Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1860-10-12

y. Tho Republican ffc companies are vigorously tt
work: the Republican engines are pa,inp with f force
and then comes the very incendiay, Douglas with -
tle tcaspoonil " nu-Ictompton water throws % into
the hamcs and then swes himself up and claims 10 have
exiinguislcd the conhaFauon--and 50 goes before INC
peepl, oi liihos as thc fue chemPoh ol rte'u"m'
And this he would hardly have had the courage TO do
had not, as D. known 10 all of us the indignant
threats of the gallant Brodctick ovcrawcd him when he
was about TO compromise with Buchanan
repeat. would never stoop 20 question the motives
which actuatcd him. in the Lccompion struggle had NOT
the acts which preceded it made his honesty doubtful
aud had not those thar followed Il precluded a belief in
the sincerity of his repentance II he honest, you
will be obliged TO confess il is exceedingly hard 90 prove
it on him.
On the strength of this exploit he succeeded in carrying
his point in Illinois not indeed, by popular majority
for that was against him, but by an old Gcrymadcrng
appDuonmcnt Il " those luguhrous victories,
which consist in escape from total annthnatipn
But Dds seat Is regmnedi and now be throws wlsltnl
eye upon higher scat; and remembers that the
Democratic road to the White House leads through the
saleholuing states. so he turns ms lace S9nU"iu
without delay, and sets out trip down the MissNstp-
ph Heis az once betrayed into making few remMks'
here and there, 10 spontaneous gatherings Suddenly We
find the man who had tried 20 dclude tie people " lli
nos into the belief that under the Kansas and Nebraska
bill, the people bad right to exclude slavery, in the
south husiy apologizing 1r it and now behold the old
Douglas again welding the weapon Of sOphstry with un-
hlushug boldncss and cndcavprng 10 make his doctrine
n Popular Sovereignty paatable to the Southern
aoh.
The development or the Popular Sovereignty doctrine
is one of the instructive chapters in the history o
our days II shows how cagy the popular wind cam ne
ouiuscacd by s1phistca plausbilty, aud hpw easily
correct principles lost sight Of In hc confused strug
gle nl interests and aspirations. Future generations "
scuiinzc with curious astonishment the history oi our
days and wonder n the temporary success " 30 trans
parent ffaud. Permit me brief DEPRESSION.
Popular Sovereignty. in the true Of the term
means the sovereignty Of a individuals regulated by
law as 70 protect The rights and liberties nf any one
gaint the cncroachments Of any other AND organized
by political institutions give common expression
20 The collective viii Its natural basis is the equality VI
the rights Vt all It's natural end is the protection
OF m ndwduas in the exercise of their rights ahd W the
cuiuymcnt OF their liberties. Hence u prccudrs the idea
of slavery in ALL is forms Apply this true Popular Sow
cfcgny tn the Territories and We are willing TO accept
it--nay n is the very thing which contendng for
But D. his what Douglas, IN the Nebraska bill coutem
piltedf by no means. His Popular Sovereignty has
ed npon the assumption that class Of men has the
powt-has the rghtto strip another class Of their nat
ural rights, and 10 hold them slaves.
For arguments sake, let follow him in his course Of
reasoning. and suppose the white population NJ the Ter
rit1rc, had the pht To hold norton Of the inhabitants
as property So We have 20 lower the standard NJ Pop
uar Sovereignty one degree Listen 10 the language of
the Kansas and Nebraska bill
u is the true intent and meaning of this act not 'o
cssaie slavery nto any state Or Territory, nor 20 eN
clude thcrcrom, but 10 leave the people thereof per-
iecy free to form and regulate their institutions n Their
States"
At drs one would suppose this bin gave the people Of
the Territories the sovereign right Introduce slavery
provided always that slavery could go there uul RS
introduced hy positive Of Territorial leg-a ion. Is
that what Douglass principle Of Popular Sovereignty
contemplated BY no means! For, according 90 him,
siayehodcr may Introduce bis slave property, and
I ana thereby Introduce and establish slavery in lefu-
tory without tai positive act uf Territorial legislation.
We have, therefore 20 lower the standard NJ Popular
7 sovereignty another degree One would suppose that
slavery So being admitted first the people Of he Ter
Hl would have At least the sovereign right 70 remove
and exclude 1t by positive of Territorial legislation
Is that what Judge Douglass principle Of Popular soFe-
+ IfthV contemplated By no means he tid You AZ
first that his question tn be decided by the Su
Reme Court then he told you that the sovereignty Of
Territory remains 10 bcyance suspended iu the United
States iu trust for the people until they shall be admit
ted into che Union State and at last, after the H.
iuois campaigu he droppod tho expression excluding
hat an
Of the people Of Nebraska and Kansas exclude slavery
10y law were promptly put down by the yetoes ot the Gov
crupfs oi those Territories vct1cs exercised by virtue Of
lhe power conferred on the Territorial Governments by
/ Dunglas's own Nebraska bin
Thus we have dcseended great steps f-om the
laea oi topuhr Sovereignty, without having reached
Judge Douglass great principle aud you will perceive
mat he true Popular Sovereignty has already disappear
cu long ago but let as lower the standard OF Popular
Sovereignty still another degree and hope that
NE deeper we sink the closer we may approach Judge
Douglas position. At last find him not with prin
his frcepor speech iu August, 1853
" IL matters not what way the Supreme Court may
hereafter decide to the abstract question whether sa
very may go or may into Territory under the
Constitution, the people have the lawful means to intro
duec o. or exclude it they please for the that
ss''y cannot exist. day or an hour anywhere unless
Is supported 10y local police regulations Those police
Gan ohl 9e cslallsutu uy INC local ictlslt
ture' and II the people opposed TO slavery they will
elect representative to that body who will, by unfcud
N legislation, prevent the introduction OF into their
This then is the great principle Of Popular Sovereignty
oontempAtes, not the general exercise and enjoyment
OF equal rights not that Slavery 20 into Ter
ntorY unless the people introduces it by law not that
ine people have the sovereign right 70 exclude 1t by
direct act NJ Territorial legislation but that they may
annoy and cmbarass the Stakeholder in the enjoyment
OF hts slave property, To tease Slavery out o the
Territory If they can. r. ten years ago man had un-
dTtakcn to call thi, Popular Sovereignty the people
would have suspected him ~ serious mental dcrange
ment Is not really this kind Of Popular Sovereignty
according to Nh lnculns striking illustration, 'as
Thin as the homeopathic soup that made by boiling
heshdow OF pigeon that had been starved 90 death