the union as an independentstate : made December 23, 1816United States. Congress. HouseMississippi. Legislature; United States. Congress (14th, 2nd session : 1816-1817)Follow this and additional works at: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/msterrdocsThis Book is brought to you for free and open access by the General Special Collections at eGrove. It has been accepted for inclusion in MississippiTerritorial Documents by an authorized administrator of eGrove. For more information, please contact egrove@olemiss.edu.Recommended CitationUnited States. Congress. House and Mississippi. Legislature; United States. Congress (14th, 2nd session : 1816-1817), "Report of thecommittee to which was referred, on the 9th instant, the memorial of the legislature of the Mississippi Territory praying for theadmission of said territory into the union as an independent state : made December 23, 1816" (1816). Mississippi TerritorialDocuments. 15.https://egrove.olemiss.edu/msterrdocs/15, • , 14 . . REPORT .. , . of the Committee to which was refetred, on the 9th £nstant, the memorial of the legislature of the Jl1isco sissippi Territory, praying for the admission of said territory -into the Union, as an £ndependent State. Made Deceolber 23, 18] 6$ • rI~lle committee, to \\T}lom ,vas referred, on the 9th instant, the Illenl0rial of the Legislative Council and House of Representatives, of the Missis-sippi Territory, praying for the admission of said Territory into the Union, as an indepen-dent State, with its present limits, respectfully subnlit the following REPORT ...... The Mississippi Territory contains, according" to a census lately taken under an ~ct of the legis-lature, and furnished by the secretary, of said 'J'errit I'Y, 75,5] 2 souls; of ,vhom 45,085 arc fi'ce white persons;. 366 free people of colour; and 30,061 slaves. By the articles of agreement bet\veen tIle United States, arld the State of Georgia, it is stipulated that this Territory shall be adn1itted into the Union, as a State, ""Then it shall contain sixty tho . arJd free inhabitants, or at an earlier period, if Cong;rcss shal! deern it cxpe,~ 1 -• • • • • • , -• • r 14 J client. Hence it appears, that its ndnlissiotl at this time depends, not upon the claim derived from the above-mentioned agreement vvith Georgia, but upon a liberal policy, on the part of the United States. It would seem to be superfluo~s in your comInittee to recommend, that considerations of a tleficiency of numbers be waved in this case; seeing that the Honse of Representatives have passed three billstJ at different periods, for the ad-lnission of this Territory, when its population was much smaller than it is at tllis time. But it becomes a question whether the object of the memorialists can be ultimately attained, or ught to be attained, in the way in wllich it is asked. It "viII be readily perceived that your com· lnittee allude to the objection to the extent of the territory in question, which the memorialists pray lllay be embraced wit.hin the limits of a single State. Whether such a measure might, in any possible contingency .. affect the general interest of the Union, it is possiBle that a difference of senfi-ment ma)T exist. Your. conlm~ttee presume, that it is not required of them to discuss this question; as it is one on which every nlember of the House will form an opinion for himself. 'fhey wilJ, ho,v" ever, beg Jeave barely to remark, that they cannot be1ieve a State of suell unprecedented magnitude, as the one ('ontemf~lated by the memorialists, can be desirable to any section of the United States. In relation to the interest of the Territory -tself, it may be more ,vithin the province of your com-nlittee to give their opinion, with the facts upon which it is formed. It is deemed unnecessary to calculate how many square miles, or hOlV many millions 0 acres, the ' Mississippi Territory contae ; as its size is ,suffi-c:iently ap,parcQt from a mere glance at the map., • • • • . [ 14 ] 6ut there are other circumstances or a local nature; .which are not so obvious to the House, and which. therefore, tlle committee will proceed to state. There are in this Territory, three principal set-tlements, which Jie, as to their relative positions. somewhat in a triangular form: viz. one, inlnle-diately below the 35th degree of latitude, on the Tennessee river; another, immediately above the 31st degree .. on the Mississiplli; and the other, also illlinediateiv above the 31 st, on the Mobile . ., From tlle settlement on the Tennessee to that on tIle Mississippi, the distance is about four hundred miles; all of which IS a wilderness, excepting 89 -far as it is settled by the Chickasaw and Chack ta"7 Indians, by whom these immense regions are clai111ed. From the settlement on the Mississippi to that on the Mobile, the distance is nearly three hundr!!d miles. Here the Indian claim is extin-guished; but the interrnediate settlements, fronl Pearl river eastwardJy, arB insulative and of srnall extent. From the settlement on the Mobile to that on the Tennessee, the distance is about three hundred miles also; and here, too, the Indian claims are now extinguished to the \vhole of this extensive and interesting tract of country; ~7hich 'viII, no doubt, soon exhibi t a flourishing settle--: Inent, extending from the Tennessee river to the Gulf of ~lexico. Betweoo the ~I'ennessee and the Mississippi settlements, and between the Missis-ippi and the Mobile settlernents, there