The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1856-08-07
VOL. X.

to hve years imprisonment at least in the pa,;
tertiary. This is necessary, says my colleagn,
in slave countries. That necessity shows o.
thing, which, under the providence of God
true-that either all must be slaves, or mona
grant you, that if you have an institution +
odious to human reason, so tyrannical. thu,
viii not bear the light Of day, you must GUARD +
by cautious silence-the silence of the oro. &
must surround it. All despotisms have been -.
sedulous in guarding the press, and in gusrd;,.
the words of their subjects. Why? Becansa
is known their absurd doctrines will not bearl
light for moment.
For this reason, have proclaimed that thar:
no more freedom, in the Southern States for -
white man than for the slave. He cannot saw v,I..
he wishes to say he cannot preach what \
would or he must be liable to these pensI,;.
What institution did the Senator from Tennss'''
suppose we had in Ohio, that we must guard il w..
this flaming sword? He must be utterly obr'
ious of the institutions of my noble STATE
we had such an evil, that would not hear :.
light, instead of admitting this kind of guards.
ship, it would be aSsailed by every tongue in ..
State, and demolished at once. We raise no o.
like these for worship, nor expose to pepsIt-
those who will not fall down on their knee, h
fore them. Ne, sir, We have no such laws. ar,
the man who thinks they are necessary h
ceased to appreciate the real feelings Of r..
man. Why, SIR you cannot take the Declars.,,
of independence into Kansas, without being d
noIions to the enactment to which have :,
ludsd; for what document would be moro Iiksr
to stir up the blood of servitude than ~.
glorious old Declaration Let it ring in the =.
of the slave, that all men, he included a,
created equal, and have certain inalienable ryb,
given by God, which cannot be TRANSFERRED
without high crime and wrong; and where Womb
you find document so well calculated TO br,,
a man within the penalties Of this law?
There is another one, of like import, tina,
man shall, by word or writing, say that ma
have not the right to bring slaves into the IT,,
ritory, without liability of imprisonment Ibsl.
| inspected that law; and, bad as it is. befo,.
| Heaven, as lawyer declare, that | DO NJ
believe there is any color of right for q rn.
going into the Territory with slave. For .sr
ing this in Kansas, which can say here VII,
impunity, should receive two years in the men.
| tertiary, and as much more as your beantif
judges there might choose to give This law
sustained by your chisftains of Democracy. leas
ers in Israel. Is this Democracy?
| Mr.. President, have detained the Senate nm
| longer than intended. ! am sorry 70 be con,
PEELED to differ from my colleague on these spl
Jects. | am exceedingly sorry that, with A Fl
! knowledge of the views of three fourths If ~
people of Ohio, whom he represents, whose so
ereignty he stands here to defend he sboo
think it to be his duty to 90 directly in the tee
OF the instructions given by the Lepisatur.
They believed they had the right 10 instruct hin
when they were sustained by an overwhelmip
majority of the people. However that NAV b,
IL Is matter which must be left to himself 70!
| after all, mans judgment must be bis guido 7
can lind no fault with it; but regret that
should happen, because | am too much of
Democrat to believe that man, with deliber.
ate knowledge of what is required at his hand.
| by his constituents, who have thus given him
| speclhc instructions, would turn round and in
stead OF obeying their behests ridicule them for
| what they have done. This seems to me To he
contrary to all the wholesome principles of rep
| resentative government. | leave my cOlleagna
with his constituents. ! am sorry that ate,
| voting against their instructions, he should al,
1 tempt to ridicule the arguments made use of /,
the resolutions by which they instructed hin
AT one time, thought of taking up those resou
| tons and the argument which he made, and |,
submit some remarks in justification of the men,
bers of the Ohio Legislature. thought of ur
winding it here, as | have done in nv Owl
mind, on the Investigations have made Of The
original documents of the history of our country
l find, must say, an almost total misapprehen.
| sion, and, in some instances, total and comple,4
| by my colleague of the authorities which h
| quoted. have not now the time or the streng.
| to do this. II an opportunity shall be presented
hereafter may perhaps encounter the gentle
man on some portions Of his speech, where le
has traversed the instructions of the Legislature
but am not pre- pared now with the necessa--
| documents to do it.
| | shall detain the Senate, Mr.. President but
moment longer. l have spoken, as alwsy.
speak, with some considerable degree Of warmth
and feeling; because, in my judgment, no MAJ
| ever spoke on this floor under circumstance
more important than those by which we arr
surrounded think now is the time for us t,
divest ourselves as far as possible, of all preu.
| dices; and, in this hour of our country's ul.
doubted peril we should endeayor, if possibl.
not to criminate or recriminate, but calmly
| undo all those evils that threaten to overwhea
the Republic, and bring on us "a premature di,,
solution.
| Mr.. President, have but a few words TO Sd,
in relation to the bill last reported from the Con.
mittee on Territories. 1t involves a total sur.
render of the principles of the first bill 1t
to admit, implicitly, the spurious character of lh:
| Kansas Legislature. 1t no longer insists thl
| there must be inhabitants enough in the Tern
| tory for Representative in Congress, before
can be admitted as State. 1t also seems to have
totally repudiated the principle of squatter sover-
eighty.
But my objection to it is twofod. 1t proposes
| to begin Immediately to organize the Territory
under all the disadvantages consequent upon the
late acts of violence there. In the first place
we have seen that the Free State population have
been conquered and subdued by the Border Ruff
| fans aided by the Federal Executive. They
have been plundered of their property thei
houses burned; and many of them have been
| murdered; and all disarmed; the leading men
in prison, under false charges or driven from thu
| Territory. Therefore, to take the census now
| and get up a convention, would DO only carrying
| out the plan of those who have cOnspired to
| make that Territory slave State. And even nov
| conquered and disheartened as the Free State
| men are even if an honest attempt were made
| under such circumstances, TO get up CONVEX
ton, it would result in triumph of the conquer
| OTIS and fear that knowledge of this has LED
| to this change of policy on the part of the COM
/ mittee.
| But the bill puts the whole power of organ
zing the Territory into the hands of five commits
| sioners, to be appointed by the President. Ths
| Is enough for me to know. No one doubts tina
the President would appoint Atchison, String
| fellow, and their associates, or men of the SAM
principles. AT all events, no man who has hi
least regard for the rights or dignity of the fire.
States at heart, will consent to put Liberty unde
| the guardianship of our present President
would be to make Kansas a slave State withou
a struggle, and TO give the robbers, plunderer'
and conquerors of Kansas, the full benefit of tn
war they have so unjustly waged against th
rights of Freedom. For one, will never sub
NIT the fate of Kansas to a contingency. Sb'
must be free State. Before they were con
quered, the Free State men, and all others, me-
in fair convention, and made a free Constitution
1t was the fair expression of the will of the peO
pie, by vast majority, and under it Kansas
should be admitted as a free State into The
Union and noting less than this should satisf'
the people of Kansas or the free States.
And no reason exists now why all should mo-
vote for their admission. The old plea was, thai
there wpre not a anficieut nnmhar of in Ia Infants