Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1848-06-27
Enr fhc EnnuirI
For nc Enquirer
THE WINGS, AND VIRGINIA PLA T.
FORM

4
between the doctrines embodied in ne Wig mia re-
solutions, an those ayowed by Gen. Cas- in his
| Nicholson letter." TIE memb rs of that A.so.
citation may trulJ congratulate themselves, If no
more difficult task will be imposed upcp Them in
the present canvass han to sustain lha! position.
/ While the abolitonists and anti slavery party
| have al ways maintained that Congress have he
power TO abolish or pfohibi' slavery, and South.
ern statesmen, Oh The other hand, that The power
exists only in the Slates II, indeed, Gen Cass has
asserted the power 10 belong 10 a Territorial L.
gislaturs, he is The very first man who ever
taungh or even dreamed OF doing so. No Terri.
turial Legislature has ever attempted 10 exercise
such a power | has never been even so much
as hinled that they possessed il. The question
had never been raised until The assembling OF the
Alabama Convention. Gen. Casss leler was
not written with view oi discussing MIR. Yam.
cey's proposition, nor tor The purpose Of making
known 10 the American people his opinions "a o
WHEN and under what circumstances the "People
oil Territory" have complee rover TO prohibit
or abolish slavery. His whole argument IS lie.
veiiel al the porer IF Congress over The subject,
But vel he 50 clearly defines he powers OF the
! General Government, 0. The State and Of The
| Territorial Governments that there can be no
| difficulty in peGceiving where he places The pow.
er.
| It's proposed 10 show, first that those passa-
ges in the Nicholson leer. which the Wings re.
/ IL upon 10 prove tha, General Cass holds Ina,
! Territorial Legislature may prohibit slavery,
contain no such doctrine, nor any thing like it
/ and, secondly, that here are passages 10 The let
| ter in which he says, explicitly, that The pow
er belongs 10 The Slate G0r1nm'nts.
| Judge Story, 10 bis commentaries on The Con-
sliIuon, holds that Congress, under that clause
oil the Constitution which gives them power 10
4 tt,I-.
! gulations respecting The territory and o'her pro-
petty Belonging The United States" has tx.
/ elusive and universe power over The public ter
Itor'; that their legislation is subjeci 10 no con.
troll, bu! is absolute and unlimited. The advo-
cafes Of the Wilmo' proyisv place the same con-
stTucllon on this clause, and they derive The po"-
e. oi Congress 10 inrEdict slavery in The terrific
ries from heir supposed unlimited power of le-
| gislallon over hem
General Cass, IN an argument as lucid as II is
conclusive, shows lha,lhe clause referred 10 does
not give TO Congress uniimited power OF legsla-
liou over the territories. he gnes on to say,
however, That The ordinance OF 1851, which ex.
isled al the formation Of he Constitution, pro.
vided complete frame of eovernmen, for the
| Northwestern territory; bur that other territory
! was ceded TO the General Government, and thai
an "imperous necessity" OF providing some sort
! OF government Tor The people OF this territory,
before lhey became sufficiently numerous To ap
| ply for admission as States, 10 protect Them in
their persons and property, brought about the ex-
ercise, al various times, OF more enlarged pow.
er than would seem 10 be strictly warranted by
lhe above clause in The Constitution, and hat was
the formation OF territorial governments. Now,
we may well expect an advocate OF The Wimut
Proviso 10 enquire, what is the difference between
the power oil Congress 10 ls2islae directly, and
| In IN unIinifpI r. The territories and
Inc power 10 erect territorial governments which
may lesislae, and il. whose legislation Congress
! has an unlimited power oil interference. Gen.
| Cass answers him, The is not answering Mr..
| Yancey) by saying lha, Congress has not an IN
limmed mower Of interference. II can no more
interfere with their legislation han with that Of
The States, SO long as they leeslaIe in accordance
with The general principles OF the Constitution.
Congress must leave with them, as with the
States, the management Of their internal con-
Germs. They are AS capable Of understanding
their local wants Of legislation as the States
| themselves.
Congress, he argues, has not the rights of q
sovereign over the public domain. "An exist.
ing necessity may have authorized the creation
Of territorial governments, thus extending by
rather ri,lsnt Implication, powers not directly
given" "But the principle of interference
should not be- carried beyond the necessary i'm
plica,ion which produces it, Congress must
not interfere to prohibit slavery. II must not
interfere TO establish slavery. 1t must not in.
tcricre at all, SO long as the territorial legisla
lures legislate in accordance with the general
principles Of the Constitution, and always hav-
ing due regard TO the relations they bear TO
the confederation. lie gives two distinct rea.
sons for Thu opinion q general right Il inter-
ference would cary the powers of Congress
beyond the .'nccessary imp cat on'' which au
| thorzes the erection Of territorial govern
ment would give 20 Congress powers not war
ranted By tn Constitution; and, $ condly, It
would question tn intelligence Of respectable
portion Of our fellow.citizcns l. c., the inha-
bitants Of The Territories.
| Under the ADORE limitations, il should be left
TO The people Of the territories to regulate their
Internal concerns IN their own way. II is true,
their rights arc inchoate, and they pos ess not
the pecu lar attributes Of sovereignty. But il
IS absolutely necessary tnat they should have
government of some sort for the protection Of
their persons and of their property. In nil
mates Of mere local legislation in the enact
mo Of laws regula ing their internal police,
for the suppression Of crime, and regulating the
domestic relations OF parent and child, master
and servant, Sc they are as capable Of under
4
these "internaI concerns" as the people Of tne
States; their power, however is not absolutely
as Great, and they have not full rights Of sove-
regnty until their admission into the Union
they NAV CIRCULATE" the relation Of husband
aud wife by prescribing the solemnities Of mar
| rage, the portion Of the husbands lands of
/ WHICH the vie may be endowed, and tire mari
| tai rights OF the husband; because such laws
| differ in all the States But they may not
abolish he institution OF marriage, because
| that institution exists in all the States The
territory for which they legislate is the COM
non property Of all the States, and 10 abolish
| marriage, would be il dero2ation Of The rights
| Il the people of the States, as property hold
-rs, as al marri d people would thereby be IRE
vented from cmigra.ing to the territory. So
Hey may m Ike any municipal regulations they
may see fiji in relation 10 slavery, prohibiting
| unlawful assemblases of slaves, their going
abroad with Ut pass, their trading without
written order from their masters &c, such as
| a TO b. found in the statute books Of slave
| States, under The head Of "slaves, free negroes
and mulatioes.' But while they may REGULATE"
| they may not inlcrdict extinguish or ami in
| ale the institution For I is would not be in
accordance with the general principles of the
| Constitution which r cosnizes slavery and the
| equal right. of the peopl o. all the States. II
would not be compatible with the relations tn
bear to The confederation. II would prevent the
people Of the slaveholding States. Who are part
owners Of the territory, from settling upon and
eni vi 6 their property.
| Grn Cass considers The territories simply as
propcity-as the common properly Of The people
Of the States that the rights OF The people OF The
territories are merely iuchoale, aud that they pos
sess none Of the attTibues oil sovereignty. The
territorial legislatures are mere legislative lrus.
Ices for The bcEcf Of he people Of all the STATES.
| Nor does he consider the General Government as
sovereign or having any Of The rights CT sove-
reignly over the territories. |, has no rover 10
legislaie directly over the people OF The territories.
II only has lie power, under an impeIious neces'
siiY, OF creating proper governments for the Terri
tories, in whose Legislation j, has no power what,
| soc iale.f-re eyceni when they pass Laws in