Gazette and sentinel., 1860-11-03
Laurent J. sigur and Squatter Sow
ereignty.

ereignty.
The name Of Laurent J. Sigur-the learn
ed and eloquent advocate and tribune, the
fearless and pure minded politician, the just
and generous citizen-wil ever remain among
the brightest in the esteem and honor of those
Of his native parish who admire superior ge
MUS, wisdom and worth. No man in his
State among its private citizens, and lew II
any in a public capacity, ever had a greater
clam or reputation for high craftsmanship
abilities, for political foresight, and for all the
Qualities in fact which shed lustre on mar
and his memory, than did Laurent j. S'gur.-
In all the walks of his short but glorious ca.
reer, whether in public or private life, it was
as evident and inetfaceable as the impress OF
the anvil, that principle, and principle alone'
above all feelings Of seliishness or of grovel'
ing ambition, was the guiding star of his lie,
"come veal or come woe!"
These remarks were induced from the CIR
cumstance Of this lamented citizen being
again brought to our mind in consequence OF
the course he took in 1857, in defence OF the
very principle for which the friends OF Breck-
inridge and Lane are now contending- which
was the cause Of the Constitutional Democ-
racy of the South withdrawing itself from the
abolitionized Democracy of the North under
the lead Of Douglas-and which, II he had
lived, would have placed the gifted Slgur, to-
day, alongside of the equally gifted and pa
triotic Yancey, in battling for Southern Rights
and the Equality of the States.
4 friend has called our attention TO a Sem
tence in an extra Of the Southern Sentinel o
! Sept. IA, 1857, (Which he furnished us) con,
tainin, a report Of Mr.. S,gur's speech in this
place. That sentence divuIged the eloquent
sneakers idea Of Squatter Sovereignty. That
is the snhject that is now div ding Us. Read
the following. then, friends Of Sigur, who
cav him so glorious a majority for Congress
in 1857, and ask yourselves il you shall mol
stand by his principles now, and by the party
he would have stood by il living, as you Sc
nobly stood by hun on the I'd Of November
1857
"Mr. Sigur COntcndcd that any one
opposed t. the Odious doctrine of squat
ter Sovereignty insisted that Congress
had no control over the Territories, ne
was actually advocating such a doctrine
nithoat k]ao,rjpg Il. He said that the
right to acquire induced the right It
govern. If the Government come:
into the possession of territory, 1t II
bound to govern it under the Constr
%tutiOm-to protect the common inter
ests of the people of each State in Sucl
territory, their rights in emiGratinG Il
it, and to secure protection to them
selves and property when there. That
consequently, this hypothesis exclude
or destroys the correctness OF the prln
ciplc of Squatter Sovereignty, as TIN
recognizes the right of a people of
! territory, in its territorial shape, t
frame their own l~aws-thus eflectuall.
, excluding from the enjoyment or part
. cipation in the political completion o
such territory those whose description o
=, property was Objectionable. That thi
; is a dangerous and most .iniquitou
I doctrine, said Mr.. Sigur, no sound Sol
thern or national man can deny"
: This was the principle-the principle
r equal national rights-which fred the bosol
of Mr.. Sigur in 1857, and which now burr
with a steady glow in the breasts of the Col
= = stitutional Democracy Of 1860. is there
friend of the lamented Sigur who could dout
: : the position he would now take, were he y
n upon the soil and among the people he love
= so well2 Is there one in 1berville in who's
n memory there is a bright green spot for the
: distipgu shed friend and fellow. citizen, tn
s once eloquent defender Of our hearthstone
who will not now cling to the doctrine an
the party.which he would have chung to;
who will not on Tuesday next vote as
'e would have voted, to preserve intact the gu
to Isnteed institution and privileges of his Sc
ton, under the Constitutional rights and equs
'r ty of the States? Will not Bayou Goula,
that occasion, give such evidence Of its pri'
= in being the home of its learned, eloque
J, aud patriotic son, who now lies at rest
near it, in the shade Of the myrtle and I
pine7 We are sure Of it. 1t would be dit
- cult for us to believe hat its love for him a
!. his teachings could so soon be forgotten.