Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1860-05-02

raos srr.cn OF rseE rss.pEsr nagsEIsEIBaE.

,arty imatera Tbs majority af e people, by the action
q the Territorial legislature viii decide the qusstsn; and all
must aslds tbs decision when made
TRoN TEE SAM
Bul nonnterventon Congress be ths principle that
ande the Compross Of 1885, then the prohibition OF 1920
eeng Inconsistent with that pnaipe should be removed, sna
perfect nonintervention thus Be established BY Law
o. the enemies Of this bill, perhaps Is hagrnt, than
ne charge me. = propose. e slavery INTO ssossa ane
receive my The right establish involves corTeatve
ghtt prohibit and denying BOTH would vote for neither
Upou dracting question OF domestic slavery their posi-
ton IS clear The whole power o. the Deuocrac Organization
is pledged to the following propositions That Congress shall not
intep3se upon this subject in the States IN the Territories or IN
the District Of Couuba; that the people Of each Territory shall
Union upon footing OF perfect equality With the original sae
without on account Of the allowance or Prohten
Of slavery"
Faoa A SPEECH By hon. }. L ORR, ors.o
sNow admit that there is difference Of opinion am0ug.
Democrats 70 whether this feature o. squattsr sovereignty be
Grade party at Cincinnati rested was that the government Of
the Territories had transferred from Congress and carrying
the people Of the Territorie3."
IRON SPEECH By HON. 4. STEPHENS, OF sEoRslA.
Te whole question Of slavery slavery was to BE- left to
30 any line The question vas to be taken out u
Congress- where It had been improperly thrust from me oen
cid themselves This say, the position originally held
BY the Missouri restriction was at nrsi proposed
The principle upon which that position rests, lies AZ the very
foundation Of all Republican Institutions It IS hatth cru
Of distinct and separate community or ste seoud
and t6ss new saoud De free from he intermeadng
srbtary dctation on such matters, any
other power Government. in which they no voice"
Mr.. PAYNE continued. But for consuming time,
he could read a half an hour to show that every
eminent Southern man had held the same opinion on
the doctrine Of popular sovereignty.
ran interruption then tool; place from the music
of the Firemen's Parade, then passing the dOOrs.l
Mr.. PAYNE would read from the Cincinnati Plat
form to show what i laid down. All should be IA
miiar with it.
The American Democracy recognize and adopt
the principles contained in the organic laws, es-
tablshing the Territories of Kansas and Nebras-
ka as embodying the only sound safe solution of
the slavery question npOn which the great
National idea of the people of this whole coun-
try can repOse in its determined conservatism OF
the Observation-Disclosures by Congress with
slavery in State and Territory or in the District of
Columbia"
They nominated Mr.. Buchanan on that Platform,
agreed on by the representatives of every State III
the Union as the official record would show There
was not one dissenting voice in the whole list OF
States. In casting the vote Of North Carolina his
friend Mr.. Avery, then acting as Chairman Of his
| Delegation and now presenting the majority report
/ announced:
North Carolina gives ten votes for the Platform
I and will give ten thousand in November"
In his letter of acceptance, Mr.. Buchanan, in ar
emphatic and clearmanner, thus expressed his views
of the Platform:
THE recent legislation of Congress respecting
domestic slavery, derived as it has been, from th'
original and pure fountain of Legitimate polltca
power, the will of the majority promises ere long
to allay the dangerous excitement. This Legislation
is founded upon principles ancient as free gov
eminent itself, and in accordance with them ha
simply declared that the people of Territory
Ike those Of State, shall decide for themselve
whether slavery shall or shall not exist within thei
limits "
The Kansas-Nebraska act does no more thai
give the force of law to this elementary prncipl
Of seIf-government declaring it to be the true in
and meaning Of this act not to legslate SLAYER
into any Territory State, to exclude it there
from. but to leave the people thereof pertecu
free to form and regulate their domestic institution
in their own way, subject only to the COnstsutio
of the United States This principle will surel
not be controversial by any individual Of an
party protesting devotion to popular government
} Besides. how vain and illusOry, would any othe
principle prove in practice in regard to the Terr
tories"
IAgain an interruption occurred from the music
when a delegate moved that a committee wait o
the Mayor and request him to stop the noise in tn
strcets.l [Laughter.l
Mr.. PAYNE had extracts yet behind of speeche
from Stevens, of Georgia, one of the most distir
gushed statesmen Of the South-frOm NJ. Bel
iamin, of LOuisiOna-Mason. of Virginia-mOr
qualified, he admitted but still emphatic
The Senator from Delaware, too, Mr.. Bayard ha
fully endorsed the doctrine Oh popular sovei
eighty.
