| Show THE TERRITORIES AND OGRESS O-GRESS u Yesterday the Tribune had an edito rial commenting on what THE HERALD had io say Sunday morning about Territorial itorial Governments in which it nnder takes a justification of the claims of abS ab-S rlute control by the general government govern-ment over the Territories The Tribune writer by way of commencement to his argument says All territory of the United States not included within State lines is prop erty in which all the people of the United States have a common interest Congress as the representative of the people has absolute control of this property This far we agree No one can dispute the absolute control of the United States over territory that maybe may-be acquired by purchase or otherwise as property that grant of power is one of those enumerated in the Constitution stitution Under that grant the Cong ss may dispose of the soil in any manner it may elect some portion of the lands may be placed on the market by Congress and sold other parts of this domain may be granted to corporations and still other portions of it may be given to settlers lor living upon it for stated periodsin fact Congress as the representative of the people may exercise absolute con trol of it as property But when the Tribune adds And all rights exercised by the people of a Territory are not by virtue of any sovereignty either inherent in-herent or acquired but simply through charter from Congress we can subSCrIbe 1 sub-SCrIbe io no such doctrine To say that I all rights exercised by tiie people of a Territory are not exercised by virtueof any sovereignty inherent in the people but simply through acharter from Congress is equivalent to saying that the people of a Territory Ter-ritory have no inherent rights of sjvereignty and if that position be assumed we ask what become of the great American principle that governments govern-ments desire their just powers from the consent of tbe governed And that inherent in-herent right which separate communities communi-ties with distinct local interests have to govern themselves in all matters affectirg merely their own community The charter granted by Congress to a Territory does not create the right of the people to govern themselv in their local affairs j it merely acknowledge and regulates a natural right inherent n the community to govern themselves in matters which concern the members mem-bers of that community only The point urged iu Sundays HERALD was that the general government came to the assistance of the scattered com munities and organized temporary governments the burdens of which were to be borne in part by the local community and in part by the general government that the community thus protected might the sooner reach that state when it would be strong enough to bear the burdenor rather exercise the rights of Statehood Wny have these Territorial governments always been regarded as temporary Simply I oecause when they were organized the government recognized the fact that the community possessed the inherent right to control their own affair that is the grand underlying principle of our American system of government And when the claim of absolute control con-trol over communities inhabiting the Territories is set up for the general government gov-ernment it amounts to a repudiation of that great American principle woich gained its first noted triumph in the success of the American Revolution and places the advocates of such authority au-thority in the same list which the Tories cf thj Revolution who made the same claims for the BritiSh Parliament Need we inform the Tribune that today the advocates of that political heresy are despised by the civilized world and especially by England riuppds a manan American citizen citi-zen in the prospect of bettering his material interests leaves ona of our sovereign States and makes his home in the unorganizeJ territory of the United States has he lost any of the rights guaranteed to him by virtue of his citizenship Is he any the less a citizen Suppose a 1 great number of such men skputd assemble in the Territory have they lost any of the inherent rights of citizens If they have not nave they not an inherent right to manage their own affairs and be supreme in the management of them to They may not do anything contrary con-trary to the Constitution of the United St totes because as Chief Justice Taney once said the citizen and the national Constitution went into the Territories side by side and we may say for that reason the action of Congress is limited in the exercise of power ii the Territories as well as in the States by the Constitution j and whatever of power the government h exercising over the Territories for Which there is no warrant in the Const Con-st on is usurpation pure and simple and ought not to be respected That Congress has a voice in saying when a new State shall be admitted is true The Constitution provides that the United Spates shall guarantee to every State in thisUnion a Republican form of government But when a community com-munity of citizns of the United States inhabiting one of the Territories and who are capable of bearing the responsibilities respon-sibilities of Statehood and present to Congress a State constitution republican republi-can in its character will the Tribune explain i I ex-plain by what right Congress can withhold with-hold Statehood from that com munity The Tribune holds that population pop-ulation has not governed the making of Statehood Perhaps not but population popula-tion capable of supporting a State government gov-ernment and the adoption by the peo pie of a constitution republican in its character should govern the admission of States nto the Union The Tribmle claims that a population financially able to bear the expense pf State government govern-ment is not all that is required in the Way of prerequisites for admission into the Union but the people must be American p opl Very true They must be attached to republican principles > prin-ciples and when a community of American Am-erican citizens inhabiting a Teriitory present to Congress a State constitution republican in its character which is to govern them in their methods of administering ad-ministering the laws and even the character of the lawS they are to make what greater evidence of attachment to republican principles can they manifest man-ifest |
