True American. [volume] (Steubenville [Ohio]) 1855-1861, 1857-02-04

congress 10 make all neeuIul rules anu
regulations respecting the territory be-
longing to the United States" In leg.
rislaling for them the Territories Con-
gress exercises the combined powers Of
the General and Of State Government F"
The competency of the territorial court
was, therefore, sustained, and the rule
made pursuant to its decree held valid
1t is little amusing to hear partisans
say that this is mere dicttm, so far as it
afTirms the power Of Congress over the
Territories, or that other evasion, that the
court only decides that Congress when
providing territorial courts employs the
combined power of General and State
government" because of the unlimited
and erclusiue jurisdiction of The United
States in tile admiralty. The plain
words of Chief Justice Mgrshall leave no
room for this evasion. and exclude any
such conclusion. He says:
These courts THE territorialcouris1
are not constitutional courts, in which the
judicial power conferred by the Constitu.
ton can be deposited. They are incapa-
BILE of receiving it.
lie decides that "they are Legislative
courts, created in virtue of the general
right Of sovereignty" in Congress to
govern the Territories. Whatever spe.
cial pleading may be set up to evade The
force of this decision, one thing is clear,
that in the judgement of the Supreme
Court The people of the Territories, DUR
ing the territorial organization, ado not
share in the Government, that the erciu-
size right TO govern them is in Congress.
and that Congress, in legislaling for them.
for all purposes, exercises the combined
power of the General and State gov.
ernment." american Insurance Com
pany ct al. us Canter, Curtis, p. 6S7)
Is not the combined power of the
General and Of State government Mt"
competent to exclude slavery from and
emancipate slaves within a Territory I
North Carolina and the Congress of 1900
were Of that opinion hence the limita-
tion on the power of Congress in the deed
of cession to which have referred.
Beyond all question the sovereignty
over the Territories is vested in Congress;
every act for their government from the
act Of 1889 to the act of 1854 proves
this: Legislation is sovereignty.
have already shown that the Consti-
tion provides for the admission Of new
States, and that the provision was pur-
posely so framed as not to compel their
admission upon the same terms with the
original States, but TO enable Congress 10
subject them to olher terms and condi-
tons. and to admit or reject them at pleas
ure. Congress mas repeatedly exercised
this power, and in such way as to put
an extinguisher upon the asserted +" i'm.
prescriptible right Of equality Of The sew
eral States"
The act to enable the people Of 0hiO
10 form a constitution, and for their adj
mission into the Union, passed April 80,
1909, and approved by Jefferson, provides
that the people may form constitution
and State government, "provided the
same shall be republican. and NOT KEPue-
NANT to the ordinance of July 13, 1887"
| United States Statutes. vol. Q, p. l74,,
sec. 5. Whence did the Congress Of
1902 derive the power to impose this re.
striction upon the people OF Ohio as y
condition precedent 10 their organization
into State and their admission into the
Union? Not from the ordinance ofl7S7tI
for that was superseded by the Constitu-
ton. and ceased to be the law or the
source of authority upon the adoption Of
the Constitution. The power was, and
could be derived only from the Constitu-
ton, to impose this restriction. What
was the effect Of this resiriciioni Man
ifestly, 10 impose npon Ohio as { State.
terms, conditions, and restrictions, to
which the original States were not sub.
jected.
| Those terms, conditions, and restric-
tons, were thai. by her constitution and,
SOVoiuH0hts OHlV suOuiu iOICfSI cACluuo
slavery from her territory, except as pun
ishment for crime on due conviction I;
lha, no man should, within her limits, be
deprived Of life, liberty, OF property, but
by the judgement Of his peers and The
law Of The land, and that private properly
should not be taken for public use, with
out just compensation, and that al The ir-
habitants should always enjoy the bene-
FITS Of habeds corpus and the trial by
jury. If Ohio had tolerated Involuntary
slavery by her constitution, orhad denied
to any man protection Of life. liberty, OF
! property, or trial BY jury, her cchstiIu.
ton would have been repugnunt % the
ordinance, contrary 10 the enabling acl Of
1902, violadye Of the fifth and SIKH
amendments Of The Consultation of the
I United States, and she could not have
become State or have been admit
ted into the Union. Her people 90
understood It, and framed their con-
sIituiion accordingly. WhAE VIA ths
result Of ihisl That Ohio was admitted
4 BY act Of Congress into the Union, no,
upon the same terms With The original
u" |