The Buchanan County guardian. (Independence, Buchanan County, Iowa) 1858-1864, 1860-04-11
The Civilian on Free Homesteads


~ When our neighbor, a week OF
two since, expressed his intention to dis.
euss the principles of the Republican par.
", whenever he thought it right and
proper to do so. we expressed what we
really felt, when we replied to him tina
we should be happy to have him carry
cut that intention and it was therefore
with pleasure that we observed the com
menoement of such course in his last
weeks paper. He opens with the sub
]ect of free homesteads, and we are glad
TO perceive that as to one cardinal doc
'rine, the editor and the Republican par
~ are agreed. This is more community
of feeling than we had expected to find,
and it indicates either that the party is
not SO entirely and absolutely wrong as
our neighbor sometimes pronounces it,
or else the editor is not, himself, above
error. For ourselves we think our neigh
Dor, for once, Is right, and being so, il
of course brings him over on to Repub.
lican ground. Ii he would keep right
let him stay there.
We notice, however. that our neigh.
Dor is half inclined to dispute that this is
Republican measure-or, rather, he
very grudgingly admits it. He speaks
Of Republicans laying exclusive claim &c
1t, and seems TO think that his own pref
erences for it ought to show that the
claim is not a valid one. For our part,
we have yet to see any such exclusive
Claim advanced, Republicans show that
three times the measure has been defeat
ed by a Democratic Senate-that It's OPP
ponents are in the bosom of the Demo
cratic party-that the slave interest,
which controls that party, has just cause
Of enmity against it-and that however
much individual members of the party
may favor it, the policy of the party is
against it. This is what Republicans
claims, and the editor cannot successfully
dispute it.
But the point at which our neighbol
aims. in his article, is to prove the incon
sistency of Republicans in advocating
free homesteads and rejecting Popular
Sovereignty. To deny to the settlers o
the territories the privilege Of enslaving
their fellows, is, in his view, to reduc,
Them to q degrading state of vassalage
and he goes on 10 protest against the es
Enlistment of the principle of Congress
ional Sovereignty. We wonder if il nev
or struck our neighbours mind that thi
is no new principle-that it was estab
lished at the foundation of our govern
ment, and has been the basis of govern
mental action for over seventy years
We wonder if he knows that this dan
gerous principle" was applied to tn
great majority Of the new states, whel
in territorial condition, and that to il
exercise for the exclusion of slavery
more than to anything else, is to be at
Irlbuted the great growth and prosperit
Of most Of those States We wonder
he knows that it is principle upheld an,
enforced. not only by the trainers of th
C"nstituton-not only by every presi
dent down to JAMES X. PoLK-not onl,
by the Supreme Court of the Untec
Safes, in five different unanimous decis
ions, running through period of forty
four years, the last as late rs December
l853-not only by every statesman and
every party down TO the present time,
but by every statesman and every party
even at the present time. The sover
eighty OF Congress over the territories is
lenied by no one, SO far as we know,
whose position makes his opinion of any
uihoriy. The Southern Democracy all