The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1859-09-23


during the speech, it was greeted with hearty
cheers.
The Position of the two Parties on the
Slavery Question.
The line of division between the Demo-
cratic and Republican parties of the State,
on the subject of slavery, is so bold and
distinct, that, to our mind, it requires but
reference to the principles advocated by each
party, to carry to the mind of every think
ing man, the conviction that the Democracy
propose the only feasible method of settling
the vexed question, and removing the brand
OF dlscord and sectional animosity, which
slavery discussion has always proven to be,
from the halls of Congress and the arena of
national politics.
The Democracy of Minnesota, standing
by the compromise measures Of 1850; by
the Kansas Nebraska act of 1854 by the
Cincinnati platform of 1856; and by the
resolutions of their State Convention of
August last, declare their firm adherence to
the principle of Popular Sovereignty-to
the right of the people of each Tarritory, to
regulate their domestic affairs, including the
question of slavery, in their own way, sub
ject only to the Constitution of the United
States. If the inhabitants of Dakota, of
New Mexico, or Kansas, desire African
slavery in their midst, we hold they have
the absolute right to establish, maintain, and
protect it. If, however, they wisely prefer
free labor to slave labor, the Democracy
contend that no power upon earth-nether
the Executive, Legislative, or Judicial De-
partments of the Federal Government
shall force the institution upon them.
We leave to the people of the Terri
tories-those who are affected either injuri-
ously or advantageously by 1.-THE solution
of the question. Upon them rests the re-
sponsibllity and we have no greater legal
or moral right, to interfere in the disposal of
ferry charters or railroad charters in Kan
sas, than we have to dictate to the people of
that Territory the nature of their domestic
institutions, and determine for them, whether
they will or will not permit involuntary SER
vitude.
The position of the Republican party
differs vastly from that of the Democracy.
They assume that the people of the Terrific
ries have nothing to do with the determi-
nation of the question, but that the Federal
Congress-the representatives of Maine and
Georgia, of Pennsylvania and Texas
should intervene and legislate upon the SUBJ
ject. 1t should not be decided, they claim,
by the people interested, but by the dele
gated representatives of the States-by men
who never set foot in the Territories, and
who are totally unacquainted with the
wants of the people whom they presume to
legislate for, Or the peculiarities of climate
or production in the Territories they tyran-
nically seek to govern. Conceding to Con-
gress the power, and it requires but a ma
jority of slavery propagandists in the two
Houses, to legislate slavery into every Ter
ritory in the Union. The doctrine con-
tended for by the Republicans is anti
American, for it repudiates the theory un-
DERIVING our institutions, that the people
are the source of all power.
Because the Democracy assume the posi-
ton we have set forth, it cannot be claimed,
either with justice or honesty, as GROW
and HALE assert, that it is pro-slavery
party. We neither advocate nor oppose
slavery, for the simple reason that the deci-
sion of the question does not belong to us,
but to the people of the Territories. We
seek to establish the principle that Congress
shall not interfere, but leave the decision of
the question where it justly belongs-with
the people. And if they determine to pro-
hibit it, as in ninety-nine cases out of a
hundred they will, that decision must be re-
spected; but if the people establish and
protect slavery, upon their head the evils or
blessings of the institution will fall, and
that decision must be respected equally as
if it had been of an opposite character.
The difference between the two parties
may be briefly stated The Republicans
claim that Congress has the power and
should exercise it, to legislate upon the sub
ject of slavery in the Territories. The De-
mocracy hold that the people possess this
power, and should exercise it, untrammeled
by Congressional interference. The vital
question of the canvass is-Popular Sow
ereignty, as advocated by the Democracy, or
Congressional Intervention, as contended for
by the Republicans and Southern Secession
lists.