is not, and probably never will be, any commercial inter-course whatever; but between the Mobile and the 'rennessee settlements, such an " intercourse cannot fail to take place wI1en the intervening country shall be settled, and its fine navigable strean1S explorpd and improved. rrlle wllole l\1ississippi rrerritorJT fornH:d ill to a • I • I '4. I, [ ]4 J . . single State, would not only be very inconvenient to a vast majority of those of its inllabitants whose 'duty or interest might call thenl to the seat of go-vernme~t; but would also provetj In the opinion of your committee, too extensive fOl its executive to suppress internal clisorders in all parts, and repel external invasion at all points, "rith necessary prornptness, energy, and effect . .Bu another objection to an entire admission of the Territory, arises from the want of a continuity of settlement, and a reciprocity of interest be-t,,~een its distant parts. T ·he former of these de-fects might, perhaps, be merely inconvenient; but the latter could not fail to be a permanent source of real evil to the legislative councils of the coun-try, and, of consequence, to t.he comm.unity at lartge. Your committee need not express their apprehensions in detail, as the House will readily conceive how naturally jealousies would arise, and col,lisions ensue, amongst the representatives of a eople inhabiting different regions, flaving distinct ocal interests, and entertaining opposite views. 'l'here is llluch cause to fear, that in such a state of things, sectional feelings would prevail over principles of justice, and local policy over the ge-neral good. Frorn tIle above ,7iew of the subject, your com ... mittee are of opinion, that the Mississippi '~rerrito .. r sllould be divided ,by a north and south line, for t e purpose of erectIng the same into two seperate an~ independent States. In proposing this nlea-sure t.hey feel no Iittl~ reluctance in doing it in opposition to the wishes of a great portion of tIle eople of the Territory; and this re luctance would e more difficult to overcome, but for the conside-: ration that there is, on tIle other 11and, a great por-tion, also, of the same people, WllO are in favour of , . • , [ 14 ] the Dleasure J1roposed. This is, probably, a ques-tion on \vhich these people ,\\rouId never agree anlongst themselves; and hence the necessity of the parental interposition of the general govern-ment to decide it for then}, in such a "\ilray as njay be best adapted to their local interests., and not incompatible \vith tIle interest of the United States. But, in recommending a division of th=s r!'e Titcry, your con1mittee beg leave to sugge~t such a plan of division as will not probably retard tJle adrnis--sion of either part, beyond the period at wllich its inhabitants would be entitled to a State govern-ment, on virtue of the a~Yreerrlent bet\veen the Uni-ted States and the State of Georgia. As there is alreadJf west of the line of divisioIl which will be proposed., a popuiation that ,vould be entitled to one representative in Convress, on . , ~ the federal princ1f Ie of representation~ aud accord-ing to the l)resent apportionment~ your cOlnmittee respeetflllly recolnmend the imlnediate adinission -of tllis western part of the terrItory, and the es-tablishrnent of a separ ate territorial governnlent for the eastern part, until it also may be entitJed~ on the sam principle, to the rights of a State. With respect to tIle line of division, it is natural tha t the citizens of the Territory should, ac~orJill ,~r to their respective local situations, entertain a varie~ ty of ~onflicting opinions, and ~herjsh a diversity of Opposite hopes. It ,vas a question of some difficulty ,\:-it.h your cornmittee; and their decision is the result of a disposition to do equal justice the rresent in-habitants, to provide for the convenience of fiJture settlers, and to prornote the interest of the whole. rrhe line which 'tile comnlittee propose for the consideration of the House., i::; designated in the two Lil1s \vhich they have prepared for the pu r-roses herein recommended, and which they 8.81-"cave to reporte • • 14 , - CENSUS. Counties.· I 3 un §S Adams, Wilkinson, Amite, • , • J eifersl)n, AI • Claiborne, Warren, Franklin, i Pike, ~ La wrence·, • Marion, .-. ) • • .' • Green, • I • • • • • • • Wayne, • • IIancock,(supposed) Jackson, . l\fadison, . • Clarke, • • \Vashington, . ~onroe, • ~ Baldwia, . • Mobile, (supposed) . - "\ Free White Free Peo-Persons. pIc of co- Slaves. . . lour • $ • " i b 4 LG •• 7 __ a = , 3,608 3,218 3,365 2,531 1,716 801 1,701 2,078 1,367 1,0 I.'> ~ , 1,:357 1,566 666 714 10,000 2,767 1 ,888 i ~ 3,625 436 666 129 2 19 23 14 4 I I 42 ]6 72 43 6,:j94 4,057 1,694 2,377 1,79u ~ 768 ~ 1,013 539 417 4 686 . 388 • 517 334 255 4.200 , 1,3:3L1 671 1,609 684 334 _1_ .._-__ .. _ -___ _ • . 45,085 366 30,061 • • , • • • I • • • • ( • • • -, 

Report of the committee to which was referred, on the 9th instant, the memorial of the legislature of the Mississippi Territory praying for the admission of said territory into the union as an independent state : made December 23, 1816

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Report of the committee to which was referred, on the 9th instant, the memorial of the legislature of the Mississippi Territory praying for the admission of said territory into the union as an independent state : made December 23, 1816

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