The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1860-03-22

superior authority over another, now Qlu II
get it before government was organized ?
| The object of inserting the words in tn
: Declaration of Independence has been pro
claimed thousand times. It was this on
ancestors were people fleeing from the tyr
amy and the despotisms of the Old World
escaping from countries where the idea pre-
vailed that one man had divine right t
rule over another and they meant, whei
they were proceeding to form government
as the first thing they did, to write it dowr
in that immortal Declaration, that their pos
terity in all time might SEQ it that they
might look to it as the polar star by which
they should ever be guided in their future
legislation, and should never forget it, the
great natural right of all men to life, liberty
and happiness. Now, keep that in view
with your eyes fixed upon that star of the
equal rights Of all, 60 on and frame your
government, infringing as little as possible
upon that great natural right. That you
must infringe somewhat we know but we
| repudiate and trample under foot, for our
| selves and forever, the idea that one man is
born with right over another That is what
the Declaration of Independence meant, and
no such thing as that in organized society we
must have perfect equality inpossibility;
and the Republican party in Illinois has con
tended for no such thing, as its principles,
proclaimed in its platform, will show.
But my colleague says that the clause Of
the Declaration Of Independence, that all
men are created equal, meant the governing
race, that was contending against Great
Britain, and nobody else. Well, suppose
lift meant only those who were at that time,
and contended against Great Britain, it wo1ld
hardly embrace their posterity even and if
it did, then it would not embrace emigrants
from other countries. | suppos, according
to that theory, the Germans, or the
inhabitants Of any country, who should
come to this that were not engaged in the
conflict of the Revolution, though their skins
were as white as his, are not embraced by
the Declaration Of Independence. | give
no such narrow meaning to that instrument
But there is repeated here for the thou
sandth time, that each State should be left
to manage its own affairs as it pleases. Who
ever disputed it =? Here is another windmill
The Republican party has not disputed the
right of each State to manage its own domes.
| tic affairs, without interference either from thc
! Federal Government or any other State. So
far from it, the Republican party Is an advo
cate Of that doctrine, declares in its platform
that the rights of each State shall be main
tained in the Union, as well as the rights o.
| the Federal Government under the Constitu
ton and this attempt to mix up States with
Territories is only calculated to confuse
The contest between parties is not about th(
interference oreither party with the institu
tons of the States; but it is in regard to the
government of the Territories while the terri
torial condition continues.
We have heard repeated here, again, r
this connection, that the great principle o
Popular Sovereignty was stricken down il
Kansas by the Emigrant Aid Society.
| shall not now reitcrate the facts to disproyC
that statement. The Kansas Nebraska bill
itself, of which my colleague was the advo
cate, trampled Popular Sovereignty unde,
foot, and the people in Nebraska and in Kan
sas to day are not allowed to have their vii
on this very subject of slavery. Why, sir
| but short time ago the Territorial Legisla
turc Of Nebraska passed bill to exclude
slavery from that Territory. Did it go int
force ? Is it a law ? No, sir. Why not
1 Ny colleague says that the Kansas Nebraskf
bill established this right. Wen, if it die
establish it, why do not the people of Ne
braska have it They have tried to exclude
slavery; their Legislature has voted to ex
clude it, and they have not accomplished it
Why? Because he put it into the Kansas
Nebraska bill that a majority of the people o
Nebraska should not be permitted to oexclud
slavery. He put it into that bill that th
President of the United States should ap
point Governor to rule over the people o
Nebraska; and when a proposition was mad,
to allow them to elect their own Governor
that they might have Governor of their owl
choice, he, with his friends voted it down
and insisted upon sending Governor VIII
isnow ruling over that people by prohibitin,
them, through his veto power, from keepin,
slavery out of the.Territory. That is you
Kansas Nebraska bill, that is your illustra
ton of Popular Sovereignty. And here il
another, Mr.. President. hold in my hant
the veto message Of Gov. Medary, of the bill
prohibiting slavery in Kansas. This identi
cal Territory of Kansas passed law to pro
hibit slavery therein, through its Legislature
and yet the Governor, by virtue ofthc powe
which the advocates of the Kansas -Nebrask
bill, inserted in il, vetoed the bill, and wi
not allow the people of Kansas to exclud
slavery. Beautiful illustration of Popula
Sovereignty to force a Governor on Terri
tory, and give him two thirds of its legisla
tive power.
j The government is divided into three de
.partments in Kansas, one of which is tn
judiciary. Who appoints hejudges? The,
are all appointed by the President of tn
| United States. The people of Kansas ar
told, "Do just as you please, but at the sam
time remember yor are not to elect your owl