The Lansing state Republican. [volume] (Lansing, Mich.) 1855-1874, 1860-02-21

tirut. CpCtILic uo LOT stop tneTe. Ate
having tried to explain away the funda
mental principles underlying this Repub
lie, which are hostile to slavery and it ex
ceedingly inconvenient TO encounter fact,
which prove, beyond doubt, that these prin
ciples, from a mere theoretical existence
rose to practical realization. Popular SOW
ereignty, which is at war with the doe
trines of the Declaration Of Independence
demands the slaughter Of the ordinance o
l1S1. and Mr.. Douglas is up to the task
He does not stop at trifes.
And here We must return to the Har.
per- Magazine manifesto. He leads us
through a century Of colonial history, in
order to show that the people Of the colon.
les claimed the right to legisate on the sub
ject of slavery. And. remarkably enough,
all the instances quoted show uniform
tendency adverse to the peculiar institu-
tion. Mr. Douglas then proceeds to dis.
cover the germs of his popular-soyereignty
doctrine in the first Congressional legisla-
ton concerning the Territories. | will not
undertake 10 crlticiSe that singular historl-
cal essay, although some Of its statements
are snch as to make the freshmen of our
colleges smile. The statesman Doug
las does not seem to be aware that the abii.
ty to read history ought to precede the at
tempt to write it. Laughter and cheers
He leads us back to the Congress of 1874.
Mr.. Jefferson and his colleagues have just
executed the deed of cession of the North.
western Territory, and the same Mr.. JEFF
ferson, as chairman Of a committee, then
submits "a plan for the temporary govern
ment of the Territories ceded or to be CO.
ded by the individual States to the United
States" Mr.. Douglas proceeds to describe
how the Territorial Governments were to
be organized, what rights and powers were
put into the hands of the people, and how
they were to be exercised and, after hav-
ing demonstrated that the term "new
States meant the same thing which is
now designated by " Territories" he comes
to the conclusion that the spirit prevailing
that was in exact consonance with his doc
trine of popular sovereignty" Mr. Doug
las ostentatiously calls this the Jefferso-
nian plan" 1t was" says he, the frs,
plan of government for the Territories ever
adopted in the United States. 1t was
drawn by the author of the Declaration of
Independence, and revised and adopted by
those who shaped the issues which produced
the Revolution, and formed the foundations
upon which our whole system of Ameri-
can government rests Mr. douglas skips
rather nimbly over the significant fact, that
the same author Of the Declaration Of In
dependence put into that plan proviso,
slarery from the Terr,tOries.
Was that a mere accident Mr. Jefferson
showed thereby, conclusively, that, in hi,
opinion. the exclusion Of slavery by Con-
gress;onal legislation was by no means in
consistent with the spirit of popular SOW
ereignty which Mr.. Douglas discovers in
the plan of 1874 but this does not dis.
turb Mr.. Douglas. THE iifth article"
says he, "relating to the prohibition Of
slavery. having been rejected by Congress,
never became part of the Jeffersonian
plan of government for the Territories, as
adopted April 23d, 1884" Although with
a large numerical majority in its favor
Sixteen to sevcn) this article did indeed
fail to obtain constitutional majority, the
vote of New .Jerysy not being counted, in
consequence of there being but one dele
gate from that State present; yet it had
been drawn up by Mr.. Jefferson. introduced
by Mr.. jefferson, and sustained by Mr..
Jefferson's vote. Nevertheless, Mr.. Doug
las presists in calling plan, from ,chich
tie peculiar JeferS0nian .teature haC3
been struck out, the "JeherSOnian pian." "
This is the play of Hamlet with the char
acter of Hamlet omitted. Laughter
L" This charter of compact. proceeds Mr..
Douglas, with its Fundamental conditions,
which were unaiterable without the joint
consent of the people interested in them, as
well as Of the United States, then stood up
on the statute book unrepealed and ire
pealable, when, on the lith day Of May,
1877, the Federal Convention met at Phila.
delphia" Does Mr.. Douglas not know
that Oh the 18th of March, 1885, propo-
sition was introduced in Congress by Rufu,
King to exclude slavery from the States
described in the resolve of April %, 11Sl
and to make this provision part of the com
pact established by that resolve Does he
not know that this provision, restoring the
Jeffersonian feature to the " JefIersoniar
plan," was committed by the vote of eight
States against four Does he not know
that the plan of l1Si never went into prac
teal operation, but was expressly set asid,
by Congress in l.S1! Does he not know
that the ordinance Of l1S1 was the frs
Legislative act ever practically organizing
Territory Of the United States, and that on,
of its most prominent features was the pro
viso excluding slavery from all the Terrific
ries then in possession Of the United States
Mr. Douglass historical recollections Q
the ordinance Of 1.S1 seem TO be very in
distinct Indeed, he deems j; only worth,
of an occasional, passing, almost contemp
tous notice He speaks Of it as the ordi
nance Of the l2th Of July, l1s1, which Wa
passed by the remnant Of the Congress 0
the Confederation, sitting in New York
while Its most eminent members were a
Philadelphia, as delegates to the Fedora
Convention. For three quarters of cen
tury, people were in the habit Of thinkin;
that the ordinance Of l.s1 was an act G
the highest order of Importance, but W