Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1860-08-03
Douglas and johnson.

81 The editor of the Dayton Gazette has mad,
out strong case against Douglas and John
son, as viii be seen by the following selee
4 tions
3 Mr. Douglas, in his speech, delivered a
6 Washington, On the goth ult., thus announce
the position of tue several parties, on the ques
ton of Slavery
The ultra men in each section demand Con
gressional Intervention upon the subject 0
Slavery in the Territories. They agree in re
,~sPect to the power and duty of the Fedora
Government to control the question, and onl7
differ as to the mode of exercising the power
:. The one demands the intervention of thr
Federal Government for Slavery, and the othel
81 against it. Each appeals to The passions anc
! preJudiees OF his section against the peace ant
+ harmony of the whole country Cries o
& that's so," and applause.l On the Other
hand, the position of all conservative and
i IUnion-loving men is, or at least ought to be
that of non-intervention of Congress with sla-
very in the Territories. Cries of " that's the
/ true doctrine" and applause. This was the
! position of the Democratic party in the Pres
! idential contests of 1846, 80 and SO"
He concluded in the following paragraph
The safety of the Z nien depends upon the
# strict adherence to the doctrine of non-inter-
Eyentiou. Intervention means disunion. In
4 tervention, whether by North or by the South,
whether for or against Slavery, tends directly
1 to disunion. Upon this identical question, at
tempts are now being made to destroy the
] Democratic party. Because the minority of
] the interventionists could not intimidate the
l majority into an abandonment of the doctrine
| of snon-intervention, they have seeded from
/ the organization of the Democratic party and
+ are endeavorng to form new party in hos
i tility to it. Cries of I" Let them go; we can
whip the Disunionists North and South. Il
|sSecession from the Democratic party means
secession from thesF Fcderal Union. Is That's
Iso,' and applause.] Those who enlist under
the secession banner now, will be expected, on
fthe 4th of March next, to take up arms
against the Constitutional aathorities.
z In certain contingencies, we are !told,z that
Sin certain event thegS SsRiE nlust. foreibly re-
esist the Inauguration of the President elect,
while ye find those who are loudest in their
threats of such resistance, engaged in the
scheme to divide and destroy the Decorate
party, thereby securing the election of the Re
publican candidate. Does not this line of pol
icy look to disunion? [Cries of yes.'l
% Intervention means disun1on,' says Mr.
Douglas, If this be true, how can the friends
Of Mr.. Douglas endorse and support man for
the Vie Presidency-se selected by the Central
Gonmittee-who is clearly aud unequivocaIly
both an Interventionist and Disunionist. In
1913, Herschel Y. johnson was appointed by
the Governor of Georgia TO represent that
State III the United States Senate in the place
sof-AIr- Coquit, who had resigned While
Senator he made speech on the Oregon qt.ts-
ton. claiming in tie strongest language the i
right to take slaves into any and all Of the
Territories, and 10 hold them in defiance Of
Territorial or Congressional legislation. In
that speech he said
''If Congress can exercise the high power Of
framing an organic law, it may certainly ex-
ercise the inferior power Of legislating for the
Territory need not refer to the authorities |
by which this position is sustained; because, |
for the purpose Of argument, an willing o
concede, in the broadest sense, that in virtue
of the right to acquire by treaty, Congress |
possesses the power to govern and legislate for
territory SO acquired. ..-
Again
by the Constitution OF the United States, and
it has the same protection thrown around it, |
which guards our citizens against the granting !
of titles of nobility, the establishment OF !
religion therefore Congress would be much
bound to veto an act Of Territorial legislation
prohibiting it, as an act violating these rights
of every citizen OF the Republic.'' y"
These extracts show, that as early as 1946, |
Mr.. johnson held ultra-Southern ground in re- |
gard to the power of Congress to protect Sla-
very. In the same speech, he thus repudiates
the Popular Sovereignty hambug of Mr.. Doug |
las
IF you assent to the bread proposition that /
the inhabitants of the Territory, by virtue o
the right of selfgovernment, have the right to
exclude Slavery therein, then the question arises,
how many inhabitants shall there be to enable
them to do this? Shall it be five hundred, or
ten or twenty thousand ? Shall a few thou
sand people in Oregon--a vast territory out cf
which five or six large States may be carved |
determine that question for all future gener-
ations, and fix their destiny for all time to
come? Shall a few thousand halfcivilized
Mexicans, inhabiting the Territories of Cali
fornia and New Mexico, decide what institu
tions shall exist there? The idea is ridicu-
lous ard absurd. The States of this Union
have too deep an interest in these vast domin
ions, to permit them to be surrendered to such
a control and such destiny"
We continue our extracts
For the purposes of this question: it mat
ters not where the power Of legislation for the
Territory resides-whether exclusively in Con
4l,o b,h !
inhabitants of the Territory; the power is
precisely the same-no greater in the hands of
one than the other. In no event, can the slaue-
holder of the South be excluded from settling
IN such Territory.
But suppose that Congress have the right
to establish a Territorial Government only.
and that then. all further governmental con-
troll ceases can the Territorial Legislature
pass an act prohibiting Slavery? Surely not.
For the moment you admit the right to or
ganize Territorial Government to exist in
Congress, you admit necessarily THE sUBoRDI-
NATION Of the people Of the 1errfory-the1r
dependence on this Government for an organic
taaU, to give them political existence"
These citations show, that Mr.. johnson is
an ultra pro-slavery man that he was hostile
to Squatter Sovereignty before Douglas faith
cred it in 1854, and that he entirely ignores
the right of the people of the territories to iu-
termedde with the question of Slavery. He
demands the intervention of the Federal Gov
ernment for Slavery and Douglas tells us
" that intervention, for or against Slavery is
disunion." Therefore, johnson is, according
to Douglas as much disunionist and traitor
to his country as Yancy or JEFF. Davis.
Mr.. johnson proceeds
" If Congress possess the power to organize
temporary governments, it must then possess