St. Charles City Republican intelligencer. [volume] (St. Charles City [Charles City], Iowa) 1857-1861, 1860-02-23
HlolititaI.
DEBATES IN CONGRESS,
SENATOR DDOLTTTLE,

Our thanks are due Hon. j. X. Doc
little for a copy of his late speech in
the United States Senate upon the
Constitutional power of Congress to
regulate slavery in the Territories.
The CORRESPONDENT of the New York
Courier and Enquirer, in alluding to
this speech, says:
"Mr. Doolittle gave Mr.. Douglas
and the Administration men both some
nuts which they will find hard to crack.
lie called in the testimony of Calhoun
and Adams and Monroe and others,
to show that the positions of both
wings of the Democracy were new in
ventions which were not only unten-
able but utterly unknown to, and new
cr conceived by, the trainers of the
Constitution and the earlier states
men. Mr.. Doolittlc is ready and
able dcbater, to whom the Senate al.
ways listens with attention. He states
his positions clearly and fairly, and
fortitics them with sound arguments,
couched in language both eloquent
and expressive"
The correspondent of the Cincinnati
Gazette, referring to the same debate,
says:
"Thc next episode was Doolittlc's
assault on that part of the Presidents
message relating to the power of Con-
grcss over the Territories. He showed
that Buchanan and the whole South
ern party had changed their views in
ten years, which he was willing they
should do, but he did not wish them
to insist with threats Oh Northern men
doing the same thing. He spoke for
several hours with great force, having
to sustain arunniug fire from the South
crn Senators throughout Toward the
close, Pugh pitched in, and denied
that anything had been done under
any Administration, to sustain Doc
Titles view Of the power of Congress
to lcgislatc upon slavery in the Terri
tories.
Doolittlc picked up the Act for the
Annexation of Texas, and read the
clause providing that that State may
hereafter be divided into four States,
and prohibiting Slavery in those North
of So so. This stumpcd Pugh, who
iloundered awhile and then said it was
useless to waste words on the Senator
from Wisconsin, and ingloriously re-
tired
Senator Doolittle was repeatedly i'll
tcrrupted, in the course of his remarks,
by different Southern Senators, who
endeavored in vain to parry his argu.
ments. or dispute his facts. He met
and foiled, in turn, each Of his assail.
ants, bearing himself manfully through
out the discussion and doing credit to
himself and the State that he repre-.
scnts.
Mr.. Doolittlc asserted, and truly as
serted, that every Administration from
that of Washington to the present had
recognized and exercised the power of
Congress over the Territories. He
also asserted that Mr.. Calhoun, as a
member of Mr.. Monroc's Cabinet, had
given an opinion recognizing such
power. Mr.. Chestnut of South Caro-
lima, here intcrfercd, and said that Mr.
Calhoun, on the floor of the Senate,
had denied expressing such an opin-
ion. Mr.. d., in proof Of the assertion,
quoted the diary of John Quincy Ad-
ans, mritten at The time, and then added
that Mr.. Calhoun's disclaimer had not
been made until Twenty-Five gears after
cards. OF course, the authority of the
Diary outwcighs that of the disclaim-
cr and sustains Senator Doolittlc's
statement.