Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1854-09-04

Isooth, which means that the people Of the
J Estates shall bear all the burdens of the ter
1 ritones, but have no power to protect them
from the passage of injurious and infamous
j laws. It means that the parent must be
responsible for all the debts and deeds of
/ his child, and yet be Invested Of all the au-
i thority of parent. Il means, III short,
that the perpetrators of the iniquity want
led some delusive pretext, and that s.non-
i intervention" with all its absurdities, was
i the best they could find.
j Again: this bill, in the method of its
i passage, nullifed another fundamental prin-
! eiple Of representative government, name
i ly, that representative is but the mouth
i piece and organ of his constituents. Does
1 anybody believe that, if the proposal to re-
Ipeal the Missouri Compromise had been
Submitted to direct vote of the people,
that it would have commanded anywhere,
! north of MasonS and Dixon's line, a single
majority in any district or township in any
state? Was there solitary petition for it
sent in from either North or South? Was
a single member Of Congress, who voted
for it, elected, with view to such ques-
ton? Were not the tables of both Sen
ate and House laden with remonstrances
against it, forwarded not by politicians, nor
enthusiasts, but by Che most sober and con
seryative citizens? Did its friends, when
challenged to do so, dare to postpone ac-
ton upon it, for another year, until the
people should be allowed to pass upon it
Was it suffered to take its regular course
Fin the progress Of legislation? No!-no!
mol And yet, we are told, that ours is
a representative government! A number
Of men, delegated for particular purposes
to Washington, possessing. not a particle Of
authdrty beyond that conferred upon them
fby the people, neglect the objects for which
they were chosen, and proceed to accom-
plsh other objects, which are not only not
wished by theif Constituents, but are an
outrage upon their sincerest and deepest
convictions. Can we call them represen-
tatives? OF, are they not rather usurpers,
recreants, oligarchs, despots? What use
is there in popular elections, when the per-
sons chosen fancy themselves Immediately
exempted from all responsibility, and 90
on to act in the most independent and ar
bitrary manner? 1t is true, they may be
dismissed afterwards for their criminal
breach of trust, as the barn-door may be
locked after the horse is stolen, but then
the mischief is already done. We may
discharge clerk who robs the till, but will
that restore lis cir money? We may pun
| ish seducer when he is caught, but is that
a recompense to our violated honor! Not
at all. What we Want in legislation, as in
other trusts, are honest fduciaries: men
who viii perform their duties according to
our wishes, and not In pursuance Of their.
own selfish objects; men who do not re-
quire to be watched at every step, and
whose fidelity does not depend alone upon
our Interior privilege of breaking them
when they have done wrong. A Congress
Of such men would be little better than an
assemblage Of cheats, and, for our parts, we
should greatly prefer the rule Of Nicholas
or Louis Napoleon, to their heterogeneous
frauds and expressions. Now, there was
hardly man, who voted for the Nebraska
Bill, who did not know that he was betray
ing the will of his constituents, and who
should not be branded as utterly unworthy
of confidence and support. He has done
his share towards the conversion Of our fair
fabric Of free government into machine
of office-holding despotism, and the only
recourse that is left us, to mark his treach
/ cry, is to discharge him forever from every
participation in its councils. He has wan
Ftonly provoked the reward, and let him
have it, to his hearts content.
An open disregard Of the viii Of the
constituency is always grave offense in a
popular government, but how fragrant and
Iunpardonable is it, when it is committed
in frtherance of measures which look to
she overflow Of popular liberty! Had the
4 Nebraska bill been comparatively unex-
ceptionable, hadit contemplated some great
and useful improvement or reform, there
would even then have existed no excuse
for the haste, the violence, and the audaci-
ty with which it was pressed to a vote;
/ but when we reflect that its principal OBJ
lject was, to repeal a salutary ordinance a
! gainst the diffusion of a pestilent and Ia
mentable evil, we search dictionaries in
vain for words to express our feeling of the
magnitude and nlalignity OF. the wrong
For nearly half a century those fertile re-
gions Of the West had rejoiced in their
prospective exemption from the outrages of
slavery. The American, and the foreigner
even, who rode over them, felt his heart
j dilate as he beheld in their rich fields, the
future homes Of an advancing and splendid
Civilization. He could already hear in the
/ rustic of the grasses the hum of a prosper
Gus industry; he saw MAGNIFICENT cities
} rise ON the borders of the streams, and
pleasant villages dot the hills and a flour
i ishing commerce whiten the ripples of the
lakes; the laugh Of happy children came
9 up to him from the cornfelds, and as the
i glow Of the evening sun tinged the distant
i plains, radiant and kindling vision float
i ed upon its beams, of myriads of men, es-
: capped from the tyrannies Of the old world,
/ and gathered there in worshipping circles,
: to pour out their grateful hearts to God,
/, for a redeemed and teeming earth. But,
! WOE unto us now, this beautiful region,
: compared with which the largest principal
f tiles of Europe are but pin-folds, nay, com
|, pared with which the most powerful exis-