The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1859-11-04
SAINT PAUL. FRIDAY NOVEMBER 4 1859

tain to sovereignty" says Chief Justice
Marshall. Every legislative enactment in
wolves an exercise Of sovereign power and
every legislative body possesses all the at.
tributes of sovereignty to the extent and
within the sphere Of its legislative authority.
These propositions are recognized by the
elementary writers as automatic principles
which lay at the foundation of all municipal
law, and are affirmed in the decisions of the
highest judicial tribunals known to our
Constitution.
What, then, does the Attorney General
mean when he says that the Territories
4" have no attributes of sovereignty about
them? ?" Surely he does no. wish to be un.
derstood as denying that the Kansas Nebras-
ka act, and the organic act of every other
Territory in existence, declares that the
legislative power of the Territory shall ex-
tend to all rightful subjects of legislation" :"
Does he mean to be understood as asserting
that these several acts Of Congress are un-
constitutional and void? If not, the terri
tories certainly have Legislative powers :"
and the court holds that all legislative
powers appertain to sovereignty"
SLAVERY INCLUDED IN THE GRANT OF LEGIs-
LATIvE POWER.
The fact is undeniable that it was the
obvious intention of Congress, as manifested
by the terms of these several organic acts,
to recognize the right of the territorial legis-
lature to exercise those legislative powers
which the courts and jurists say appertain
to sovereignty, over all rightful subjects of
legislation so far as the Constitution will
permit and that slavery was not excepted
nor intended to be excluded from those
"rightful subjects of legislation" for the
plain and unerring reason that the fourteenth
section Of the same act provides that it is
"the true intent and meaning of this act
not to legislate Slavery into any Territory or
State, nor to exclude at therefrom, but to
leaue the people thereof perfectly free to form
and regulate their domestic institutions in
their oaOn aray, subject only to the Constitu-
ton of the United States
"Slavery," then, was not intended to be
excepted from those "rightful subjects of
legislation" but was the subjec. which was
especially left to the people Of the Territory
to decide for themselves. The people of the
Territory were not only to "regulate" the
institution of slavery to suit themselves, but
were to be left perfectly free to form and
regulate their own domestic institutions in
their own way" The people were to be
left free "to legisate slavery into any Ter
ritory," while they remained in territorial
condition, " or to exclude it therefrOm," and
"to legislate slavery into any State" after
their admission into the Union, "or to ex>
clude it therefrom," just as they pleased,
withom any interference by Congress, and
subject to DO other limitation or restriction
than such as the Constitution of the United
States might impose.
Tie right of legislating upon the subject
of slavery in the territories being thus vest
ed exclusively in the legislatures thereof, in
the same manner, and subject to the same
restrictions as all other municipal regula-
tions, Congress, out of an abundance of
caution, imposed a condition which would
have existed even if the organic law had
been silent in relation to it, to wit: that
the territorial legislature should make no
law upon the subject of slavery, or upon
any other rightful subject of legislation
Which aUas not consistent avith the Constitu.
ton of the United States. This is the only
limitation or restriction imposed upon the
power of the territorial legislature upon the
subject of slavery; and this limitation
would have existed in its full force if the Or
ganic act had been silent upon the subject,
for the reason that the Constitution being
the paramount law, no local law could be
made in conflict with it. Whether any en-
actment which the territorial legislature
may pass, in respect to slavery, or any other
subject, as or is not consistent with the con-
stitution," is judicial question which the
Supreme Court of the United States alone
can authoritatively determine.
In order to facilitate the decision of all
questions arising under the territorial enact
ments upon the subject of slavery especially
a provision was inserted in the 10th section
of the Kansas Nebraska bill, that "writs of
error and appeals from the final decisions of
the said supreme court (of the Territory
shall be allowed, and may be taken to the
Supreme Court Of the United States" with
out reference to the usual limitations in re-
spect to the value of the property, " IN all
cases involving title to SLAVES" and "upon
any writ Of habeas corpus, anrolving the
question of personal freedom" This pecu-
liar provision was incorporated into that bill
for the avowed and only purpose of enabling
every person who might feel aggrieved by
the territorial legislation, or the decisions Of
the territorial courts in respect to slavery,
to take an appeal or prosecute writ of
error directly to the Supreme Court of the
United States, and there have the validity
OF the territorial law, under which the case
arose, and the respective rights of the par
ties affected by it, finally determined. Every
man who voted for the Kansas Nebraska
bill agreed to abide, as we were all previ-
ously bound, by the Constitution, to respect
and obey all such decisions when made. In
this form the Kansas Nebraska bill became
law. In pursuance of its provisions, the