The weekly Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1861, 1860-10-03
noisF M sdg, {,
.RAVENNA. WEDN SDAY. sOCTOBER,S s, 1860.

II 4 y
egain that after the Missouri Compromjse
4 line was,abo olished and the NEBRASKA hill
passed, BY which the slavery question w.a
banishsd from the halls Of Congress and
tubmittedfo 10 the people of the Territories to
\ 90 as they pleaseds sthe Democratic party af-
irmed that doctrine 10 the, Cincinnati Plat.
/ form in5l656. The repeal of.the Missouri
I Uo.nproalise aud the passage of the Kansas
\ Nebraska bill Cwas rendered Necessary, in
order 70 carry out the principle of neninter.
venton as adopted in 1860, and if you will
look at the IL n SECTION OF .tha, bill, the ve,y
4 clause in which the Missouri Compromise
wOs sFepealed, You vii there find stated the
4 reBsbns for the repesl Two reasons are
lAssigDed, The first is that ,.iha Missouri
\ g6hpfomise being Inconsistent with The
u Ffiatiple@et neninletVentioa. by Congress as
4 az med in the fCompromise measures o.
4 1870, ,is hereby declared null and void p
IhF Missouri line wsa repealed only because
| it was inconsistent with the Compromise
measure OF 1850, to which every Whig and
every Democrat in America hsd become
pledged. The second reason assigned was
in these words, "Itbeing the true inte ard
meaning OF this act, not to Iegislate slavery
into any State or Territory, nor to exclude
\ littherefrOm, but to leave the people thereof
perfectly free to form and regulate their do
mestlc institutions in their own way, subject
only TO tho Constitution of the United
States" There you find the principle o.
the Nebraska bil-the principle Of Po opular
Soyereignty-elearly and distinctly defined
! Apersoni on the stand here imputed ',Did
\ you mean TO deny by that bill the right of
Congress to control slavery in the Terrific
ifies?'' y ',5. Il. IS.
Mr.. DoUGLAs, | ON asked from the
stand whetherI meant TO deny the right of
Congress to control the slavery question in
the Territories. The object of The bill was
to banish the subject of slavery from Con.
gress forever and refer it to the people OF
the Territories to do just as they pleased, to
nave slavery or not as they chose. (iThat's
\ rjght," end applause) That was the object
OF The bill, and the object was Incorporated
into the bill itself. That Is the fundamen-
tai principle of the Democratic purity in op-
position to the Republicans OF the North
sndthe Secessionists Of the South. (Cheers.) )
Now my friends, why should not this prin.
ciple of popular sovereignty be carried out
| in the territories of the United Statns! [Voi.
ces 1T should."l The republicans tell you
hat II is right in the States OF the Union
but all wrong in the territories. f"That's
lit.n] They say that they have no objections
to the people of Ohio regulating the slave
\ ry question for Themselves. They think
that you have sense enough not only 10 make
| lews for your own State but also through
| your representatives in Congress to govern
ell theterritories. Laughter and applause
Now suppose that assumption TO be true and
would you if you should move to Nebraska
territory, be any less capable of governing
tyuurseiyes after you got there than ayou
were before you started l.! Cries of NO."
and applause.] | fnd before me to-day
probably as m4ny legal voters as can be
| 'ound in the Stale OF Delaware, the State OF
| Florida, or the State OF Oregon. Nobody
doubts but what the people OF these States
are capable of government. Now it
| you, being as numerous as the voters ia
either OF these States and baing capable of
self-government at home should all move to
territory, would you be any less capable
after you got there than before you started?
! Cries Of "No."] Why then do you not al.
low the people to govern themselves in
territory as we'll as in State . .... ...
The republicans tell you that State is
sovereign power and that there is no sover-
eighty in territory and nothing but sover-
eighty can make laws and establish nstitu-
tions. believe that is their argument.-
Laughter. That argument is not original
with the modern republicans. 1t was made
many years ago by very espectabIe body
OF old gentlemen known as tories. Lqugh-
ter. applause and cries OF "true."l During
the time of the American Revolution the to
ries used to say that the people of the Ameri-
can colonies were not sovereign powers but
set of miserable squatters and adventur-
ers and hence had no right to govern them.
selves.
But there wus body of men at that time
living in America, headed by such patriots
as Washington, and Jefferson, and Frank.
lin, and Hancock, and Adams, who told the
British King and the tories that British
subjects in America were entitled to SELF
government as we'll as British subjects in
England. daughter and opplause.) They
acknowledged the right OF parliament to
make all laws not affecting the general wei.
fare Of the country, without interfering with
the domestic concerns of the colonies, just as
we Democrats now acknowledge the right
of Congress to pass all lsws affecting the
general welfare OF the Republic which do
not interfere with the domestic concerns Of
the people of the States, or the Territories.
Remember that the battles of the revolution
were all fought in defence OF the right of self
government in dependent colonies, in depen-
dent territories in dependent provinces and
not in sovereign States. We only ask
therefore that the people of the American
Territories shall be permitted to enjoy the
the same rights and privileges Of self gov
ernment which our fathers demanded and
! maintained for the colonies. Why should
not an American citizen since the revolution
have as many rights as British subject be.
fore that time. Ii our American citizcns
since the revolution are not entitled to all
the rights of self government which we
claimed before that event, let me ask what
have we gained by the sacrifices then made.
| (Cheers) repeat, the Revolution was
fought and the victories won in defence OF
this identical priciple of local self govern
ment. "Oh but," they say, "to permit
the people to govern themselves is squat
ter sovereignty" (Laughter.)r It. is very
often easier TO rdicule doctrine than it is
successfully to attack it, and doing the Rev.
olutionary war the tories were in the habit
OF representing the pretensions oI the Ameri
can colonies to self government as squat
ter sovereignty" (Laughter.) They then
told US that the people OF the American col
lones were entitled to no righIs, and no
I privileges, except such as were granted TO
!. them BY the Kmg Of England In their char
tiers and asserted that the King could confer
!, 1.-THE rig6t OF self-governme9t and take |,
|, l.away when he pleased. Our fathers told
ths King and his tory counsellors that