Nashville daily patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1855-1857, 1856-07-30
AMERICAN ELECTORAL TICKET.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 80, 1865.
The Union and American and Squattcl
SOvereignty-Buchan Position.

The Union and American and Squattcr
SOvereIgnty-Buchanan Position.
For nearly week we have labored un-
remittingly to extract from the Union and
Amricaa its construction of a clause in
Buchanan's letter of acceptance, which al
most the entire press of the South, Amer
lean, Old-line Wing and Democratic have
interpreted, as clear and succinct avowal
of the doctrine, That the squatters, or first
settlers in territory, either in their prim-
airy capacity, or through their creature and
agent, the territorial legislature, have the
power TO regulate and fix forever the char
acter Of their domestic institutions, among
them, that Of slavery.
In its issue of Sunday 1t notices The long
neglected topic, and intimateS that its omiS-
sion to do so earlier, was caused by more
important engagements Before the South
ern people have done with its federal, free
soil candidate, it will learn that there are
few questions more important" thansthis
one. This odious and revolving substitute
for the Wilmot prOyiso, according to Mr..
Yancey, democratic State elector in Ala. }
the coinage of Buchanan's brain, is clearly
understood in the South, and it aud its
author will be repudiated. We advise our
contemporary if it would do its candidate a
service, to labor by every means, to re-
lieve him of the disastrous consequences
which await him at the hands the South
ern people, when they come to learn that
he is the author and embodiment of Squat
ter Sovereignty.
But to our question whether the clause
cited from the Wheatland letter was in
tended as an endorsement of Squatter Sow
ereignty, it answers mo" BY this an
swer il takes issue with the only reasona.
Bile construction which can be placed upon
his language, and with the almost unani-
nous opinion of all who have expressed an
opinion upon it, including many southern
presses of its own party, who have on &C
count oft. declined to support Buchanan,
and denounced his doctrine Let us how
ever examine the question, and see wheth,
err ornot Buchanan's language is not an
emphatic and unquestionable statement of
the doctrine, in all its length and breadth.
In the first place, what is meant by
Squatter Sovereignty Although the
Union and American says we neither
know, nor wish to know" what it is, and on
ly use it as "a shapeleSS something" to
serve purpose, we will define it, and defy
that paper to dispute the correctness Of
our definition. We understand those who
hold what is now known in political no.
mencature as Squatter Sovereignty, to
contend that the Squatters, or those
who first settle, and become inhabitants Of
one of the territories Of the United States,
possess the power through their territorial
legislature, to establish or prohibit slave
~. These settlers, or inhabitants, or
"Sauatters" are the electors Of this le-
gislative body, and this body when it as
. sembles in its legislative capacity, repre-
sents the views, and is the agent to execute
the will of those who have created them.
Now the advocates of Squatter Sovereign
ty hold that if the majority of these inhab-
itants or settlers desire the establishment or
prohibition Of sLarery. it is competent for
this territorial or Squatter's legislature to
enact such an ordinance, and fix unatera
bly and forever, while the territory re-
mains in territorial condition, and when
: it becomes State, the question of slavery
or no slavery. The granting of this power
to the Squatters or their legislature is to
give them the right, in case they have the
numerical strength, TO exclude the people
of one half of the Union from settling in
that territory, the common property of all
the States, and enjoying every right Of pro-
perty which they held in the State, from
which they emigrated This is Squatter Sow
ereignty, and we oppose it, and have con-
sistently done so, as unconstitutional, and
in direct conflict with the great principle
of States rights. In the support, cordial
and sincere, which we have given to the
principles of the Kansas bill, we have de-
MED that this was one of its principles, and
the whole Southern delegation in Congress,
with the exception Of two distinguished de-
mocrats, Gro. w. JoSKs aud Howell
CoBB, voted for the bill, with the express
aud positive understanding that this odious
and unconstitutional principle was not en-
bodied 10 its provisions.
Having determined what Squatter Sow 7,
ereignty is, let us examine the language /
used by Mr.. Buchanan when he speaks OF |
the powers given TO the people or the I
peoples agent. the territorial legislature
of Kansas, by the Kansas bill. He says
that this legislation the Kansas iegisla-
tom is founded upon principles As ancient
as'free government Itself, and in accordance
with them has simply declared that NE PsO-
pie Of a territory, ne thOss 81 a STATE, shall
decide. for themselves whether slavery shall
Dr. shall not exist within their limits" He i
AVS that the foundation principle Of this
egisIation il as ancient as the principle Of
rec government, whereby be means TO say !