Democrat and sentinel. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1853-1866, 1854-09-21

thern part of the State He said that off
, cially he had no connection with the subject
E it not part of the stewardship for whicl
he must account, that he had not covenantet
with the people to organize ferritories,. MOI
to control the action of Congress on any
questisn. He should not claim for hiIhsel
any of the honor that might flow from Con.
gressional action on this any subject anc
he did not intend to bear the responsibility
for this was the work of members of Con
gress and they must account for it to theii
constitucnts-that he should not ask thens sol
the President to bear the responsibility : Ais
errors of State policy lie did his duty with
out consulting them and they certainly did
not and ought not to take his word as a rule
of action on any subject. He said he never
had or probably never could have any official
connection with this subject, and that it was
scarcely possible that the election of Cover
vernon, whoever might succeed, could have
any influence whatever upon the future policy
! of those territories. This much be thought
! it right to say as to his official relation to the
| question but as citizen and a member of
the Democratic party, amongst whom diver
sity of opinion exists on this subject he should
most cheerfully say what he tho't about the
question He did not think his views of spe-
cial Importance, for he made no pretensions
to experience in national politics, that from
1S4S to 1850, however, he had given the
slavery question some consideration. That the
national controversy growing cut of the at
tempt TO adjust the question of slavery in the
territories acquired from Mexico, absorbed
all other topics. and seemed for while to
threaten the stability of our national Union
1t was at that time that Gen Cass, the patriot
and statesman, proposed the doctrine of non
intervention-that Congress should forbear
to act on the subject of slavery in the terri
tories, and that the whole question should be
referred to the people accupying the terrific
ries-that such territories at the proper time
should be admitted as States with or without
slavery as the people might decide. He said
that he thought this doctrine wise and safe.
He became its advocate that he had so said
to the people in 1851, when travelling the
State as a candidate. AL however, re-
member that he endorsed the Compromise
measures of 1850 That he was still the ad-
vocate of the doctrine of non-intervention-
that he was willing to trust the people with
a question of morals or politics-that he had
more confidence in their judgment, patriotism
and love of freedom than he had in that of
Congress- Indeed, if we were to believe half
that is said of the impressible character of
that body, we should be compelled to regard
it as unsafe on any question He thought
the reference of this vexed and dangerous
question to the people well calculated to allay
the excitement, and give greater stability to
our national confederacy. fAnd as to the
extension of slavery, he did not embrace
the doctrine of non-intervention, believing
that it would extend the institution-he be-
licved Just the reverse, that the tendency
would be to restrict, to drive it south of the
Missouri line That such was his estima-
ton of the value of the Union, such his
ideas of the blessings which it has bestow,
ed on the American people-such the bless |
ed influence which our institutions were
exercising in other parts of the world, that
for one he was willing to labor for its pre-
servation, and be sacrificed, if needs be, to
secure its perpetuity. Its dissolution. in his |
opinion, would be the most horrible calami-
ty that could befal both races-it would be
sad calamity to the North and the South |
to the master and to the slave.
He next went on to say that had it been
his business to organize the territories of Ne |
braska and Kansas, he shauld have done so
in terms of the Compromise acts of 1850, |
without disturbing the act of 1920, fixing |
the Missouri line. Whilst he said this he |
was also bound in candor to declare, that he |
did not believe that the policy of the terrific |
ries would be different from what it will be |
under the present law-that he firmly believ-
ed that slavery could not extend there-that
nine e-tenths of the people would decide against
it-that the laws of Nature were not congenial
to the institution-that some of the wisest
opponents of the measure held this opinion.
He said he never had and never should ask
to strengthen the institution of fslavery-that
he regretted the existence of the Institution
as sincerity as any man, but he had and he
should maintain the clear constitutional rights
of Southern as we'll as those of Northern
States. He should not acknowledge the
influence talked about so much
that influence came from the South
or the North
To the question by some one in the crowd,
whether slavery did not exist in the terrific
ries at this time, he replied that it did not
that individual slaves might be there doing
what white men directed them to do, but the
institution was not there in any legal form,
and could not be without express local law,
that it had no legal existence there-that the
Constitution of tie United States, in his
opinion. did not carry it there-that Congress
had not and could not establish 1t there-that
it could only derive n legal existence from the
ocal law making power-that 1T was the crea-
ture of law-that when the people of the ter
ritories constituted a law-making power-in
the shape of local legislature, that power.
and that only could give the institution legal
existance in the territories s-that he sincerely
believed aud hoped that when that power act
ed for those territories the institution would
pc rejected.
7 said he vas dcsireus of being sustained
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