The register. (Monroe, La.) 185?-1861, 1860-08-02

over and over again that, ia accepting the
nomination under that platform, indorsea tao
doctrine of squatter Sovereignty / suppose
you have all heard this repeated thousand
tines
\ voice. I'VE knew il was lie II"
Well, lam glad you did.
How beautifully this plain principle of con.
st'tatlonal law corresponds with the best inter.
ests OF the people! Under It, cmigranls from
the North and the South, from the East and
the West, proceed to the Territories. They
carry with them that property which they sup.
pose will best promote their material interests ;
they live together in peace and harmony. ,Thc
question Of slavery will become ferteene
conclusion before they have Inhabitants enough
to enter the union us state, There will then
be no " bleeding Kansas /" in the Territories :
they viii all live together IN pence and harmo-
ny promoting the prosperity of the Territory
and their own prosperity, until the timo shall
arrive when ii becomes necessary to frame n
constitution. Then the whole question will be
decided to the general satisfaction. But upon
the opposite principle, what will ton nud in
the Territories Why, there will be strife and
contention all the time. One territorial lcgis-
latnre may establish slavery and another terri,
tor'al legislature may abolish t. and 20 the
struggle will be continued thrcnghou. the terri
tor'al existence. The people. instead Of dcvot-
ing their energies and Industry to promote
their own prosperity, will be in state Of con.
stant strife and turmoil, just as we have wit.
messed in Kansas. Therefore there is no posi-
bic principle that can be so Injurious 10 the
pest Interests ofa Territory us what has been
called Squatter sovereignty.
Now let mo place the subject before YOU in
another point of view. The people of the
Southern States cnn never abandon the urent
principle OF State equality in the Union with,
ont selEdegrcdaIon tNcverD Never without
an acknowledgment that they are inferior Y,
this respect to their sister States Whilst n
is vital to them to preserve their auua,iw, the
N'Flhern States surrender nothing by admit
tlng this principle. In dong this they only
yield obedience to the Constitution OF thcir
county, MS exponnded by the Supreme Court
OF itc United States Will. for tho North II
is comparatively mere abstraction, with the
south isa question Of ce.oqnal State sovcr
cisnty in the Unioa.
If the decrces of The high tribunal establish.
ed by the Constitution for the very purpose
are TO be set ut naught und tlisrcgardcl It win
tend to render all the property of every dc.
scripiion insecure, Whnt, then have the North
to do? Merely to say that, us good cIizons
they will yield obedience TO the decisions of
the Supreme Court, and admit The right of n
Southern man to take his property into the
Territories, and hold il there, Just as u North,
ern man may do and II is 10 mo the mohl cx.
traor1nary thing in the world that this coun-
try should now be distracted md divided be-
cause certain persons at the North will not
agree that their brethren at tho South shnll
have the same rights in the Territories which
they enjoy, What would as n Pennsylvania
say or do supposns any body was tocoutcnd
that the Legislature of any Territory could
outlaw iron and coal within the Territory
daughter md chcors,) The principle is pre-.
ciscly the same. The Supreme Court of the
United teshnyc decided what WAS known
to us all TO have been the existing ea.c
of affairs fifty years-that slaves are property
Admit the fact, md you admit every thing.
Then that property in the Territories must be
protected precisely in the same manner with
any other property lit be not SO protected
in tho Territories the holders Of IL arc degra
dcd before the world. =,
We have been told that non-nicryentioh on
the part of Congress with slavery In the Terri
tories is the true policy. Very we'll. I must
cheeriully admit that Congress hns no right to
pass any law to establish, impair or abolish
slavery in tho Territories. Let this principle
of fnonntervcntion be extended to the Terri.
torial Legislatures, aud let II be declared that
they in like manner have no power to oslal-
lisb, impair Or destroy slavery, and then the
controversy is in effect ended Thisis all that
is required at present, and verify believe nll
gress, and hands Off by Tho Territorial Lcgsla-
tnre. cloud npplausc) with The Supreme
Court Of the United States hold that neither
Congress nor the Territorial Legislature has
any power to establish, impair or abolish slave
ry in the Territories. Bat If in the face Of this
positive prohibition, the Territorial Legisla-
turc should exercise the power Of intervening,
then this would be Il mcrc transfer of the vii.
mot proviso and the Buffalo platform from
Congress to be carried into execution in the
Territories this the destruction of MI proper
ty in slaves Rencwed arplause)
An attempt Of this kind, If made in Congress
would be resisted by able men on the floor of
both Houses, and probably defeated. Not so
in q remote Territory. To every new Terrific
ry there will be n rush of Frec-Soilcrs from the
Northern States. They would elect the first
Territorial Legislature before the people OF The
South could arrive with their property, and
this Legislature would probably settle forever
the question ofslavery according to their own
will.
And shall we, for the sake ofSquatter Sovcr.
eighty, which, from its nature, can only con
,inue during the brief period Of Territorial ex,
isicucc, incur the risk of dividing The great
Democratic party of the country into two rec
tional parties, the one North aud the other
South Shall This great party which has gov
crncd the country in peace and war, which has