The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1856-05-08

to secure this end-but, as the exclusion oil
Slavery is not necessary to this end, Congress
has no power to exclude it. This is the Trustee
Theory, propounded by Senator Douglas.
A. The Sovereignty over the Territories is
not in them, or in the Federal Government, OF
" in allegiance, suspended in the United States
in trust" but in the States individually, each Of
the thirty-one States, individually, being a SOW
ereign over them: the prohibition of Slavery
is high act of Sovereignty therefore Slavery
cannot be excluded from the Territories, by the
People or Legislatures thereof, or by the Fed
eral Government; it can be excluded only in
one of two ways, by treaty between the thir
ty-one individual Sovereignties, acting indie
pendently, and each one asserting, or through
an amendment to the Constitution of the Uni
ted States constitutionaly made. This is the
7Tanscendental Theory.
They all concur in the denial of the right Of
Congress to exclude Slavery from Territories
but, in other respects they differ. The Squat
ter Sovereignty and the Trustee Theories,
neither affirm nor deny as to the question
whether slaves are property; the former, how.
ever, affirms the right of the People of Terri
tory to exclude or establish Slavery, while the
latter says nothing about it directly. The High
er Law and the Transcendental Theories both
assume that slaves are property, and that such
property, while it may be protected in Terrific
ries by Federal or Territorial legislation, can be
prohibited by neither; the latter, however, ad.
mits that it may be prohibited in one of two
ways, which it holds to be of impracticable
adoption, while the former makes no such ad-
mission.
The Squatter Sovereignty theory was con-
trived in l848, to undermine the established
policy of Slavery restriction, to secure the cleo
ton OF General Cass and the triumph of the
Democratic party. Having fully accomplished
the first purpose, but signaly failed in the other
two, it was almost universally repudiated by the
| Oligarchy, which now demands from its faithful
adherents in the Free States, the full recogni
ton of the Higher Law theory. The Cincinnati
Convention will be required to allure Souatter
Sovereignty, and to swear that the Federal
Government has the absolute right to govern
the Territories, in the name and for the uses of
Slavery, which existed before the Federal Con-
stitution, and is to be regarded as supreme.
| Is it worth while to controvert these contra.
dictory theories? Not at all. The time for
argument has passed. The opponents of the
Olgarchy take the Constitution as it is, and the
construction which has been given to it by the
Federal Government for half a century. They
have no new theory to propose or argue. They
are divided by no contradictory views.
The Oligarchy and its allies have always
| claimed that the Federal Government has The
right to organize Territory. But, the right to
govern Territory is a necessary incident to such
a power: they cannot be separated.
Mr.. Douglas says that Congress is asthorized
| by the Constitution to admit new States, there
fore it has right to prepare the Territories by
necessary legislation for admission as States.
Very well then it has the right to prepare them
by preventing one class of their people from
robbing and depressing another class.
But, the opponents of Slavery, while they
may strengthen their position by the admissions
of their adversaries, found it on a plain, une-
quvocal provision of the Constitution itself, not
upon admissions or implications.
"The Congress shall hare power to dis,,ose
| OF, and make all needfM rules and regulations
respecting, the territory, or other 3,roperty he.
longing to the United States"
This grant of power is complete and con.
ferred in terms so clear that they could not be
made clearer. Why argue or illustrate? Can
you make sunlight clearer than it is? Con-
gress alone must decide what is needful-and
the only restraints upon its power are found.
not in vague, childish, distractions about the
equality of the States, or the inaccessible holi.
ness of "slave-property," but in the Preamble
to the Constitution which sets forth its objects.
and in the general restraints imposed on the
Legislation OF Congress-, in the articles of
Amendments. 1t must make "needful" regu-
| lations for the Territories: it must make such
| regulations as shall conduce to a more perfect
| Unon," to the establishment of "Justice," to
domestic Tranquility" to "the common De.
fence" to securing the BLESSINGS of Liberty, y
to the People and their Posterity: it must
make "no laws respecting an establishment
of religion" cor abridging the freedom of
speech, or of the press; or the right of the
| people peacefully to assemble and to petition
the Government for redress of grievances"
Again, we say-this is a position, founded
on the Constitution, on its plain, unequivocal
provisions, and there is no use in arguing It.
We but darken counsel by multitude of words.
What is needed is action-action at the ballot.
box. The conclusive argument will be, the
election of a Republican President next No.
vember. Let the Cincinnati Convention, to be
held under the auspices of the Oligarchy, amuse
itself with specuations about Squatter Sow.
ereignty," Higher Law Sovereignty, Transcen.
dental Sovereignty, or Sovereignty in state
of suspended animation let them settle as thew
best can, the most feasible mode of propapa.
ting Slavery, and subjugating the North and
West, by Northern votes, our policy is plain
and easy: we must stand, where our fathers
stood; we must do, what our fathers did we
must resolve that there shall be neither Slavery
nor involuntary servitude in the Territories OF
the United States, otherwise than in punishment
OF crime, whereof the criminal shall be duly
convicted-and elect President and Con.
gress that will carry that resolve into immedi.
ate effect. The very best argument for the
accomplishment of all this, is the argument Of
numbers. The real question is one of power
between the People who love Freedom. and
the Oligarchy who love Slavery; between the
Masses who work for themselves, and the Few
who seek to make the Many work for them. II
the Many are fools, then they will suffer them.
selves to be bewildered, entrapped, and cheat.