The Tiffin weekly tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1859-1868, 1859-05-27
AN ImPORTANT MANIFESTO.
go
Popular sovereignty w.. sGunt-
.nua tCr SDvcgUiguty.
[ From lho ConalIluiion, Aptil son

From tho Constitution, Aptil 3Oth
It is essential to the intelligent discus
sion Of any question that the precise sig
nihca6on of tho phrases employed should
be clearly end accurately defined, and the
hopeless confusion Of ideos exhibited I'm
the effhsions Of many Of our contemporaries
upon the leading political topics Of the
day furnishes a conspicuous illustration Of
this axiomatic truth Wewill not do our
opponents the injustice of assuming that
this confusion Of the phrases we have pre-
fixed TO our article is the result Of lack
Of discrimination. On the contrary, as
the doctrine Of "Popular Sovereignty"
rightly understood, must necessarily prove
as popular as that "Squotter Sovereign
tyN Is odious, from uncoustitutionality, the
use Of the two phrases indiscriminuiely
argues rather an adroitness, useful enough
to those whose principles will not bear
analysis.
But is there any Foundation for assum-
ing the oonvprtihilty Of thcao tormbl And
is L fair to charge that one Is an advocate
.ol ol"Squatter Sovereignty" because he has
given in his adhesion 60 the doctrine of
Popular Sovereignty" We think not
Popular Sovereignty and Squatter Soye-
reignty are doctrines not only distinction
antogonistic; and tho distinction is 30
clear, the antagonism 30 palpable, that he
who runs may read This we propose
briefly to show.
Mr.. Buchanan, In his letter Of accept
ance and in his Inaugural Address, has
furnished the clearest possible definition
of Popular Sovereignty. In his lettor Of
acceptance he snys: "The people Of a
Territory, Ike those Of State, shall de-
eide for themselves whether Slavery shall
OF shall not exist in their limits" and in
his Inaugural he says; "a difference Of
opinion has arisen as to the point OF time
when the people Of Territory shall do
eide this Question for themselves. This
is, happily, Of but little Importance. -
Though it has ever been my individual o.
pinion that, under the Nobraska-Kansas
act, the appropriate period will be when
the number Of Octualresidents in the Ter
ritory shall Justify the formation Of a con-
stitu,lon with view to ia admission as
State into the Union" This Ia Popular
Sovereignty in the Territories. II resog-
nizes the exercise by the Territorial Leg
islature of every power consistent with
the provisions of the Constitution, but Il
does not recognize tho exercise OF any
power Inconsistent with the rights of the
Paople Of the States, in whom resides the
ultimate sovereignty over, as well as the
ownership of, all the common territory OF
the United States. -arnD .lTr,f
Squatter Sovereignty, on the contrary,
recognizes the right Of those men (what-
ever may be their numbcf) who may have
squatted on the public domain in advance
of the public surveys, aud without the
ownership of one acre of the soil, to elect
a Legislature which shall undertake to
prohibit Slavery within a Territory, and
thus practically deprive nearly half ofthe
partners in this confedcracy of Suites ol
the right Of emigratlng with their proper.
ty 70 any portion of their vast and extend,
ed domain, In other words, their Squat.
ter Sovereignty confers on the first set
tiers Of Territory absolute and unlimit
cd power oyer the properly-rights oNAl
future immigration.
Thus understanding the matter, we pro
claim, unhesitHtingly, that, whilewe shal
ever advocate Popular Sovefeignty.--
! While the ono doctrine Is jist, oonstitli
tional, and in conformity with the spirit
of our institutions; the otheris unjust, un.
constitutional, aud in violation of the c.
quality Of the States. The one is the doc.
trine Of the disorgnnizes and boilers, who
seek TO divide and destroy the Democrat.
ic party, and with il the Union.
twas in pursuing ofthis train ofthouaht
we were led into an expression which has
been perverted to mean the very opposite
Of our intentions. We said, few days
ago: The principles emblazoned on the
Democratic banner are, "Non-lnterven-
tion, by Congress or by Territorial Legis.
latures, either to establishor prohibit Sla-
very in the Territories, and the protection
of slave property therein, as long as the
Territorial condition shall remain, by the
Judiciary, under the Constitution of the
| United States" The plain meaning OF
this is, that Congress cannot, and there
fore should not, attempt 10 establish OF
prohibit Slavery In any Territory, aud that
the Territorial Legislature, deriving all
its powers Of legislation from Congress
cannot, and should not, attempt to eetab-
lish or prohibit slavery in the Territories
But since the Constitution of the United
States protects al Of its people in the en-.
ioyment Of on their rights Of property
whenever they may be found ina Terri.
tory common to AL the States, protection
TO that property is a duty Of those invest.
ed with the power Of local legislation,an
il is the duty of the Judiciary to set aside
any u1grFendy legislation which Is calcu.
lated to destroy or impair any right o.
property. We considertlese self-eyident
propositions. Bot it's said, in some quar-
ters, that the people Of the N Northern Statoi
will not sustain this Interpretation of tn,
powers of a people in a Territory. If thi
be true (tphich zoe shall aeUer belieUe ) th,
people of the Northern States are read,
TO set aside the Constitution, set aside thu
equality of the States, and present 10 thei
brethren Of the South the alternate 0
} submission TO dishonor, or the vindicatiol
of their rights over the ruins Of the consti
tutional Union which they have so lon
cherished as a priceless heritage. And
may be assumed as certain that no peopl
! trained to self-government, and valuln
, liberty above all other things, will contin
uo to consider themselves bound by,
compact when perverted by mere nu
merical majority Of their partners into u
instrument Of oppression and wrong. 'u
We stand by the Cincinnati Plaform-
all true Democrats willard that Pre-
: claims non-intervention by Congress wit
Slavery in the States, in the Tcrritoriei
{ or in the District Of Columbia. We stan
r by the Dred Scott decision ofthe Suprem
Court, which secures TO the people ofth
States the right TO emigrate to, and rC
main in, any Territory Of the Unite
States with the property they may hav
y heldin any of the States. We, there fOrl