The weekly north Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1857-1867, 1858-12-15
Senator Douglas.


Memphis, Tennessee, closes as follows. The
idea advanced by him at Freei ort, Ills. is here
elaborated. and it can be seen that the Little
Giant is not afraid to tell southern people
what lie thinks. Douglas is growing fast, po
lisically, and it would not surprise US il he
should carry the next nomination. lorthe Presi
dency by consent almost universal. Much
depends on the moderation of those who assume
to be his trainers. Too much sail often drives
vessels on the rocks. when a little less would
have waited them into port:
One word more /: several gentlemen have
called On me, and asked me what moant or
thought by this doctrine of popular sovereignty.
as enunciAted in my Frceport speech, in Illinois.
l mean that stand 10y the constitution no our
fathers made il; by the constituted authorities
as they exist by The decisions Of the Supreme
Court as they are pronounced. (Applause
By the decision in the bred Scott case, it will
be found; by reading Chief Justice Tsney's dc.
cisiOn, that slaves are decided to be property
on an equal footing with other property, and
that consequently the owners Of that species
Of property have the same right 10 take It into
territory as tho owner of any other property.
(Cries of"good," aud immense applause) The
authoritative exposition Of the constitution. and
on that ONT corcur. & Good.") Now, the
Que stion arises, what is the condition Of That
property after it gets into the territory You
in the slaveholding, and We in the free States.
whatever our occupation may be. have an in.
tercst in knowing what our legal rights are
when we get there. believe / said in Free
port that when You get into the territory with
your property On an equal footing WIN all 9TH
er r"peIty, it is all subject 70 The local law for
its protection. without rcfcft nee to the different
character Of il. If you 81 there with your
horses and mules, whether they shall be taxed
or exempted is question for the territorial
legislature If you go there with your dry
goods, whether you shall sell without license or
be compelled to get license is question for
the local Legislature. If YOU 20 there with
yo'r liquor, the manner Of your selling it is a
question to be determined by the local laws
You may say you do not think it Just for them
to discharge one species Of business for the
bcnc6t of another, but how are you going TO
help it | do not wish to mislead you by these
views. II you are wise you wont be misiead
but will think fer yourselves If your slave
property is not subject. to the local laws for its
protection, what protection have you got for il 7
suppose the local Legislature do not make any
slave laws ut all. suppose they do not pass a law
furnishing a remedy for the violation Of your
rights, can you hold your slaves to-day? Non.
action Is exclusion The omission 10 furnish
law protecting property amounts to practical
exclusion. Is there any lawyer, any well-in-
formed man who will cOntrovert this p.oposiI
ton Now, suppose the local legislature re-
fuses to make law to prot ct your property,
how are you going to compel them to do it =
Perhaps they will make it. and perhaps they
Will not. will tell you when they will and
when they will not. Whenever territory has
climate, soil and production. making it the
interest of the inhabitants to encourage slave
property, they will pass a slave code AMI give
it encourage ment. Whenever a climate, soil
and production precludcs the possibility Of sla-
very heing profitable, they will not permit it.
ion come right back to the prn iple Of dollars
| and cents. do not care where the migration
| in the southern country come from II old
| Joshua X. Giddings should raise a COLONY in
Ohio and settle down in Louisiana, he would
he the strongest advocate of slavery in the
whole South he would find when h" g.t the, G
his opinion would be very much modified he
would lind on those sugar plantations that it was
not question between the white man and the
negro, but between the negro aud the croco.
die.
He would say that between the negro and The
crocodile, he took the side of the negro. But
between the negro and the white MN, he woult
go for the white man. The Almighty hat
Crawn the line on this continent, on one side O
which the soil must be cultivated by slave la
Dor On the other BY white labor. That lin,
did not run on thirty six degrees ard thirty min
utes, fer thrty-six degrees and thirty minutes
runs over mountains and through valleys. Bu
this slave line meanders in the sugar fields ant
Plantations of the South (the remainder of tn:
sentence was lost by the confusion around tn
fsreni localities and ii Sic territories must Dc
termine for themselves whether their "n,iddI,
= scdn - kes+ ~sss.Tt a ~ r1s.-s-y :..UoI.
Hence, under the constitution there is M
power to prevent Southern man goinJ
there with his slaves more than a hortheri
mau.
His property, when it goes. is subject to loca
law for protection. There will be found il
that local Leg. the power Of deciding if the
d" not wantit. and of encouraging it ii they d.
want. 1t is folly for you to entertain vision
airy dreams that you can fix slavery where tn
people do not want it and it is equal folly 70
the Northern fanatic to think he can abolish
by law where the people do want it. The pee
pie Of such locality are the best judges; the,
will act their own interests. They wont car
whether they are penetrating New England O
South Carolina !; they will look to their owl
homes and fresides. and the interests Of chill
dien and grandchildren. as their own good an
the good OF postelity may require, regardles
Of the controversies North or South. 1t is n
} use to disguise the fact, if the people of tsl
ritory want slavery they will have it if the
don't want it, you can't force it on them.
am content with that result.
don't think that under our system Of go,
} ernment that slavery ought to be forced apo
any people against their will. You of til
South must be content in leaving your slay
property in the same category. to be protecte
in the same manner by the same principles 9
all other property, and call upon Congress
furnish it, you might a. well er
trust your infant to the tender embraces of
bear, as your infant territory to the gentleman
ly embrace Of Northern Abolitionista.
} therefore, we act upon the principle laid dow
by Mr.. Buchanan IN his acceptance of his Cir
cinnat nomination, and rs expounded by tn
, Supreme Court under the constitution, tbs
Congress should "keep hands off" and neve
interfere one way or the other; but that tn
territory shall be free or slave. Just as our pee
! pie d. sire then there will peace and harmon,
between all the States of the Union. do M
believe there is any other common ground {
peace for these great principles.
If non-interventiOn of government. Stat
> rights. and State sovereignty can be maintained
the Union eau exist.
Judge Douglas here alluded to his resistant
to the ratification of the treaty with Mexic
and also touched upon the Central America
question, but owing to the confusion aroun
him, OFF, reporter was unable to hear what
said He said that Gen. Cass asked him VIII,
we wanted with Central America. He reptile
that the time would come when We were boQr
1 to have it. "Why,' said he, sit il too far IF
: Yes, il is great way off; it Is nearly half wa
!. to California, and on the direct road there
Uaughter3 l do not wnt CenAAl Anert
! any more than did in so; but the time wi
Q come when our destiny, our institutions, o.
: safety will compel us TO have it. lam unwi
q ing now to pledge our faith as nation in tb
which arm certain our grandchildren would d
So it is with the Island Cuba. do not ca
whether you want it. II is matter of no CO
sequence whether we want it or not; we q
/ | conpelled TO take it. and we can't help it..