Volcano weekly ledger., 1856-08-16

the power to make their own laws and form
their own constitutions This, in effect, abb
rogated the Missouri Compromise-under
that, the provisions Of the Constitution in re-
gard to territories, could not extend North of
Mason and Dixon's line. Let us see why.
Section Sd of Article 4th of the Constitu-
ton of the United States says: Congress
shall have power to dispose of and make all
needful rules and regulations respecting the
territory or Other property belonging to the
United States" There is nothing in this,
nor is there syllable in any other portion of
the Constitution which gives Congress the
power to legislate for any of the territories or
to dictate to them what laws they shall make
only that they shall have republican form
of government. That being the case let MS
look at another provision Of the Constitution
Article 10th of the Amendments says: "The
powers not delegated to the United States by
the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the
States, are reserved to the States respective
ly, or to the people, Then there being
nothing in the Constitution which gives Con
gress the power to legislate for the people of
the territories that power must be vested in
them; therefore in prohibiting the exercise of
that right to the people of the territories
north of thirty-six0 and thirty by the pas
sage of the Missouri Compromise, Congress
exceeded the jurisdiction prescribed to it by
the Constitution, consequently the Compro-
mise was a nulity and Congress had encroach-
ed on the rights reserved to the people OF
the territories, therefore justice demanded
its abrogation; but that is not all; other CON
siderations aside from this, demanded its re-
peal Notwithstanding the supposition that
all cause for dissatisfaction on the part of
either the North or South, had been removed
by the action of Congress in 1850 in regard
to the slavery question, still it appears the
feeling was only checked for a time and soon
began to show itself in a more verulant form
than ever, until the whole of the time that
Congress was in session, was devoted to the
discussion of pro-slavery and anti-slayery
principles, creating confusion, anarchy, per-
sonal combats and an entire disregard of the
true interests of the nation. Under these
it became absolutely necessary
that something should be done to prevent
such disgraceful and ruinous proceedings in
Congress and to restore the country to its
original purity and harmony. In order to
effect this in 1854 a bill was introduced by
Senator Douglass of Illinois giving to the
people of the territories the power to regu-
late their own domestic affairs as a majority
of the people should wish, investiga ton of
sectional lines thereby repeating the Missou-
ri Compromise and reinstating the violated
provisions Of the constitution This denied
the right of Congress to interfere with the
subject Of slavery in any manner whatever
and at the same time making it obligatory on
the general government to protect the cleo
tiye-franchise from any and all encroachments.
This is as it should be- What right have we.
here in California to dictate to the people of
Kansas what their institutions shall be?-
Just as much right as has the general gov
The people Of California would
have thoughtt very unjust at the time of the
formation of our Constitution for Congress
to have said "you must insert clause admit
ting and protecting slavery" Nobody be-
lieve that such dictation would have been
to quietly by us; it is just as un-
to suppose that the people of
Kansas would submit to the same without
murmer. If Congress has power to create
slavery, it certainly has power to prohibit it,
but it is a conceded fact that it has no pow
ers except those expressly given it by the Con
Taking all these things into consideration
it must be acknowledged by every man of
good Judgment that the repeal of the Mis-
souri, Compromise was demanded by the
soundest reasons that could be suggested to
the mind of man. j. B. X.
PEACE CoNGREss DocTRINEs.-Th most
sensible feature of the whole proceedings of
the conference of the European Plenipoten-
tiaries. is the conclusion at which the Confer
ance arrived, that, in the event of any serious
arising between any of the