The Council Bluffs nonpareil. [volume] (Council Bluffs [Iowa]) 1857-1867, 1858-04-24

The q raord,pIry ceihl istio 81 patisl
for q s.. i ~ ss5n ~ - e
rise TO l1I1ked disoaa} IS u}oa = r3nst
pies inv We'd i18hat nd hissoric nse iurs
strange q j. a4y app, es.ch fty "
I combination insists that he vote y 4 tn
umph Of its peculiar Green. Mr.. DodE las.
tisbsheM .ef ,hinsslf A. lssndi, Il surf " r
the principle of 'tht lklnsas-s ebraskt biB
has been indicated, and that The dotrine
re- non-intsrye ntionpIeyaik.f The sAfeSar
cane" thfDugh the BadalS Co0sntuyst5dl
| Aduessisas, .shsir. leading osgaasia, - Rsea
States, is congratulating itself upon Up tn.
umph Of the distinctive 9 American plicy;
while the Republicans are load in th4f ex.
pressions Of Joy over this paipable dlmon.
stration Of the fast increasing populate Of
tho doctrines which they hold. Welmake
no effort to reconcile these apparent c3ntra-
dictions, or to show that the belief tf the
three parties is identical. For the PRESENT
we content ourselves with stating, according
to our understanding, the Republicsntreed,
so fur rs it has reference to the relations OF
Congress to the Territories. The affirmation
Of the sovereignty Of Congress OYER the
Territories power Of that body to In.
tervene in their affairs-to prohibit scr es-
tablish whatever it may deem conducive to
the interests of the country at large, or for
the welfare of the people more Immediately
concerned-is part, nay, is the former
stone and foundation upon which the Re
publican platform is built. This Leaves no
room for the incoming Of Squatter Sover-
eighty, or the power of the people, through
their Territorial Legislature, to establish
Slavery, except the permission TO DO 90 q
granted by Congress in express terms. 1t is
a direct denial of the extra judicisl, petti-
Jogging opinion Of that slave holding Su-
preme Court Of the United States, that nei-
Their the people of a Territory or Congress
can prohibit Slavery anterior to the forma-
ton of n State Constitution. II isa vindi-
cation Of the policy of the Fathers Of the
Republic, upon which they acted uniformly
and without being questioned therefor, as
long as their counsels guided the nation. 1t
is the old policy of the Democratic party,
when Democracy did not mean slave breed
ing, slaves selling, and nothing else. We
contend that this policy-this sovereignty
Of the power Of Congress- directly, dis
tinctly and unequivocally affirmed by the
substitute of which we speak. We quarrel
with no one about names, so that all are
content to accept the action, and make it a
precedent for future legislation, we care not
what they designate it. II Mr.. Douglas
chooses to claim it rs triumph of his
s'principie," or If he will make that substi-
tute the exponent Of the meaning Of his
principle, we shall not arraign him because
he calls Intervention non-intcrvention. II
= asS A -, W
them or any triumph of any notions to which
they may have held, they may label it what
they please, and we shall have no Disagree
ment about the nomenclature that they
choose to adopt. The thing itself is vital
whatever it may be called. But, be the
name what it may, let no one suppose that
any new thing has been done; or that in the
clash or combination of parties any new
political truth has been evolved. The gist
and essence of Mr.. Crittenden's amendment
is in the fact that, through it, Congress gives
the people of Kansas chance to say what
institutions they will have by which they
will be governed. Thisis the whole matter,
freed from all verbiage and techncality ;
but it is not new. The power Of the people
to govern themselves, within certain consti-
tutional bounds and limitations, is not a
party principle in this country. 1t is older
than the government itself. It runs back to
colonial days, perhaps to the cabin of the
Mayfower and the political organization
which claims it Us its own should not hesi-
tate to claim the Habeas Corpus and Trial
by Jury at the same time. We have differed
as to the extent and limitations of that pow
er in the Territories, but as to its existence,
until this Lecompton usurpation was devised
and its execution attempted, there has been
no dispute. Republicans have held that the
Territories were wards, and Congress the
guardian. Mr.. Douglas has claimed to think
otherwise; he has contended for the absolute
sovereignty Of these inchoate communities !;
but he has not claimed, nor, until the birth
of this Lecompton iniquity, has amy one
claimed, that a Constitution framed in ac-
cordance with the will Of the majority Of the
people did not supersede and override all
other law, the Constitution Of the United
States, within the sphere Of its operations,
only excepted. This supremacy OF Con-
stitutional Convention over an act OF Con-
gress has been acknowledged by Republicans
uniformly; and if that be Popular Sover-
eighty they are as fast believers in the dog
ma as Mr.. Douglas himself. But, for the
power of Congress over the Territory, until
it assumes the Importance, dignity and rights
Of a State, Republicans have fought as a
man. That power is clearly asserted in Mr..
Crittenden's substitute; and its passage is a
Republican triumph Chicago Tribune.