Daily American organ. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1856, 1856-10-01

various occasions.
Before stating the I'd and Sd positions taken
by the Enquirer, we copy from it the following
resolution, Gas finally perfected, offered by Mr..
Clay in the Senate in january, 1888, as an
amendment to one offered by Mr.. Calhoun at
the same session, and for which amendment of
Mr. Clay, Mr.. Buchanan voted, to-wit:
"Rssolosd, That any attempt Of Congress TO
abolish slavery in any Territory Of the United
States, Id which 1t exists, would create serious
alarm and just apprehension In the States sustain
ing that domestic institution would be violation
Of good faith towards the inhabitants Of any such
Territory who have been permitted TO settle with
and hold slaves therein; because the people Of
any such Territory have not asked for the aboli-
ton of slavery therein, and because, when any
such Territory shall be admitted into the Union az
State, the people thereof viii be entitled to de-
eide that question exclusively for themselves"
The second position taken by the Enquirer,
and resting upon the above resolution, is as
follows, to wit:
"Mr Buchanan's vote on the above resolution
submitted by Mr.. Clay, reveals another interesting
fact viz that in 1888, by recorded vote in the
Senate, Mr.. Buchanan affirmed the principle that
" When any Territory shall be admitted into the
Union as a State, the people thereof shall decide
that question slavery exclusively for themselves"
thus early and thus distinctly repudiating squat
ter sovereignty, and announcing the true doctrine
in regard to the rights of the Territories over sa
very"
We should not call this an interesting
fact" but an Interesting" misconceptionl
The third position taken by the Enquirer is,
in its own language, as follows:
another interesting circumstance disclosed by
the above resolution Of Mr. Clay, is the fact chat
he and Mr.. Buchanan, and every Senator who vo-
ted for the resolution, then and by that act dis
credited the sanctity and obligatory force of the
Missouri restriction by declaring that the people of
every Territory possess the exclusive power of de-
termining the slavery question for themselves"
These three positions are all copied in the
very words of the Richmond Enquirer, used
in the editorial under consideration. That
would indeed be an interesting circumstance"
stated above, as the Enquirer's third position,
If it happened to be true; but the interesting
circumstance, like the " interesting fact sta
ted as the second position of the Enquirer, had,
in truth, no eristencel
The first point made by the Enquirer is, that
Mr.. sBuchanan's position on slavery is i'm
pregnable, and that he never deviated hairs
breadth from the straight line of justice and
constitutional duty" We have a good many
letters and resolves to refer to on this first
point, which it will require much space to pub
lish, and as the second and third positions will
be more briefly disposed Of, we will, with the
leave of our readers, discuss these second and
third points first And here we ask rope
rasal Of the above resolution of Mr.. Clay, for
which Mr. Buchanan voted, and on which vote
the second and third positions of the Enquirer
rest
TIL resolution says, that any attempt Of
Congress to abolish Slavery in any Territory,
ofthe United States "in aohich 1T erists,"
"soould create" &C., &C., and thereupon the
Enquirer says, that by an affirmative vote on
this resolution, Mr. Buchanan affirmed the
principle that "wHEN ANY TERRrroRY SHALL
BE ADMITTED INTO THE UNION as State the
people shall decide the question of slavery ex-
clusivcly for themselves" &c. Now here is
indeed discovery or, we should rather say,
it is the lack Of discovsry--sor the young
man failed to discover, that this resolution had
no relation whatever to any Territory but that
in which slavery existsl' The affirmative
vote of Mr.. Buchanan was, not that Congress
should refuse to exclude slavery from territory
then free, but that it "would create serious
alarm and just apprehension" if Congress
should /" attempt to abolish slapery where it
eristed I" Does the youth comprehend the
distinction? Will the young man, in his So
Der moments, reaffirm his second position
Never This position was taken under an OBJ
vious misconception of the reading and mean
ing of the resolution, that resolution certain
ly reads, that "wHEN ANY SUCH TERRITORY"
Chat is, any Territory !" in which slavery ex-
lists, v shall be admitted into the Union as
State, the people thereof will be entitled to de-
eide the question Slavery exclusively for
themselves"
Of course here is plain reputation of
"squatter sovereignty" by the recognition of
the true doctrine, that the people of the Ter
ritories are to decide their domestic institu-
tons at the time they form their constitu-
tons, but this recognition of the right, to have
slavery or-not, applied, in the resolution before
us, to such Territory only as that IN which sla-
gerry then eristedi! This resolution of Mr..
Clay, for which Mr.. Buchanan voted, did not
in any manner or form refer to other Territory
than that in which "slaosry erists." And
now for the Enquirer's Sd position, that, in
voting for the foregoing resolution of Mr.. Clay,
the sanctity and obligatory force Of the Mis-
souri, restriction was thereby discreditedl" If
the resolution of Mr.. Clay applied to any Ter