The weekly Mississippian. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1859-1864, 1859-08-31
rrnosura of an Outrageous Attempt t.
Misrspresent John c. Calhoun.


Calhoun If there was any object of noble
ambition which that great and pure man COW
eted more than another it was the reputation
which attached to thorough comprehension
of the true interests of his own State and
section and jealous and uncompromising
advocacy of their rights as guaranteed by the
compact of union between the States. How
heartlessly unjust then, to misuse his name,
and pervert his words that he might seem to
have been an advocate of the doctrine which
OF all others he most detested, the doctrine of
Squatter Sovereignty, and its eorrollary OF
nen-protection to the property of Southern
citizens, in the territories under federal juris-
diction and purchased by the common treasure
of the whole Union The Journals Of that
ilk having signally failed to win favor for this
pernicious dogma and for Douglas its nolsiest
champion, except in Black Republican circles,
in their desperation have actually made such
use of Mr. Calhoun's name. The extract
which these newspaper Cloths have quoted to
give coloring of truth to their reckless under
taking, is the following portion of speech de-
livered by him on the 9th of June, 184s
There is a very striking difference between
| the position on which the slaveh0iding ana
non-slaveholding States stand in reference to
the subject under consideration, (the proillbi-
ton of slavery in Oregon The former de-
| sire no action of the government; demand no
law to give them any advantage in the Terri
| tory about to be established are willing to
leave it and other Territories belonging to the
United States, open to all their citizens, so
/ long as they continued to be Territories, and
when they cease to be, to leave it to their IN
habitants to form such governments as may
suit them, without restriction OF condition,
| except that imposed by the Constitution as
prerequisite for admission into the Union
In short, they are willing to leave the whole
subject where the Constitution and the great
and fundamental principles of selfgoyernment
place it. On the contrary, the non-slavehold-
ing States instead Of being willing to leave 1t
on this broad and equal foundation, demand
the interposition of the government, and the
passage of an act to prevent the citizens oil the
slayeholding States from emigrating with their
property into the Territory.
The foregoing is the solitary quotation
which is paraded by the organs in the interest
of Douglasism to sustain them in the reckless
attempt to which we have alluded. Now mark
how plain a tale, viii put them down In
exposure of the fraud, our able contemporary
of the Memphis Avalanche (whose bold and
consistent advocacy of the true faith entities
it to all praise) says: I'VE have only to refer
the reader to the original speech itself-fom
which it viii be seen that after the word ''ter-
ritory" there issonly comma, and Mr.. CAL
houn continues, sin order to giee their citizens.
and those they may permit, the exclusive right
of setting it, sehile it remains IA that condition,
preparatory to suBecting it to like restrictions
and conditions lche, it becomes State At
ter thus garbling the speech-making para
graph in the middle of a sentence, where there
ought only be comma, the Appeal skips
taceay-seuen pages, and gives the following
extract, which it again garbles and distorts.-
We enclose in brackets and put in italics that
part of the sentence which the Appeal again
cuts off in the middle of sentence
Il hold that Justice and the Constitution
are the easiest and safest guard on which the
question can be settled, regarded in reference
to parties. Il may be settled on that ground
simply By ssoa-action, by leaving the terrific
mes free and open to the territories free and
open to the emigration of all the world, 50
long as they continue So and iehea they become
| States, to adopt aehdteuer Constitution they
please, acith the single restriction. to be repabi
can, in order to their admission. into the Union.
IF party cannot safely take this broad and
solid position and successfully maintain it,
| what other can it take and maintain p
@The Appeal calls the position assumed by
Mr.. Calhoun as true. just and safe," and
reader, would you believe it ?-te aoas. in the
very speech from tchict are taken these gaybiaE
and distorted extracts combating and opposing
the uey doctrine tuhich the Appeal quotes han,
as sustaining That portion of Mr.. Call
houn's speech which the Appeal omits shows
that he meant by anon-acton'' what the en-
tire South and the Cincinnati Convention meant
by Observation-Disclosures Congress could
neither legislate slavery into Territory nor
out of it These garbled extracts are given
fort purpose of showing that the Demo-
cratic party cannot maintain the doctrine OF
Congressional Intervention for the protection
OF slavery in the Territories when the
speech, from beginning to end, shows that
Congress is bound to govern the Territories,
and to protect the inhabitants in the enjoy
ment of their property.
aMr Calhoun has often been slandered and
misrepresented, but to accuse him of oppos-
ing the doctrine of Congressional intervention
for the protection of slavery in the Terrific
RES" is an insult to his memory. We shall
defend his reputation from such desecration
and show that he consistently, undeviatingly
and pertinaciously maintained that the Con-
stitution demanded protection to property in
the Territories, and that this imperious con-
stitutional mandate could. not be obyiated by
"non-actionn or non-intervention. We shall
not go back to 1848, and give garbled extracts
to prove our position, but we shall give COM
plete sentences.
'1n the last speech which Mr.. Calhoun ever
offered to the Senate of the United States, he
advocated the very doctrine which the Appeal
quotes him as opposing. Gu the 4th of March
1850, worn down with disease, Mr.. Calhoun
rose in his seat, and asked Mr. Mason of Viz.
ginia, to read his views upon the questions
which then excited the public mind. In that
speech, the last great effort of his life, Mr.
Calhoun said .
4 1T (the Executive proviso) takes an indirec-
course, and in order to elude the Wilmot pro-
Yiso, and thereby avoid encountering the uni
ted and determined assistance of the South, il
denies, by implication, the authority of Con-
gress to legislate for territories and claims the
right as belonging exclusively to the inhabit-
ants of the territories
an claiming the right for the inhabitant
instead of Congress, to legslate for the terrific
ries, in the Executive proyiso, it assumes that
the sovereignty over the territories is vested
in the former; or, to express it in the Ian
guage used in resolution offered by one Of
the Senators from Texas, (Gen. Houston,
| they have the same inherent right of sell
government as the people in the States The
assumption Is utterly unJounded, niaoonstitut
tioaal, soithom Example, and contrary to TIE
| eat5Te practice ef the doUeg7taafft, ff0nt ats
commencement to tie present time, as shall
proceed to shoe"
Nor is it less clear that the power of legisla-
ting over the acquired territory is vested in
Congress, and not, as is assumed, in the inhab-
itants of the territories
Having now established beyond tontrover
sy, that sovereignty over the territories is
vested in the United States-that is, in the
several tates composing the Union-and that
the power of legislating over them is expressly
vested in Congress, it follows that the indiyii-
uals in California who have undertaken to
form Constitution and State, and 10 exer-
. else the power of legislating without the con
sent Of Congress, have usurped the sovereignty
of the State and the authority of Congress,
and have acted inopen defiance of them both.
From its commencement until the time
that Michigan was admitted, the practice was
uniform. Territorial Governments were first
+ Organized by Congress. The Government O
the United States appointed the Governors
Judges. Secretaries, Marshalls and other off.
GERS, and the inhabitants of the territory wers