The Davenport daily gazette. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1856-1869, 1856-07-18
TooNBs KANSAS BILL D~IssEcTED.
Letter from W. Y. Boberts, Lieutenant-Gov.
ernor Of Kansas.

NATIONAL HOTEL, Washington, D. ca
July IL, 1856.
To the Editors of the Evenino Post:
Your note asking nv opinion, as a Demo
crat and as q citizen and friend Of Kansas,
in relation to the Senate bill entitled "a
bill TO authorize the people of the Territory
Of Kansas 10 form a Constitution and State
Government, &c" which passed the Senate
Oh the % inst, is to hand.
In reply, | would say that my objections
to the bill are not confined to its details on
ly-they may be amended-but attach also
to the principles upon which it rests.
/. The bill proposed 10 repeal and amend
certain Territorial laws, and to leave others
in force, and hence assumes the position
tha, the Legislative Assembly was a valid
authority, and afixes the seal of Congress
sional sanction and appreciation upon a DO.
DIV elected by a rule utterly subversive Of
that Cover nment; and in SO doing, the Sem
ate has sanctioned and legalized, as far as
il can, the work of an armed mob, 10 open
violation Of the laws and Constitution of
the United States, in violating the great
fundamental principle upon which rests our
whole political fabric, popular sovereignty,
or self-government.
Tits not necessary to weary your readers
By inserting here the proof of this PROPOSE
ton, and ! shall only refer them TO the tes-
timony taken by the Kansas Investigating
Committee, reported to the House OF Rep
resentatives on the LIST inst. In this report
the above allegation is proven by testimony
the most positive and inconirovertble.
ii. But my objections to the bill do not
stop here; after thus acknowledging the
validity of the territorial legislature, the bill
proceeds to repeal sundry laws and parts. of
laws enacted by that body, by the very sin
gular process Of REL nacting certain i'm
portant provisions Of the United States.
(See bill sec. 49, 1t also enacts a new
elective law-assuniHg the power of Con-
gress to legislate for the Territory on the
most important subject of legislation, that
OF the elective franchise, whilst il has, in
the opinion of the Senate, in full vitality, q
local legislature of its.own; thus utterly
abandoning the whole theory Of the demo-
| cratic creed in relation to the government
Of the Territories; and, as a Democrat, !
must be allowed to enter my protest against
this abandonment of the faith, particularly
q an instance when the abandonment is
made necessary by assuming a former false
hypothesis.
III. The bill further provides for the
election and organization of q convention
ato form a Constitution and State govern
ment,' and without submitting the Consti
tuition thus formed to a vote of the people
or future action Of Congress admits TIL
State into the Cttion son an equal footing
with the original States" and makes th'
action OF that Convention a f~naIty, ant
denies 10 the people the invaluable priv
lege Of acting in their primary and indiyi
dual capacity upon the organic Law of tht
land, "a right invaluable to them, and for
midsble only TO tyrants."
~. To give to aboard of Commissioners
appointed by the President, the power L
determine who shall vote for delegates to
convention, and to be the sole judges of the
election and qualifications of said delegates
and TO make the action Of that convention
final in a matter SO important as the lorna.
ton OF a Constitution and State Govern.
ment, is to erect a power dangerous to Pep,
ular rights, Il powef irresponsible to the
people-a despotisD; and is assuming the
power OF Congress TO do that for which
! there is no warrant in the Constitution, and
which is subyersive of the great principles
Of popular government.
V. One effec. of refusing to submit the
constitution TO & vote Of the people would
be to obyiate the necessity of retaining in
the territory a large body of men during the
winter, IN order TO vote on the constitution
10 the spring, as il would be impossible TO
frame a constitution, publish II and give the
people time to discuss its provisions, in or
der TO give an intelligent vote upon lis
ratification, before, probably, the LIST Of
March. ! am aware that il would be exceed
ingiy inconyen!ent TO these people to stay
in our territory during the winter uithout
houses, and that houses and provisions are
very expensive things; nevertheless, as a
citizen Of Kansas | cannot consent that
they should be allowed to finish Their work
by the 4tb OF November and return TO their
homes, leaving the people to enjoy % q
government established against their own
sill and wishes: end hence, as a citizen
and FRIEND OF Kansas, must solemniy protest
against this feature Of the bill.
Nv. The bill further provides that the
ratio of representation and the apportion-
ment Of delegates shall be determined by
the number Of voters, and not the number
OF inhabitants in the territory, and the re-
speetige districts; thus giving to the mere
~adyenturef the asoldier Of fortune" upon
the border, the same representative strength
with the regular citizen permanently loea-
ted with HE wife and family of five or ten
minor children. The injustice OF this pro-
vision is too glazing to need comment, and
lis object too plain, to be misunderstood
VII. The enumeration Of voters Is nxed
at q time when many Of our citizens nave
been driven from their homes and frem the
territory, and when an armed mob, unrebu-