The Cadiz Democratic sentinel. [volume] (Cadiz, Ohio) 1854-1864, 1859-10-19
CADIZ OHIO WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 1859

porated into the Constitution. The provision
10 authorize Congress to institute temporary
governments for their admission into the Union
appears in the Constitution in this FORM
"New States may be admitted by the Con
gress into this Union"
The power to admit ''ne,U States" and 'iC
make all laws which shall be necessary and
proper" to that end, may fairly be construed tC
include the right to institute temporary govern
nents for such new States OF Territories, the
same as Great Britain could rightfu'ly institute
similar governments for the colonies; but GER
tainly not to authorize Congress to iegislate ir
respect to their municipal affairs and internal
concerns, without violating that great :unda.
mental principle in defense of which the battles
ol the Revolution were fought.
lfjudicial authority were deemed necessary
to give force to principles so eminently just in
themselves, and which form the basis OF our en-
tire political system, such authority may be
found in the opinion of the Supreme Court o
the United States in the Dred Scott Case. In
that case the Court say:
"This brings us to examine by what provis
ion of the Constitution the present Federal Gov.
ernmsnt under its delegated and restricted
powers, is authorized to acquire territory out.
side Of the original limits Of the United States
and what powers it may exercise therein over
the person or property Of a citizen Of the Uni
ted States, while it remains Territory. and
until it shall be admitted as one of the States
OF the Union.
There is certainly no power given ty the
Constitution to the Federal Government to es
tablish or maintain Colonies, bordering on the
United States or at distance, to be ruled and
governed at its own pleasure; nor to enlarge its
territorial limits in any way except by the ad.
mission Of new States. .....
"The power to expand the territory of the
United States by the admission Of new States
is plainly given; and in the construction of this
power by all the departments ofthe Government
1t has been held to authorize the acquisition o
territory, not fit for admission at the time, but
to be admitted as soon as its population and sit
uatien would entitle it to admission. It is &C.
quired to become State, to be held as colony
and governed by Congrt-S with absolute author
lty; and as the propriety Of admitting new
State is committed to the sound discretion o.
Congress, the power to acquire territory fol
that purpose, to be held by the United States
until it is in a suitable condition to become o
State upon an equal footing with the other
States, must rest upon the same discretion"
Having determined the question that the
power to acquire territory for the purpose o
enlarging our territorial limits and increasing
the number Of States is included within the pow.
er to admit new States and con n6rred by the
same clause Of the constitution, the Court pro.
ceed to say that "the power to acquire necessa-
rily carries with it the power to preserve and
apply to the purposes for which it was acquir-
ed" And again, referring to former decision
OF the aame Court in respect to the power o
Congress to institute governments for the terri
tories, the Court say:
"The power stands firmly on the latter alter,
native put By the Court--that is, as the inev
table consequence of the right to acquire terri
tory"
The power to acquire territory, as we'll as the
right in the language Of Mr.. Madison, "to in
stltue temporary governments, for the new
States arising therein" (or Territorial govern
mentS as they are now calted) having beef
traced to that provision Of the Constitution
which provides for the admission Of new States,
the Court proceed to consider the nature ant
extent ofthe power OF Congress over the people
Of the Territories
"Al we mean to say on this point is, that, a:
there is no express regulation in the Constitu
tion defining the power which the the genera
government may exercise over the person OF
property ofa citizen in a territory thus acquir
ed, the Court must necessarily look to the pro
visions and principles of the Constitution, anC
its distribution of OF powers, for the rules anc
principles by which its decision must be gov
erncd.
Taking this rule to guide us, it may be safe
ly assumed that citizens OF the United States
who emgrate to Territory belonging to thC
people the United States, cannot be ruled a
mere cO!onistS, dependent upon the will of tht
general Government and be governed by any
laws 1t may think proper to impose. So. Tht
Territory being part OF the United States, tht
Government and the citizen both enter it unde
the authority OF the Constitution, with their re
spectiye rights marked out; and the Fedora
Government can exercise no power over hi
person or property beyond what that instru
ment confers, nor lawfully deny any righ
which it has reserved"
Hence inasmuch as the Constitution has con
erred on the Federal Government no right tt
interfere with the property, domestic relations
police regulations or internal polity of the peo
pie of the Territories, it necessarily follows
under the authority Of the Court, that Congress
can rishtfuly exercise no such power over the
people Of the Territories. For this reason alont
the Supreme Court were authorized and COM
PEELED to pronounce the eighth section ofthe ac
approved March 6, 1920, Commonly called The
NJ ssouri compromise), imperative and void
there being no power delegated to Congress il
tie Constitution authorizing Congress to pro
hibit slavery in the Territories.
In the course OF the discussion Of this ques
structure, principles, and powers Of the Fedora
Government; showing that it possesses no pow
ers except those which are delegated, euumer.
ated and defined in the Constitution; and tha
all other powers are either prohibited sltogethe
or are rese, ved to the States or to the people,
In older to show that the prohibited, as we'll a.
the delegated powers are enumerated and detn
ed in the Constitution, the Court enumerated
certain powers which cannot be exercised eth
er by Congress or the Territorial Legislatures
or by any other authority whatever. for the
simple reason that they are forbidden by tht
Constitution.
Some persons who have not examined crit
eally the opinion of the Court in this Icspec
have been induced to believe that the SkauGr!
question was included in this claSss ofprohibitel
powers, and that the Court had decided in tn,
Dred Scott case that the Territoria! Legisla
ture could not legislate in respect to slave prop
erty the same as all other property in the Ter
ritories. A few extracts from the opinion O
the Court will correct this error and show
clearly the class Of powers to which the Cour
referred, as being forbidden alike to the FEEDER
al Government, to the States, and to the Ter
ritores. The Court say:
"a reference to few OF the provisions 0
the Constitution will illustrate this proposition
For example, no one, we presume, will contend
that Congress can make any law in Territory
respecting the establishment of religion, or tht
free exercise thereof or abridglng the freedom
OF speech or OF the press, or the right OF the
people Of the Territory pesceably to assemble
nnd 10 nntition the nilrnt tnlnent Tor thu redrns,