White Cloud Kansas chief. [volume] (White Cloud, Kan.) 1857-1872, 1860-08-30

Gnu IN Tue unWrltten and com
mon law" and even Mr.. Douglas. liz
tie as be may care about nature and he,
laws, will hardly dare to assert that tn,
system of slave labor is the natural apc
normal condition Of society. It mus
then spring from positive law. But from
what kind of positive law Not from
any positive law of local and mum.
clPal character, for there is none such in
the territory so far. Where is its source
then There is but one kind of positive
law to which the territories are subject,
before any local Legislation has bean had
and that is the Consultation ollie United
States. If, therefore, Mr.. Douglas as.
serts, as be does, that q STAKEHOLDER has a
right to take his slave as property into q
territory, he must at the same time
admit that, in the absence of local legis-
lation positively establishing slavery, the
Constitution of the United States, the
only valid law existing there, must be
the source Of that right. What else does
Mr. Buchanan assert, but that slavery ex-
lists in the territories by virtue of the Fed
eral Constitution =! Where is, then, The
point Of difference 6etWeen Mr.. buchanan
and Mr.. Douglas ? Why all this pomp
and circumstance of glorious war p
Whence these fierce battles between the
Montechi and Capuletti of the Demo
cratic camp? Are ye not brothers ?
But Mr.. Douglas is statesman, $50
they are all, all statesmen, and pretends
that the Constitution does not establish
slavery in the territories, "6eyond the
po,rer of the people to control Il by Tau"
What does that mean 1t means that
the people of territory shall have the
power, not to exclude slavery by law, for
Douglas never uses that expression, but
to embarrass the stakeholder in the en-
joyment of his right, by "unfriendly leg
islation." The right to hold slaves, says
he, in another place, is a worthless right,
unless protected by appropriate police
regulations. If the people of territory
do not want slavery, they have but to
withhold all protection and all friendly
legislation" Indeed, most ingenious
expedisnt
And Mr.. Douglas, after having en-
phatically admitted the right of property
in a slave, where that right can spring
from no other law but the Constitution,
then dares to speak Of unfriendly legis-
lation Where is his conscience? Where
is his honor? (Applause.)
But Mr.. Douglas says more: "The
Constitution being the supreme law Of
the land, in the States as well as in the
Territories, then slavery exists in Penn
sylvania Just as we'll as in Kansas and in
South Carolina, and the irrepressiblc
conflict is there % Aye. the irrepressi-
BILE conflict is there, not only between
the two antsgonistic systems of labor.
but between Mr.. Douglas own theories;
not only in the States and Territories,
but in Mr.. Douglas own head. Laugh
ter and cheers.) Whatever ambiguous
expressions Mr.. Douglas may invent, the
dilemma stares him IN the face and here
put myself on his own ground;) either
slavery is excluded from the Territories
so long as it is not admitted by special
act of Territorial legislation,-or if a
has the right to introduce his
slave property there before such legisla-
ton is had, he can possess that right by
virtue of no other but the only law exis-
ting there, the Constitution of the Uni
ted States. Either Slavery has no rights
in the territories, except those springing
from positive law of a local or municip-
al character, or, according to Judge
Douglas own admission, the Southern
of the Constitution and OF
the principle of popular sovereignty is
the only legitimate one f.; that the Constr
tuition, BY its own force, carries slavery
wherever it is the supreme law of the
land that Congress is obliged to enact
a slave code for its protection, and that
popular sovereignty means the power oil
the people to vote for slavery, but by no
means against it. There is no escape
from this dilemma.
Which side will Mr.. Douglas take Il
Will he be bold enough to say that sla-
very, being the creature of local law only
is excluded from the Territories in the
absence of positive law establishing 1t
or will he be honest enough to conceds
that, according to his own proposition
in his New Orleans speech, slavery ex-
lists in the territories BY virtue of the fed
eral Constitution ? He will neither be
bold enough to do the first, nor honest
enough to do the second /; he will be COW.
ardly enough to do neither. (Applauss.
He is in the position of that Demo
cratic candidate for Congress in the
West, who, when asked: care you a
Buchanan or Douglas man - answer,
ed, al am" (Great laughter and cheers;
If You ask Mr.. Douglas, "Do you, hold
that slavery is the creature of local law
or that STAKEHOLDER has the right to IN
troduce his slave property where there is
no local law 2" be will answer, 81 do.
(Cont;nned laughter and applause.