Mineral Point tribune. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1854-1858, 1856-09-16

: and until within the last few wears ha.
not been doubted.
To admit, as all must, that Congress.
can prescribe the boundaries. frame the
organic law, form the very constitution OF
a Territory, prescribe what subjects shall
be legislated upon, and what shall not
and who shall iegislate for Territory
and who shall not, and at the same time
to deny the power of Congress to leglsl.te
for the Territories, is just as absurd and
preposterous as to place the creature above
the Creator.
The laws enacted for their governm ant
are the laws of Congress, passed either
| directly by Congress itself, or by some
other officers or bodies clothed with tha,
power by Congress.
The Judges who administer them are
appointed and removed a. the pleasure of
the President. and are paid from the
Treasury of the United States. The Elk.
ecchvc power to enforce them is also an
appolnsec oe the President, and supported
by him as Concmander-in-C Chief of the Ar
my of the United States
The whole governmental power in a
territory, Legislative, judicial and execu-
tive, IS created by, based upon, controlled,
modified, supported and sustained by the
government OF the United States. The
nrst settlers of territory have no voice
IN the formation of their organic law, and
no more power in the formation of their
local laws under the organic act than Con-
gress is pleased to grant; they have no
voice in choosing their Judges to admins
ter them, and nc voice in choosing their
Executive to enforce them, and are nei-
ther able to maintain, nor are they called
upon to pay taxes for the support of an
independent government.
The last few months in Kansas shows
how entirely inadequate are few thous-
and sparsely settled emigrants into a ter
ritory to maintain an independent sover-
eighty. Have we not seen a few hun
dreds, or thousands, perhaps, from the
border counties in Missouri, invade this
sovereign Territory, as some would call
1t, again and again, and by force of arms
take possession and control of its elections
and force upon them, as a subjugated
people, the code of Missouri, adding to
1t some of the provisions of their own
enactment,so infamous that neither Brooks
nor Butler, of South Carolina, dare stand
up IN Congress to defend them!
1t Is true that in a territory there may
be the elements of future state. So in
the child there may be all the elements
of man. You might as we'll speak of
the manhood of a nursing babe, as of the
sovereignty of few thonsand squatters
sparsely settled over a territory nine hun
dred miles in length and two hund, ed
ts,a1l los
In fact, and none in law in the Territorial
government OF Kansas it is the United
States. The free state men indicted there
are indicted for treason not against Kan
sas, but treason against the United States
Such has been the established doctrine
and practice of this government from its
foundation, and until within the last few
years has never been questioned. In the
passage of the Kansas n Nebraska Act and
the Repeal of the Missouri Compromise
there was an attempt to take away from
Congress the power to Legislate for thos /,
territories and to throw off the response
bility of legislation and government in
them, for the avowed purpose of avoiding
the agitation of the slavery question, in
Congress. Whether adopted from ambi-
ton, weakness, cowardice. or a dellber-
ate purpose to introduce slavery into Kan
sas, time alone will determine.
So far, however, from saving Congress
the trouble of agitating that question, the
history of this Republic has never wit
messed such scenes of violence and agita-
tatlon as were presented during its last
1 session. And so far from relieving the
government of the United States from the
responsibility of exercising its sovereign
ty in the territory, the truth Is that the
sovereignty there has passed in effect
from the Civil to the Military power of
the United States; from Congress where
1t rightfully belongs, to the army and the
army and the President, to put down in
surrection and civil war.
There is but one conclusion to which
nv mind is forced to come; the laws
in Kansas are the laws of the Uni
ted States in that territory, either by the
direct enactment or by the sufferance of
Congress, and are administered by the
government at Washington, or by officers
under their control.
| hold, therefore, the government a,
Washington responsible for making and
administering the laws in Kansas.
1t is at Washington that the laws of
Kansas as territory are to be changed
and i, is by change of administration a,
Washington, that change OF Judges and
! officers In that territory Is to be made
If the present code OF Kansas is suffered
to remain in force and the present Judges
, are to remain to administer it, slavery
which is already introduced there canno
be eradicated.
Every enactment of that code which
can possibly bear upon that subject is ir
favor of slavery, and the majority if no
all the judicial officers in that Territory
are pro-slavery men, III favor of It's intro.
: ductlo1. All the rivers and highway:
through Missouri leading to it, are in the
hands of armed bands, organized for tha
, very purpose. In this respect they
!. hold the mouth of the Danube" With