M'arthur Democrat. (McArthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1853-1865, 1859-11-24


General-Correct Prineip Vindicated
nnd Acknowledged.
Sick or we'll, dead or alive, Judge
Douglas does not mean to allow the
Attorney General of the United States
TO escape the consequences of having
provoked public controversy with
himself without any occasion therefor.
We stated yesterday that we had re.
ceived an advance copy Of the reioind-
or Of Mr.. Douglas to Judge Black. -
Ills q pamphlet Of fourteen pages and
Hhey are terrible ones to his adversary.
The first eight pages are devoted to Il
.scathing exposure Of Judge Blacks
ignorance OF public law, and his shift.
ings and eyasions to avoid the force Of
Judge Douglas facts and quotations
from the decisions of the Supreme
Court. We do not know when we
have read any thing so damaging to
the legal reputation Of q LAWYER as
these cightpngcs a:e 10 that Of Judge
Black. The other six pages Of the
pamphlet are Of public concern, and
show the beneficial results which have
flowed from the discussion between
the two, which Are the confessions
Judge Black has been forced to make
by the cXigencies Of the controversy,
aud which involve an abandonment
OF various penicious hcresies, with
which the party has been threatened
for some time past.
The first Of these hcrcsies, now
GJaudoned, is, that slavery exists in
the Territories by virtue Of the Con.
stitution ofthe United States" Judge
Black has been forced to admit that the
Constitution does not establish slave.
ny in the Territories Or anywhere else.
Had the whole discussion produced
no other result than that, the public
might well have rejoiced THAI it &C.
Cured: but that is not all.
The next heresy abandoned BY the
Attorney General, after having 0dyo.
Gated it as public law, is, that when
the master removes with bis slayes in.
to q Territory, his right to the proper.
ty "depends on the law Of the place
where he came from, ald depends on
that alone" The tallacy OF which
was So clearly exposed by Judge Doug,
las and 50 severely ridiculod by law.
Yers all over the country, that Judge
Black publicly abandons it and con.
tesses that the owner, instead ofreIy.
ing OH the laws Of the State from
which he emigrated for the protection
OF his slave property, must look for
his remedy to the law Of his new dom.
icile"--that is, the law which may be
enacted by the Territorial Legislature.
The next heresy surrendered by
Judge Black is, that "the Territories
have no attribute Of sovereignty about
them"-that is that they can not legis.
late concerning the life, liberty orr
property Of q citizen. He has been
forced to admit that Territorial Legis.
llturcs, in lcgisIating uIon 'all right.
tul subjects Of legislation" can pass
laws to dVprivea citizen Of life, liber-
ty or property, us a punishment for
crime, and can exercise the right of
eminent domain to buy and collect
taxes for territorial purposes, and to
sell and confscate property to pay
such taxes, ii the owner Of the proper
ty taxed refuse to pay the tax.
Not only has the Acknowledgement
abandoned that heresy, but he now ad.
units, in connection with this abandon
ment, "that il is an insult to tile
american people 70 suppose that the
people Of any o,ganizsd Territory
a0Ould abuse the right @ seTgOre,n.
ment, Tit tCere conceded IN Mem."
This last confession, says Judge
Douglas. taken in connection with the
previous admission of the power of a
Territory to legislate, removes the last
vestge Of any substantial objection to
the doctrine Of popular sovereignty in
tie Territories.
This discussion has emineutly vim.
dicated the correctness of the princi-
PIES upon which tho Cincinnati Plat
form is based, so far as. the question
Of slavery is concerned. The public
mind has become enlightened beyond
what itenjoyed before rs the true the.
ory OF our Government, and the prop.
or relations that exist between Federal
aud local authority. Judge Douglas
deserves well Of tue country for the
able and fearless manner in which he
has maintained the right and exposed
error, on this important subject
Gin. Eng.
OLD BRowN's Kansas WoRK."-