gold had been discovered in 1848, had in 1849 adopted a
Constitution banning slavery, at the same time that it applied
for admission to the Union as a free State; it was admitted in
1850 as part of the so-called Compromise of 1850, which included
the Fugitive Slave Act empowering the Federal Government to seize
and return slaves fleeing from slave to free States}

It is undeniable that any serious derangement of the political
institutions of the country, would produce a very injurious
effect on its prosperity generally; and perhaps in its immediate
influence, primarily on its commerce. But the first reverses of
such a calamity overcome, we do not see reason for believing that
the well-established principle, that trade will make its own
laws, should not apply to these towns as well as to any other
place known in the history of the world. New York, as has already
been intimated, at this moment contributes quite as much to the
prosperity of London, as it would probably have done had the
political connection between England and her colonies never been
severed. Making allowances for the greater prosperity induced by
the political independence of America, it is not improbable that
she even contributes more. Society and trade enact their own
laws. The first is found to be mainly independent of the
influence of political power, and the same, with certain
qualifications, may be said to be equally true of the last.

But we see little to apprehend from this source of danger. If the
slave-holding interest would be rendered really more secure by
separation or secession, then, indeed, such a result might be
looked for with some degree of confidence. But it is very certain
that the measure would lead to an escape of most of the slaves