So had Mr. Badger, of North Carolina, and Julg
Butler Of South Carolina. Mr.. Hunter, OF Virgin
ia certainly of the wisest and purest statesme
which the Democracy now numbers amongst he
leaders in the land-he also, says that the peOpl
shall have the right TO decide on all questions IT
lating to their domestic institutions In his speec
he used these words almost identical with the pla
form of the minority
The bill provids that tie Legislatures of thes
Territories shall have power TO legislate over a
rghtful subjects Of legislation consistent with Oh
, Constitution. And if they should assume power
which are thought to be inconsistent with the Coz
sttution the Courts will decide that question whel
ever it may be raised. There Is a difference c
opinion among the friends of this measure as to tn
extent of the limits which the Constitution impose
upon the Territorial Legislatures. This bill pre-
pcs $ to leave these differences to the decision
the Courts. To that tribunal | am willing to leav
this decision, as it was once before proposed To
left by the celebrated compromise Of the Senate
from Delaware
He also read an extract of a similar characte
from a speech of Mr.. TOOmbs Of Georgia, one
the boldest men the floor of the America
Senate taking ground in favor of noT-nterventio
by Congress
Need he accumulate these extracts to show tina
not a single statesman who has figured in Congress
of late years but has taken this high ground. And
for the NOrth-the Northern mind Is thoroughly III
bued with the principle of popular sovereignty
You cannot tear it out Of the peoples hearts will
out tearing away the heart-strings themselves. W
ask nothing for the people Of the Territories Du
what the Constitution allows them; for we say W
abide by the decision Of the Courts, who are tn
final interpreters of the Constitution. By their de
cision we will abde-we will carry them out in goo
faith From that position we cannot. III honor rC
cede. He alluded to the resolutions of the Obi
Convention show that the Democracy Of that Stat
fully endorses the Cincinnati Platform.
Now we say, that this question of slavery in tn
Territories Is to be settled by the Supreme Court
the United States We say this doctrine Of Congress
sional Intervention has been fruitful source OF mis-
chief separation and heartburnngs. We say t
the doctrine of nOn-interVentiOn and popular SOW
ereirnty we are committed. and that cannot re
Cede from it without personal dlshOnOr, and so hell
rs God, we never loU recede from it. He hoped
would not be thought that he was threatening.
The South says this is a surrender Of her person
al rights He was bound to be believe them SINGER
and honest but he thought them greatly mistaken
He asked them to believe him equally sincere whe
he said that consistency and serespect was as dea
to a Northern Democrat as to their own warm ant
generous Southern hearts, and when he said ais
that the surrender Of the doctrine OF popular soy
ereignty would be the signal for the overthrow 0
the Democrats of the Northern States he said in al
sOemnty that if the first resolution of the majority
report is accepted. they could expect no aid iron
the North in the electoral vote for their nominee
He argued. in reply to the remarks Of Mr.. Avery
that few years since it was to the North the DE
mOcrary looked for success
lie hoped to God they never should get along with
out Southern States; but he reminded them tlat III
Pierce could have been elected had no Southern
Stat voted for him. Take his own State, where
abolition RACES, and chen talk about fighting thu
enemy When the Missouri Compromise was re
pealed the State was carried by the enemy By so,
600 majority, and the Democracy had not single
! representative in Congress.
In 1856, on the Cincinnati Platform, they had re
duced the majority. 1t now nearly wiped out
and with the minority platform now, they could car
ny the State for the Democratic nominee. he hel(
that the South was far interested in the Tesul
of the next election than the North. We can live
we can stay in the Union. under Republican Presi
dent and a Republican Supreme Court 1t was fol
! the South to say whether they could do so.
He desired to impress the South with a sense o
the difficulties the Democracy of the North have t.
encounter. We cannot carry the elections, for we
cannot enter into the contest wltlany heart If yoJ
take away from us those cherished principles witt
which alone we can hope for success. He told then
the solemn truth. And what would the South do /
the whole government like the present House O
Representatives is yielded into the hands Of thu;
party of the irrepressibe conflict. They are thj
men who would surround you with Gordon Of free
States, so that slavery might sting itself to dealt