Southern shield., 1860-01-28
A PEEP AT THE RECORD.


 The Brandon Miss .Repu6lican bring to light the record of the contest fol Speaker in 1855, which is quite an inter esting document just at this time. It vii be remembered that the Democracy, whicl now professes to abhor squatter soyer eighty to such an extent as to declare that they will not support SIr. Douglas even if he is the nominee of the Charles ton convention. at that time supported Mr. William A. Richardson, of Illinois Mir. Douglas first Lieutenant, for tht speakership. In the progress of the de bate (which occurred during the protracted hallotings for the Speakership at that time, Mr. Zollicoffer propounded q series of interrogatories to the gentlemen who were being voted for for that office In his reply, Mir. Richardson used the fol lowing language, which can be found in the Congressional Globe, volume g, 2,-pages 222 and 223:
 MT. Richardson. In nreply to the first question of the gentleman from Tennes- see, MT. Zsllicofer) l have to say yo- ted for the bills organizing the Territories of Nebraska and Kansas because thought them just to all, and defended that vote before my constituents upon that ground Iimended Men, and / i,a- tefd noac that tse people ssho % Mere O. ac]lo hdre gone Hoge, shaU decide tie qases- ton of slare,y .tor themselres, and so fsd as could, admit them as a Stats,,, MIA -os without slavery, as the peHples should de eide. .be
 --~.--av Y, x It is a principle lying at the foundation of all popular governments, that tse peo pie of eoch separate community shaH de eide .5or Meneseloes Me nature and charec ter of Ac institutions under which thes sholt iice, and by this principle 1 am pre- pared to live and die. l therefore voted for the Nebraska and Kansas bill, neither as pro-slavery nor anti-slavery measure but as a measure of equal rights and jus tlce to the people of all sections of oul common country.
 x
 IAe Consultation does not, in my opin- ion, carry the institutions of aaay of Me States into tue Territories, Jmt it affords tue saaae protection uzere to tle instttutioas of one State as of aaother. The citizen of Virginia Is as much entitled, in the common territory, to the protection of his property, under the Constitution, as the citizen of Illinois, but Joth are dependent upon the legislation of the teavitorial gou- ernme1t Jor ldaes to protect heiy property of aeAatecer Kind it may De- Thus, it will be seen that, though there may be upon this point difference theoretically--in- volylng question for judicial decision yet there IS none practically, among the friends of non-intervention by Congress as the practical result is to place the de- cision of the question in the hands of those whc are most deeply interested in it's solution-viz the people of tbe Terri tory who have made 1t their hone, and whose interests are the most deeply in yolved in the character of the institutions under which they are to live"
 The Republican then calls attention to the vote which Mr. Richardson received, after the above plain declaration of his views, in which he declared that all prop erty Tn the Territory was dependent upon the action of the leople cf tie Territory, from which it appeared that every South ern Democrat voted for him, as they had done before, and among them were Messrs. Quitman, Wright, Bennett and Barksdale, of Mississippi -t-slrus---.-ss ,sa,elly eiidofsed Mir Douglas squatter sof tt9 ees,, e-. ty doctrines with full knowledge of whs they were doing Vicks6,wg Uhig.