Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1859-09-20

nr.rrr ninen,, and s,sphen a.

stIerry Hiack" and stephen A.
The expose Of Attorney General Black, or
"Jerry Black, as the Little Giant" called him
at Wooster, although coming pretty near the
marx. is not however, altogether FREQ Of disin.
genuousness or fundamental Douglas big
word) error. The troublesome topic Of non
Intervention is not yet all patched up by our
Democratic Solons 1t is not so clear as Terry
would imply that "tbe dispute on the question,
whether slavery or freedom is local or general,
is mere war Of words.
Jerry says "the supreme legislative rover Of
sovereign State alone can deprive a man Of
his property !" Stephen A. not to be cut under
said at Wooster, 81 deny that State can con
fscate property, except by due process Of law y
Jerry denies that Mr. Buchanan ever said 'that
Slavery exists in Kansas 10y virtue Of tho Com
stitulion of the United States and takes ex
ceptiOu 20 he quotation from its untairness, be-
cause the QuOfes begins in tho middle OF a sen.
tence, and DOS not state the whole, avowng
that by treating the Bible in this way you can
prove the non-existence Of God Jerry avows
| what Mr.. Buchanan did say was this, at has
been solemnly adiudqed by the highest Judicial
tribunn,l known to our laws, that slavery eH-
lists in Kansas by virtue of the Constitution Of
the United States" This explanation is deci
dedly dsengenuous in Jerry. Every body
knows that old Mr. Buchanan did endorse the
language OF the aforesaid tribunal, and to this
day be swears by the Dred Scott decision and
worships at the shrine of Roger b fancy, who
begat It, SO Jerry is again in default. Jerry
should never refer TO Biblical history in Illus
tration IL his political theorems, while "Scrp-
ture Dick" is around. Dick is Sir oracle Of the
schpturn Democracy and commissioned to
speak for the whole party.
But here is the milk in the cocOanut. The
Douglas plat 'orm declares that ''the people OF
the Territories should be left perfectly free TO
regulate tueir domestic institutions in their own
| way, subject only to the Constitution of tho
| United States" Tue Attorney General says,
''this position ObigcS Mr.. Douglas to give up
his doctrine OF else to maintain il by asserting
that a power which the Federal Government
does not possess, may be gireR By Congress TO the
Territorial GoUernment The right TO abolish
African slavery in Territory is not granted by
the Constitution to Congeess; il is withheld,
and therefore the same as if expressly prohibit
ed. Yet Mr. Douglas declares that Congress
NAV give it TO the Territories. Nay, he goes
farther aud says that the lcdht Of the power in
Congress is the very reason why it eau delegate
1.-THE general rule in his opinion, beng that
Congress cannot delegate the powers 1t pos.
eesses, but may delegate such "and only such
as Congress cannot exercise under the Constl-
tution." Here, to use vulgar phrase, Jerry
has got the little man Ichere N hair IS short "
Again says the Attorney, certainly the Consti
tuition does not establish slavery in the terrific
ies or any where Else Nobody in the country
ever thought or said So"
This is not the worst of it for popular sove.
| A SntNth III,
and say the platform of VIM. ii. Seward is
infinitely preferable to that of Douglas, be.
cause Seward insists upon the Constitutional
power, and tue duty Of Congress TO PrOhibu
slavery in the Territories of the United States
while Douglas insists upon the night OF the Ter
! rtorial Legislature to do so. In the Seward
case the power would be exercised by represen-
tatives Of the whole American people-by men
to whom the legislative authority ofa great ma.
ton is delegated, In the Douglas case the
power would be exercised by a Territorial lie
gislature imposed of Heterogeneous mixture
of tempers, who would be making and unmak-
ing laws relative to slavery-as in the case OF
Kansas-that would convert every Territory
before its admission into the Union as State,
from the want OF steadi.oss among the logisla-
tors, into an absolute pd5ldemO8!am. Stand
from under.
To this, little Doug takes as great umbrage
as he did when Senator Trumbull exposed his
short comings in striking from the Toombs
Bill, the right OF the people OF Kansas to vote on
their Constitution! and responds at Woosterby
saying, l am sorry to allude to Jerry g"
newspaper article, and the Infamous taisehOods
it contains, and would not do so il it was not
intended to strike at the gallant standard bear
ers [of Squatter Sovereignty our noble Ranney,
Dodge of Iowa, and Hobart OF Wisconsin" Now
this hen o those Soeet scented Democrats, Dodge
and Hobart, is all right enough-they belong
to the Douglas family and stand about good
chance OF being elected as they TO of being
struck with tightening. But "Our noble Ran
, nry!" BAH Thereby hange a tale, and here
+ hlngs another. short time since Mr.. Doug.
las was closeted in New York, with another
standard bearer of ours, that old spawned Oc-
tagenaran, Martin Van Buren,, whom, it ID
said, endeavored TO impress upon the tender
mind of stephen, the great Importance Of for
titude and christian resignation TO the voice
of the people; and eonsoled him by reciting
some of those ielicitous lyrics of the Wings Of
1910, which ran somewhat thus:
''yan, Van, is a used up man."
... NATIONAL DEMOCRAT.