The Shasta courier., 1860-08-04
" Squattcr Sovereignty"

One would suppose, from the manner in which
Messrs. Bolts, Gwn, Weller and other 40 Dem
ocrats denounce what they are pleased to term
the "squatter sovereignty" views of Stephen A.
Douglas, that these gentlemen never supported
that doctrine in their lives Aud yet it is indis-
putable that California was the first and thus
far has been the only State to enter the Union
by virtue of the genuine principles of "squatter
sovereignty"
Congress never furnished us with Territorial
Government. Our people, with no authority,
save that derived from the principle of'squatter
sovereignty" elected delegates to a State Con-
vention, which framed constitution and sub
mitted it to a vote of the people. DR.. Gwin and
Judge Bolts were members of this Convention.
The people, by large majority approved the
action OF the Convention and adopted the Con-
stitution. Under that Contitution, so adopted
without authority of Congress, a legislature
met, and elected DR.. Gwin one of our U. S. SEN
ators, the people having previously elected two
ongressmen, at an election held under and by
virtue of this same squatter sovereignty adopted
constitution. And we find that DR.. Gwin and
|
and Wright, Congressman elect repaired to
Washington with this same sguatter sovereignty
adopted constitution in their hands, and asked
admission in the Union as a SOY ereign State
They did this with the full approval and hearty
endorsement of Judge Bolts, editor of the Stand
ard. They then claimed that, the people of the
newly acquired territory of California had a
right without the permission of Congress, with
out having been furnished by Congress with an
" enabling act" or a Territorial Governments
to meet together in convention, organize Gov
ernment, and elect Senators and Representatives
to Congress If that was not the very exempli-
fcaton Of the principle of "squatter sovereignty
then there is no such thing as squatter SOW
ereignty," as contradstinguished from popular
sovereignty" After Congress took the nitia-
tive in the organization of a territorial govern
ment," to quote the language of John b. Weller
in the U. s. Senate, on the 25th of May, 1854,
the people, in the exercise of their inherent
right, are to judge what sort of institutions
should exist among them" This is the doctrine
of ''popular sovereignty" as contradstinguished
from "squatter sovereignty" The one means
that the people may with the consent of Con-
gress, proceed to organize government; the
other that the people may do this without the
consent of Congress, as did the people of Cali
fornia, under such squatter- Sovereignty leaders
as Gwin and Bolts.
| OF course the men then opposed to the doc
trine of squatfer- sovereignty opposed the admis-
sion of California, and sought earnestly to de-
feat DR.. Gwin in his efforts to secure a seat in
the Senate of the U. S. States They declared |
that the admission of California under the cir
cumstances would be cause sufficient to Justify |
them in dissolying the Union. Now who were
the men that so bitterly opposed the admission
of California, because it was fruit of the doc
trine Of squatter sovereignty Why, JEFF. Davis |
of Mississippi; Barnwell and Butler of South |
Carolina; Jer. Clemens and King of Alabama
Hunter and Mason, of Virginia, and many |
others that we might name every one of
whom now living, are fighting shoulder to |
shoulder with DR.. Gwin and Judge Bolts, against
the now detested doctrine Of squatter- sovereign
ty. They are doing ROW what they did then
While Messrs. Gwn and Bolts, in agreeing with |
them now, and fighting against what they fought |
for then, have changed ground In looking over
the vote upon the admission of California, we
find the names of many men, in both branches |
of Congress, recorded against the admission of
California, who are now prominent as leaders in
the secession movement They then denounced I
the admission Of California as a wrong upon
the South. They do the same now. 1t was
only in March last that Curry, of Alabama, spoke |
of the creation of California as the first great
experiment of squatter sovereignty" and de-
nounced her admission into the Union "as the |
most unparalleled outrage ever perpetrated on |
people pretending to be free"
In short the Southern leaders Of the secession
movement have always been opposed to squat |
ter and popular sovereignty. The only matter of |
astonishment in this connection is that those |
old 40 squatter sovereignty Democrats, Gwin
and Botts should now be in communion with |
the very men who, on this very doctrine, fought |
them so bitterly when they sought to gain Cali
fornia admission into the Union as State