The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1858-07-22

sovereignty Of the people. What was Squat.
ter Sovereignty Isuppose IL had any sig.
ni6cance at oil, It was the right OF the peopl,
to govern themselves, to be sovereign ovel
their own affairs, while they were .quattst
down in country not their own, while they
had squatted on territory that DID not helone
to them, in the sense that State belongs ia
the people thst inhabit it,-when IL belonged
to the nation-such right to govern thsmselve.
was called ssSquatter Sovereignty" i.,os .4s,l
Now wish you to mark. What has be-
cAps Of that Squa.ter Sovereignty? Wha.
haSbecome Of II? Can you get anybody to
tell you now that people Of d territory have
any authority to govern themselves. in regard
to this mooted question Of Slsvery. before they
form, State Constitutions? No such thing Al
all, although there. is general running FIRE.
and although there has been hurrah made in
every speech on that side, assuming that
that policy had given the people Of territory
the right to govern themselves upon this ques-
ton; yet the point is lodged. To-day it has
been decided--no more than year ago il
was decided by the Supreme Court Of the Uni.
ted States, and is insisted upon to-day, that
the people Of territory have no right 10 ex-
clnde Slavery from territory, that if any one
man chooses to take slaves into territory, all
the rest Of the people have no right to keep
them out. This being so, and this decision
being made one Of the points that the Judge
approved, and one in the approval Of which he
says he means to keep me down--pat me
down, I should not say, for have never been
up. He says he is in favor Of il, and sticks to
it. and expects to win his battle on that ds-
cision, which says there is no such thing as
Squatter Sovereignty, hut that ANY one man
may take slaves into territory, and al the
othermen Of the territory may be opposed to
it, and yet BY reason Of the constitution they
cannot prohibit it. When that is 90, how
much is left Of this matter Of Sqnstter Soye-
reignty, should like to know PA vcics)-
cit has all gone." u 81 ~
When we get back, we get to the point Of
the right Of the people to make, constitu-
tion. Kansas was settled, for example in 1854.
It was 4 Territory yet, without having formed
a constitution, in a very regular way, for three
years. All this time negro slavery. could be
taken in by any few individuals, and by that
decision of the Supreme Court, which theJ Judge
approves, all the rest Of the people cannot
keep il out, hut when they may say they will
not, have slavery. But it is there; they are
obliged H. tolerate it in some way, and all ex,
perience shows that it will be ,so-for they
will not take the negro slaves and absolutely
deprive the owners Of them. All experience
shows this TO be so. All that space of the
time that -ups from the beginning OF the set
Element Of, the Territory until there is a 'snf
fciency of people to make a State Constitu-
tion-all that portion Of time Popular Sove-
reignty is given up. The seal is absolutely
put down upon II by the Court decision; Judge
Douglas pnts his on the top Of tna'; vet he is
appealing 10 the people TO give him vast credit
for bis devotion 70 Popular sovereignty. (Ap-
plause and cries of "right," "right," "good,''
'sgood.") s ,oe.. 49, #.
Again, when we get to the question Of the
right Of the people to form State Constitu-
tion as they please, to form ii with slavery Of
without sIavery-if that is anything new,
confess don't know it Has there ever been
time when any one said that anybody other
than the people Of Territory itself should
form their constitution WHAT'S new in it
that Ju ge Douglas should have fought sever.
Al years of his life, and pledge himself to figh,
all the relnsining years OF his life FORE Can
Judge Douglas find anybody on earth that rald
that anybody else should form : constitution
FOR people? "a voice, "Yes.DJ Well,
should like you to name him; I should like tc
know who he was. (Same svoice-ssJohu
Calho1n.s) a - tsaf bss
Mr.. Lincoln-No, Sir, I never heard Of
even John Calhoun saying such thing. He
insisted on the same principle as Jadee Doug
las; but his mode Of applying il IN fact. was
wrong. It is enough for my purpose to ask
the crowd, whenever Z Republican said any
thing sgainst ZIP They never said anything
against it, but they have constantly spoken fou
Il ; and whatsoever will undertake to examine
the platform, and the speeches Of sirfssPoasi-
be men, too, II you please, will besuaable'to
find one word from snybody in'ths Repsbai-
can ranks, opposed 10 that Popular Snssreisn.
y which Judge Douglas thinks that he has IN
vented. : { ApplaosS. ] suppose that Jndgs
oDouglss win eisim in little while, that be Il
the Inventor Of the idsa thst the people should
govern themselves; Ccheers and laughter,