Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-09-17 00:00:00

THE NORTHERN TIMES.2:--LIVERPOOL, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 1857.

PRESIDENT BUCHANAN AND KANSAS

AFFAIRS.

The following is a verbatim copy of the mem
orial of professor Silliman and forty-two others of
Couneezicut, addressed to His Excellency James
Buchanan, the President of the United States
and which we brictly noticed yesterday :
The ulidcrsigned, ciriz-ns of the United States and Electors
of the Sato of Connecicu', resp-ctfully offer to your Excel-
lency this their memo-ial. The fundamental principle of the
Constitution of the United States, and of our political
institutions is, that the people shall make their own laws, and
elect their own rulers. We see with grief, if not with
as'ontshment, that Governor Welker, of Kansas, openly
represents and proclaims that the President of the United
States is employing through him (Walker) an army, one
purpose of which is to force the people of Kansas to obey laws
not their own nor of the United States, but laws which it is
notorious and estabrshed upon evidence they never made, and
rulers they never elected.
We reptesent, therefore, that by the foregoing your Excel-
lency is openly held up and proclaimed to the great derogation
of our national character as violating in its most essmtial
particular the solemn oath which the President has taken to
support the Constitution of this Union. We call attention,
further, to the fact your Excellency is in like manner held up
to this nation, to all mankind, and to all posterity, in the
attitude of "levying war against a portion of the United States"
by employing arms in Kan-as to uphold a body of men and
a code of enactments purporting to be legislative, but which
never hid the election, nor sane ion, nor consent of the people
of the Territory. We earnestly represent to your Excellency
that we, also, have takers the oath to obey the Constitution,
and your Excellency may rest assured that we shall not refrain
ftoni the prayer that Almighty God will make your Administra-
tion an example of justice and beneficence, and with this
terrible majesty protect our people and our Constitution.

THE PRESIDENT'S ANSWER.
WesursaroN, Aug. 15, 1857.

Gentlemen,—On my recent return to this city, after a
fortnight's absence, your memorial, without date, was placed
in my hands through the agency of Mr. Horatio King, of the
Poa•-office Department, to whom it had been intrusted. From
the distinguished source wheece it proceeds, as well as its pe-
ed:or character, I haw deemed it proper to depart from my
general rule in such cases, an I to give it an answer.
You first assert that " the fundamental principles of the
Constitution of the United States, and of our political institu-
tions is, that the people shall make their own laws and elect
their own rulers." You then express your grief that I should
have violated this principle, and through Governer Walker,
have employed an army, " one purpose of which is to force the
people of K insas to obey laws not their own, nor of the United
States, but laws which, it is notorious and established upon
evidence, they never made, and rulers they never elected ;
and as a corrollary from the foregoing you reps, sent that I am
" openly held up and proclaimed to the great derogation of our
national character as violating in its most essential particular
the solem❑ oath which the Presideat has taken to support the
Constitution of this Union." There ate I eavy charges pro-
ceeding from gentlemen of your high c!iiracter, and if well-
founded ought to consign my name to infamy. But in
proportion to their gravity, common justice, to say nothing of
Christian charity, required that before making them, you
should have clearly ascertained that they were well-foanded.
If not they will rebound with withering condemnation upon
their authors. Have you performed this preliminary duty
towards the man who, however unworthy, is the Chief Magis-
trate of your country? If so, either you or I are labouring
under a strange delusion. Should tr.is prove to be your case,
it will present a memorable example of the truth that political
prtjudice is blind even to the existence of the plainest and
most palpable historical facts. To these facts let us refer.
Whe❑ len ered upon the duties of the Presidential office
on the 4.11 of March 1 at, what was the condition of Kansas''

This Territory had been org,aeized under the act of Congress
of the 30th of May, 1854, and the Government in all its
branches was iu full operation. A GPM nor, Secretary-of the
Territory, Chief Justice, two Associa:e Justices, a Marshal and
District-Attorney, had been appointed by my predecessors, by
and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and were all
engrged in discharging their resp-ctiva dirties. A code of Paws
had been euarted by the Territorial Legislature, and the
Judiciary were eca2loyed in expounding and carrying These laws
into effect.

