Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1857-04-15
VOICE OF THE PEOPLE.
LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT.

! have but recently been inaugurated heimSmdH
! of the great ship of state of this confederacy.
! that one of your fellow soyereignS from your
own native State should thus obtrude himself
| upon your notice. However that may be, that
| ssperfcct government" ssframed by our fathers.
who were inspired with wisdom by kind pro-
violence, - to which you alude in your inaugu-
raj, grants to all the right TO scrntinize the
acts and words of all who may, or may not be-
| come Presidents; (peradvcnture Kansas and
! few other localities where the peculiar instl-
tuition is dominant, exceptions.) Permit
me, therefore, to address youupon few ques-
| tions that naturally arise from the perusal OF
your recent address. You have taken the
| Sssolemn oath, TO execute the duties OF the OF
| flee of President of tho United States, to the
best of your ability, to preserve, protect and
| defend the Constitution of the United States
| | beg you to reflect upon the responsibilities
| thus taken upon you. You have sworn 10 per-
| form all the acts incumbent upon the PresI-
! dent. You should therefore see that you are
! the President, and not suffer q Gushing to
| thwart your designs, 4 Douglass or some 9TH
er Of the species Of that animal of Balaam no.
toriety, to lead you tamely by the nose, like
unto your infamous predecessor. You will
bear in mind that You are not President OF
! Pennsylvania, or the New England States, nor
even of the land of Calhoun and of the hero Of
/ the gutta percha, where that Institution exists;
but you have sworn to be the President Of the
| United STATES. You have taken charge of the
great ship of state, and consequently you will
| be expected to cut loose from all other crafts,
| particularly The Platform built at Cincinnati.
! | am pleased to see you ''invcke the God OF
your fathers for wisdom and ftrmness TO exc
cute Your duties, so as to preserve our FREE in
stitutions." You will not fail to perceive up
on examination of your Inaugural, palpa-
be tautology in the of the word UNION, in
conjunction with the Constitution. You were
sworn to support the Constitution of the United
States, and not the Union. The Union cannot
be destroyed while the Constitution is main
tanned and while the States are United States.
Preserve the Constitution intact, and union is
consequent Maintain the Constitution, and
union is inevitable; for, happily, that docu-
ment contains no provisions for the dismefn'
berment of any State, or for its own dissolu-
tion. You should be more careful for the tu
ture in your addresses, and when you come to
/, the word constitution, let the word F'union"
slide, for fear you drop the Constitution, and
grasp for it's shadow, the Union, and like the
dog in the fable, lose the substance. BY the
by, would suggest for your consideration two
methods by which you may aSsuredly prevent
your reelection. One is to conduct your ad-
ministration like unto your predecessor the
other, to endeavor to carry out the principles
Of the Cincinnati Platform; but in either case
| shall not warrant the attainment of your very
laudable motive, ssto live in the grateful men,
r ory of your countTymen.''
s'Thc happy conception" made by Congress,
, to which you refer, may ultimate in convulsive
throes, and may give birth to another of the
L tab family and it yet remains to be seen
S whether the bantLing that so successfully held
Franklin Pierce and his administration at bay
shall give to, or receive from, you and yours,
a caStigation. / am panied to meet in the pc
rusal of your address, that stereotyped hercSy,
G and un-American and heterodoxical doctrine
h of Squatter Sovcreignty-''CongresS is neither
to legislate Slavery into territory or exclude il
fhar from El,r1tt m lp1r thn n
perfectly free to form and regulate their do
meStic institutions in their own way - and
D, then, by way of qualifying the Indulgence
, granted by the foregoing BULL, you add. ''su5-
ject only to the Constitution Of the United
States" Now, as to what you mean by the
+ ''Consttution of the United States" we are
e left without Your comment. You may proba-
bly, mean that (inaSmuch as the language OF the
Constitution does not declare the contrary the
people of Kansas may, if they choose, estab-
lish Polygamy, like their sister, Utah or even
e | CannibaSm. If you will take the trouble to
o examine the Constitution, you will find that
| the Constitution alone is not the supreme law
: of the land but the language of the Consti-
Y tuition is, ssThis Constitution, and the laws oi
), | the United States which shall be made in pur-
| suance thereof, and all treaties made, or which
shall be made under the authority of the Uni
ted States, shall be the supreme idlc Of the land .
| Now, in relation to the Missouri Compromise:
which was established by Congress, and re
\ mained the law of the land for many years, and
was acquiesced in by the entire government
q from 1920 to 1854, and of which AS late as
! 1915, upon the occasion of the annexation Ot
, Texas, you yourself most nobly held forth thai
y .syou was pleased'' with the extension of that
/ line to the western boundary of Texas, s'thG
4 question, +" the Missouri Compromise, chad been
well decided and from that moment Mr. b.
: (THoU ART THE MAS,) chad set his foot on the
II solid ground then established, and there he
IS would let the question stand forever Here
. / beg leave to cite you to your own language
declaring your principles, in favor of, and
; rightly recognizing the Missouri Compromise
p as the law OF the land. How shall we recon
d cile this doctrine of your PALMER days, with
o that more recently concocted: that Congress
cannot prohibit slavery in the territories? {?
) Again 1 ask you if the law of the Missouri
restriction is repealed We admit its repea
V de fdcfo, but not de jure for the Congress
have no Constitutional powers to enact er pos
> facto ldtos, impairing the obligation of con
II tIacts. / also would have you to consider the
h question of Squatter Sovereignty a little more
s minutcly. From whom do the resident inhab
h itantS of any of the territories of the United
States obtain the right of occupancy Is il
) not from Congress, who sshave the power tC
g dispose of and make all necdful rules and reg
Il ulatons respecting the territory. or other pro
perty belonging to the United States?'' Ad
mitting the territory here spoken of to be bu
5 the land, or property; does not property i'm
If ply the right of possession? 1? Hence the facts
q in the case are, that no person or persons, bC
they citizens of any of the United States, OF
be they aliens, have any right to enter intC
y any of the United States unless they have
IS grant from Congress, (Which is the whole o