M'arthur Democrat. (McArthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1853-1865, 1860-10-11

tain it with their hearts blood. Aud
they did maintain the right
| [Cheers.
Now we find under our constitu.
ton a great political party repeating
the same old tory argument and de.
claring that the people of the terrific.
ries have no rights except those Con.
gress grants to them in their charters
and iIasmuch as Congress coniers the
rights Congress can take them away.
The Democratic party tells these Re,
publicans OF the North and Secession.
lists of the South that American Cit.
zens in the Territories did not get
their rights from Congress and that
Congress cannot and shall not take
them away. [Cheers. An Ameri-
can citizen claims the right Of self
government as an inherent right be-
yond the power of invasion by Con.
gress. ["True,"l If the battles Of
the Revolution have not established
the inherent right of self.goyernment
| ask again what have we gained by
the bloody sacrifice of that immortal
struggle.
sQUATrER SOVEREIGNTY.
The Republican leaders endeavor
to mystify this right of selfgoverp-
ment by a confusion oi ideasy They
want to know whether the first settler
who comes on the public lands in Vi,
olation of law, may set up a govern
ment of his own against the rights of
our government. My answer is that
the doctrine Of popular sovereignty
applies to every regularly organized
political community under the Con-
stitution. Those who go upon the
public lands in violation of law, and
become tresspassers, have no legal
rights of self government until Con-
grcss shall legalize their acts and or.
ganize them into governments. For
instance, we have now at Pixies Peak
twenty or thirty thousand American
citizens engagedin digging gold and
establishing homes. That country
still belongs to the Indians. The In
dian title has never been extinguish.
ed, and every man who has gone
there has violated the Indian inter.
course laws, and has incurred penal
ty Of q thousand dollars and six
months Imprisonment. What has our
government been doing that it did not
enforce the Indian intercourse laws,
and protect the Indians against this
invasion of the white settlers3 1t is
bound to do one of two things; either
to keep the white men ont of the coun
try, or to extinguish the Indian title
and give them a lawful government
under the constitution. Popular
sovereignty, therefore, consists in the
exercise Of the rights of self govern
ment according to the constitution ant
laws ofth land. Squatter sovereign
, ty is where men 60 in violation o
law and set up a government in re
bellion against the US.
HOMESTEAD BILL.
A friend has asked me to explair
my position upon the Homestead bill,
am a little surprised that should be
. called upon to define my position on
5 that subject For twelve or fourteen
years | have devoted more time to the
d passage of the Homestead bill thar
i any other live man. (Cries o
Good" and cheers.) There never has
been Homestead bill before Con
e gress which | have not supperted.-
Z (Applause.) l introduced one in th'
House of Representatives fourteen
: years ago, before I was a Senator
c and | have renewed it year after il
D the U. S. Senate. (Cries OF "Goodw
r. When | could not get my own bill
u always supported the next best one
J. C'Good, good!'0 Last year when tn
J. House Of Representatives passed
n Homestead bill and sent it to tn
IS Senate, and Senator Johnson, of Ten
J. nessee, offered a substitute for it,
l. supported the House bill in preferenc
l. to lis, because thought it was til
!, best. When l failed to get that, | Of
1t fered an amendment, which believes
y to be better even than the House bill
:, but it failed, and then voted for tn
a Senate bill, as thought it was bette
Is than nothing. ,Applause.) In brio
J. | am in favor now, as | have been to
r. years, of that line of policy which al
- thorizes every man to 60 upon th
j public lands, record his claim, bull
9. :; his house, make his fences, and spli
* his own rails, Daughter and when b
II shall have lived on it long enough t
, have established his intention of be
l. coming permanent settler, give hir
'r his title free. tremendous applause
! | believe that to be the true policy {
,, the country.
a A person in the crowd.-How Ion
)C will ho live on itI