Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1856-06-13

pecuniary credit, which she now enjoys. she
shows an undoubtcd ability to support it,
What now can stand in her way
The power Of Congress to admit Kansas
at once is explicit # is found in a single
clause Of the Constitution, which standing by
ITSELF without any publication applicable 10
the present case, aud without doubtful words,
requires no commentary. Here It is;
" New States nay DO Admitted by coagio's into th,
Uniou bat 20 new State shall be- ffn1d pf or,ctod
within The iufsdcton NJ Other State, any ohe
state be iormsd 10y tho iunction Vt two states
parts Of states ihuut the ouuseat Of the Legis.
gross"
New States MAY be admitted. Ont Of
that little word may comes the power
broadly and fuly--wiihout any limitation
founded on population or preliminary forms
provided the State is not within the iurls
dlctlon of another State, nnr formed by tho
junction Of two or more S,atcs or parts Of
States, without the consent of the Legisla
lures Of the States Kansas is not within
the iegdi jurisdiction of another State al,
though the laws Of Missouri have been ".
ranucally extended over her; nor is Kansas
formed by the junction of two or more States
and, therefore kansas may be admitted by
Congress into the Union, without regard 10
population or preliminary forms. You can.
not deny the power, without obltoraung this
clause of tho Constitution. The Senator
from New York was right IN rejecting all
appeal to precedents, as entirely prevalent;
for the power invoked Is clear and express
~ the Constitution, which IS above all prece-
dent But, since precedent has been enlist-
ed. let us look at precedent.
1t is objected that the population Of Kan
sas is not sufficient Tor a State and this OBJ
lection Is sustained by under-reckoning the
numbers there, and exaggeaung the mum
bcrs required by precedent. In the absence
Of any recent census, II is impossible to do
more than approximate to the actual popula-
ton but from careful inquiry of the best
Jources ! am led to place It now at fifty
thousand, though observe that prudent
authority, the Boston Daily .4irertser, puts
It as high as sixty thousand aud. while !
speak, this remarkable population, fed by
fresh emigration. is outstrippng even these
calculations Nor can there De a doubt, that,
before the assen. Of Congress can b. per-
fected IN the ordinary course Of legislation,
this population will swell to the large NUN
Der of ninety-threc thousand four hundred
and twenty, required in the B III Of the Ssna-
tor from Illinois Bit, ia making this aun.
bsr The coaditln of the admission Of Kansas,
you set up an rirao'dindiy standard. There
is nothing out of which 1t can be derived,
from the beginning to the end of the prece-
dents. Going back to the days of the Con-
tnental Congress, you will tind that in 1884,
it was declared that twenty thousand free
men in Territory might establish perm
aneni Constitution and Government for them
selves" Journals of Congress, vol T. p. 397
and, though this number was afterwards, in
the Ordnance of l7s7 tor the Northwestern
Territory, raised to sixty thousand, yet tho
power was left in Congress, and subsequent
ly exercised 10 more than one instance, to
constitute a State with smaller number
Ont Of all the new States, only Maine,
Wisconsin and Texas, contained, at the time
of their admission into the Union. 50 large a
population AS II is proposed TO require IN
Kansas; while no less than foUicen new
States have been admitted with smaller
population; as will appear in the following
list, which is the result Of research showing
the number of free inhabitants" in these
States at the time Of the proceedings which
ended lp their admission: