Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1860-09-16

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Territorial LEGISLATION against it. s'No saafrer okc
the decision Of the Supreme Court may be OK tkat "a
street question sti4 the right Of te peopls 10 MAKE
slave territory free territory Is perfect and CON
plete under the Nebraska biz.
Gentlemen, in SnsWer to tbs accusation aRains
me- Of first holding and then abandoning this doe
trine, and which I have dispTOVed, have to sa-
that il is not siatesmsnlke TO agree to refer con
troversy on q Constitutional point to she suprem
Court Of the country, and when the Court has de
cided sgainst you, to say, "no matter how 1t maj
decide, l will find means to evade il, if agans
me-"
No. It is not for q statesman to point out to I
subordinate legislative tribunal some device, Wheth
er it be non-tction or unfriendly legislation, by
which it may destroy constitutional right.
That locke almost as much like ''higher Law" al
some other "higher law We heard Of further East
Laughter and spplause
And now, il | were disposed to initiate an emf
nent bat bad example, 1 might say, 'fbers is no
sn honest man in America" who can deny tha
when the friends Of the Kansas bill differed upoI
the question Of the power Of Congress or q Terri
tory to exclude slave property during the Terrific
rial condition. they sgreedto refer this Constitution
81 question to the Supreme C0urt-thai Mr. Doug
las was party to this sgreement-that the Court
decided ufou q case property arising that neither
Congress nor Territory have the power TO exclude
Southern property from the common dOmain-and
finally, that Mr. Douglas, notwithstanding the agree
ment, yet declares that the legislature may expel
slave property from the territories, and carefully
points out the mode By Whichs he supposed the de-
cision of the Supreme Court may be evadsd. Loud
applause
But am content merely to state the facts, and
! let the public draw their own conclusions.
/ Fellow citizens the serious illness under which
| have suffered for some days, makes II almost n-
possible for me to address this vast assembage so
IS to be fully heard and renders it necessary l
should be brief PASS on to view Of this sub
| ject in another aspect oft.
Nov, gentlemen, how is this question met! Do
not the Constitutional Democracy meet it BY fair,
manly appeals the Of the people and to the
Constitution! Do We not state our principles fair
! ly? Do We not state them in the very language Of
the Supreme Court Of the United States itself? Do
We not stand upon the Constitution IS sdjudieated
by the Court, and do We not express reasons in
temperate, manly, and respectful arguments! The
| language in which the Supreme Court states the
Territorial question and decides it, and the
in which 1t is stated by the distinguished Senator
| from Illinois-hoH different! Here questions
upon which tae highest inteecis Of the country
exercised, engaging the anxious attention Of your
Wisest and best men, engaging the attention Of
your highest judicial tribunal, debated in the Sen
ate, in the House Of Representatives, before an
anxious people Who want to know the truth.
The question should be discussed on the strictest
principles uf the Constitution di7ested Of all preu
dice and passion. Yet this is the style Of appeal
commonly employed 0y Mr.. Douglas and the most
heated Of his followers 'you shall not force slave
ry down the thrOats of an unwilling people"
The argument consists Of an appeal 70 the pas
sions of one section Of the Union against the other
section of the Union Mr.. Douglas himself has
sometimes admitted, that under our system, slave
property stands upon the same footing with other
property. The Supreme Court of the United States
has, as have shown, decided that under the Con-
stitution it stands upon the same footing and has
the same right to protection, and that all property
alike must be guarded and protected in the COM
mon Territories as other property. Yet We hear
the sccusston of forcing slavery down the throats
of anunWiiliug people," This is the mode Of treat
ing questions Of constitutional right and private
property
Substitute the word s'property" for the word
'slaves" since slave and other property have been
shown to stand on the same footing, and see how ii
would reqd: You shall not force slavery down the
throats OF an unwilling people 'You shall not
force property down the throats Of an unwilling
people" Laughter and cheers
Why, the territorial authority is the creature Of
Congress Congress is the creature of the COnstitu
ton the Constitution is the creature Of the States
and here you would have little territorial legis-
lsture three four degrees removed from the Orgi
nal source of power, with the right to exclude all
the States Of the UslCn With s their property from
their own domain. [Applause. This is the ire
sistabls conclusion These not the doctrines of
the Constitutional Democracy. Cheers. These
are not the doctrines Of the Kentucky Opposition,
or at least they were not last year. These not
the doctrines Of the Constitution ITSELF These are
sectional doctrines-these not the doctrines that
make for the peace and harmony of the Union, Of
the States. ICheers. And forsooth because We
will not take them and abandon the whole practice
Of the Government and the decisions Of the Supreme
Court; because will MT bow down to the dec
trine that dsprves US Of our rights We sre boters,
demsgOgues, secessionists, disunioDists lContin
ued applause The distinguished Senator Of Illi-
nois said at Norfolk VIC are "faetiOn and must be
destroyed" When We are destroyed they will have
struck their dsggers through and through the Con-
stiiution of their country. Immense applause
Just here my friends, | want to say q word about
the doctrine of nCn-nteIvention which is adroitly
mixed up with the phrases Popular Sovereignty"
and "Squatter Sovereignty" with view to confuse
the people.
Tbs names of Clay, Webster, aud other eminent /
have been invoked to sustain this doc
trine Of Territorial power, and the compromises Of
1850 have been invoked for tie came purpose. !
assert that from 1913 down TO the period when this
false doctrine, repugnant alike to the Constitution
and reason, was thrust upon he country, re-
spectacle political party held the opinion that Ter
ritorial Legislature had the right TO define or ex
cude property, pending the Territorial condition.
When did Clay ever hold such doctrines! When
were such doctrines ever embodied in the oompro
mise measures of l850i The legislation Of that
period shows that non-interventiOu Wss meant to
apply equally to Congress and to The Territorial Gov
erRmsnt.
The statesmen of that Gay looked TO the period
when they should come into the Union rs State,
IS the time when the Territorial authority aght act
the subject Of property, and hold or exclude the
slave property Of the South. [Applause.
Time will not allow me 10 do much m're than
state these propositions, but will read short ex
tracts from the celebrated report made by the Com
mittes Of Thirteen, (of which Mr.. Clay was chair
man, which resulted in the Compromise Measures
of 1850. 1t is calm. lucid, has clsp-Lrsp phra-
ses, and in its tone is like the clear aud elevated
language Of the Supreme Court:
1t is high time that the wounds which it has in
acted should be healed up and closed and that TO
avoid in all future time the agitation which must be
produced by the conflict of opinion on the slavery
question-existUg as this Institution does in some
OF the States and prohibited it is in others the
true principle which ought to regulate the action Of
Congress in forming Territorial Governments for each
newly acquired domain, is 10 refrain from all legis
aton on the subject in the Territory acquired 90
long it retains the territorial form Of government
leaving it TO the people Of such erritory when they
hsve attained 10 condition which entities them to
admission as State, to decide for themselves the
question Of the allowance prohibition of domestic
slavery" Applause voice, ''That is true doc
Lrine"l
That, gentlemen, was non-intervention 10 1850
II wac no interference TO exclude by Congress, or
Inc Territorial Legislature, but to leave the ques-
lion 70 be decided by the people, when they came
TO form their State Constitution. It is as much
violation Of the doctrine Of non-interVention Tor
Territorial Legislature, under Mr.. Douglas ors9
new theory, 10 exclude slave property, as u Houiu
be- for Congress 10 introduce il by positive law
Here is the opinion of Webster, uttered about tne
,ame time. in the Senate, upon this question of
Territorial power:
"We have always gone upon the ground that
these territorial governments we're IN state o.
rrn;I.ss mndsr tie protection or patronage Of the
f.aI ,o-srnr,ent The Territorial Legislature
Sss : cosstitusiOn prescribed BY Congress. They
bsys no rover not given by that Congress. They