Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1860-03-23
. + i..yo[For the Journal II
Information Given.


Sledge," in yesterdays Joasnal, is so anxious
to be posted on the laws of his country, after
himself quoting the Constitution and laws of
the United States, as construed by the United
States Supreme Court, and admitted and
practced by the people of the United States
at the time of the adoption of their Constitu-
ton; and as he asks, Ills Iowa q slave State?"
Doughface or no Doughface, l say, Yes.
| hope you will excuse me, Mr.. Editor, in
being somewhat lengthy, as my object is
ostensibly to satisfy Mr.. y. Sledge, and will
strive to tell things as they are, and to call
them by their right name, too.
And, first, will ask him how it is that he
has lived in the Territory of Iowa since its
organization, and has never known that his
rights and privileges under the Constitution
of the United States were Interchangeable by
| any human power, and would be forever the
same as the rights of those who made the
Constitution, no matter what the conclusions
of traitors and modern subverteHs Of our
country would be? Nor does it matter what
the speeches of some Of the patriots were at
the time of the formation of the Constitution.
! One thing was clear to them, and that was
| that, in order to form Union, they must
form the Constitution. They all had to come
to compromise, and all had to consent to the
Constitution as it reads-even to the provision
that it should never be altered, but might be
amended, which signifies to add to 1t the same
kind of doctrine.
Constitutions are made to define the rights
of citizens under them, and for the purpose
of securing the same to the minority against
the encroachmcnts of the majority. If slave.
holding is right guaranteed OF even justified
| by the Constitution of the United States, where
will you look for the power to destroy that
right? Do you suppose or claim that the ma
jority can take away any constitutional right
from the minority, simply by making State
Constitution Ii is your duty to know that
State Constitutions must be in accordance
with the Constitution of the United States,
and that every citizen is, either by birth or
oath, bound to support the Constitution of
the United States, as it is expounded by the
Supreme Court of the United States.
The Constitution Of the United States
describes and prescribes the rights of its
citizens, and they are uniform so far as the
United States extend, and there is no human
power which can alter or change one jot or
title of them. A State has only power, by
the will of the majority of the people, to make
rules or laws, which must have a uniform
operation in that particular State, under which
and by which all the people of that State shall
enjoy the rights guaranteed to them by the
Constitution Of the United States; hence,
when the Constitution of the United States
declares that the judges of each State are
bound to abide the Constitution of the United
States, anything in their particular State
rop RI tho oopt rory J;~..
it is very plain that, however many Infringe.
ments on the Constitution oftL.e United States
may be mada BY conventions forming State
Constitutions, or however many infringing
laws may be passed by the Legislatures under
State Constitutions, the Constitution of the
United States conpols the judges of the
different States to disregard them, aad to
declare the same n4;gato,y. Then why should
| not every citizen Of the United States have
equal rights within the limits of the whole
Union? And the same is true as regards
every other vested right of citizenship, and
that, too, in every State Of this American
Union. Know we, dissolution men and traitors
to the Union, that such is tie law OF your
cou nty.
IT'S, however, true that, originally, the
Democratic party devated from this standard
in so far as to allow each State the privilege
to decide for themselves, by ma jority Of
their votes, as to whether slavery should or
should'not be in the respective States. This
was conceded by way of compromising the
elements extant in the north eastern colanies.
ct the time of the organization o: the party,
WHICH clements emanated from the Tory
influence of the puritanical British crown,
which to this dav nervadaS tho minds
of every naturalization Black Republican,
Tory. Do you understand me- Mr. o. Sledge?
I am for the Constitution, the Union, and
Equal Rights under it, in and as far as my
country extends, submitting neither to
abridgement or Infringement. Mr.. o. Sledge,
don't smile; am not jesting.
. UNIoN-REPUBLIcAN.
P.S. Mr.. Editor, wish you would place
this answer right under 0. Sledge's article in
the Weekly Journal, so that Mr.. Sedge can
keep his eye on the one while he is reading
the other, for fear he cannot Every well
com nrehend y IouN n Srrry