Wilmington journal., 1859-09-09
THE WILMINGTON JOURNAL.
WnnnNGTON. N. c.. MONDAY. SEPT. s, 1859.
Judge Douglas

medium to impress their views upon Ihe puOlc mlnu
and tbev have not been without imators in this coun
trv: but we believe that the last number of Harper8
Magazine contains the first avowed Magazine manifesto
from candidate for the Presidency with the name o
the author attached. The tenth article OF the Sepem
Der number of that publication being entitled The D
viding Line between Federal and Local Authority
Popular Sovereignty in the Territories. By Stephen A.
Douglas"
It would seem to us that the experience of the past
ought to have taught Judge Douglas lesson on the
risk attending such manifesto whether coming directly
from himself put forth indirectly by others. In 1852
the political world especially the Democratic portion OF
it, was surprised, not to say startled by the exraord
nary tone assumed by the Democratic Review, immedl-
atey after its having passed under the control OF Mr.
George Sanders, whom the public regarded how
correctly cannot say acting IN the interest OF Mr.
Douglas and pursuing the course which he did with the
tacit consent and appreciation of that gentleman 1t
will be recolected how every thing and every person ID
the Democratic party that was venerable by age, or
respected for long services ppanty stgmatzed as
old ogyism and as old fogies, while all of the young
er members of the party who did not choose quiet
ly to submit to the supremacy OF the " Little 0l-
ant" received the appellation OF Young Foges,"
while the Illinois Senator held up as the embod-
mert of the progressive ideas Of Young Amer
ca which were alone suited to the wants of this great
and growing country However, it may have been that
these denuncations were chiefly aimed at Gen. Cass it
is certain that their scope wide enough and their
spirit bitter enough to include and point to the present
Chief Magistrate of the Union almost directly as to
his venerable compeer the present Secretary OF State
If Mr. Douglas had chance in 1852, this lmpru-
dent course of nudcOus friends and his own more than
suspected completely with such course rendered his nom
inaton at that time impossible and gave the Presidency
to Franklin Pierce of New Hampshire who, without
being an Old Fogy,' was certainly old fashioned
Democrat of the straitest Sect while in 1856, the
choice of the Cincinnati Convention fell upon Mr. Buch
anan one of the very men who Mr.. Douglas friends in
the Democratic ReUle earnestly sought to read out
and exclude from all chances of the nomination.
Mr. Douglas present manifestation, which occupies
some eighteen pages of HARPER is little more than
elaboration of the positions and arguments already ad
vanced by him in the Senate Of the United States and
the stump in Illinois during the extraordinary
vas for the Senatorship between himself and Mr. Lin
Co though it appears to us that he presents the issue Of
squatter sovereignty boldly and with less disguise
than in any of bis previous productions. Strangely
enough the article is copyrighted by the Harper, and
we could not even if wished lay it before our read
ers. We therefore copy the concluding paragraph as
embodyng the conclusion at which Mr. Douglas arrives
through his long course of argument. He says:
The principle, under political system is that erey
distinct political Community, loyal TO the Constitution and
the U1iOn is entitled to all the rights priUilegeS and
mites Of SefgoUnnent IN respect to their local concerns
and internal p0ity subject only to the Constitution Of the
United StateS.''
in Oa hot
the ncpient States while i'll the territorial condition
while unrepresented in the National Legislature
wanting many essentials of local sefgovernmen hav-
ing right to appoint their governors or judges
are in every respect equal with the States of the Union
although the instances have cited from the leg
isation of the Kanzas bi framed by Mr.. Douglas him
SELF shews the falacy of any such assumption. Indeed
Mr.. Douglas confounding OF Territories with States
ARISES from amsconsruction of the legislation connected
with the original cession of that portion of the territory
of Virginia lying between the Ohio and the Mississippi
rivers In making this cession Virginia coupled it with
certain stipuations which were regarded as compact
between her and the Federal Government. In these
stpulaons it is provided that the territory cedcd
shall, in due time, besormed into definite number of
States to be admitted into the. Union on equal terms
with the original States prescribing the mode of their
the General Government was made the basis of Con
gressional legislation intended to apply to all similar
cases. 1t is evident that the term StGtcs as used in
these early territorial laws does not apply to the unde-
veloped political communities known as territories but
has reference to such territories LATTER their population
has entitled them to claim admission into the Union as
States under the provisions of the Constitution of the
United State and the acts of cession.
Indeed it is impossible to see how the people of the
South could acquesce in the doctrines promulgated by
Mr.. Douglas in this article, without abandoning all the
grounds which they have heretofore occupied with refer
ence to this subject. The universally recognized prnc
pie has been that any territory when prepared for ad
mission State into the Union, has right TO frame
Tor herself such constitution as she may please proy
ded only that is Republican in character and not con-
trary to the Constitution of the United States This
is an act of sovereignty which has never been corceded
to the mere temporary arrangement known as territorial
governments, which, as we have already shown, are
wanting IN many of the elements even Of local sover
eighty, having the appointment of neither Of their
own executive or judiciary and being in fact but
transltlonary arrangements intended to meet peculiar
state of affairs 1t could have been contemplated
by the trainers of our system of government that the
hrst few settlers or squatters the public domain act
ing under a temporary charter, could, either bv a
non-actlon or by wrong action, exclude the citizens of
any portion of the country from carrying their property
to any point within the limits of the particular terrific
rial organization granted to such few first settlers
squaters Tor if they could the provisions in the
sS DILL aS wei as those OF the Constitution as expound-
ed BY the Supreme Court, would be a virtual mockerv
bo ri