The Shasta courier., 1860-08-18
SHASTA COURIER.
Political Dishonesty.

The enemies Of Stephen a. Douglas-both
Republicans and Seceders-exhibit degree of
unfairness, not to say dishonesty in interpreting
his popular sovereignty doctrine. that is abso-
lutely dsgraceful, even to mere politicians. We
quote an instance Of dis uniairness from re-
cent number of the San Francisco Times. Speak
ing of Douglas popular sovereignty doctrine,
this Black Republican sheet says
"By the atter's creed, any little squad in a
new Territory may establish or prohibit slavery
in it. By the former, Congress alone can do 1t,
until the Territory, With sufficient population
TO enttle it to form alConstitution, aud send one
Representative 10 Congress- organizes and pre-
sents its Constitution Republican in FORM for
admission as a sovereign State. If Douglas
theory be adopted as the rule, every new Terri
tory opened will ID occupied by the nimble
Yankees and immigrant foreigners-ail, or near
ly all, opposed TO sayery-and they can at
once organize and pcs laws prohibiting the IN
PRODUCTION OF slaves and slavery"
Now, every man Knows and every truthful
man must admit, thatsMr Douglas nowhere has
ever held that any Kttle squad in new Ter
ritory NAV establish or prohibit slavery" He
simply contends that the people of Territory,
after they have been Furnished by Territorial
Government by Congfess may elect men to the
Territorial Legislaturs who will not vote forsu h
local laws, police rules and regulations as are
necessary for the preservation of slave property
that 70 power cam force Territorial Legisla-
tors IN mass such layss-and that hence, from
this sort of negative unfriendy legislation, sla-
very NAV be virtually excluded from the Terri
sor;es even in the face of the decision of the
sunreme Court that aLrerritorial Legislature has
not the power to exclude slavery by legislative
enactment This is Bis opinion as a awyer on
n mere question of lak, that the Supreme Court
alone can settle. He may be wrong and he may
be right. Our individual opinion is that he is
wrong. butno powei save the Supreme Court
can determine the matter. If he is wrong on
this law question, thsn the Court, at the proper
time, will say 30, ndthat 3" say so' Douglas and
his platform promise to acquiesce in and abide
by. What more can. be asked of any man?
As to the aYerment in the latter part of the
paragraph, that the Territories will be settled up
by nimbe Yankees and foreigners who are op-
posed to slavery, and who would therefore, by
virtue of this popular sovereignty doctrine of
Mr.. Douglas, be abls to abolish slavery, we have
this Yankee reply TO make: Does not every
man Of sense knowsthat this Black Republican
editor would support this doctrine of Mr. Doug
las, if he believed It wonld result as he here
says? Of surety. Otherwise he would be false
to his principles He has said thousand times
that slavery is a mopster evil, sin, great ma
4onal crime. If hi believes SO, them if an
honest man, he Wilt adopt that principle best
calculated to- destroIthis monster evils atone
for this great national crime-and if that princi-
pie be the same supported by Douglas, then he
will choose that andtsupport those who main
tain it. Otherwise lie conyicts himself OF dis
honesty The truth is that the editor is pur-
poselY misrepresentins. He knows, if this ques-
tion be left to the people of the Territories that
there will be other slave States admitted into
the Union but that If it be left to the disposal
of Congress, we shall never hear of the admis-
sion of another slavf State. Hence all Aboli-
tionists and Republicans have ever opposed the
Democratic doctrine SfCougressional non-inter
yention-and hence their devilish hatred of
Douglas.