The weekly Mississippian. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1859-1864, 1860-06-13


trick-I am not speaking of it i'll the sense Of |
dishonor or dishenesty-The next fantastic |
trick of the Senator was to dress mp maya |
zine article with the answers of his Republi- |
can opponent in Illinois, brought forward as |
discoveries BY himself, and claimed as dlscove-
ries by himself, as shall show and he put
forth. to the astonished gaze of the American
Republic, his new theory. that the word
Estates" when employed in the Constitution
of the United States, often means Terrific
RES" Let us first look at this new Consti-
tutional discovery In order that l may do
the Senator noiniustice, | will read what, l
am sure, on its being read, if had not the
book in my hand, would be supposed to be a
carcature of the opinions of u public man.
In speaking of the clause about the surrender
of fugitive slaves, he says:
sit will be observed that the term State
is used in this provision as we'll as in various
other parts of the Constitution, in the same
sense in whichit was used by Mr.. Jefferson,
in his plan for establishing governments for
the new Statesin the Territory coded. and to
be ceded to the United States, and by Mr..
Madison, in his proposition to confer on Con-
gress power TO institute temporary Govern
ments for the ,ieac States arising in the unap-
propriated lands of the United States to de.
signate the political communities, Territories
as well as States, within the dominion OF the
United States.n
Here it is, and he goes on to prove it. as he
says ; and the proof is so amusing that will
relieve this rather tedious discussion by read
ing it for the amusement of the Senate:
"fThe word States is used in the same
sense in the ordinance of the 18th Of July,
1887, for the government of the territory
northwest Of the river Ohio, which was pass
ed by the remnant Of the Congress of the Con-
federation, sitting in New York. while its
most eminent members were at Philadelphia,
as delegates tothe Federal CONVEX ton, aiding
in the formal &c the Constitution of the
| United States
I'm this sense the word States is used in
| the clause providing for the rendition Of fugi-
tive Slaves, applicable to all political commun-
tiles under the authority of the United States,
| including the Territories as we'll as the several
States of the Union. Under any other con-
struction, the right of the owner to recover his
slave would be restricted to the States OF the
| Union, leaving the Territories secure place
of refuge for all fugitives. The same remark
| is applicable to the clause of the Constitution
which provides that "a person charged in any
State with treason, felony or other crime, who
shall flee from justice, and be found in another
| State shall. on the demand Of the executive
authority Of the State from which he fled, be
delivered up to be removed to the State hav-
ing jurisdiction. of the crime Unless the
term State, as used in these provisions of the
| Constitution shall be construed to include
every distinct political community under the
| jurisdiction of the United States, and to apply
| to Territories as well as to the States of the
| Union, the Territories must become a sane
tuary Tor all the fugitiyes from service and
| Justice, for all the felons and criminals who
| shall escape from the several States, and seek
refuge and immunity in the Territories.
aft any other illustrations were necessa-
| nv to show that the political communities
which we now call Territories (but which,
during the whole period of the Confederation
and the formation Of the Constitution, were
always referred to as States or new States')
| are recognized as States in some of the pro-
visions of the Constitution, they may be found
/ in those clauses which declare that no State
shall enter in any treaty, alliance, or confed-
erton grant letters of marque and reprisal !;
coin money emit bills Of credit make any
thing but gold and silver coin a tender in
payment of debts ; pass any bill Of attainder,
ec post t1cto law, or law impairing the
| obligation of contracts, or grant any title of
! nobility
| ut must be borne in mind that in each of
these cases where the power is not expressly
delegated to Congress. the prohibition is not
imposed upon the Federal Govmernment, but
| upoa the States. There was no necessity for
any su; n prohibition upon Congress or the
Federal Government, for the reason that the
omission to delegate any such powers in the
| ~. e. Ill
SO declared in express terms by the tenth
amendment, which declares that the powers
not delegated to the United States by the con-
stitution, nor prohibited by it to the States
respectively. or to the people,
'Hence it would certainly be competent for
the States and Territories to exercise these
powers but for the prohibition contained in
| those provisions of the Constitution and in
asmuch as the prohibition only extends to the
States the people of the Territories are still
| at liberty to exercise them, unless the Terri
tories are included within the term States
within the meaning Of there provisions of the
Constitutioa-ef eAe United States,
That is a eonstitEtiesIni argument elaborate
! Iy propoundcd 20 what the honorable Senator
! from Georgia yesterday said was the nonsense
| of the country. Mr.. President, is it not OBJ
servable, does not everybody see, that the Sen
ator from Illinois was driven into just that
nonsense when he assumed the power of the
people of Territory to exercise what he
terms squatter or popular sovereignty If
they be, irdeed, soveIeigns he is right; there
| is no prohibition on them in the Constitution
of the United States, for the prohibitions are
upon States alone, and not upon territorial
governments. IT, therefore, they be popular
sovereigns, he does not get rid of his difficulty
by saying that when the Constitution talks
about States it means Territories, because
that is not so; but he brings himself to that
relactio ad absmdum which, with his peculiar
perspcacity he saw straight before him if
the Territory is sovereign, as there is no re-
striction upon that sovereignty in the
Constitution, because the Constitution re-
stricts only the sovereignty Of the States
and the Federal Government necessarily the
people of Territory have right to raise
armies, to wage war, to emit bills of credit, to
exercise all those powers that the Constitution
of the United States prohibits the States from
exercising. In order to get rid of this direct
additional absurdity into which he was pledged
he saw no other remedy than to appeal to the
nonsense of the public with statement that
the Constitution of the United States meant
Territories" when it said "StateS.'
But sir, have said that the honorable SEN
ator from Illinois had in this msgazine taken
the arguments used by his Republican oppon-
ent in the Senatorial canvass in Illinois and
put them before the people of the country as
arguments against his Democratic associates
who differed with him in opinion. l have
read to you what Mr.. Lincoln said on that sub
ject in his speech in September, 1859 Here
is what Mr.. Lincoln said in the speech deliver
II k.xk Iut 70
boro, on the 18th of September, 1858.
"To this Judge Douglas answered that
they (the people of a Territory can lawfully
exclude slavery in the Territory prior to the
formation of constitution. He goes on to
tell us how it can be done. As understand
him, he holds that it can be done by the Ter
ritorial Legislature refusing to make any en-
actments for the protection Of slavery in the
Territory, and especially by adopting I'M
friendly legislation to it. For the sake of
clearness will state it again: that they can
exclude slavery from their Territory, first, by
Withholding what he assumes to be an indis-
pensable assistance to it in the way of legi~la-
ton and, second, by unfriendly legislation
If rightly understand him, l wish to ask
your attention for while to his position.
an the first place, the Supreme Court of
the United States has decided that any con-
gressional prohibition of slavery in the Ter
ritories is Observation-Disclosures they have
reached this proposition as conclusion from
their former proposition, that the Constitution
of the United States expressly recognizes
property in slaves, and from that other con-
stitutional provision, that no person shall be
deprived of property without due process of
law"
Pretty straightforward propositions, one
would suppose.
"Henee they reach the conclusion that as
the Constitution of the United States express
ly recognizes property in slaves, and prohibits
auy person from being deprived of property |
without due process Of law, to pass an act Of |
Congress by which man who owned slave |
on one side of line would be deprived of him |
if he took him on the other side, is depriving
him of that property without due process Of
law. That understand to be the decision
of the Supreme Court. ! understand, also
that Judge Douglas adheres most firmly to
that decision and the difficulty is, how is it /