The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1860-08-02
TRACKS OF THE RETREAT.

TRACKS OF THE RETREAT.
We give below, Says the Ohio Stat
journal, few extracts from different
speeches showing the different step.
marking Douglas Abandonment Of The
doctrine of popular sovereignty. In IS,
So, in a speech at Galesburg, Illinois, he
enuncated that doctrine as follows -
" The great Fundamental principle Of
our government is, that the people OF
each State and Territory shall be perfectly
free to decide for themselves what shall
be the nature aud character Of their in
stitutions.'
This is explicit The absolute sover-
eighty Of the people Of the Territories and
their right to decide this question Of slave
ry for themselves is asserted without res
crvation. OF course the fair and only
inference is that the constitution recog-
nizes that sovereignty and right-el,e
why should it be asserted SO positively!
But the Southern people had doubts as
to the safety of leaving the settlement of
this question to the people of the Terri
tories, and their fears must be quoted
Accordingly, they were soothed with the
following concession in his speech at
New Orleans in December, 1865
SHARES are regarded as property, and
plac.d on an equal footing with all other
property. Hence the owner of slaves
the same as the owner Of any other species
of property, has a right to remore to any
Territory and take his property r'M
him.
Two years elapsc, and the country is
on the eve Of another Presidential con-
test, Mr.. Douglas is anxious to secure
the nomination of the Democratic party,
which has always been controlled by its
southern wing. That controlling power
must be propitiated. In his speech in
the Senate, last February, Mr.. Douglas
makes declaration in strargc contradict
ton 10 tha' uttered by him two years be
fore, at Galcsburg The people arc no
longer perfectly free to decide for
themselves in this matter of slavery -
He abaudohs that " Fundamental pr.n-
cipe,' and declares that the people nave
no power except that which is given
them by the organic act of Congress-
He says:
Il do not hold that squatter sovcr.
eighty is superior to the constitution. l
hold that no such thing as sosere'3n
pouer attaches to q Territory Us a Terra
tory. hold tina. Territory possesses
whatever power it derives from the Con
stitution, under the organic act, and no
more , =,
A few weeks later, to show the South
how popular sovereignty had operated to
the advantage Of slavery, he declared In
isspeech in the Senate-on the 10th Of
May last -
Under this doctrine Of non intcrsen
ton the people Of New Mexico have con
verted a tract of FREE TERRITORY INTO
SLAVE TERRITORY more than fire time
the size ot The State If Ne~ York;"
Let the reader contrast these two las
extracts with the first one, from hi:
Ga,,sburg speech, and the extent of hi:
d.n,-ture from the doctrine Of popula
solereippsv. as originally laid down BY
himself becon.es apparent. He started
out with the princlp..e that the people o
! the Territories had sovereign co".fo' Owe
the subjcc: of slavery aud the advocate
! of his doctrine throughout the free o.hte'
boastingly proclaimed that its effect would
be to make the territories free. hnC
now the author Of this doctrine no long
er asserts it to be fundamental prnci
pie (Which must be independent Of Con
grcss) but mere contingency dependen
upon the will Of that body and he hold
the reverse Of what his friends in th'
North have held, that its operation il
New Mexico, ha. made slave territory 0
tract Of free territory five times as larg
as the State of New York.
Add to this the declaration of Hersche
Y. Johnson at Rome, Georgia, and 'h
portrait Of the representatives, Of popula
sovereignty, as printed by themselves i
complete:
Property of all kinds Stare as rel a
any oMer, stands upon the same consti
tutional basis, and subjcc, t, tie sam
pri"cjples If recognition and pROTEC
TlON in lie LEGISLATIVE, Ju"irio
! and E'rccutiee Depa' tmcnts Of the Gen
crai Government.