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Excerpt from Speech of the Hon. James R. Doolittle, of Wisconsin, on the Bill to Organize the Territory of Arizuma: Delivered in the Senate of the United States, December 27, 1860 Power abrogates or establishes it. Is not that public law? Mr. Doolittle Iagree, to that. 1 a r 11 Mr. Mason. That I understand to be, the public law. I may be wrong in it. Now, . What legal conclusions may follow 111 the, peculiar construction of our; Government with a fundamentahlaw, or how it operates upon existingtlaws in a Territory newly acquired, I am not going to diseuss, with the Senator at, all; and, therefore, I protest again that; he shall not commit me tq his legal conclusion as to the legal effect of the Constitution in the Territories. I mean to say this alone: that the Constitution recognizes a slave as property. We say, not that the Constitution establishesslavery anywhere {but that there IS the same obligation upon those who administer; the Constitution: to prootect the property in a slave, as property, as in anything else, wherever the Constitution 18 admin istered. Thatis what we claim. 1, 1; 1 1 Mr. Doolittle Mr. President, I. Do not desirto. Be taken from the precise point, for m that is the whole point of contiqversy involved.1 The law of. Mexico abolished slavery in these Territories before we acquired them. Now, when your slaveholdin'g constituents are claiming that we deny their. Constitutiqnal rights ih' those Territories, the simple question is: whether the Constitution pf the United States enters those Ter ritories and repeals the law of Mexigo against slavery, a11d guaranties in some form their right to enter with their, slaves? I understand the majorityof the judges of the Supreme Court 1n the Dred Scott ease to say that the Congress of the United States have not the power to prevent its entrance; but I do not understand any one 111311111 judges. Of the Supreme Court to distinetly; affirm that the Constitution enters the. Territory and. Repeals or abrogates the former and previousdaw against slavery, and givesrthe right to enter with property in slaves I say! Therefore, when you. Representing slatgeholding. Citizens of your; State, stand here insisting that we deny any of their; constitutional rights, you say it without any foundatiqn, in myl opinion, in eonst1tut1onalrlaw Mr wigfall.wi11 the Senator allow, me to interrupt him'? 1 Mr doolittle. Not at present. There are one or two points that I desire to discuss, and I te I shall hé, allowed to do so now. Mr. Wigfall. It is merely in relation to that matter of 11111,11nd it is this. Mexico, you know, was a Catholic country M1 doolittle. Well, sir, I do not wish to go into that. The presiding officer 1does the Senator from Wisconsin yield the, floor? Mr. Doolittle. The gentleman may raise. A question as to what the Mexican. Law was. -without any discourtesy, I do not prepose to go into a discussion about that. Mr wigfall. We11, adn1itting, for the sake of argument} that it was 111031110110 country, then a marriage could not be solemnized except by a Catholie, priest-1-1.. Mr doolittle. Mr..presider_1tf - 1 - s The presiding officer Does the Senator, froni Wisconsin yield the floor? Mr. Doolittle. I desire tq' be drawn ihtq an argunient about the Catholic religionq 1 I I f 1 i 41 1 Mr wigfall'. You _dq not wanttto hear the faets. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com