The Lansing state Republican. [volume] (Lansing, Mich.) 1855-1874, 1860-04-10


ton or rebuke. exercise the power Of gov
erning the Territories furnishing their off
GERS, aud retaining a negative or approval
upon the acts Of respective Territorial Leg
isIatures. la the case of Florida, Congress
five times, between 1898 and 1888, ap
proved Of, and eleven times, during the
same period, amended the laws of her Leg.
islature
The people will not. if gentlemen on
this floor dare, impugn the Democracy o!
jackson. During his Administration, in
1886. law was passed. declaring "tha,
no act Of the Territorial Legislature :ncor-
porating any banking institution. hereafter
to be passed. shall have any force or effect
whatever until approved or confirmed by
Congress" Twice did jackson arrest the
Legislatures Of Wisconsin and Florida in
violation of this law. This power was ques.
toned in 1920, when Mr.. Monroe land ali
bis Cabinet, with possibly the exception Of
MIR. Calhoun, majority Of whom were
slaveholders) and bis Democratic Admins.
tratlon acknowledged the right. and ap.
proved It's vAriUisv.
Even in 1s4S, Mr.. Polk signed, and q
Democratic Administration approved, the
Oregon bill. in which slavery was prohibi.
ted. 1t is said Mr.. Polk approved the bill
because the Territory lay north of 36 deg,
~ minutes That does not weaken the
force of the argument that he recognised
the existence of the power. from the fact Of
exereisingi it. The line of S6 deg. 80 min
by its very terms. only extended to the
Louisiana purchase, and could not be ap
piled to any other Territory. unless espec.
tally enacted. 1t did not reach west Of the
Rocky Mountains and when the South
insisted that the line, in 1S47-'4S, should
be extended to the Pacific, tho very fac,
that they urged an extension of the line BY
Congress is an irresistible argument that
they believed Congress had the power SO to
extend it. They claimed that. in the spir
it Of the Legislation of 1890. the line should
be extended to the Pacific. They did
not 0usstion the po,cer of Congress 50
Tong as they hoped TO control st. o--~
else. Hence, there was no possible re-
straint on Mr.. Polk from vetoing tho Ore.
gon bill. had he or his party believed Con
grsss possessed no such power. Polk had
only to restrain Legislation. not to undo
but to keep from doing, in order to save
the Constitution.
In 1854, the Democratic party believed
or professed to believe, that Congress had
no such power, and it had no hesitation ir
destroying the work of the fathers. BY
way of episode, allow me to add that Mr.
Buchanan, at Lancaster, November 23d
1919, offered resolution that the Repre-
sentatives in Congress are most earnestly
requested to use their utmost endeavors
as members of the National Legislature, t.
prevent the extension of slavery in any o
the Territories or States which may be crea
ted by Congress" Does Mr.. Buchanan
occupy that position to-day? He went /,
step further In behalf of freedom than tht
Republicans on this floor. Was Mr.. Blu
chanan a murder and traitor in 1919?
In 1910 and 1923. the Supreme Cour
of the United States recognised and affirmed
this power of Congress under the Consti
tuition.
Such is the uniform and concurrent his
torical, legislative. and judicial history Q
: this subject, down to 1853. At that time
the fruitful valleys and rich mines of Cali
fornia aroused the lust Of gain and desir
for power in the breast of the STAKEHOLDER
+ They sought market on the Pacific coz.
for a human merchandise. and were ava
ricious for the control of that princely do
f main, and they knew their only way wa
through and over tho well.de6ned legisla
ton Of the country. They also knew tn
. influence a few slave owners would excl
else that less than three hundred thous
!, and controlled fifteen States of the Uniol
: and they sought to take the arm of Coz
gress between their unholy desires and th
s object of their ambition. Lewis Cass wa
3 easily moulded to their purposes In h
famous Nicholson letter, which procure
for him the title of father of squatter sove
: eighty. he says:
81 am strongly impressed with the opiniC
that great change has been going on in Il
); public mind upon this subiect-in my own
we'll as others."
e Change from what? Clearly from ii
'- restrictive policy of Congress. If squatt'
sovereignty had always been the faith
It the party, there was no occasion for
J. change In the same letter, he declare
e the result Of the change to be. leavir
d the people Of the Territories to regula
e their internal concerns in their own way
, they are just as capable Of doing 50 as Il
+ people of the States" This was to be Il
II open-.esame for the extension of slavery {
e the Pacific coast 1t was all the sla'
1t power demsnded Under it they expects
to expand and conquer. But the swift Gu
II rent Of events brought California into t
1t Union before they could stake the baza
r on the race; and this day We rejoice th;
A. in the land of the setting SUD, the clankil
chains of oppression CRATE not with nature
D. harmony, and her soil is not vet with {
er sweat and tears and blood of tho slave.
y. In 1S47. the Northern Democracy d
y, not doubt the constitutional right Of Ca
r gress to prohibit slavery in the Territori
to but claimed that Congress should not :
as upon the subject until the war with Mex
's- was terminated, and it should be first asc
ss tanned whether We were to acquire ad
Sc tional domain. The Legislatures Of all
Is. Democratic free States. save one, pas
e. resolutions demanding that slavery shot