Wabash express. [volume] (Terre-Haute, Vigo Co[unty], Ind.) 1841-186?, 1860-09-12

This gentleman. the Breckinridge can
didate for Congress. IN this District. ad-
dressed the people of this city. at the
Court House on Saturday. He had large
audience and was listened TO with marked
attention. He is an able speaker and a
clear, logical debater. The leading proPo-
sition in his speech was. that this govern
ment was instituted to give to it's citizens,
protection in their persons and property,
and as ore portion of the American people
held negro slaves as PROPERTY, they should
have protection. il they saw proper to take
that property into the public Territories
He sail, that the opinion of the Supreme
Court, as expressed in the bred Scott de-
cision. settled the question, that negro
was PROPERTY in the same sense tina. q
horse or a sheep was property. aud the Su-
preme Court having decided this question,
he wanted TO know how n Territorial Le-
gislature could deprive a citizen. of the
constitutional right Of taking his slave
property into the common Territories
This argument of Mr.. SCOTS is Legitimate,
was il not for one thing. and that is, the
whole history Of the government. the opin-
ion Of its founders aud Of its greatest men
go to maintain the Republican doctrine,
that slavery is creature Of municipal reg
ulation confined TO those States where there
are positive laws regulating the relation OF
master aud slave. and when a slave is taken
voluntarily out of the jurisdiction of those
laws, he at once becomes free man; aud
as there are no laws enacted for the gov
eminent of the Territories, giving the right
of one man to hold another ia bondage
the stakeholder takes his slaves into them,
at his peril That the common law of This
country aud of the world, gives to every
one the right to take his property wherev
err he may go, but as a negro is not proper
ty iU this sense, he cannot be held in bond
positive laws which make him the slave OF
his master. That the normal condition OF
all the Territories is that of freedom, and
until legitimate Legislation makes it other
wise, all men who go into them are free.
Mr.. SCOTS position. however. is that
taken by the Breckinridge wing of the
Democracy. aud is certainly more manly
than the doctrine OF Squatter and Popular
Sovereignty and "uufriendly Legislation"
as advocated by the Douglas Democrats
There is boldness about it much more
commendsble than the turning and twist
ing of those doctrines set up by the Little
Giant, to be kicked over by the common
sense Of the people. Mr.. s. seems to he
an earnest advocate of the principles he
has espoused and discusses them in a
very geutlemanly and candid Manner
There was no clap trap in his speech in
tended to draw the public mind from the
issues now being discussed, aud no seem
ing desire TO deceive the voter. in order
that he might get his vote
How he will run ia this Destrict il is at
this time difficult TO say. but from the en-
tbu-iasm with which he seems TO have
gone into the fight. We would not be sur
prised if his vote was n very fsttering
one. Ho~eser much Mr.. Scott may be in
error as regards the doctrins he advocates,
still il is due to him that we should say,
he is an able and ernest debater, an affable
and courteous gentleman. He regards Mr.
Douglas as the who has disinte-
grated and destroyed the Democratic party
to crafty his own vaulting ambition, and
he cannot see how any Democrat can now
consent to reward him for it.