Constantine republican. [volume] (Constantine, Mich.) 1836-1838, 1836-11-02
ADDRESS
OF THE STATE CONVENTION TO THE PEOPLE
OF MICHIGAN. ~


OF MICHIGAN. ~.
The undersigned, in pursuance of re-
solution adopted by the Convention of De-
legates, recently assembled at Ann Arbor, for
the purpose Of taking into consideration the
proposition of the Congress of the United
States, as contained in the act of June 18th,
1886, relative to the admission of this State
into the Union, take the liberty of addressing,
in behalf of said Convention, their fellow
citizens upon this important subject. twill
be their province to do so, in spirit Of
frankness and candor, which, while it may
fail TO convince those who, upon this sub
iect, differ with them in opinion, it is to "
hoped will claim the consideration of all
those who have sought, as their homes, the
highly favored region embraced within the
limits prescribed by the Constitution of this
State. 1t is believed the people of Michi-
gan, upon the great question Of their terri
torial rights, have but one common interest;
and it is a question equally involving the
rights and the interests of generations yet
unborn. No motives, then, of temporary
expediency, of particular, sectional or per-
sonal interests, it is conceived, should so
far predominant over the minds of our
citizens, as to prompt them to shrink from
the responsibility of contending for all that
is RIGHT, and submitting TO nothing which is
manifestly wrong. The character, credit
and standing Of our new State, must ever
depend upon the frmness, integrity and
stability of its people; and any want Of
good faith, on their part, TO each and every
citizen of this commonwealth, by failing to
maintain the rights of the state to sove-
reignty and TO soil, by all constitutional
means, would tend to destroy confidence in
the permanency and integrity of our institu-
tons, and would place us at once upon a
footing infinitely beneath our sister states OF
this confederacy.
The convention of Michigan had but one
plain, simple path pointed out for them to
pursue assembled under an act of con-
gress, imposing upon the people of this
state the performance of a condition, as
the price of admission into the Union, al
total variance with the provisions of the
compact under which our constitution and
state government had been formed, as the
sovereign act Of its own people, and an act
of our state Legislature, which sought al
our hands the performance of the task OF
an indirect but virtual surrender of an in.
tegral part of our sovereignty, in open VIC.
lation OF our own fundamental law, and the
popular voice Of great majority of the
electors, expressed at the ballot box, for.
bidding that our infant fabric should be bat
tered down, in the onset, at the shrine o.
erpediency-they of necessity and Of choice
as the friends Of good order, of constitu
tional right, and as the representatives o
the will of their constituents, with no au
thority, to alter, amend or change the con
sttution which the people have formed a!
basis Of their government and their laws
were constrained to withhold the assent re.
CURED, or sought TO be obtained, by the lie
gislation of congress and of the Legislature
under which they had been convened. Ii
so doing, they leave their acts, and the re
cord of their names, to be judged by TIN
present as well as future generations-the,
have endeavored to carry out, unawed b,
fear and uninfuenced by favor, the will o
the people; and if their measures shall
tend in any degree TO preserve our consti
tuition from the attacks of arbitrary powe
from abroad, and the encroachmcnts of in
ward foes, their highest ambition will hav'
, been gratifed; and they will yet hope t
witness the star-spanged banner of Mich
igan waving in undsturbed triumph owe
its entire borders. $3.50
6 We respectfully claim your attention
fellow citizens, TO brief review of the his
tory Of our claims to the right of selfgo
vernment, upon contingency already ar
rived and acknowledged by congress, to GU
southern and south eastern boundaries, ant
8 to an examination Of the power of congress
to alter thom, in consistence with the con
stitution of the United States; and also {,
!. the power of your convention to give thei
!. assent to proposition involving materie
? alteration of our state constitution.
When the territory northwest Of tn
river Ohio was coded to the United State
by the state of Virginia, the then proprie
tor, the Justly celebrated ordinance of 17S
was enacted for its temporary government
o and providing at the same time for its futur
y organization into distinct Republican State
which are forever to form part of this con
= federacy--from this document we may
here permitted TO extract the following |:
; Sand forextending the fundamental prir
ciples of civil and religious liberty; whic
form the basis whereon these republics, the
laws and constitutions are erected; to e
: and establish those principles as the basis c
all laws, constitutions and government
: which forever hereafter shall be formed i
n said territory to provide also for the c.
Enlistment of states and permanent &C
vernment, and for their admission to shar
: in the federal councils, on an equal footin
> with the original states, at as early perio
D. as may be consistent with the general il
terests It is hereby ordained, that the 70
:, lowing articles shall be considered article
lof connnct between the original states an