Demoine courier., 1854-07-20


Fraud i'm the Publication OF the Ne
braSka Ril--ChGating in more ways
than one.
We had supposed tina, The dishonesty
involved in the passage of the Nebraska
bill had reached its height in the false,
and misera5ly false, assumption, thai il
was based on 'the right Of The people TO
govern themselves" L, seems, however,
that we were mistaken.
I. has been asserted that the Clayton
amendment, as i. has been called, limit,
ing the RICH, OF suffrage in The case oil
aliens 10 those who had resided in the
territory five years, was struck out OF the
bill before its passage, and thatemieran's
from abroad. who will constitute the bulk
of the population for the first few years,
will at once be clothed with all the priv.
ileges of citizenship in the new territo
ries. 1t appears that a most cunningly
con,sived trick has been played of, by
which this restriction has been only sus-
pended until after the first aection,
when it will not only be in full life and
vitality again, bu, the Territorial Legis
~lature is prohibited from repeating it.
That, then, is one of the results OF
the boosted principle of "ihe sovereignty
of the people" declaredto be involved
in the bill. II is an outrage upon their
sovereignty to continue the Missouri
Compromise, but it's all right, according
to the friends of the Nebraska bill, to
prohibits the people from extending the
right of suffrage TO the foreign emigrant!
Those who passed the bill are certainly
honest and consistent men!
But this is not all. The Nebraska
and Kan'as bill, as it passed, and as it
now stands approved by President
Pierce, land thus made The law Of the
lanG,) prohibits foreigners; eUen after
they haze been naturakized, from holding
office, or even Uofing, in the Territories
of Nebraska and Kansas, unless they
have taken an cath TO support the pro-
visions of the Nebraska biz a require
men, unheard of before. Neither the
people of the Territory or The Teriito
rial Legislature can change this, for Con
| gress, in passing the Nebraska bill--in
duced doubtless by its sincere friendship
for the doctrine of ~''popula, sovereignty"
has absolutely tied their hands. We
quote the 23d section of the Nebraska
bill. and the same provision exists in
! The 9th section Of the Kansas bill:
SEC. % find be it further enacted.
that every free white male inhabitant
above the age of twenty one years, who
shall be an actual resident Of said terri
tory and shall possess the qualifications
hereinafter prescribed; shall be eligible to
any office within the said territory; but
the qualification of voters and of hold.
ing Office. a, all subsequen. elections,
shall be prescribed by the Legislative
Assembly:
Provided. That the rights Of suffer.
age and Of holding Office shallbe exercised
only by citizens of TIL United States,
and those who shall haze declared on
oath their intention TO become such and
shall hare taken an oath TO support the
Constitution of the United States and
the provisions of this act: find provi
ded further, That no officer, soldier,
seaman or marine or any other person
in the army Or navy of the United States,
or attached 10 troops in the service Of the
United States, shall be allowed 10 vote
or hold Office in said territory by reason
of being on service there in.
We have not done yet. The strong
est part of the affair is, that out Of a
dozen Nebraska papers that have pre-
tended to pabIish the Nebraska and
Kansas Bill, as it passed, and as it be.
came a law, not one of them gives the
proviso we have copied above. The
copy of the Bill before Us, and from
which we quote the 2sth section above,
is from the National IntelIigencer OF the
LIST of June and The bill became a law on
the 30th of May. Why have these
papers no. published the law correctIyi
Why, when they boosted of giving their
readers the "Ne6raska Bill itSeJ'' as i.
passed. did they not do it fairly and ful,
ly without suppressing a part, and an
important part too.-Quincy Whig.