of California, after the country was taken over by
the United States. Then came the question as to the enslavement of the
Negro. The situation became serious after the Congress of the United
States appropriated three millions of dollars for the purchase of the
new territory, and still more so after gold was discovered there.
Mexican rule ended with the cession of the territory to the United
States; and yet session after session of Congress adjourned without
giving California a territorial form of government. The question of
slavery in the newly acquired territory divided Congress so that they
could not decide the issue. Southern newspapers were advertising for
slave-owners to send names and the number of slaves they were taking
to California to found a _New Colony_.[27]

The settlers were divided. Some came because they either disliked
slavery, or were too poor to own slaves. They recognized the
possibilities for making California a free State and did not care to
be designated _Poor White Trash_ by masters who were being allowed to
fill the State with Negro slaves to constitute the basis of an
aristocracy like that in the South. There were other inhabitants in
California at the time who, being slave-owners, were southern
sympathizers. They were determined either to have slavery in
California or make a desperate effort before seeing the territory
given up as a free State.[28] It did not require very much
investigation, however, to show that the pro-slavery party was in the
minority. The editor of the _Californian_ said in May, 1848, that he
voiced the sentiments of the people in California in saying that
slavery was neither needed nor desired there. A correspondent of this
paper hoping to hold that section for free labor said: "If white labor
is too high for agriculture, laborers on contract may be brought from
China." Referring to the proposal to make the commonwealth a slave
State Buckelew said: "We have not heard one of our acquaintance in
this country advocate this measure and we are almost certain that
97-100 of the present population are opposed to it." Again it is
remarked in this paper: "We left the slave states because we did not
like to bring up a family in a miserable, can't-help-one's-self
condition," and dearly as he loved the union, he would prefer
California independent to seeing her a slave State.[29]

The lack of law and order and fear of the southern slave-owners with
their herds of Negro slaves fina