The Buchanan County guardian. (Independence, Buchanan County, Iowa) 1858-1864, 1860-02-16


ing confined to the narrow limits of the
English colonies, pervaded the very at
mosphere of all civilized countries. That
code of human rights has grown on the
very summit of civilization, not in the
miry soil of South Carolina cotton
field. He must have dull mind or a
distorted brain, who misunderstands its
principles but he must have the heart
of a villain who knowingly misrepresents
them. Loud applause.
Mr.. Douglass ambition might have
been satisfied with this ignominious ex-
ploit. But the necessities of the Popu-
lar Sovereignty doctrine do not stop
there. After having tried to explain away
the fundamental principles underlying
this Republic, which are hostile to slav-
cry and its extension, Mr.. Douglas finds
it extremely inconvenient to encounter
facts, which prove, beyond doubt, that
these principles, from mere theoretical
existence, rose to practical realization.
Popular Sovereignty, which is at war
with the doctrines of the Declaration of
independence, demands the slaughter of
the Ordinance of 1897, and Douglas is
up to the task. He does not stop at tri-
fles. And here we must return TO the
Harper's Magazine manifesto. He leads
US through century of colonial history
in order to show that the people of the
colonies claimed the right to legislate on
the subject of slavery. And, remarka-
bly, enough, all the instances quoted show
unitol m tendency adverse to the pecu-
liar institution. Mr.. Douglas then pro-
ceeds to discover the germs of his Pop
ular Sovereignty doctrine in the first
Congressional legislation concerning the
Territories. l will not undertake to crit
cize that singular historical essay, al
though some of its statements are such
as to make the freshmen of our colleges
smile. The " statesman" Douglas does
not seem to be aware that the ability to
read history ought TO precede the attempt
to write it. Loud laughter and cheers. |
lie leads us back 10 the Congress Of 1884.
Mr.. Jefferson and his colleagues have
just executed the deed of cession of the
Northwest Territory, and the same Mr.
Jefferson, as chairman Of committee,
then submits "a plan for the temporary
government of the Territories ceded or
to be ceded by the individual States to
the United States" Mr.. Douglas pro-
ceeds to describe how the Territorial
governments were TO be organized. what
rights and powers were put into the
hands of the people, and how they were
to be exercised: and after having dem
onstrated that the term 'new state"
meant the same thing which is now des-
lgnated. by :" Territories" he comes to
the conclusion that the spirit pervading
that plan was in exact consonance with
his doctrine of Popular Sovereignty"
Mr.. Douglas ostentatiously calls this
the Jefferson plan" lit was," says
he, !" the first plan of government for
the Territories ever adopted by the Unit
ed States. 1t was drawn by the author
of the Declaration OF independence, and
and revised and adopted by those who
shaped the issues which produced the
Revolution, and formed the foundation
upon which our whole system of Ameri
can government rests" But Mr.. Doug
las skips rather nimbly over the signiti-
cant fact that the same author of the
Declaration of Independence" put into
that plan a proviso. excluding .Siopery
from the Territories. Was that a mere
accident Mr.. Jefferson showed there
by conclusively that, in his opinion, the
exclusion of slavery by Congressional
legislation was by no means inconsistent
with the spirit of popular sovereignty"
which Mr.. Douglas discovers in the plan
of 1884, but this does not disturb Mr..
Douglas. The 9th article" says he,
" relating to the prohibition of slavery.
having been rejected by Congress, never
became part of the Jeffersonian plan of
government of the Territories, as adopt
ed April Esd, 1884, Although with a
large numerical majority in its favor l6
to z this article did indeed fail to obtain
a constitutional majority, the vote of New
Jersey not being counted in consequence
of there being but one delegate present
from that State yet it had been drawn
up by MIR. Jefferson, presented by Mr..
Jefferson, and sustained by Mr.. Jetfer-
sons vote. Nevertheless, Mr.. Douglas
persists in calling plan from ,chieh tie
peculiar Jefersonian feature had been
struck out, the " Je5ersonian plan" This
is the play of Hamlet with the character
of Hamlet omitted. Laughter. This
charter of compact" proceeds Mr.. Doug
las, with its fundamental conditions,
which were unalterable without the joint
consent of the people interested in them.
as well as of the United States, then
stood upon the statute book unrepealed
and irrepealable, when on the l4lh day
OF May, 1887, the Federal Convention
met at Philadelphia Does Mr.. Douglas
not know that on the 10th day of March
1885. proposition was introduced into
Congress by Rufus King, to exclude sla-
very from the States described in the re
solve of April 23d, 1894. and to make
this provision part of the compact estab-
lished by that resolve? Does he not
know that this provision, restoring the
Jetiersonian feature to the Jeffersonian
plan." was committed by the vote oi
eight States against four ? Does he moi
know that the plan of 1894 never went