Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1860-09-07

announced in the Declaration of Independ
ehce, which IS destined to regenerate th
world. 1t is embodied in those Eamou
; words, adopted by the Republican Conven
ton at Chicago that among the inaliena
bic rights of men are life, liberty. and tn,
pursuit of happiness and that to secure
these rights governments are instituted
among men, derlriHg tbefr Just pOlcers from
the consent of The goroaed. These are sacred
words, full OF life giving promise Not sim.
ply national Independence was here pro
claimed. but also the primal rights of all
mankind
And vet this transcendeut principle is now
degraded into a d0dge, and the sacred namf
Of Popular Sovereignty l. prostituted TO cover
q claim to enslaye ,pr fellow men. It /;
urged that a handful Of squatters may right
fully decide this claim, and the time -honored
traditional power Of Congress over Slavery in
the Territories is denied or voted dowl. To
protect this "villaiuv as John Wesley
would call 1.-THE right Of the people to
govern Themselves IS invoked f0rgetful that
this divine right can give no authority 10
ensiave others-that even TIE people are not
| omnipotent-and that never Do they rise so
hish as when, recognizing the everlasting
laws OF Right, they sto0p to the bohests Of
! Justice.
But, though bearing the name Of Mr..
! Douglas. and now peddled through the coun-
| try by him, this c0ntriyance Is not Of his
| invention. Ii tc0mes from an older head. IL
! first showed itself in the Nicholson letter of
1913, by which General Cass. as Presiden-
tai candidate, sought to avoid the WilmOt
| Proyls0. Lab0rious, studi0us, exemplary in
private life and fertile in pretexts, this ven
| cradle tunctonary has afforded formula by
which men have voted for Slavery, while
making professions for Freedom. He is the
author Ot the contrivance-rejected by every
slave master and rejected by every lover of
| freedom whose eyes are open, which under
the nickname Of Squatter Sovereignty, has
been the device Of doughfaces. enabling them
sometimes to deceive the public, and some
times even to deceive themselves.
The device next showed itself on the pas
sage Jf the Kansas and Nebraska bill, and
here 1t became trick, as appears by the
open confession OF one of the parties to it
and q tric, J. has continued ever since
Then appeared that ''stump speech in the
belly of the bill, ~ according to Col. Benton,
declaring that the intent was to leave the
people ''Dcricctiy FREE t. form and regulate
their Institutions in their own way, subject
only - the Constitution of the United
States. As the fatal bill containing these
words passed in the grey ot the morning,
Gen. Cas-, rising from his seat remember
we'll the scenc-exclaimed, This is the
triumph Of squatJsr sJvereiCaty.' The old
rfr1ifrtftfo-l ny etn--a,y- sras svprtl~avvp and
bis Nicholson Letter was indicated.
And now note well the trick The slave
masters who voted for tiese words rejected
with sc1rn the i5al that the handful Of
s4U2-tsr7 could exclude savey dec riding to
tlcm slavery went with the constitution,
and was beyond the control of The squatter> /
But the formal assertion ui this dogma /
would have caused trOuple, and 1t was ac-
cordlngly disguised in these familiar wor Is
-''>lhlccl only - the Constitution Of the
United States. 4-r. Benjamin Of Louisi-
ana, IN his recent speech, let's Us behind the
scenes. lie tells US that ut caucus of
Senators "both wings Of the Democracy
agreed chat each Sl5u.j maintain Its partic.
ular theory before the public-onc side /
sustaining squaJJer sovereignty and the /
other protection to slavery in the Territories, /
but pledglng themselves To abide by the |
decision OF the supreme Court whatever it /
might be- Such was the secret conspiracy /
CONCEALED for a long time from the public, |
and only recently revealed. And Mr. Doug |
las was a party to it.
While protesting Popular Sovereignty. |
what does his bill really confer upon the peo- /
pie Not the right to choose the Executive; l
for the Governor and all other officers in tins 1
department We're sent from Washington,
nominated by the President. Not the right
to nominate the Judiciary; for the Judges
were also sent from Washington. nominated |
by the President. Not even the right com
Pleteiy to constitute the legislature; for even !
this body was placed in many important re-
spec's beyond the popular CONTROL. Thus in
each Of the three great departments Of State
the Executive, the Judicial and the Leg
iati7o-was popular sovereignty dIsowned.
Search the Congressional Globe for the
month Of February, 1851. and you will see
with what sincerity Mr.. Dougls guarded
the much vaunted rights of the people. Mr..
hase moved to allow the people to elect
their Governor and other officers. On the
-oto by ayes and noes the champion of pop
llar sovereignty voted No. Mr. Chase made
j further motion, which put Mr. Douglas
'till more to the test Altor the words of
alleged popular sovereignty in the bill he /
moved to add, ''Gndcr which the people of
he Territory may, through their represent
ltiyes, exclude slavery if they choose" On
the vote by ayes and noes Mr. Douglas and
lis associates again voted No. His recent
'xcuse, put forth IN bis single per:patetlc
'peech, is that the proposition was not in
the alternate-that IS, that it gave power
Jnly to exclude and not TO admit But if he
really favored it in that form, why not move
to amend by adding the power to admit, in
stead OF voting against the whole PROPOSE
ton? 1t is clear that such an open and une-
luivocal declaration was not eongenial with
the game that was to be played.
You cannot forget that winter and spring
preceding the Presidential election of 1856,
when we were alternately startled and
stunned at the tidings from Kansas when a
BODY of strangers from Missouri entering by
hundreds, seized by force the polls, and, by
forms OF law set up usurpatiOn, :
which proceeded by formal legislation to es- i
tablish slavery there, and to surround it by
4 code of death. The atrocity of Phillip H.,
when by violence and through Council of |
Blood" he sought to fastsn the inquisition
lpon Holland was renewed. Outrage, arson,
apine, rape, invasion, murder, the scalpirg
;niie, where the agents now employed; and
o crown this prostration of popular rights, ;
lawrence, home of New England settlers,
md mieroeoSm of New England life, was
,urnt to the ground bya company of profane
md drunken rufians, stimulated from
What then was the course Of the champ
on of popular sovereignty? Did he thuud
II and hghten? Did he came forward to
lefend those settlers. who had gone to Kansas
inder the pretended safeguards Of his bill ? '
)h, no But he openly ranged himself in
he Senate On the side of their oppressors-
nocked at their s.lamaties-denouneed them
IS .sinstr rents ts'-insulted their agents, and j
old them they must submit--while the dist
mt Elnigran5 Aid Society in Massachusetts,
vas made the butt Of his most opprobrious
-ssaults
The Senatorial election IN Illinois was at
land, and Mr.. Douglas then suddenly dis +
severed that Popular Sovereignty was some
hing more than name. lie opposed the c
4ecompton Constitution; but nv distinguish l
d colleague will tell you, that even there, he 7
,,,s l,a-t from the most barafacaJ apostasv