Lewistown gazette. [volume] (Lewistown, Pa.) 1843-1944, 1860-03-01

louSnt cach other before. " hat does thu
constitution mean in regard to slavery ?
That question remains 90 Be settled. VIA
does the Nebraska bill mean? This oues
ton depends upon the settlement of The
former
OF all men, Mr.. Douglas ought to be
the first to know what the true intent and
meaning of the Nebraska bill and the prin.
clple OF popular sovereignty is. He is said
to be statesman, and it must be presumed
that his measure rests upon positive idea;
for all true craftsmanship is founded upon
positive ideas.
In order to find out Mr.. Douglas own
definition of his own great principle, We are
obliged to pick up the most lucid of his
statements as we find them scattered about
In Numerous speeches and manifestoes.
After multifarious cruisings upon the sea
OF platforms and arguments, Mr.. Douglas
has at last landed at the following point ::
A slave, says he, ia his famous Harper
Magazine article, slave, within the mean
ing of the Constitution, is a person held
to service or labor in one state unde,
the lauos hereQt,' NOT under the Consti-
tuition of the United States, or under the
laws thereof nor by virtue Of any federal
authority EhateFar, but under tie iaws
of the particular State ac.Iere such seruice
or labor may be due This is clear. and
with his eyes firmly fixed upon the people
Of the North, he goes on: IF, as Mr.
Buchanan asserts, slavery exists in the
territories by virtue of the Constitution
{ of the United States, then it becomes the
imperative duty of Congress, to the per-
formance of which every member is bound
'by his conscience and his oath, and from
which no consideration of policy or ex-
'pedience can release him, to provide by
law such adequate and complete protection
as Is essential to the enjoyment of an i'm
portant right secured by the Constitution;
IN one word, to enact a general slave code
for the territories But Mr.. Douglas is
not satisfied with this. In order to strength
en- has assumption, and to annihilate Mr..
Buchanan's construction of the Nebraska
bill still more, he proceeds: The Con
stltutlon being uniform everywhere with
in the dominions of the United States, be-
ing the supreme law O. the land, ANYTHING in
the constitutions or laws of any of the
States TO the contrary Notwithstanding
why does not slavery exist in Pennsyl-
vania just as well as in Kansas or in
South Carolina, by virtue of the same Con-
stitution, since Pennsylvania subordinate
to the Constitution in the same manner
and to the same extent as South Carolina
and Kansas 2
Just SO. Mr.. Douglas having been SO
positive, he cannot deny us the privilege
of making few logical deductions from
his own premises. We expect him to pro-
ceed in the following manner: Since
slave is held under the laws of State,
and not under the Constitution or laws of
the United States, s1are,y EXISTS only by
'oirt"e Of local tar, or, as the court Of
appeals, of Kentucky, expressed it, :the
right to hold slave, exists only by posi-
tive law of municipal character, and has
no foundation in the law of nature or the
unwrltten or common law IF slavery
cannot exist except by virtue of local law
Of municipal character, it follows as an
consequence, that 2 STAKEHOLDER
cannot hold a slave as property in Terri
tory where there is no local lay of a mu-
nicipal character establishing that right of
And further, the right to hold
a slave having no foundation in the law of
nature or the unwritten and common law,
we are forced to the conclusion, that slave
brought by his owner upon the soil of a
Territory, before the territorial legislature
has enacted laws establishing slavery, be-
comes of necessity free, for there is no To-
cal law of municipal character under
which he might be held as a slave This
principle is recognized by the decisions of
several Southern courts. Having gone so
far, land, indeed, | cannot see how logic
al mind can escape these conclusions from
MIR. Douglas own premises) Mr.. Douglas
would be obliged to define his popular sove-
reignty to be the right of the people of
Territory, represented in the territorial leg
stature, to admit slavery by positive enact
nent, if they see fit, but it being well un-
lerstood that STAKEHOLDER has not the least
shadow of a right to take his slave proper |
y into the Territory, before such positive !
legislation has been had This definition |
would have at least the merit of logical
But what does Mr.. Douglas say? 'Sla-
7ery,' SO he tells US in bis Harper Naga-
:t'le article, slavery being the creature of |
local legislation, and not of the Constitu- !
ton of the United States, it follows that |
the Constitution does not establish slavery
in the Territories, beyond the po,cer Of the
people to control 1t by la,o' The Consti-
utior does not establish slavery in the |
Territories beyond a certain something |
What does that mean? If slavery is the |
creature Of local law, how can the Consti- |
ution by its own force permit slavery to |
70 into Territory at all?
Here is dark mystery, a pitfall, and we |