FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON
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However, when Bright (Indiactually prohibited. ana), with the consent of his friends, agreed to strike out this section Hale threatened to renew his amendment if the
would be
Calhoun held that Bright's proposition prevail. did not touch the real issue, the real difficulty, which involved three questions the power of Congress to interfere with persons emigrating to a territory which was their property; the motion should
power of a territorial government to do the same thing; and the power of Congress to vest this power in a territorial government. Westcott's amendment alone, he thought, would solve the problem. Hereupon Dickinson of New York proposed that the troublesome section be left out and that the people of the territory be allowed to settle the matter as they should chose; in other words he advocated the "squatter sovereignty" which played so prominent a part a few years later.
Upon
the question of striking out the 12th section the debate its theme always being the same. Houston of
continued,
Texas proposed to insert in this section, after the provision which continued such existing laws in the territory as were not incompatible with the provisions of the act, the words, "or in violation of any rights by the laws or Constitution of the United States vested in or secured to the citizens of the
United States, or any of them/' 28 Such a clause could be interpreted according to the wish of each party, and it was adopted. The third day of the debate passed without progress. On the next day (June 3d) Foote (Mississippi) proposed to insert after "existing laws now in force in the Territory of Oregon" the words, "provided the same shall be compatible
with the laws and Constitution of the United States." To Westcott would not agree because such a proposal, which
this
intended to leave the whole issue to the decision of the Supreme Court, would take the question not a step in advance; the Court would have no jurisdiction, for the right to take
