Red Wing sentinel., 1860-07-11

4N1O1IA l. - w. lAs JNJ\
tatives, and afterwards in the Senate
he reported and successfully carried
through the bills to organize the Ter
ritories of Minnesota, Oregon, New
Mexico, Utah, Washington, Kansas
and Nebraska, and also bills for the
admission into the Union of the State.
Of Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Cal
ifornia, and Oregon.
So far as the question of slavery was
involved in the organization of Ter
ritories and the admission of new
States, he early took the position that
Congress should not interfere on one
side or the other, but that the people o1
each Territory and State should be al
lowed to form and regulate their own
domestic institutions to suit them
selves. In accordance with his prin
|ciple he opposed the "Wilmot Provi
so" when first passed in the House OF
Representatives in ls47, as an amend.
ment to the apropriating s3,0oo,0o0 to
enable President Polk 10 make treaty
OF peace with Mexico, and afterwards
in the Senate when offered as an
amendment to the bill for the organi.
zation ofthe Territory of Oregon.
In August, l84s, however he offer.
ed an amendment to the Oregon bill
extending the Missouri compromise
line indefinitely westward to the Pa.
citic ocean, in the same sense and with
the same understanding with which
it was originally adopted in 1920, and
extending through Texas III l845, pro.
hibiting slavery in all the Territory
north of the parallel af SO degrees, 80
minutes, and by implication recogni.
zing its existence south of that line.--
This amendment was adopted in the
Senate by decided majority, receiv-
ing the support of every Southern, to-
gether with several Northern Senator's
but was defeated in the House OF Rep
resentatives by nearly sectional
vote.
The refusal of the Senate to adopt
the policy Of Congressional prohibition
Of slavery in all the Territories, and
the rejection in the House of Repre-
sentatives Of the proposition to extend
the Missouri compromise to the Pacific
ocean, gave rise TO the sectional agi
tatiou Of 1849-5O, which was tempora
|rily quieted by the Legislation known
as the compromise measures of 1850
Mr.. Douglas supported these measure.
with zeal and vigor, and on his retur,
to his home in Chicago, finding himself
assailed with great violence, he de
Tended the whole series in speech tt
the people (Oct. oath, 1e5O) which is
regarded by his friends as one of thu
ablest he has ever made. In thi.
speech he defended the principles OF
which the Compromise Acts of 1856
were founded, and upon which he
subsequently defended the Kansas Ne
braska bill in these words: "TheSe
measures are predicated on the grea,
fundamental principle that every peo'
pie ought to possess the right of fran
ing an regulating their own interna
concerns and domestic institutions ir
their own way. 4 + These
things are all confided by the Consti
tuition to each State to decide for itself
and know no reason why the same
principle should not be extended te
the Territories
Judge Douglas received the hig}
compliment of 80 votes as the Demo
cratic candidate for the Presidency i,
the National Convention at Baltimore
in 1852, when he was only 80 years o
age. At the Cong. session Of 1854
he reported from the committee OF
Territories the celebrated bill to or
ganize the Territories of Kansas ant
Nebraska. The passage of this bill
caused great excitement in the fre'
States Of the Union, and Judge Doug
las as it's author was widely and vehe
mertly denounced, and in many place.
was hanged and burned in effgy. Th'
whole controversy turned on the pro
vision repeating the Missouri compro
mise, which Judge Douglas maintained
to be inconsistent with the principle 0
non. intervention by Congress will
slavery in the States and Territories
After repeating the Missouri restrict
ion, the bill declared it to be the '':ru.
intent and meaning of the act, not tt
|legislate slavery into any State or Ter
ritory, nor to exclude it therefrom, bu
to leave the people thereof perfectl,
free to form and regulate their domes
tic institutions in their own way, sub
ject only to the Constitution of tn
United States" Whatever diversit,
of opinion may exist in regard to tn
correctness of this principle, and tn
propriety of its application to the Ter
\ lritories. it must be admitted that Mr.