Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1858-12-18
1bs Anti- Slavery Buele.
From the Washington Union.
THE QUESTION OF SOVEREIGNTY IN THE
.r.r.-4 TERRITORIES.

THE QUESTION OF SOVEhElGNTY In THE
.r.r.ra TERRITORIES.
One of the great merits of tho Dred Scott decis.
ion is the total cxnguishment it gives to the dog
ma of squatter sovereignty in the Territories, It.
utterly negatives the idea that there is any ori9t nat
jurisdiction or legislative authority in the Terrific
ry and asserts that all authority therein is derioa
lice, coming from toittout and not inherent IN its
inhabitants or tribunals Its whole theory in re-
gard to authority in the Territories is, that what
Congress cannot do with respect to them. therefore
their own tribunals, which are the mere agents
and creatures of Congress, cannot do; that the su
preme ultimate authority of the Territories resides
outside of them, and not pithin. Thus the Supreme
Court takes direct issue with the advocates Of the
squAt.er sovereignty doctrine, that the prime ult.
mate source of authority in the Territories is in
its people ,othin and not in the United States wit
out. ..
Those who entertain tie latter vie of the origin
of authority in the Territories, derive it from set
of very vicious notions in regard to personal free
dom and personal sovereignty, which are very
prevalent among radical politicians. There ore
very sound, philanthropic, and just doctrines con.
cerning popular sovereignty, and also very un'
sound absurd, and incendiary doctrines. The SOW
ereignty which belongs 10 the people of an entire
community nationality, in the aggregate has two
opposite extremes, which are each equally in con.
fict with the true conservative idea Of popular SOW
ereignty. On one had it is maintained that be-
cause nation possesses the attribute of sovereign
ty in the aggregate, usage may. for convenince
sake have concentrated oil the sovereign functions
in single individual of specific lineage, rs king,
monarch or the like. On tho other extreme it is
.contended that because the people are sovereign
in the aggregate, each particular individual menu
bor Of the nationality is individually and severay
sovereign in his own person and right, as an nte
ger man, and not as member of the community.
Each Of these extreme dogmas is alike hostile to
shs true idea, viz: that sovereignty is an attribute
of the nation and not Of the individual, and that
each individual person is an integral participant
OF that sovereignty only as member Of The nation
ality-having no right, on the one hand, to usurp
the entire sovereignty to himself, nor, on the 9TH
or to seize to himself his integral microscopic frac'
tion Of the sovereignty and march off with it; but
tkat in hs latter csse by his expatriaton. he loses
his integral individual share Of sovereignty, and
becomes wanderer, en- adventurer, pirate, or a
eolonist as tho may be, until he joins himself
10 some new nationality, with its consent.
The radical, red republican, squatter sovereign
idea, prevalent among radical politicians, is very
different from the last stated. 1t is that, as
the people of each nationality are sovereign, the
individual members of the nationality are
each sovereigns in their own persons, in all
things affecting mere individuality, and may
remain in the nationality in which they are born
nj this ind yi1ual
eighty or, if expariasing themselves from it, car
~ along with them in absolute indcfeasible right,
shis inherent sovereignty. wherever they go. The
oorrollary of this doctrine is, that if no more than
one single man goes out from State into unoccupted
domain he carries This inherent sovereignty on his
back. and stamps il on his neW territorial abode
Much more-that if two or three of such sovereign
come. cutters gather together in any unoccupied do
msin or two or three thousand, or twenty or thr'
ty thousand Of them, they stamp their aggregate
sovereignty that Territory. This then, is squat
ter sovereignty. and its source is found in tho red
republican doctrine of absolute individual sover'
eighty, inherent in the ntiger individual and not
derivative from his nationality. 1t has its origin
in the same set of doctrines which give the negro
slave the right Of running away, married women
the liberty to obey the allurements of passonal at
traction, and make all government the mere crea'
.ture and bauble of the mob. The dogma Of squat
ter sovereignty derives the supreme authority in
Territories from the few scattering adventures
therein, good and bad, including the vagabonds
and outlaws who have fed there from fear Of pun,
ishmen., quilted organized government from res
tiyeness under its conservative restraints, sought
that fortune beyond the limits of society. which
their imprudence, improvidence, want Of thrift,
want of honesty, had lost them within it. Thus the
dogma is not only derived from vicious source,
but rests on vicious popular basis.
We might eularge at great length upon the bale
fol results of erecting new States and Govern
ments in the domains of theUnion on such vicious
basis. upon principles derived from SO radical
origin and so impure political fountain but our
object embraces nothing more at present than
snsrely pointing out the respective sources of the
vicious and Of the sound doctrines touching soyer.
sigu authority in the Federal Territories.
We have seen that squatter sovereignty comes
from the same fraternity with red republicanism,
atoiihapism, woman srightsism et id onane Genus
of abominationsi and that it will not do to allow in.
situations in the Territories. the inopent co.sov.
sreign States Of this Union, to grow up from such
. source A sovereignty which should be the
fruit Of SO noxious parentage would not be fit
for association with that sovereignty Of the States
Of this Union. Of which We are SO justly proud and
70 justly boast
Whore, then, does the rightful sovereignty or
supreme authority in the Territories reside during
the territorial condition Of the infant community
Let us see.
We first hear Of tho Territory as a new purchase
by the Federal Government from some other own
ership. If it be inhabited by citizens of the
alisnating nation at the time Of purchase, the
treaty Of purchase expressly stpulates that these
inhabtants are to enjoy all the rights, prisilegss
and immapities Of tho citizens Of the United