Show TIM THE NT AND THE territories A week a gowe demonstrated the truth that the people of the territories of the united states have inherent rights equally with the people of the states and that any infringement upon those rights by congress arany other paw pow or individuals lis ils contrary to the constitution and ought to be opposed by every lover of his country the position we took on this ground we believe to bo be impregnable and we ace satis ned died that it is sustained by every everk principle that enters into the theory of that system of government which was set up on this land to supersede the government ov established hereby here by the british crown we are well aware that tile the practice has been different from this theory and we understand the difficulty and as may be considered almost hopelessness of the task of com batting anything thin that has the strength ot of long iong usage and the backing backing of judicial decisions yet these to do not affect a question of right custom precedent the dicta of courts or other authorities cannot of themselves destro destroy y any t true rue principle and it is the right if not the duty of every citizen to stand up for constitutional doctrine and constitutional liberty no matter what ma may stand int lathe heway way 17 if there is one thing plainer than another in tile the theory of the american system of government it Is this that all governments derive their just powers f from rom the consent of the governed eany government forced upon people without their consent Is unjust and contrary to the genius geilus of american republicanism it is 14 also an established truth that the people not the officers or authorities cnossen by the people are the source of all political power therefore the proposition that any portion of the people in the united states depend upon congress or a any n national authority for the ile rights ai of freemen Ire emen Is fallacious and hostile to the spirit and letter of republican government the power assumed by congress over those anomalous organizations lations called territories lias has no warrant whatever in the instrument from which every department of the national government derives its powers those who claim for congress tile the r krisht I 1 ht to legislate directly for the territories ri to appoint officers to govern tile the people without the consent of the governed to tax them without real representation and to do other things to which the tile people of the territories have to submit from necessity not as a matter of right are compelled to go outside of the constitution to look lor tor the source of that power and are obliged to fall back upon the plea of expediency ped lency ency and those general powers which they aver should be vested in all notional governments therefore is their argument baseless and the cial clai claim in they set U up groundless lor kor for one of th the e undoubted undoubted and distinguishing peculiarities of the government of the united states Is its well weli defined limitations lim stations over which it cannot lawfully pass specified in clear and unmistakable ian lan language aage in a written constitution by which it Is firmly bound on this point president andrew johnson in his veto message to congress march starch 2 1867 laid down the following irrefutable statement this proposition ro position is perfectly perfect 16 cleat clear clea that no ranch branch of the federal Ie deral derai ment executive legislative or judicial can have any just powers except those which it derives through and exercises under the organic law of the union outside of the constitution we nave no legal authority more than private citizens and within it we have only so much as that instrument gives us this broad principle limits all our functions and applies to all subjects it protects not only the citizens oi of states which are within the union but it shields every human being who comes or is brought under our jurisdiction we have no right to dofa one place more than in another that which the constitution says we shall not do at all the national government then must find its authority to legislate for the territories in the constitution or it cannot tind find it at all the only power of exclusive legislation granted to congress in that instrument is mentioned in clause 16 section vill viii article one and is limited limited to the district in which is the seat of government and those places purchased by the government for forts magazines ars arsenals eeals dockyards dock yards and other needful buildings the clause in article four which ives wives conc cong congress aress power to idis dispose ose 0 of and make all needful rules an and regulations respecting the territory and other p pro or gerty erty belonging to the united tates as has been shown so many times cannot be construed without torturing the language langua a and attaching to it meanings which the e context disproves to have any bearing upon individuals the people organized or unorganized in a political capacity it means as it says territory I 1 land which the congress may dispose of and make rules concerning if this gives power to make rules and regulations for the people elien eilen it gives power to dispose of them to sell them or to do the same with them as wi with th any kind of property belonging to the united states it will be claimed by our opponents that the supreme court of the united states has ruled on this question more than once and decided that congress has power to govern the terri territories betit but ft atil bes be seen eenon on careful examination that the court of last resort has never given definite reasons for this conclusion but has merely assumed it as foregone in the american insurance company vs canter the court said the right to govern may P bp be the inevitable I 1 consequence of t the elight right to I 1 acquire territory whichever maybe the source whence the power is derived the possession of it is unquestioned in the national bank vs the county of yankton the court said it is too late to doubt the power power of congress to govern the territories and there have been some diffene differences nees of opinion as to the particular clause of the constitution from which the power is derived but that it exists has always been conceded 1 if the source of this power is to be found in the constitution it would be easy to point it tout out that instrument is a marvel of perspicuity and definiteness it is easy to say this power po has been conceded and is ed 11 but it is not so easy in fact is impossible to show authority for it in the constitution for it is not there it has to be inferred and assumed and when once assumed to say that it is conceded is no argument at all indeed it is not true many eminent statesmen and lawyers have denied the existence of this power among them were lions lewis cass stephen A douglass matt dlatt H 11 miah y S black and other celebrated authorities if this power is not specifically granted by tile the constitution it does not exist tor for the government as we have proven has no authority whatever but that which is named in the organic act of the nation and it is against the assumption of powers not given to the national government that the peo of the tile united states ought to protest and set their faces like kt flint it may seem a small matter to the people in the states that the rights rh gats of catiz citizens e ns are invaded in the territories but let the national government be permitted to exceed its lawful powers in one instance and it will do the same in another encourage or wink at usurpation in any direction and it is likely to be exercised in other directions and thus the limits and safeguards set up in the constitution will willbe be broken down one after another tile the system of government which comprehends the union of several independent commonwealths will be entirely subverted and the very evils a against al ast which the fathers of the C country on try built up the bulwarks bulwa to be found in the constitution co will rise triumphant trample down trample local self government an and popular sovereignty and establish that centralizing g and form and force which true demge Dembe democrats rats and real republicans now discern and are striving to suppress the latter day saints are deeply interested te in these questions for they expect to grow into a power which will interpose between this agg aggression gres slon sion and destruction the of the grandest human government ever set up on the earth and they should become informed u upon 0 n these points and all the principles pies plis that enter into the institutions of our country so that they ina iua may y be prepared p red to defend the right battle against t thew the wrong rong and aid in maintaining constitutional freedom in which is involved the welfare not only of the clivens ci eizens of this union but of the people of all nations who now live or are yet to dwell on any an y part of the globe |