Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1859-09-15

not been disturbed in the North more than in the
South
In every nation under Heaven, civilized, semi
bsrbaroas, or savage. where slavery has existed in
any form at all analogous to oure the rights Of the
masters 20 The control Of their slaves as property
have been respected; and on no occasion mas any
government struck at those rights, except ss it
would strike at other property. Even he British
Parliament, whea Ii emaocipse ed the West India
slaves, though il was legislsting for people three
thousand miles away and not represented, never de-
MED either the legal or the natural right of the
slave-owner Slaves were admitted to be properly,
and the government ACKNOWLEDGED it By paying their
masters one hundred million OF dollars for the priv
| ilsgs OF setting them free. l. ssF~ssb
Here, then. is species Of property which is Of
lransoendeot importance to the material interests of
the SouthShich the people of that region think it
right and neFitorious in the eyes of God and good
/ men 10 hold-which is sanctioned by the general
sense a all mankind among whom il has existed
| which was legal only short time ago ia all the
States Of the Union, and was then treated as sacred
| by every one Of them-Whieh is guaranteed 10 The
owner as much as any other properly is guaranteed
! by the Constitution; and Mr. Douglas thinks that
territorial legislature is c0mpe tent to take It away
| We ssy, Nc; the suprems Legislative power of a
sovereign State alone can deprive a man of his
property.
This proposition is plain, 30 well established.
and universally sckno Sledge that any argum ent
ia its favor would he mere waste Of words Mr.
Douglas does deny it, and IL did not REQUIRE the
thousandih part of his segsciiy 90 zee that il was
nndensbie He claims for the territorial govern
meats the right Of ccnfscadng private property on
the ground that those governments ARR sopersigs--
have an uneohtrO Ia bic aud Independent power over
ali tAeir internal affairs That is the point which
he thinks is 81 liz the democracy an inpale the
nation. Hut IL is entirely erroneous that itmast
vanish into thin soon it become. to be ex-
smiDed.
-
aud temporary. Il is created by Congress for the
necessary preservation Of order aud tue purpose of
Ice. The powers conferred upen it are express
ed in the organic act, which is the charter of its
existence. aud Whish may be changed repealed al
the pleasure Of Congress. In most OF those acts
| the power has been expressly reserved to Congress
of revising the territorial laws, and the power to
repeal them exists without such reservation. This
asserted Ia thtscRse OF Kansas by tho most die
tinguished Senators in The Congress of 1858 TIE
President appoints the GoVenUr, Judges, aud all
other officers whose appointment is otherwise
provided Tor, directly or Indirectly, By Congress.
Even the expenses Of the territorial government
paid out of the Federal Treasury The truth is
they have attribute of sovereignty about them.
The essency of sovereignty consists in having no
superior. But territorial government has q sups-
riOr in the United States Government upon whose
pleasure it is dependent for its very existence-in
whom it lives, and moves, and has its being-who
has made and can unmAke is with q breath.
Where does this sovereign authority TO deprive
men Of their property come from This ttancen-
dent power, which even desposls are cautious about
using, and which q constitutional monarch never
exercises-hoW does il get into territorial legisla-
ture &? Surely i; does not drop from the clouds it
will not be CONFERENCE.-THE it accompanies the settlers
or exists in the Territory before its Organization
Indeed it is not to the people, but 20 the govern
ment Of a Territory, that Mr.. Douglas says il be-
longs Then Congress must give the power at the
hat hat
But not word of the kind is to be found in any
organic act that ever Was framed Il is thus that
Nj. Douglass argument runs itself out into nothing
But il Congress s0Ould pass statute expressly to
give this sort Of power 10 the territorial govern
meAls they stll would have il; for the Federal
Government itself does not possess any control over
mems property in the Territories. That such pow
err does not exist in the Federal Government needs
no proof: Judge Douglas admits it fully and free
ly 1t is, besides, established by the solemn dec-
sion Ct Congress, by the assent Of the Executive,
and by the direct ratification of the people acting in
their primary capacity at the polls In addition to
all this, the Supreme Court have deliberately ad-
Judged it to belsn unRltershe and unden rule Of
constitutional law.
