Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1858-1860, 1858-03-08
,Minnesota.-Is she q Statef

Zen. SHIELDS, one OF the Senators elect
from Minnesota, sent to the Senate, on the
18th ult., letter demanding admission to his
seat. Mr.. CRITrENDEN presented the letter
and sustained the demand The letter, says
sis mainly an argument-an elaborate and
able one-in support of the demand put for
ward 1t is shown that Minnesota under the
provisions of the enabling act had the express
permission of Congress to organize herself as
q State, with written constitution and n
government chosen by the people; that Min
nesota affected such an organization, thereby
placing herself upon an equal footing with all
other States that the right of her senators
and representatives to their seats in either
House of Congress is, therefore, incontestible.
Crittenden fully concurred in the application
and in the argument by which it was sustain
ed, and expressed his intention of moving
that the oath of Office be administered to
SHIELDS, and that he be permitted to take his
seat. There is precedent for the course adop-
ted by SHIELDS and advocated by CIITTESDES.
Ohio was admitted into the union by the sim
sentatives to their seats. So was Indiana; and
the first senators and representatives from
Michigan and Tennessee were admitted to
their seats in advance of the formal admission
of their respective States. SHIELDS takes the
position that there can be no such anomaly a.
O State out of the union if said State has
been organized with the assent of Congress.
The question developes new phase of the
relations which subsist between new State
organized out Of the United States territory
and the United States. These relations have
never been satisfactorily determined. On the
application for admission Of each new State,
Congress has acted from motives Of expedien-
cy, thereby putting on the record inconsistent
or contradictory presidents. The modes OF
admissinn are various, but the right of admis-
sion, notwithstanding the seeming absolute
ness of the power conferred on Congress in
the premises by the constitution. has been
tacitly or expressly acknowledged by all par
ties from the beginning. There is, however,
q broad line of demarcation between a State
which is organized under an enabling act aud
State organized by convention not author
lied by Congress. In the former case, ii may
be held that Congress gives its assent in adj
vance to the admission Of the new State into
the union, on the condition that the enabling
act is complied with. In the latter case, the
constitution formed is dead letter until Con-
gress, by its sanction, imparts validity and
force to it; and the governm mt instituted, or
rather nominated, cannot presume to go into
operation under penalty of treason, unless
with the express permission of Congress. Any
other hypothesis would imply squatter sove-
reignty-an equality of rights and powers
between territories and States hypothesis
which is at variance with the constitution and
the laws and usages of the government, and
also with existing facts. Whatever breadth
of Interpretation may be given to popular
sovereignty in the territories, it cannot De
construed as rendering the territory from the
beginning the peer Of all the States. Even
DOUGLAS, the leading expoundcr and popa-
gandist of popular sovereignty in the terrific
ries, maintains that il must proceed in subor-
dinstion to Congress, or. in other words, that
no such sovereignty exists, for sovereignty
implies supreme power. The dbate Oh
SHIELDS letter, turned upon the points as To
whether the question was one of privilege.
The administration men contended ii was not,
and JOHNSON, of Arkansas moved TO lay the
whole subject on the table. There were
twenty-five votes in the affirmative and TWEEN
ty-six in the negative, the national democrats,
including Polk and Green. voting for the mo-
ton. The Republicans and Americans, to-
gether with Benjamin, Broderick, Gwin and
Douglas voted against the motion, which was
defeated by majority Of four-the four
named Stewart, from Michigan, declined to
vote because he considered Johnson's motion
supplementary"