Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1860-09-14
The Debate.

slassic Duncombe was wont to call it, and
awelt with holy horror on the remark of Mr..
Lincoln that there was an ''irrepressible con.
aict" going on--that the United States would |
some day become all slave or all free, as .
house divided against itself could not stand |
He portrayed in toploftical style the progress |
Of our country in eighty-ave years, giving us
10 understand that its unprecedented growth
was owing to the fact that half the States
enjoyed the blessing Of the "Christianizing |
and civilizlng institution" slavery. With
great emphasis and vehemence, he declared
that the talk about liberty and the evil Of
slavery was all clap-trap, and for no other
purpose than to put spoilsmen in Office. A
baser libel on the honest and earnestopponents
Of slavery, comprising, as they do, at least
three-fourths Of the Christian people Of the
and, we never heard uttered. He proceeded
to declare that this Government was organic ID
by white men for white men-a truth which
no party has more earnestly and consistently
endeavored to carry out than the Republican
party, since it is their policy to preserve the
Territories for white men. He said that the
North had no more right to force slavery out
of the South than the South had to force it
into the North--a declaration which, if 1t
meant nything, (sncc no party proposes to
force slavery out of the South, implied that
the speaker did not regard the institution as
an evil. This Interpretation of his meaning
was strengthened by his subsequent declara-
ton that the Democratic party lays down the
broad and unequivocal proposition that the
African is an inferior race, fit only for
servitude. He complained that three ourths
of the time of Congress was taken up IN the
discussion of slavery-for which every intel
ligent man knows the Democratic party Is
responsible. He declared non-intervention to
be the faith of the Revolutionary Fathers, and
said Congressional Intervention was never
exercised till lS20-a statement which Mr..
O'Connor proved to be untrue in his reply to
H. G. Dean. He said Republicans were inau-
enced by the miserable spirit of Abol,tionism,
and couldn't help preaching lawlessness-
another libel on law abiding and patriotic
citizens.
In concluding his first speech, Mr.. Samuels
patted the Bell men on the back, declaring
theirs and the Douglas party to be the only
National parties in the held, and saying that
he would vote for John Bell ten thousand
times before he would vote for Abe Lincoln
As John Bell is the standard bearer Of the
KnowNothings, and an avowed pro-slavery
man, it can be readily perceived where Mr.
Samuels' sympathies are on the naturalization
question and on slavery.
Mr.. Vandever, in reply, showed that there
had always been an irrepress,ble conflict
between right and wrong, and he expressed
the belief that 1t would continue till the tim,
predicted when mankind should "beat thei
swords into plow-shares and their spears int
pruning hooks" To the charge Of Mr.
Samuels that the Republican party wa
responsible for John Browns raid, Mr. Van
dever referred his hearers to the report Of tn
Senate Investigating Committee, which ioun'
no party responsible. He then showed b,
indubtable evidence that the Douglas party
notwithstanding its catch-word, "Popula
Sovereignty" YVES no popular sovereignt.
party at all. Douglas voted against Senate
Chase's amendment to the Nebraska bill t
permit the people to elect their own Territoria
officers. In his Freeport speech, he claime
) that Territorial Legislature might, by un
friendly legislation, exclude slavery, but il
his Harper's Magazine article he said it coul
not do so till Congress should decide that tn
Territory had the requisite population. Tn
Baltimore Convention nominated on the tickle
with Douglas man who had always Opposes
the Popular Sovereignty dogma, and, after b
declined put On the ticket another man equal,
opposed to it, and who still opposes it. Tn
Wicklitfe resolution, adopted by tina: Con
vention, allows the Supreme Court to adjus
its platform, and, as that Court has alread,
decided against Popular Sovereignty, there i
nothing lett Oft
Mr.. John Wiley, Douglas man, handet
up the following questions for Mr.. Vandeve
to answer:
| l. "If Congress has the right to prohibi
slavery in the Territories, has it the right t.
establish or protect slavery in the Territories p
2. III you was in Congress, and Kansas O
Nebraska applied for admission into the Uniol
with slave constitution, would you vote t,
admit them with such constitution! ~
10 the first question, Mr. Vandeve
answered substantially In the following words
which he afterwards wrote down:
Regarding slavery as curse to any com
munity, cannot admit the right of Congress
to establish or protect it in the Territories
| do claim, however, that Congress has power
to exclude slavery from Territories; and
when necessary to save the Territories from
the everlasting curse of human bondage,
that power ought to be exercised"
To the second, he replied:
| "The people of these Territories having
been denied the right to exclude or abolish
slavery, cannot vote for the admission OF
either INTO the Union under a constitution
which establishes or protects slavery. For a
further explanation of my views on this
| subject, | refer t, my Beecher letter, written
and published during the canvass in 1858"
Mr.. Samuels, in concluding the debate,
cndcavored to extricate the Douglas party
from its unfortunate record against Popular
Sovereignty, by quoting solitary passage
from one Of Douglas speeches in favor Of the
dogma. Not word did he say liz explanation
of the nomination Of Fitzpatrick, who voted
for jeff. Davis slave code resolution. He
tried hard, by giving forced Interpretation
to Herschel V. Johnson's language on the
Oregon bill, to make it appear that that gen.
tleman had not declared against Squatter
~ A. n