Year: 1860

De1irercd IN Ae,o York, September IS, 1860.


The development of the popular sove-
reignty doctrine is one Of the most instruc-
tive chapters in the history of our days


It shows how easily the popular mind
can be obfuscated by . sophistical plausi-
bility, and how easily correct princi pies are
lost sight of in the confused struggle of in
terests and aspirations. Future genera.
tions will scrutinizc with curious astonish-
ment the history of our days, and wonder
at the temporary success of so transparent
fraud (applause) Permit me brief
depression. Popular sovereignty, in the
true sense Of the term, means the sove-
reignty of all individuals. so regulated by
law as to protect the rights and liberties
Of any one against the encroachments of
any other, aud so organized by political in
stitutions as to give common expression
to the collective will. It's natural basis is
the equality of the rights Of all men, Its
natural end is the protection Of all individ-
uals in the enjoyment of their liberties
Hence it precludes the idea of slavery
in all its forms. Apply this true popular
sovereignty to the territories, and we are
willing to accept it-nay, it is the very
thing which we are contending for. But
is this what Douglas, IN the Nebraska bill,
contemplated? By no means. His popular
sovereignty is based upon the assumption
that one class Of men has the power-has
the right-to strip another class Of their
/ ! lo1J c1n


For arguments sake, let us follow him
in his course of reasoning, and suppose the
white population Of the territories had the
right to hold portion of the inhabitants
as property. So, we have to lower the
standard of Popular Sovereignty one de-
gree.-Listen to the language of the Kan
sas and Nebraska bill


cit is the true intent and meaning of
this act not to legislate slavery into any
State or Territory, nor to exclude it there
from, but to leave the people thereof per-
fectly free to form and regulate their insti-
tutions in their own way, subject only to
the Constitution of the United States.''


At first, one would suppose this bill gave
the people of the Territories the sovereign
right to introduce slavery, provided always
that slavery could not 60 there unless in
troduced by a positive act of Territorial
legislation.


We have therefore, to lower the standard
of Popular Sovereignty another degree One
would suppose that Slavery so being ad-
mitted at first, the people of the Terrific
ry would have at least the sovereign right
to remove and exclude it by positive act
Of Territorial legislation, Is that what
Judge Douglas principle Of Popular Sow
ereignty contemplated? By no means! He
told YOU at first that this was a question to
be decided by the Supreme Court then
be told you that the sovereignty of Ter
ritory remains in allegiance, suspended in
the United States in trust for the people
until they shall be admitted into the Union
as State and, at last. after the Illinois
campaign, he dropped the expression, eek
cluding Slavery" altogether, 1t is signii-
cant that the attempts of the people of
Nebraska and Kansas to exclude Slavery
by law were promptly put down by the We
toes of the Governors of those Territories;
vetoes exercised by the virtue of the pow





by Douglas own Nebraska bill.


Thus we have descended two great steps
from the true idea of popular sovereignty,
without having read Judge Douglas great
principle !; and you will perceive that the
true popular sovereignty has already dis
appeared long ago. But let US lower the
standard of popular sovereignty still anct er
degree, and we may hope that the deeper
we sink the closer we may approach Judge
Douglas position. At last we find him
not with principle, but with an assump-
ton. 1t matters not, said he In his Eree-
port speech in August, 1858:


''It matters not what way the Supreme
Court may hereafter decide as to the alb
stract question, whether slavery may 90 or
may not 90 into Territory under the Con
stitutlon, the people have the lawful means
to introduced, or exclude it as they please;
for the reason that slavery cannot exist a
day or an hour anywhere unless it is sup
ported by local police regulations. Those
police regulations can only be established
by the local legislature, and if the people
are opposed to slavery they will elect rep
resentatives to that body, who will by un-
friendly legislation prevent the introduce
ton Of it into their midst


This, then, is the great principle of pop
ular sovereignty. Laughter 1t con-
templates, not the general exercise and en-
joyment of equal rights; not that slavery
cannot 90 into territory unless the peo-
pie introduce it by law; not that the peo-
pie have the sovereign right to exclude it
by direct act of territorial legislation
but that they may annoy and embarrass
the STAKEHOLDER in the enjoyment Of his
slave property so as to tease slavery out of
the territory if they can. If ten years ago
a man had undertaken to call this popular
sovereignty, the people would have suspec-
ted him of serious mental arrangement
Is not really this kind of popular sove-
reignty, according to Mr.. Lincoln's striking
illustration, ''as thin as the homeopathic
soup that was made by boiling the shadow
ofa pigeon that had been starved to death p
Renewed laughter 1t would seem i'm
possible to make it thinner, and yet Mr..
Douglas undertakes this incredible task.
After having tried to delude the voters of
Illinois into this belief that consistently
with his position, the people of the terrific
~ may, in some ound-about way, remove
slavery. this strue cbanlpion Of freedom