It is quite true that a controversy had previously arisen me—
pecting the validity of the election of the members of the
Territorial Legislature, and of the law passed by them, but at
tha time I entered upon my official duties, Congress had
recognised this Legislature in different forms and by different
enactments. '1 he delegate elected to the house of Representa-
tives under a Territorial law had just completed its term of
service on the (lay previous to my inauguration. In fact I
fonnd the Government of Kansas as well'establisbed as that of
any other Territory, Under these circum:t!nces, what was
my duty? Was it not lo sustain - thin
anyr...sm••••• 'l%.
it 'retina violence of law' ess men who are determined either to
rule or ruin ? To prevent it from being orertUrned by force ?
In the language of the Constitution to " take care that the
laws be faithfully exocutt d." It w,,s for this purpose, and for
this alone, that I ordered a military force to Kansas, to aet as
a pos,sl cemitatus in aiding the civil magistrate to carry the
law into execution. The condition of the Territory at the
time, tvhich 1 need not portray, rendered this precaution abso-
lutely necessary. In this state of affairs, would I not have
been justly condemned had I left the Marshal, and other
officers of a like character, impotent to execute the process
and judgments of the Courts of Justice, established by Con-
gress, or by the .Territorial Legislature, under its express
authority, and thus have suffered the Government itself to
becomo an object of contempt in the eyes of the people? And
yet this is what you designate as forcing " the people of Kansoa
to obey the laws, not their own•Lor of the United States," and
fl,r doing which you have denounced me as having violated my
solemn oath,.

I ask what else could I have done, (nought I to have done ?.
Would you have desired that I should abandon the Territorial
Government, sanctioned as it had been by Congress, to illegal
violence, and thus renew the scenes of civil war and bloodshed
which every patriot in the country had deplored? This would
indeed have beer' to violate my oath of office, and to fix a
damning blot en the character of my Administration..
I most cheerfully admit that the necessity for sending a
military force to Kansas to aid in the execution of the civil law
reflects no credit upon the character of our country. But let
the blame fall upon the heads of the guilty. Whence did
this necessity arise? A portion of the people of Kansas,
unwilling to trust to the ballot-box, the certain American
remedy for redress of all grievances, undertook to create an
independent Government for themselves.
Had this attempt proved successful, it would of course have
subverted the existing Government prescribed and recognized
by Congress, and substituted a revolutionary Government in
its stead. This was usurpation of the same character as it
would be for a portion of tho people of Counecticut, to
undertake to establish a septrate G ivernment within its
chartered limits, for the purpose of redressing any grievance,
real or imaginary, of which they might have complained
against the legitimate Government. Such a principle, if
carried into execution, would destroy all lawful authority and
produce universal anarchy. I ought to specify more particularly
a condition of affairs which I have only embraced in general
terms, requiting the Presence of a military force at Kens;:s.
The Congress of the United States had most wisely declared,
it to be the true intent and meaning of this ace-this act
org,anizelg the 'Territory,—not to. legislate Slavery into any
Territory, not exclude it therefrom, but to leave it to the
people thereof, perfectly free to fotru and regulate their domes-
tic institutions in their own way, subject only to the Constitu-
tion of the United States. As a natural con equenee, Congress
has also prescribed by the same act that when the Territory of
Kansas shall be admitted as a State, it shall be rt ceived into
the Union with or without Slavery, as their Constitution may
prescribe at the time of the admission. Slavery existed at
that period, and still exists in Kansas under the Constitution
of the United States. This point has at last been decided
by the highest tribunal known to our laws. How it could
ever live been seriously doubted is a myseety. if a confedera-
tion of sovereign States acquire a new territory at the expense
of their common blood and treasure, surely one set of the
parties can have no right to exclude the other from its enjoy-
ment, by prohibiting them taking into. it whatsoever is recog-
nised to be property by a common constitution. But, wl.en
the people, the bona fide residents of such Territory, proceed
to frame a State Constitution, then it is right to decide
the important question for themselves, whether they will
countenance, modify or abolish Slavery. To them, and to
them alone, does this question belong, free from all foreign
interference. In the opinion of the Territorial L gislature of
Kansas, the time had at rived for entering the Union, and they
accordingly passed a law to elect delegates for the purpose of
framing a State Consth
This law was fair and just in its provisions. It conferred
the right of suffrage upon Every bona ,fide inhabitant of the
Territory, and feet the purpose of preventing fraud and the in-
trusion of citizens of near or distant States, most properly con-
fided this right to those who had resided therein three months
previous to the election. Here a fair opportunity was pre-
' sented for all qualified resident citizens of the Territory, to
whatever organiettien they might have previously belonged,
to participate in the election,. and to express their opinions at
the hallotlbex on the question of Slavery; but numbers of
fawless men still continued to resist the Teriito.ial Govern-
ment. Tsev refused either to be recognized or vote, and
111'301S of the Convention were elected legally and properly
without tbeirinterventiop. The Convention will soon assem-
ble to perform the solemn duty for flaming a Constitution for
themselves and'their posterity, and, in the state of incipient
rebellion which still exists in Kansas, it is my imperative duty
to employ the troops of the United States. Should this be-
come necessary in defending the Convention against violence
whilst framing the Constitution, and in protecting the bona
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