The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-08-06
The ADVERTISERS
 ~ HOME STUDY CIRCLE

to the ships of France and Spain. cer tain very valuable trading privileges for a term of twelve years. This was also attacked as discrimination against American commerce. but was defended as proper part of the price paid for Louisiana. and hence within the treaty making power. The debate in the House. before which the matter could come only indirectly-through- a
 motion to call for the pa pers in the case-was determined in favor of the administration by a vote of 90 to 9.
 The Senate ratified the treaty by Il
 vote of 24 to [. ,,-s The political and constitutional inn portance of this incorpora tion cannot be over-estimated. It was the first great step not only toward expansion but toward centraIization The centri- fugal force had manifested itself. which was to extend our circumference be- yond the widest dreams of empire, but it was balanced at once by the centri- petal force which was to hold the great body polite. with it's vast extent and variety of interests and view in one solid whole. The nation had as- serted itself as more than a mere fed.
 eration for police and commercial pur- poses. The young government was a power in the world. a self-sustaining entity.
 The right to acquire territory having been settled. the question Of its gov ernment arose. After a long debate a temporary settlement was agreed up- on. The territory was divided by the I thirty third parallel. the present boun- dary of Arkansas and Louisiana. into the District of Louisiana on the north l and the Territory of Orleans on the | south. The former was subject to the government of the Indian Territory.
 which consisted of Governor. Secre- tary and Judges. without Legislature. | as ordered by the ordinance of l7S7. The latter was to be governed for a year byls Governor. Secretary and Le-
 gislative Council of thirteen. appointed
 by the President without confirmation by the Senate.
 Provisions of Government. The council could be convened and prorogued by the Governor at his will. Judges were similarly created. Right to trial by jury was restricted to civil
 cases where more than S20 was involv- ed. and to capital cases in criminal ac- tions These provisions are of interest in connection with our newly acquired possessions. The slave trade was gov erned by three provisions. 1. No slave | could be Imported from abroad. 2 No slave imported into the Union since
 May l. 179S. could be brought into the Territory. 3. No slave could be brought
 in except by an American citizen re- moving into the Territory for actual
 settlement and being at the time of re- moval actual owner of such slave. | This last provision was for the pur- pose of restricting the traffic in slaves. | Not until 1872 did Louisiana become State. with it's present bounds. and
 most of the States In this territory have been admitted to the Union only very recently.
 Tenty-five years after this in con- | nection with the newly ceded Floridas. Chief Justice Marshall said. and his | dictum has a bearing on some present problems, that the people of Florida Do not participate in political power; | they do not share in the government | till Florida shah become a State. In the meantime Florida continues to be | a Territory of the United States, gov erned by virtue of that clause in the Constitution which empowers Congress | to make all needful rules and regIa- tions respecting the territory or other property belonging to the United | States which has not, by becoming a State acquired the means of self-gov- ernment. may result necessarily from the fact that 1t Is not within the jnris-
 diction of any particular State and is i within the power and Jurisdiction of the United States. The right to gov
 ern may be the inevitable consequence
 of the right to acquire territory. | Whichever may be the source whence | the poer is derived. the possession of 1t is unquestioned."
 (CODyriRht 1900)