The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1861-03-30
Eetter Let That Alone.

by the republicans in the last Congress
when, in organizing the three new terH'o-
ries Of Dacotsh, Jefferson and Nevada, they
entirely ignored the confessedly only vital |
principal of the Chicago platform-the ex-
clusiou Of slavery from the territories by
Congressional! l-.i.lation-snd engrafted
CT thcse bills the principle Of popular so
vereignty. Nslarous repubiicaniSn, such
IS was rampant in our strsets before the
last presidential election, would have froth-
ed and toamed and beloved and died
first, before il would hzYe consented to the
passage OF smother territorial bill without
a clause excluding slavery. But !epubii-
canism in power, backed 10y conGcession-
al majority where it was necessary 10 u re
the responsibility Of the laws to be passed
and face the music, proved very diiefef'
articl. Ali its ante eIeet!onal ya!cr rapid
| Nv oozed out, and nothing could exceed The
! facile discretion with v Lich the Chicago
ukasa was ignored and the omni-present
Niger compelled to hide his diminished
head.
Was it not amazing, that men like Love
10y, and Coltax, and Hale, and Trumbull,
and all that tribe, who stood day after day
and night after night fighting the Nebras-
ka bill in Congress, and then at the hus-
tines beloved themselves hoarse, weeks
and months in and out, pleading the great
cause (sicD of freedom in the territories
I I -, 4 n mi
single word or whimper, vote unanimously
| for half dozen ofbills in q batch in which
the great principle! was utterly ignored,
and by which the people Of the territories
were left 'pelfectly free TO pass just such
! laws as they pleased in reference 10 slave
~, sUBJEcr ONLY 10 THE Constitution!
| If the facility with which the republi-
cans n Congress made the great back
down was TO be admired, still more, it
must be confessed, must be admired their
miraculous discretion in keeping so quiet
aboutit The very heart mercilessly rip
ped out Of the Chicago platform, and hot
a republican voice raised in depreciation
Wonderful republicauisrni SO quietly, SC
adrojl!y done, that the great body Of tbs
rank and file Of the party even to this day
are ready 10 swear it vas never done at all
But there never was a splendidly con
7 ceivcd scheme in which SO many haEd
were engaged, but was in danger Of heir;
spoiled by stupid Iuarplot. Manifest,
the master stroke in this business was III,
keeping perfectly quiet about it. The OF
tawa R-paoEcas, however, Is too stupid t
see the strength Of the game, and innocent
" blows the whole business. The edi.o
is thrown off lis d.sci elton and CALLED b
an inlpudent tsunt Of some Douglas ma!
that rspublicanism, after all lis buster
had 10 swallow Douglas popular severely
ty. 4 yeEy amusing article Is thai in tn
, last Ottawa RI ..5LcGn. The substance c
1t is,-Js. an admission thu: tie Cn.cag
: platform was spit upon in the new terrific
= rial bills: 2nd, denial, however, tha. l..
? Douglas doctrine Of popular soveIeignt
was adopted instead; but 81, an affirm
aace, chat Is the Dread Scott decision ha
5 pu, quietas on lie power or Congress
, les;slate against slavery in the tcrr;torie
z therefore, there was no choice left to Il.
} republicans but to organize those tegrit,
+ rios on the Breckenridge principle, tia
= slavery must lie recognized and rrotecteC
Here's wittikins! A republican edito
and q republican Congress yielding to al
n acknowledging the binding force Of IL
II Dred Scott decision! Where now il tha
Il loud der;sion and supreme scorn ana cor
i temp with which this editor and thes
Z congressman secuted the bred Scott dec
: sion before the last election? Was eve
cowarlice and e1rontery combined Xix
i this? The hooted and despised bred Scot
decision made the scape goat and come 0
for The hypocrisy and dwelling Of the r
It publican leaders. Couldn't help it OIL a
5, count of the bred Scott decision!
o The excuse, however; that the Brecl
q enridse and not the Douglas doctrine Wi
q engrafted into these bills, is a mere pr
e tence, miserable as such come off won
d be The Breckenridge doctrine require
ql7imaj:ye legislation IN .tagor OF SLAYER
aud was thus the opposite Of the repub
&c can doctrine OF affirmative iegislatic
v against slavery. The Douglas doctrine w
to do mother, but to let it alonc-to e
u clude the subject utterly from the halls
: Congress This is exactly what the lat
y republican Congress has done. lthas sal
- nothing about slavery. If the Peep
: want the Institution they can adopt it, al
= the territorial courts can decide wheth'
: they can do So with. e power TO appeal
the supreme court of the United State
if they don't want slavery they can leg
p" late against 1t, and the courts, with Il
" same appeal, can pass upon the territori
:; law in like manner. This is the Dougl;
d doctrine 10 a dot, and its adoption by Il
u late Congress is the exact veriGcation of
'e prediction made b. Douglas and all h
N friends before The election, that, let W
-e will be President, no other doctrine ".
practicable or could be adopted in refs
. cnce to the territories,
HowE's ScAIEs- We have at last n gre
improvement in the machinery Of weig
\ ing. The principles OF leverage found
Y -