Semi-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1853-18??, 1859-10-19

Government being q a. hykes QgJit91 Ase
exercise such poxs sit3e 90 .f6w e3
Territory. The Cd TIT oo thd Dajl: -
protects !. mans pro - rom SIN Psqdd9
a territorial l.sslVFA es 49, 9..
corporation.
Il should be noted that when this question was be-
fore the Supreme Court Of the United, Sates there
was some difference Of opinion among the judges on
tho questaa whAelser Congress might ar might NOV,
lccisiatc for Territory in such manner - to take
axay the night of propesty- in slassk- "A ualo,.s-
Of two-thirs or more held the negative; ana ~.
Douglas admits that the majority Was clearly !';he
nor was It even thought of BY the counsel that the
Territories had any such Inherent and natural par
er of their own Indeed there b no judge Of ny
grade or character nor any writer on law o. govern
ment who has ever asserted or given the lesss ce"
teuanoe to this notion Of epsl1r or any other kind
Of Sovereignty in the 7srriieriss 81.
Some trouble xll be saved in this part of the ~.
.un,cnt BY the fact that sincc the first pubcasioo
Of this pamphlet Mr. Douglas denies and Trpuiiates
all claim Of sovereignty for the Territories He
cvcn sayx that he never did 70 ard them ~ sosvr.
cisns. His words spoken at Wooster, Ohio. and
written out BY himself are these:
IL NEVER el,imed that territorial ssrerassass
~ers so'ereig". or t1as Tie 7srri'sr'' ss'' ''ss''
eiyn po~ess" -, r...., .-r.
naked denial that he had previously used those very
wordS We have no right to charge Mr. Douglas
with adopting tho exploded system Of morality,
which allows man to cover up the truth anslcf On
eQuiroqwe We are bound to take his denial fairly.
a. meaning that he never thought the Territories
had the rights and powers, which belong to soves.
cign governments. LIT us see how this assertion
will stand the test Of investigation
We do not deny, that the article IN Harper q ex.
trcmely difficult to understand 1ts unjonied
thoughts, loose expression, and illogical reasoning.
have covered il with shadows Clouds and darknesal
But We will not admit that t has meaning 1t all
It il scarcely possible to mistake the general purpose
Of the author. That purpose undoubtedly wss to
prove that the States and Territories 80 r ~ COZ
Germs their internal affairs have political rights and
powers which are precisely equal In fact, he dc.
clares in 80 many words, that Pennsylvania and
Kansas are subordinate to the Constitution ia 0s
SINE manner and to the same efieat" lie not oaly
levels the Territories up the Statr but lcvcl the
States down to the Territories. II Kansas has sla.
very BY virtue Of the Constitution. he insists that
by the same reasoning. Pennsylvania has Il too
Now We know Pennsylvania to be . sovereign; and
il Kansas be her equal. then Kansas must necrssar
~ he sovereign also
But look at the last sentence which Is the grand
summary Of his whole doctrine:
1.-THE priReipls MSjer our political sysfem Il that
erery distiRet political commsSify. loyal to the
Constitution and the Union, 10 entitled 10 all tie
rights. pririleyes and immsRifies Of xlEgerers-
ent in respect tn their local concerns and internal
po,ity, subject only to the Constitution Of tho Uni
Here the States and Territories arc placed on
footing Of perfect equality There is no distinction
made bctwcen them. II the States arc sovereign.
so are the Territories Besides the rights privi.
legcs and immunities," which he describes ~ per.
tanning to every distinct political community. THAT
is, to both States and Territorics) are sovereign
rights, and nothing else. Any community which
has the Independent and uncomfortable right Of Self
government with respect to its local concerns and
internal polity, must be. 9soad Aec. . sovereign
Again: Mr.. Douglas in his speech at Cincinnati
made so lately Us the 9Th Of September last. uscd
the following Hnmistakable language:
Examine the bills and search the records and
you will find that the great principle which unlcr.
lies those measure 1.-THE compromise Of 1851 is the
right Of the people Of eneA State nad each 7srri.
tory WHILE TERRIroRy, to DECIDE the slavery
question for themselves"
Is not this claiming sovereignty for the Terri.
tories? Can the slavery question be decided with
out lcgislating upon the right Of property Can .
subordinate government do that! 1.-THE Territories
have power to decide whether man shall keep his
property or not, where did the power conc from !
Surely not from Congress through the organic acts
They must have it then upon what Mr.. Douglas
he nothing else than Mr.. Douglas make tour to
the West and on his way back no cootrsdiess wha,
he said as he went out
There are but two sides to this controversy: Ths
Territories are either sovereign powers by natural
and inherent right else they arc political cur,,o
rations, owing all the authority they possess to The
acts Of Congress which create them Il Is not ps~S
bic to believe, that Mr. Douglas wrote thirty exh,
columns in = magazine to prove the truth of the
latter doctrine. Nobody bat himself and his col
lowers were every accused Of denying Il IfAs did
not deny il, and plant himself upon the opposing
ground Of sorereingty in the 7srrssriss then ihcrs
was no dispute, or cause Of division. between him
and the democratic party and he has consequently
l'cen engaged in raising an excitement about moth
ing trying to toss the ocean Of politics into ten
pest. without having even feather to wait OF fy
to drown.
But that is not ALL Mr. Douglas has continually
used the rery eord sorereigaiy with reference Il
the Territories. This sorereigRty in tie 7srri'eria
be has asserted and rc-asscrtcd 20 ottcn that III,
phrase is in great danger Of becoming ridiculous By
the mere frequency with which he repeats Il 10,
many months he has not made . speech or writes
letter for the newspapers on any other object 4
heads his elaborate article in Harper il Is vociesa
ted into the public car from the stump and t stare
At in great capitals from the hand bills which cal
the people to his meetingk Unless Il Be scknowl
edged he predicts the hopeless division Of the party
and even threatens to refuse ts nomination far III
Presidency. Nov, oil at once the snhject matter
the whole controversy ID admitted to bs noacns,ty
He "checks his thunder in mid vollcy," and own
that there is no sovereignty in Territory any nor
than in British colony. Other persons may hav
ridden their hobbies as hard a Mr. Douglas; bu,
sincs The beginning Of the world, no man ever dis
mounted 70 suddenly
| Sovereignty in the Territores," Of which VI
have heard 50 mnch, is generally, Il not always
Occupied BY NJ. Douglas with the prefix Of . Psps
lar" This last word appears to Be used foe III
mere sake Of the sound, and without any resar
whatever to the sense. Il docs not mean that th
people or inhabitants Of the Territories have an
supreme power independent Of the Axs Or ahov
the regularity constituted legal authorities. The
1--WE are 70 many hundreds, o. 70 many thousand,
and We must therefore Be obeyed; the law b in on
mice and In fhs x,,lss srh;eh