Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1860-09-28

the Senator from Ohio, and MIR. Mace, a
from Indlanna, brought in
to this effect; that the people of
tho Territory, through their appropriate
representatives, may elect their own COVER
nor, their own legislature, and their own
judiciary. Thai would have been Popular
after fashion. 1t would have
taken the power out of the hands of us thirty
millions of people and placed it virtually in
the hands of the small number of our peo-
pie, mostly from foreign countries, who
happened to be in possession of the terrific
rios. But that was Popular Sovereignty,
Sqdatter Sovereignty, in all its length,
breadth, height and depth. And where was
Stephen and his party when the proposition
was made by US to give Squatter Sovereignty
some vitality? Why, as Tom Benton said,
he killed his own child, his own beautiful
ard only daughter, Popular Sovereignty,
stone dead, In the Senate, the place of her
nativity. lie and his party voted it down.
Sensation TIE record of the country
shows it. My Democratic friends, 60 and
lower your standard of Popular Sovereignty.
Stephen is not your leader if you follow in
tho wake of Popular Sovereignty, for
Stephen voted it down. He was unwilling
to see even the ninth part of it that was left
by his bill.
lie PROVIDES NIOHE FOR THE DRIED SCOTT
DECISION.
What more? lie leaves his bill purposely
open for this decision OF the Supreme Court
to crush out his ninth part of Popular Sow
ereignty. Mr.. Calhoun had already given
an Interpretation to the Constitution, making
it a pro slavery Constitution, which by its
own vigor carried slavery everywhere that
it extended And although this idea was
derided at the time, il has grown at last to
be the faith of the Democratic party. Mr.
Douglas knew the new construction which
Mr.. Calhoun and the South had put and were
putting upon the Constitution. What then
did he do? When he brought in his Nebras,
ka bill declaring that the people should be
left perfectly free to vote it a tree Or a slave
territory just rs they choose, he added this
proviso: "Subject TO the Constitution of the
United States' Yousee now where he was
playing traitor. The little fellow was pre-
pairing loop.hole throrg" which. when thi.
subject became the Great chinese Wall along
Mason and Dixon's line, from tho Atlantic to
tho Pacific, separating the North and the
South, he might escape without knocking
out against it what little braiGs he had
[Cheers and laughter. But Mr. Chase smoked
hi,n ont of his hole and brought the little
fellow up standing in the daylight. so that
everybody could read him. He offered al
amendment providing shat the people of the
territory, through their appropriate repre-
sentatves, may, if they see fit, prohibit the
existence OF slavery therein'- and there stop
ped. That at once cleared away all thi:
doubtful construction OF the Constitution
and decided whether it was for slavery or fol
liberty. What then did Mr.. Douglas do
He and his friends again voted Popular Sow
ereignty down. so that in every way in
which we could test him, we found him
practically against real Popular Sovereignty
What more? Why, the shareholders, fad
ing themselves unable to win even at the
grab game, having tried rer eatedly and beer
again and again defeated, like Milt )n's Satan
when he rose gloomily from the place of hi,
defeat, and cast his eyes abolt the universe
to see whether he might once more fine
standing room to wage eternal war against
tie Almighty, turned about in search O
some untred instrument with Which to carry
on t. war OF slavery against freedom. Ant
here did they find It'll In the Supreme
Court. Defeated among the people of The
Territory, defeated at the ballot-box by the
popular vote, defeated by the cartridge box
they went back to that Old despotc e!emen,
in our form utgovernment, the United States
Supreme Court. with its five siaveholdine
Judges, representing three hundred th; usanC
Shareholders and four judges representing
thirty millions otfreeiuen who own no slave
OF all places on the earth, that would seen
to be the last refuge for Democracy. Why
the Democratic party had always protessed
10 distrus, the Supreme Court. Mr.. JetfeE.
son had said i: was the Subtle corps OF
5appers and miners constantly working un.
derground to undermine the foundations CT
our contedcrated fabric y that ii was ear
alien ami despite element IN our system.
aud would ultimately, unless watched, u,IrI
al! the political power in the country )" that
the responsibility by impeachment was 6
mere bugab3o That never could be carried
out. that few judges died aud none ever
resigned. The celebrated resolutions of 90
passed by the Democracy OF Virginia aud
Kentucky, looked to the same end and ex.
pressed the same dstrust of the Supreme
Unurt. Do you remember what old Andrew
Jackson said ? lie said they had attempted
to usurp his judicial power that he was
sworn to maintain the Constitution as he
understood it, just as much rs the ia lcary
and he did maintain it against the Judiciary
And on which side was the Democratic party?
Was it with old Jackson, or the Supreme
Court? 1t stood UP unanimously by the side
of O.d Hickory; uL d fol once they were ight.
TIE DECISION COM s.
But now new spirit has taken posses
sion of the Democratic party, and they are to
day seeking refuge with this alien element
this old enemy of theirs and are now en-
tered head and soul into the keeping and
under the protection of that arbitrary old
court. They made all the slaveh gliding
Judges decide that the Constitution guaran,
tees to the shareholders the same property
in his slave that it gives him in his ccw or
horse-.hat he has the right, the local leg
islstures and Congress to the contrary not
withstanding, to carry his slave into any
territory and hold him there.
Look now ct the justics Of this claim.
have already said that it was not the doc
tribe of the fathers. Tha. it is not che doc
trine Ct the Constitution can prove by this
brief argument: If the STAKEHOLDER has the
same right to his slave that he has to any
property-if the slave is not liberated by
going into an alien government, why did
they put the u.itive slave clause in the
Constitution simply because the fugitive
slave would otherwise have been free by the
c ,nmon law of every civilized nation upon
earth. Yes, that remarkable provision was
inserted, because without it every slave
who crossed the line would have been free
My Democratic friends, if the slave stands
on the same footing with the cow and the
horse, why did they not pus in u fugitive
cow clause, Or a fugitive horse clause
laughter. Why have we not a fugitive
horse bill or a fugitive cow bill declaring
that any horse owing service and escaping
from him to whom he owed service shall not
be free, but shall be delivered up to him to
whom service is due by said horse? Roars
of laughter and applause ] .......
What miserable absurdity! The Con-
stitution declares slaves to be persons. That
they are persons you prove by your every
duv acts. In every Democratic Slave State