Indiana American. [volume] (Brookville, Ind.) 1833-1861, 1854-08-11

: tue Juulcldl dnu executive 0epaftmcnu
but also gives the Governor The power
, to veto the acts of the territorial legis
lalure; and besides all this, the bill
extends all the laws Of the United
States, which are applicable. over th,
people of these territories! Yet th,
} people will have no voice or participa,
ton whatever, in enacIing these law,
or repeating, il they don't suit them
: What perfect burlesque upon self.
government The people are not al.
lowed to elect their Judges, their State
officers, or their Governor. nor allowed
to pass a single law unless approved
by the Governor, who is appointed
away of at Washington City. by the
} President OF the United States, foi
: whom they are not allowed even to
vote!ll Now in the name Of candor
and truth. what was this little stump
speech about selfgovernmeut stuck
into this Kansas and Nebraska bill for.
unless it was to gull and deceive? And
did Congress think she could thus
successfully delude the American peo-
; pie with the beautiful name of self
government, and with this name, hide
from detection her outrageous viola
Ton of the plighted faith of the ma
lion? This sacred and beautiful doc
trine of self-governmelt. placed so
pompously in this Kansas and Nebras-
ka bill, and which is violated by every
principle of the bill. is placed in th 5
| bill as Il mere Grecian horse, TO cheat
and delude the people and which I
fear will prove as destructive to the
| Americans, as the Grecian horse did
to the Trojans. II Congress was in
ernest aboutestablsh the doctrine
of sell-goyernmept, why did she not
do il? Why did she not pass joint
resolution. authorizing and recommen-
ding the people of these territories to
form such governments as she pleased,
and to elect their own officers? This
would have proved the sincerity of
Congress. Mol Congress never inten-
ded to establish any such doctrine
She never intended to let the people Of
Kansas and Nebraska territories, do as
they please on any other subject than
that Of slavery.
This bill does allow them to estab-
lish slavery if they wish it, and that
too in direct violation of Comprom-
ise which once saved this Union. A
Compromise which ia venerable for
its age, and sacred for the great good
il has done. Yet this Kansas and Ne
braska bill allows this glorious old
Compromise. to which every true low
ef OF the Union should cling with the
tenacity of life, TO be trampled In the
dust. in order to establish self-goyern-
ment. or in other and truer words-to
establish slaveryl But, perhaps Con-
gress thinks, (and we have right to
infer from the bill that she does think
sol that the essence of self-govern-
ment consists in being allowed TO
adopt slaseryl This is new idea 10
me, although | was born and raised in
a slave State, l never before learned
that the permissiontoe to establish slavery
was essential to self-government!-
Perhaps il Congress wonld send a few
Slaves into Kansas and Nebraska they
would so much increase the power of
the people ofthat country for self-gov-
ernment. that they could govern them
selves without the Intervention OF Con-
gressl
But seriously whenever the Ameri-
can people come to examine the fea-
lures of this bill, the idea of its estab-
fishing self-governmentthey pronounce
a miserable fraud and a ridiculous
humbug. and that the principle in this
bill for which its friends are conten-
ding. is very different from that for
which 'our ancestors contended against
/ Lord North Namely: the latter con-
tending for freedom-and the former
are con,ending for slavery
| Suppose own farm, and told my
son that wished him 10 take posses
sion of it, and to manage the business
of farming according to his own julg-
ment-yel at the same time | would
lay down a set ofunalterablc rules, and
appoint and send TO the farm whole
troop of overseers to dictate 10 my son
about the business Of farming, TO exe-
cute the rules / had established, and
not allow my son to adopt any plan,
unless it met my appreciation. Now.
if my son had any sense would he not
ask how he was TO manage the busi-
ness of farming according to his own
Judgment and will, if he were COM
pelled to obey all those rules and over
seers? And will not the people of
Nebraska and Kansas ask how they
are to govern themselves. if they have
to obey all the laws of Congress, and
all the true office holders which are to
be sent out from Washington City TO
govern them?
But even admitting. for the sake OF
argument, thatthis bill does establish
the .squatter sovereignty, as some of
its friends have commended it did, |
would still oppose itas dangerous
absurdity. Suppose parent would
disclaim all authority 10 govern his
infant and feeble offspring. and aban-
don them to their own impulses. Al
I though now and then, one of them
might do well, yet the chances are
that majority OF them would go to
ruin. The Constitution OF the United
States makes Congress the guardian
the artificial parent ofthe infant set
dement's OF the territories. andit is as
much herd@ty TO govern, protect and
train up these infant settlements until
they reach maturity as tits the duty
OF natural parent to govern. protect
and train up his offspring. And
a