The weekly Mississippian. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1859-1864, 1860-05-23

pleased the resui' soa,u .'n nave b entirely
different, and that little, if ap3 a.,
one-thiro Vi Tue oon really in
| favor of the action from wh.s ,ov
sought to prove that a majority n ca.nan.
ton was in favor of the principles -,.:ofl
Judge Douglas"
H'0"' "e ~, tie 9Th.
which cannot be controverted A.
form of princip pies adopted by Il namoa...;o
party at Cincinnati in 1856 has = -,
two Numerically opposite con5r 5r,,ct;ons NV
different sections of the democl of tho -.
ton. By one set Of men living q, IL North !,
is contended that it means that oss sha,,
have no power to establish, prob; &c eyer.
else any control whatever over ;ns.;t,,t;on
of slavery in the Territories - TTn;tsd
States that the inhabitants rs...;,..
hes nay II 81 s..lss -. psss - g..
organic act, and no matter what their number,
dispose Of the question finally for themselves /;
and that territorial legislatures created by act
of Congress may by non-action or unfriendly
legislation prevent citizens of the Southern
States from settling within their limits with
their property, and thus exercise powers
which the Congress which created them does
not possess and cannot exercise The Terrific
RIGS, they admit, are the common property of
all the States. Congress has no right to es-
tablish or prohibit negro slavery there but
territorial legislatures whose enactments Con-
gress may repeal, as it may repeal the Or
ganic act of every Territory, csn. by refusing
to pass the necessary laws for the protection
of slave property, or by the imposition of such
taxation on the negroes as will amount to pro-
hibition of their Importation into the Territory,
render impossible for any slaveowner to bring
his slave property into such Territory.
"By the entire population Of seventeen
States Of the Union casting one hundred and
twenty-seven democratic votes in the electo-
raj college; by large por6on of the democ-
racy of other States; by ii the democratic
senators in Congress, with TWO or three nota.
BILE exceptions by nineteen out Of every
twenty democratic membss of the House of
Representatives by the Resident of the Uni
ted States elected in 185eon the Cincinnati
platform and by every number of his Admin
istration and finally, bythe Supreme Court
of the United States,- highest judicial tri-
bunal in the dit . held and positively
asserted that neither Congress, nor q territorial
legislature, nor any otter power than the peo-
pie ofa Territory vheI they are admitted into
the Union as a Stae, can exclude slavery from
any Territory of tie United States but that
all the Territories seiig the common property
of all the States, and open to every citizen of
the Republic to settle there with his proper
ty,-the slaveowner with hisslaves as well as
the agriculturalist with bis oxen and farming
implements; and dat if the territorial legis-
latures in excess OF their power or in neglect
of their plain duty. Omnit any act, by which
the proprietary rights ofthe slaveowner in his
slaves is impaired or detroyed, it is then the
bounden duty of Congress tdinterfere, mol, for
the establishment or prohibition in the Ter
ritories, but for the protetisn of property re-
cognized by the Constitution of the United
| States.
- liaaa = - = ;iuasaiisals
to everybody there 8 ! VITA Inference. We
have not misstated nor exaggerated it Those
who maintain the first or squtter sovereignty
Interpretation Of the Cincinnti platform live
in States where slavery does ot exist, where
for the most part abolitionismis the predomi-
nant sentiment and where no interest, feeling,
or prejudice is damaged by tie acceptance of
their construction of the contitutional pow
ers of a Territorial population. Most of those,
on the other hand, who STAN by the second
or constitutional interpretation of the creed of
the party live in States where aavery does ex-
ist, and where it is believed tht because they
own species of property which the federal
compact has distinctly recognised and de-
clared to be entitled to the sase protection as
any other property, they are not to be ex-
cluded from the public domaii in violation Of
that compact and of their equI rights in the
Union which it cemented.
"We have no doubt as towhich of these
conflicting interpretations Of the Cincinnati
platform Is the true one The sqautter SOW
ereignty Interpretation we unhstatingly pro-
nounce TO be false, unconstitutional, and dan
gerous to the peace and welfar of the Union;
while We believe that the Interpretation which
the Executive, the Supreme Cart Of the Uni
ted States, the democratic mmbers of both
Houssof Congress, all the democratic States,
and large numbers of democratsin the North
ern States have adopted and approved, is that
which alone is consistent will the creed of
the democratic party, and whih must be re-
cognised and accepted if the integrity of the
Union is to be preserved.
The squatter sovereignty men insist that
it isenough for the party now o reaffirm the
Cincinnati platform without any agreement as
to Is true meaning; that it is MT " erpedient"
| to define in precise language the creed of the
party; and it is arrogant and eEacting on the
part of the Southern States, t. require that
their constitutional rights should be ac-
knowledged and protected against destruction
| d abridgment. We maintain that it is always
sxpedient to do right and tell tie truth; that
lodging trickery and subterfuge are never ex-
pedient; that the Southern States ask for
nothing more than they are clearly entitled to !;
and that they ought never to be content with
anything short of that.
"When the Cincinnati platform was built,
It was not yet authoritatively ascertained
whether slavery could constitutionally exist
in the Territories without positive enactment.
Ttwas agreed that Congress should not inter-
fere to establish or prohibit it /; that the Su-
preme Court should determine the constitu-
tional rights Of slave-owners in the common
domain and that that determination should
be accepted as final. The Supreme Court
fetso 0SSOAAAtlO0 fuCosiVh totoi VI tAC
South but the squatter-soyereignty men re-
fuse to abide the decision, and they ask the
Southern States to wait for recognition of
their rights until the Supreme Court renders
another decision in their favor.
This is substantially the position of the
controversy between the personal adherents
of Judge Douglas and the mass Of the democ-
racy of the Union, which led to the adjourn
ment Of the Charleston Convention. There
can be little doubt as to where the right lies.
We believe that before six weeks roll round it
WILDE universally acknowledged that broad
and equitable platform Of principles viii be
laid down by the national democracy of the
Union on which Northern and Southern men
can alike confidently stand that the demo-
cratic banner will be given to the breeze with
all its time-honored notices inscribed in let
ters of living light upon its ample folds, and
that standard bearer will be selected who
would sooner be right than be President -
to whom ambition and power and fame are al