Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1856-06-12
WHOLE NO. 03I


progress OF the evil, and for maintaining
within their respective limits, the authoritie:
rights and liberties appertainng to them y
''That the General Assembly doth also
express is deep regret that a spirit has in
sundry instances been manifested by the
Federal Government, TO enlarge its powers
b. forced constructions Of the Constitutions
al Charter which defines them. and that in
dIcatlons have appeared of design to ex-
pound certain general phrases, so as to de-
stroy the meaning and effect Of the partic-
ular enumeration which necessarily explains
and limits the general phrases and so to con-
soidate the States by degrees into the SOW
ereign'y-the obvious tendency and inevit-
able result which would be to transform the
present Republican system OF the United
States into an absolute, or at least, limit
ed Monarchy" Mr.. "Madison's Report
on these resolutions, made to the Virginia
Legisla ure in 1899. is a triumphant vindica-
tion Of the theory advanced therein.
The Kentucky Resolutions of 1899, in
reply to the States, who took exceptions to
those of the preceding year, declare:
THAT if those who administer the Gen.
eral Government be permitted to transgress
the limits fixed by the compact, by a total
disregard to the special delegations of pow
er therein contained, an anuihlation of the
State Governments, and the creation upon
their ruins Of a consolidated governments,
will be the inevitable consequences: That
= bo i,la nd -; IL
by suntries of the State e!is iatures, that
the General Government is the exclusive
judge of the extent of the powers delegated
to t, stop nothing short of despotsm--since
the discretion of those who administer the
Government, and not the Constitution, would
be the measure of their powers: That the
several States who formed that instrument,
being sovereign and independent, have the
unquestionabe right to Judge of the infrac-
ZION: and that a notification by those SOW
eregnties,of all unauthorized acts done under
color of that instrument is the rightlul re-
medy.'
These resolutions are the rock upon which
The political principles Of the Democratic
party are bised; their originator, and the
actual author Of the Kentucky Resolu ions,
Thomas jefferson, has been justly ca He'd the
"Father Of he Democratic party"
But the Democratic party, not content to
5 tand only un its political principles, ha. also
adopted "Moral Creed" whica- even now
is streaming from lis banners in Illinois, by
order of its State Committee: ltis selected
from the Inaugural Message" Of Thomas
Jefferson, and is cuuched in this sublime and
souI-stirring language: Equal and exact
Justice 10 all men"
Now, every individual capable of ccmpre-
heading the meaning ot words mUsl admit
that no man. who holds these political doc
trines 20 be the true theory of our Govern
ment, and the sublime moral preccpt o sequ-
al and exact Justice to al men, to be obi-
gatury, could possibly vote lor Or sustain the
Fugitive Slave Law OF 1850, withoIt being
fai.hlcss to the moral precepts ard the po-
l!tical principles Of tie Democratic party,
because it is an undeniable truth, that every
slave has natural, inherent, ami inalen-
able" right to run away from his master land
no one can have the shadow
Of legal or conventional, (inuch less na-
tura } ''r1gtt' to arrest him, unless it be by
and through the sovereign authority OF the
State, to which he escapes. And then the
slave is entitled to jury trial, in the State
where found, and if upon hearing all the
evidence adduced against him, the jury
should decide that any s''labor or service"
was DUE to the claimant from the fugitive,
he should be delivered up TO the claimant in
accordance with the spirit and letter OF the
compact between the 5; ates nude and pro-
vided for this express purpose.
The leaders of the Democratic party Pur-
sue the same reckless course on the Kansas
question. against the sacred rights OF hu-
manity. Tney enacted aud sustain law
which authorizes the Pres dent to appoint
Governor &c, for the people OF Kansas in
despite OF Popular So:sreiyHtg' in that Ter
ri .ory, and vet practically deny, BY repeal
ing the NJ ssouri COMPROMISED he right OF
Congress TO exclude Slavery irom The Ter
ritories. II is not my Purpos" now to dis
cuss the right of congress IN either case,
but it is absolutely certain that congress
possesses the right. through the Executive,
t. make a Governor for Kansas, and to re-
wise the Territorial laws. it also necessarily
possesses right to exclude slavery from the
Territories.
The advocates of Popular Sovereignty
assert that the people OF each State have
ri yht 10 regulate thei: Domestic Inst! utiOns'
as they please Ii, bv this, it is claimed that
they have right to make aSeS OF any
portion Of the people the assertion is abso-
Iutey false. 1t is true thai the people of
low a have no right to Say what shall be
the character oc the Domest C lnSttut ons' OF
Illinois, but it is not true that the people Ot
Illinois, in the exercise of Popular Sovcr-
eigu,v,' have the right to make slaves .; even
the negroes residing IN its limits. And
whv! Because no human authority has
right to rob any man of his liberty, save FOR
the punishment of crime. II this IL MT
true then the Declaration Of independence
is lie, and our free institutions are baSed
on falseehood. Ii, On the other hand, one
portion OF mankind has 'riqlt' to enslare
any other portion, then it is sheer hypocrisy
for the Northern advocates OF 'populIr Sow
ereignty,' to preteLd, contrary to the eXis-
tence of this 'riglr that slavery is ,cr0ng.
Now if these gentlemen will substitute the
term 'p0icer' for thai Of 'rigtf and then say
that each State in Union has the power to
regulate its Domestic Institutions ,(Slavery
includrd) as it pleaSeS, and that no other
State has the right to interfere. no one will
object tn such conclusion.
Whilst on the subject OF Popular Sover-
eighty let me remind the leaders Of the De-
mocratic party of certain Governor Dorr.
whose case Justly enlisted the almost uni
versal sympathy of the party, AMI of Pres
ideat Pierce in particular, few years since.
The reference is made in order to inju,e
them to leave the .srschiioa' OF the mem-
berS of the kanS Is Convention, for treason
t. those who managed the Dorr affair.
1t really seems to be unaccountahle how