The Cass County Republican. [volume] (Dowagiac, Mich.) 18??-1880, 1859-09-22

This is the basis of his argument in
support of his bantling-Squatter Sow
ereignty-so far as it depends upon our
colonial struggles. Unfornately for his
argument, the history of that struggle
is directly the reverse of what he states
it to be. lie says they recognized the
right of the imperial government to
regulate commerce between the several
colonies, and between each colony..and
the parent country, and with foreign
contries. Now, everybody knows that
the immediate cause of the war be-
tween the colonies and the parent
country of three pennies upon each
pound of tea imported into the colonies.
Tea, believe, was then, as it is now,
an article of foreign commerce, and the
duty imposed upon its Importation was
aregulation of foreign commerce. Yet
the colonies went to war with the moth
er country because she did what they
admitted she had a right to do.
But again he says: And in general
"they recognized the right of the inn
"perial Government of Great Britain
to exercise all the powers and author
city which, under the Federal Consti-
" "tution, are delegated by the people
"of the several States to the Govern
"ment of the United States" 1t is
well known that the people of the sew
eral States, by our Federal Constitu-
tlon, delegated to the government of
the United States the power to regulate
foreign commerce, achich included the
posce'' to lag q duty so,a the importation
Of tea-the Gerry poacer aohich the colo
nies denied to the Imperial Government
Of Great Britain. The Senator adroit-
ly passes over this part of the colonial
history very lightly, and reviews at
great ledgth the colonial Legislation on
the.subject of African Slavery and the
African Slave Trade, making quite a
respectable abolition harangue. Upon
this point he succeeds in showing that
the colony of Virginia regarded Afri-
can Slavery and the African Slave
Trade as trade of great inhumanity,
but he entirely fails to show that they
claimed the right to regulate it in their
own way. On the contrary, his own
sketch shows conclusively that they ad-
mitted the right of the British king to
veto any law which they might pass on
the subject, but thought he ought not,
in the exercise of that acknowledged
eight, to veto law prohibiting the Af
rican Slave Trade, because it was I" a
trade of greatinhumanity." According
to Senator Douglas well-known opin-
ions, Africans are an article of trade
and commerce, and consequently the
Imperial Government had the admitted
right to regulate the importation into
the colonies. But their right to regu
late this trade does not rest exclusively
upon the power to regulate foreign
commerce. The Senator says the I'm
perial Government had the same pow
ers which the Federal Government
now has under the Federal Constitu
ton, and under the Federal Constitu
ton the regulation of the African Slave
Trade belongs to the Federal and not
to the State Governments. sra4saig
1t cannot be shown that the colonies
ever denied the rightful authority Of
the British King to veto their legisla-
ton. They did, however, complain
of the manner in which that was ex
ercised. Their complaint was not thai
the crown usurped a power which die
not belong to it, but of the abuse o
thatpower. The Colonial Government,
of Virginia was principle identically
the same as the present territorial gov
ernment of Kansas. The people o
Kansas are entitled to elect their legis
lature. So were the people of Virginia
A Governor, appointed and controlled
by the President of the United States
has the power to veto the acts of the
Legislature of Kansas. A Governor
appointed and controlled by the Brit
ish crown, had the power to veto the
acts of the Virginia Legislature. Sc
far the parallel is complete. But il
the history of the wrongs the parable
does not hold good. zol teos Tii@l
The people of Virginia elected their
Legislature, and the Legislature thus
elected passed law prohibiting the
African Slave Trade. The Bristisf
King ceased it to be vetoed. The peo
pie complained that the veto power
had been improperly exercised, be
cause the African Slave Trade was 2
trade of great inhumanity, and ough'
ia be prohibited. Their complaints