The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1857-01-06
THE oMNIPOTENCE OF CONGRESS.

1t is matter of special wonder that political organiza
ton should be formed in our country the distinctive
basis Of the omnipotence of Congress The wonder is
greatly increased that such organization should extend
through than half the States of our confederation
and secure commanding majorites in more than one
fourth of the whole The backrepubcan party furnishes
cause for such wonder Viewed in the light in which its
leaders exhibit it. its claim that Congress ought to
exclude slavery from the Territories rests upon the
sumption that Congress possesses unlimited power
persons and property in those Territories.
To define and fix the rights of property to declare what
shall and what shall not be property, to order who shall
and who shall become citizens within the limits of
political community involve the exercise of the highest
powers of governmental sovereignty Such jurisdiction
defines practically and literally despotism Yet the most
SOBER stad and conscientious of the republican statesmen
claim for Congress such sovereign jurisdiction the
persons and property in Territories.
It will occur to the mind at that sovereign urs-
dicton by Congress over Territories the power
claimed by British statesmen for their Parliament the
old thirteen colonies. So that it happens that
have great political party in country whose basis
principle is idencaly that against which fathers
belled and fought and their independence and
birth to repubc and that party has the double emeriy
of Parliament but to give it the of republicansm
This not all: they affirm that this despoc principle
is found in demonstration thereby impung to the
Of the revolution who fought for long against
the omnipotence of Parliament the objectionable sin Of
sgnazng their victory despotism in the Old World
by adopting the omnpoence Of Congress distinctive
feature in the republic founded by them in the New World
These same modern republican leaders vie with demo-
Gratis in pronouncng revolutions
~ fathers for the successful resistance they made to the claim
of unlimited power, made by the British ministry over
the colonies and then in the breath they equally
eloquent i'll eulogisng them for adopting the despoc
principle as fundamental principle of our republic.
Indeed is this supposed principle of the sovereignty
Of Congress over Territories that constitutes about the
only feature in the constitution which exctes the ad
miraton of black repubicansm Deny the existence Of
that principle and concede to the people Of the Terrific
res the rights of selfgovernment, the democrats do
and as is done in the Kansas law, and black republic
canism finds little else in the constitution worthy Of
commentator. It was all wrong to recognise sla-
very as lawful species of propertyit wrong to
tolerate the importation of slaves for twenty yearst
was wrong protect property in slaves by requiring them
to be surrendered on demand or to intepose for
OF their OWner5 was eSpe-
caly wrong to allow threefhs of the slaves be
ed in fixing the ratio of representation All these fea-
lures in the constitution are abominable in the eyes of
black republicans but it was the nc as ultra of wisdom
patriotism and craftsmanship in fathers to engraft
principle Of desposm in regard to the territory and
other property" the United States which would enable
Congress to make SLAVES Of The free whe citizens Of the States
,cho might choose to emgrate to the Territories. ~
Our fathers were guilty of such outrage upon their
own glorious antecedents and when black republicans
mpute to them such inconsistency they show how little
real respect they have for the memories of the lustrous
dead and how little genuine attachment they have for the
constitution and the Union founded by them.