The Buchanan County guardian. (Independence, Buchanan County, Iowa) 1858-1864, 1859-06-30

lation over the territories that it need
not create territorial legislature unless
it chooses to do so that it may govern
the territory by means of federal officers,
if it deems proper and that only under
certain circumstances should commit the
powers of self-government to the people
Judge TANEY says:
The power to acquire necessarily carries with
it the power to preserve and apply to the pur-
poses for which it was acquired. The form of
government to be established necessarily rested
in the discretion of Congress. In
some cases government, consisting of persons
appointed by the Federal Government, would
best subserve the interests of the Territory,
when the inhabitants are few and scattered and
new TO oneanother. In other instances, it would
be more advisable to commit the powers of self
government to the people who had settled in the
territory, as being the most competent to deter
mine what was best for their own interests.
Here we think it is distinctly enunci-
ated that all powers that territorial gov
eminent may have, it derives from Con-
gress; that the people of a territory de-
rive the right of self-governme from
Congressman they possess no powers
co extensive with those of a people of
State. On this point Mr.. DOUGLAS him
self said, in the debate in the Senate last
winter:
hold that no such thing sovereign power
attaches to a Territory while Territory. |
hold that Territory possesses whatever power
it derives from the Constitution under the organic
act, and no more. l hold that all the power
Territorial Legislature possesses is from the Con-
stitution and its amendments, under the act of
Congress, and because | hold that, | denied
last year that the people of a Territory, without
the consent of Congress, could assemble at LIE
compton and create an organic law for that peo-
pie.
And Senator BRowN, of Mississippi,
said:
utterly, totally, entirely persstently, and
consistently, repudiate the whole doctrine of
squatter sovereignty. By squatter sovereignty
| mean territorial sovereignty. l utterly deny
that there is any sovereignty in territory.
And his colleague, Senator DAVIS,
in reply to Senator DOUGLAS, said:
His whole argument is based upon the suppo-
sition that there is people residing i'll a Terri
tory, and that the Constitution is compact
which we have made with them Neither the
one nor the other is true. There are inhabitants
in territory, tenants for the States who own
the Territory, waiting until the fullness of time
shall fit them to become State by the consent
of the existing States then to assume the digni-
ty Of people, and equality with the other States.
Those who reside in a territory, ac
cording to Mr.. DAVIS, and several of his
co-adjutors, SO far from having powers
equally extensive with those of the peo-
pie of the States, have not even the dig
nifty of a people" but are simply in
habitants of the public domain. Again,
Mr.. DAVIS says:
The Territorial Legislature can be but an in
instrument, through which the Congress of the
United States execute their trust in relation to
the Territories.
And Senator MASON said
The people of Territory are unknown to the
Constitution in any political sense whatever
utterly unknown. 1t is not competent for
Congress, acting under the Constitution, to give
to the people Of Territory political power in
any sense whatever.
Congress can delegate such power, he
contends, but cannot make an absolute
grant of it. 1t cannot so dispose of it,
but that it may again re-assume it. Sen
ator GREEN, of Missouri, said:
All the power the Territory has is derived
from Congress, and can be resumed at pleasure.
The creature can never be equal to the creator.
Here then, we have the opinion of the
Court, and of these gentlemen, that a
territorial government is but the creature
Of Congress-has no powers other than
those delegated to it by Congress, whose
instrument it is. Congress has the right
to revise territorial legislation, and did
SO in reference to Kansas, when it re-
pealed the !" bloody code" passed by the
Legislature of that territory. 1t can do
more. 1t can deprive the people Of a
government once granted, by repeating
the organic act. This was Mr.. DoUG-
LAS remedy for the Utah difficulty.
Now, then, the Supreme Court also
decided that slaves were property under
the Constitution. and says:
And if the Constitution recognises the right
of property of the master in a slave, and makes
no distinction between that description of prop
erty and other property owned by citizen, no
tribunal, acting under the authority Of the Unit
ed States, whether it be legislative, executive,
or judicial has right to draw such distinc
ton, or deny to it the benefit of the provisions
and guarantees which have been provided for
the protection of private property against the
encroachments of the Government
The decision expressly affirms that
Congress has no power to pass laws i'm
pairing the rights of persons and of pro-
perty, and here says that as the constitu-
ton recognizes property in slaves, Con-
gross has no right to draw distinction
between this and other property, end
that no tribunal acting under the author
ity of the United States. can do So The
points in the decision. then AZ we nm