This acknowledgement that Congress has no pow
err authority, or jurisdiction the SUBJECT. liter
ally o5liges Mr.. Douglas 20 give up his doctrine, or
else 10 maintain it by asserting that power which
the Federal Government does nor possess may be
qoea Jg Congress to The territorial gorsrHmsRL The
right TO abolish African slavery Territory 10
not granted by the Constitution to Congress it is
withheld and therefore the same as il expressly
prohibited. Yet MIR Douglas d6 ceres that Congress
NAV give it to the Territories Nay; he goes fur
Their and says that the cant of the power in Con-
gress is the Uery reason why can delegate 1.-THE
general rule, in his opinion, being that Congress
cannot delegate the powers it possesses, but may de
legaie such, and Only such, a. Congress csunOtcx-
ercise uuder the Cons tuition ~ by farming to
pages $50 and 52l The reader VAL see that this as
stoundng proposition is actually ma le not in jsst
or irony, bat solenhiy, seriously, add doubt in
perfect good fsi h. On this principle Congress
cannot exercise the power TO make sI post fdcf0
law or Law impsring the obligation OF contracts,
therefore it may authorize such laws to be made by
the town councils Of Washington city, CT the levy
court of the District If Congress passes an act TO
hang without trial, il is void, and the judges
will allow il TO be executed; but the power do
this prohibited thing can be oonstutionslly given
by Congress to territorial legislature
We admit that there certain powers bestowed
upon the general Government which are in their
nature judicial or executive. With them Congress
can do nothing, except to see that they execut
ed by the proper kind Of officers. 1t is also true
that Congress has certain legislative powers which
cannot be delegated. But Mr. Douglas should have
known that he was not talking about powers which
belonged to either of these classes, but about leg
isative jurisdiction totally forbidden the Federal
Government, and incapable Of being delegated for
the simple reason that II does not oonsilutonaily
exist
Will anybody say that such power ought, q
matter of policy, for Of public safety to
be held by the provisional governments of the Ter
ritories? Undoubtedly no true patriot, nor no |
friend of Justice and ORDER can deliberately reflect
on the propable consequences without dePrecaIing
them
This power over property is the one which in all
governments has been most carefully guarded be- |
Al TO- huSa o1vT
than any other. 1t h there that the subjects Of |
limited monarchy watch their King with the great
est jealousy No republic has failed to impose |
strict limitations upon it. All free people know
that il they would remain free, they mus. compel |
the government to keep its hands on their private
property; and this csn be done only by tying them |
M with careful restrictions. Accordingly our Fed
ersl Constitution declares that mo person shall be
deprived of his property except by due process of
law" aud that 'prvste property shall not he taken
for public without just compensation" 1t is
universally agreed that this applies only TO the ex-
ereise Of the power by the Governments Of the
United States. We are also protected against the
State governments by q similar provision in the
State constitutions. Legislative robber is there
fore crime which cannot be committed either by
Congress or any State legislature, unless it be done
in at rebellion to the fundamental law ofthe land
But if the territorial governments have this power
then they have it without any limitation whatsoever
AID in all the funess Of absolute despotiem, They
s-e omnipotent in regard to all their internal affairs
for they are sopereigns withOut constitution to hold
them IN check And this omnpotent sovereignty is
TO bs welded by few men sud- snly drawn togeth-
ar from all paris of America and Europe, Hnao-
ouanted with one another, and ignorant of their
alive rights But if Mr.. Douglas is right, those
have all the absolute power of the
Russian AutOorst. They may take every kind of
property in mere caprice, or for any purpose Of
iucre or malice, without process of law aud with
out providing for compensation. The legislature Of
Kansas, sitting at LeconptiOn or Lawrence, may
order the miners to give up every ounce Of gold
that has been dug at Pixies Peak. If the authori-
ties of Utah should license q band Of naraudeTI to
despoil the emigrants crossing the territory, their
s,yereign right to do so cannot be questioned. A
new Territory may be organized, which Southern .
N en- think should be devoted to the culture Of cot
tom while the people Of the North are equally
tain that grazing alone is the proper business to be
carried on there. II one party, by accident by
force or by fraud, has majority in the legslsurs
he negroes are tai Sn from the Planters an if the
other set gains political victory, it is followed by
statute to plunder the grasieIs of their cattle.
sch things cannot be done By the Federal Gov =
srnment nor by the governments Of the State; but,
4 Mr. Douglas is not mistaken, they can be done
,y the territorial gOysrnments II is not every way
better to wait until the new Inhabitants know