New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1857-12-23

trst.hery 70 siI rs-ty sssocstes, Or ass1conmsfs
OF .sy pssifca which he has ever assumed.
Gr. DocsI.s rever proPose& TO trsa'fer Rsas,s
bodily to TIE Shareholders BY the mere authority OF
Coz ress Tie utmost that he proposed TO do was
precisely what Nr Calhoun hsd asked fox the s!ave
holders in the case Of New. MeIic,-"t give them
90 chance to come in" Thn be accomplished for
them BY the repeal, Incorporated into the Ksn'i-
Nebrssks act, Of the Missouri prohibition. But,
after having thus goi into the Territory, through
Mr.. DousIss's aid and favor in repeating tAas pro-
hibiticn, the work Of establishing Slavery thare
shll rsmsined TO be done; and TO b done, TOO,
no. BY force and idlenos but under democratic
forms. The utmost lersth 70 which hr. Douglas
went wss to renource on the part Of Congre" say
control over the future destiny Of Kansas Bu'
this remuneration Of authority on the part oil
Congress Wa made BY tho terms Of the Kassss
Nebraska act, not 10 favor Of the ssveholter, but
exclusively IN favor Of the future actual settlers 10
tho Territory. Mr.. Douglas Indignantly denied Of
the time, and tho great body Of Northern Dem
ocra;ic psesses and politicians loudly reschoed tho
denial, that the KarsaSN Nebraska act was eoness'
sion, OF could fairly be considered concession, to
Slavery. They defended it and justified it on the
ground, and exclu,ively on the ground that it was
in accordance with the Democratic doctrine OF
popular sovereignty. They complained bitterly at
beirx stismstized as Pro Slavery men, when in
fact in passns that bill, they had dirssardsd Alto
setbsr, SO they said, the question Of Slavery, and
lad looked only to tho recognition aud carrying out
of the great Democratic principle Of the right OF
the people to choose for themselves the Institutions
under which they are to 1--we.
With respeot to the conduct u Mr.. Douglas In
sustaining tho authority Of the bogus Lesishtures
and in re,olutsy shutting bis eyes to the fact that
in the choice of tkose bodies the will OF the major
ity Of the people Of Kansas had bsen seandalously
and outrsseou,ly trampled uoder foot there s this
to be said. At that time he might reasonably have
expected that tho Ultimate result OF the struggle
would be to give to the Pro SlaverJ settlers real
ard bona fle pIepolderanoe in the Territory; and
in bis anxiety TO help along that result no
might have been, ~ be actually was, derelict tor
tho moment to bis own principles Of Popular Sov.
eresnty, and seaudslorsly unjust to the suffering
Free State men. But between failing to act up to
ones principles and openly abandoning and renouna-
ing those principles there is the greatest difference
in tho world. In the very act Of sustaining tho
BOGUS Legislature, Mr.. Douglas stl continued -
great sticklsr as ever for Popular Sovereignty.
he sustained that Legislature, not ~ representing
= minority but ~ representing majority.
In the progress Of events, however, there has
ceased to be sny shadow Of doub. or question that
the FresSta!e mon are an actual majority in the
Tenitory. The majority Of Free State mon has
become 90 large a. TO have removed al ground
for eayil or hesitation In point Ct fact the scheme
Of making Kausas Slave State BY means OF tho
principle of popular sovereignty has proved iall'
ure. Not only that, but the scheme Of making it .
Slave State at al has proved failure. Tho Le-
compton Convention was strongly urged BY the
ultra Shareholders to form Pro Slavery Constisa-
tiop and TO establish it on their sole authority.
Ttey have rot ventured TO do that. So far as re-
Iates 10 the auestion Of Slavery, the Lecompton
Constitution il to be, at lssst nomnaiy, submitted
TO the popular vote The Lecompton schedule has
not only thrown overheard tho principle Of popular
but Slavery also, along with it.
Under these circumstances, to AK Dir. D)ugas,
or any other Northern Democrat, to support tho
Lecompton sckedule, is 10 ask them to repI.
date the doctrine Of popular sovereignty, re-
gard for which they had made the basis of their
support Of the Kansas Nebraska bill aud to repu.
date il for 10 object under heaven except asa proof
Of the political humiliation to which they have been
reduced. Even if Slavery could thus be s,tab-
lished in Kansas it would be asking great deal of
Northern Democrats thus to stultify themselves;
but TO do ii merely, a. i. we're, to show how utterly
devoid they are Of any sincerity or even decent 70
gard for consistency, seems to be pressing the mat
ter little tsO for.