Saint Paul weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1858-1859, 1858-08-28

When I saw that article in the Union If
the 18th of November, followed by the glori-
fcation of the Lecompton Constitution on
the 9Th Of November, and this clause has no
right to prohibit slavery within its limits. l
saw that there was f1tdl blOao being struck
at this sovereignty of the States Of this Un-
ion.
l stop the quotation there, again requesting
that it may all be read. l have read all of
| the portion desire to comment upon. What
is this charge that the Judge thinks | must
have very corrupt heart to make? 1t was
| a purpose on the part of certain high func-
| tionaries to make it impossible for the people
of one State to prohibit the people of any
other State from entering it with property"
so called, and making it Slave State. In
other words, it was charge implying a de-
sign to make the institution of slavery ma
tional. And now l ask your attention to
what Judge Douglas has himself done here
know he made that part of the speech as
reason why he had refused to vote for a GER
tain man for public printer, but when we get
at it, the charge is the very one made a,ainst
him, that he thinks l am so corrupt for utter
ing. Now whom does he make that charge
against? Does he make it against that news
paper editor merely? No; he says it is iden-
tical in spirit with the LecOmpton Constitu-
ton and so the trainers of that Constitution
are brought in with the editor of the news
paper in that " fatal blow being struck" He
did not call it a conspiracy" In his Ian
guage it is a fatal blow being struck" And
if the words carry the meaning better when
changed from conspiracy" into fatal
blow being struck" will change my express
ion and call it "fatal blow being struck"
GCheers and laughter.l We see the charge
made not merely against the editor of the
Union but all the trainers of the I.ecompton
Constitution; and not only so but the article
was an authoritative article. BY whose au-
thority? Is there any question but he means
it was by the authority of the President and
his Cabinet-the Administration
Is there any sort of question but he means
to make that charge? Then there are the
editors of the Union, the trainers of the Le-
compton Constitution, the President of the
United States and his Cabinet, and all the
supporters of the Lecompton Constitution
in Congress and out of Congress, who are
all involved in this &c fatal blow being struck"
1 commend to Judge Douglas consideration
the question of hov corrupt q mans heart must
be to neaie such CHARGE! Y ocitei Gus cheer
ing.l
Now, my friends, 1 have but one branch
of the subject, in the little time have left, to
which to call your attention, and as | shall
come to a close at the end Of that branch, it
is probable that l shall not occupy quite all
the time allotted to me. Although on these
questions would like to talk twice as long as
| have. | could not enter upon another head
and discuss it properly without running over
my time ask the attention OF the people
here assembled, and elsewhere, to the course
that Judge Douglas is pursuing every day as
bearing upon this question of making slavery
national Not going back to the records, but
taking the speeches he makes, the speeches he
made yesterday and day before, and makes
constantly all over the country-I ask youi
attention to them. In the first place, what
is necessary to make the institution national
Not war. There is no danger that the people
| of Kentucky will shoulder their muskets and
with young niger stuck on every bayOnet,
march into Illinois and force them upon us.
There is no danger Of our going over there
and making war upon them. Then what is
necessary for the naturalization OF slavery
1t is simply the next bred Scott decision. 1t
is merely for the Supreme Court to decide
that no State under the Constitution can ex-
Glade it, just as they have already decided
| that under the Constitution neither Congress
| nor the Territorial Legislature can do it
When that is decided and acquiesced ill., the
whole thing is done. This being true, and
this being the way as think, that slavery is
| to be made national, let US consider what
Judge Douglas is doing every day to that
end. In the first place, let us see what infiu-
ence he is cxerting on public sentiment. In
chs and like communities, public sentiment is
everything. With public sentiment nothing
can fail; without it nothing can succeed
Consequently he who moulls public sentiment
GOES deeper than he who enacts statutes or
pronounces decisions He makes statutes or
decisions possible or impossible to be execu-
ted, This must be borne in mind, as also the
additional fact that Judge Douglas is q man
of vast influence, so great that it is enough for
many men to profess to believe anything,
when thew once find out that Judge Douglas
PROCESSES to believe it. Consider also the at
titude he occupies at the head of large party
"a party which he claims has a majority of
all the voters in the country.
This man sticks to a decision which forbids
the people of a Territory from excluding sla-
very, and he does so not because he says it is
right in itself-he does not give any opinion
on that-but because it has been decided by
the court, and being decided by the court, he
is, and You are bound to take it liz your pOlit-
ical action as lnw.--not that he judges of all
its merits, but because decision of the court
is to MIN 'Thus saith the Lord" Applause
He places it on that ground alone, and you
will bear in mind that thus committing him
self unreservedly to this decision, commits him
to the meut one Just as firmly as to this. He
did not commit himself on account of the
merit or demerit of the decision, but it is
Thus saith the Lori. The next decision, as
much as this, Will be Thus saith the Lord
There is nothing that can divert or turn him
away from this decision. 1t is nothing that
point out to him that his great prototype,
Gen. Jackson did not believe IN the binding
force of decisions. 1t is nothing to him that
Jefferson did not so believe. have said
that have often heard him approve of Jack
sous course in disIcgarding the decision OF
the Supreme Court prOnonncing National
Bank constitutional. He says, did not hear
him say so. lie denies the accuracy of my
recollection. l say he ought to know better
than I, but | will make no question about
this thing, though it still seems to me that |
heard him say it twenty times. Applause
and laughter.l will tell him though, that
he now claims to stand on the Cincinnati
platform, which ailirns that Congress cannot
charter National Bank, in the teeth of that
old standing decision that Congress can char
ter a bank. Loud applause.] And re-
mind him of another piece of history on the
question of respect for judicial decisions, and
it is piece of Illinois history, belonging to
time when the large party to which Judge
Douglas belonged, were displcased with
decision of the Supreme Court of Illinois,
because they had decided that Governor
could not remove a Secretary Of State. You
will find the whole story in Ford's History of
Illinois, and l know that Judge Douglas will
not deny that he was then in favnr Of over