Mississippi palladium. [volume] (Holly Springs, Miss.) 1851-1852, 1852-02-05

stood the opinions Of the Senator to be
the same then as | understand them to
be now. They have never met with
my approval. | approved of SO much
of his position as denied that Congress
had power over the territories, be-.
yond that derived from the necessity
of discharging the duties of trustee of
the public lands. | had confidence in
the character of that Senator, and /
have now. | held that his only con-
nection with the subject would be, if
elected to the presidency, Of which we
then had some hope. that growing out
Of the action of the Federal Govern
rnent; if Congress passed bill to ex-
clude slavery from the Territories, that
he would. in accordance with his opin-
ion OF the power of Congress over the
Territories, veto such bill: therefore,
was willing to trust him with functions
growing out of the federal authority.
His doctrine, which acknowledges SOW
ereignsy in any community which may
by accident or design be planted on
territory belonging to the States, |
always rejected.
The opinion of the Senator as to the
power Of the inhabitants of the Terri
tories would have no official connec-
ton with the office of President, and
in that connection was not of vital i'm
portance. Istated then, as Estate now,
that | believed it TO be wrong; and the
very position which we are now in
shows that it is dangerous. It's result
is now seen, when men, without au-
thority and law, have gathered togeth-
era conglomerated mass from every
quarter OF the Globe-and claim TO
snatch sovereignty from the hands of
the United States, the owners of the
property.
This was the natural growth, the
necessary consequence of the doctrine
of the Senator from Michigan-a doc
trine now most firmly upheld by those
who most fiercely denounced it, here
and elsewhere, less than two years ago.
| do not introduce the opinions of the
honorable Senator from Michigan to
comment upon them. | merely intro
duced them to show the result Of their
being acted upon.
denied that any source could be
found for the authority claimed for the
territorial inhabitants to assume sover-
eighty over the country, except the in
alienable right to declare heirindepen-
dence, and dissolve their connection
with this Confederacy. The power he
asserts must belong to the right of rev.
olution, the right to take the territory
of the United States, and appropriate
it TO themselves. Unless he meant
that much, when he claimed to derive
the power from Almighty God, he
means nothing within the scope of my
comprehension.
But the Senator speaks of the fanati-
cism of the South, which requires the
men of the North to justify slavery
as an abstract question. | know of no
such thing. do know that the South
ern politicians of the Democratic party
as body sustained that Senator's pre-
tensions, when a candidate for the
Presidency, though they well knew
that on the abstract question of slave
~, he was against them. 1t was not
abstract opinions, but the introduction
of them into the Government, which
we deprecated. Give us our constitu-
tionai fights, and a free and fair exer-
else of our equality in the Union, and
we would never regard abstrac,
opinions. i tell the Senator, that so
! far as / know the opinions of the peo-
pie of the South. he founded his argu-
ment upon ground that does not ex-
ist.
On the Sd of June. 1850, in reply TO
Mr.. Douglass of Illinois, | said:
] have no right, Mr.. President, to
ask the Senator from Illinois to read
my speeches. They are not worthy
of it. | might ask him, however,. to
read the amendment which have ly-
ing on my table before he again makes
a speech upon it. Ifsthe Senator had
considered my speeches worthy of pc
rusal, or had listened attentively to
their delivery, he would not have ta-
ken occasion to say that had avowed
myself lukewarm in my support of the
S enator from Michigan as candidate
for the Presidency.
Mr.. DouGLAss. l said that in res
pect to this question you had your
doubts. and therefore were lukewarm
in your support of him.
Mr.. DAVIS. had doubts, fears,
and apprehensions which reached to a
conviction that the Senator was wrong
upon the question of the power of ter
ritorial inhabitants; yet, sir, took him
as a choice of evils Laughter.i
say it insno terms of disrespect. The
Senator from Michigan knows that |
thought it was wrong doctrine which
he held upon this subject, but sus-
tained him for the other doctrines
which were directly connected with
the duties of President! and gave
him an earnest support. My political
opinions triumphing over personal feel
ings which were very near to me-
The Senator from Illinois, if he will
review my course, will never make
that statement again.
Having thus, l hope, satisfactorily
corrected the error which led to this
communication, will only add that
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