The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1856-06-25
Tie Topeka Constitution.
Extrac. from Senator Pugh's Speech.

II &
f Extrac. from Senator Pugh's Speech.
, The condition of affairs in Kansas Ter
r ritory, for the past year, has BEEN sucl
r as to fill the heart of q patriotic Statesman
!. with unaffected sorrow and alarm. TO
: Igether, like twin sisters, that Territory ant
t 1.-THE Territory of Nebraska came into ex
, istence, on the 3oth of May, s54, by vir
. tue of an act of Congress, and with organ
r izations in all respects the same. In Ne
/, braska, SO far as we can learn, quiet ant
, order have prevailed, and the foundation.
Of prosperous State have been securely
Established. But Kansas, almost from the
hour of her birth, has been the arena o
conflict, violence, and bloodshed. These
disorders became more intense, as well as
more frequent. from month to month, un-
: til the assembling Of Congress in Decem.
} ber last; and at an early period of the ses-
sion-before the House OF Representatives
had notified us of its organization-at-
: tanned serious degree of Importance
The season in which we are accustomed
to celebrate the advent of the Prince Of
!, Peace on when, of old, the angels,
in manifest glory, proclaimed sgood wilr'
: to all mankind season, SO sacred and
festal, brought US tidings Of the most ter
rible character; tidings that discomfort
4 had ripened into rebellion, and strife pro-
ceeded to the bitterness of civifwar The
promises of the new year came not to
lsoothe our anxieties; but, instead, SOL
emn message from the President, advising
us that all the appliances of conciliation
had been exhausted, and that we must pre-
pare for an appeal to arms if we would
maintain the supremacy Of thelaws. And
now, since the last adjournment of the
Senate, even more dreadful reports have
reached our ears; and the .bloody issuen
: threatened, as wen as. foretold, by the
[conyenlion which met atthe Big Springs.
lin September, presses onward to a fiercer
stage and still more frightfnI consequen-
Ices. In this.great emergency, Mr. Pres
ident, each Senator and Representative OF
the United States in Congress, ought to
regard well his course, and beware, lest
Through him, our mighty Republic shonlG
come to a fatal and inglorious ruin.
IS These reflections indicate with sufficient
clearly the Path / shall endeavof TO tread
And it is rather to my constituents, for
my own sake, that [ now proceed to de-
clare the conclusions, both of law and
fact, in reference to the general question,
at which have deliberately arrived.
And first in order, come to the sub
stitute offered by the Senator from New
York Mr.. SEwARD1 to the bill reported
by the committee on Territories. That
proposes the admission of Kansas into the
/ Union as State, upon the constitution
adopted by the convention of delegates
which assembled at Topeka on the 23rd
!. of October last. To this, Sir, have two
preliminary objections, and each of them
! is insuperable: a
/. do not believe that the Territory
contains more than twenty-four thousand
inhabitants; andnot that number, certain
1 ly, if one half the accusations made by the
Senator from Vermont, Mr. CoLLAMER, ]
IN his Speech, some weeks ago., be true.
The vote given at the regular election for
q Delegate in Congress, last fall, together
with those which Andrew. II. Reeder pre-
tends to have received, on the. second
Tuesday of October, amount to some six
thousand; and as the inhabitants are chief
] ly men without families, or men who have
left their families in the States whence they
Iemigrated, consider it liberal estimate
land, indeed, an extravagant one-to say
that the population is equal to four times
the number of voters. The Senator from
! Vermont does not claim. in this report,
more than twenty-five thousand,
i To countervail this fact, as far as pos
i sible. the Senator from New York asserts
that no specific number of inhabitants is
required, by the Constitution, for the adj
mission of any State. Perhaps, sir, such
arequisite has not been expressed in terms;
but when the Constitution declares, arti-
4 Gle first, section secon9,. ''the number Of
Representatives lin Congress- shall not
lexceed one for every thirty thousand, ii
was intended, think, to fix that number
us the least constituency to be allowed fol-
la Representative, except in the case Of an
original State, or State admitted with q
larger population, and reduced, by emf
grafton, or some other cause, below the
J. standard -. ~ +.
ae, If this were otherwise, however, Ishould
lnot be disposed to admit any State with
il SO meager population .Itwould be nn-
Ijust to New York. or Pennsylvania, OF
8 Ohio, or Virginia, if her vote could be
] Inulliied, in this Houses by the vote Of twc
4 Senators, representing less number ol
Inhabitants, by two thirds and more, than
3 the act of Congress prescribes for the con,
slstituepcy Of q single member in the othe,
i House. 5ssS 9s4ss
q. The Topeka constitution never was
Il adopted by the citizens of the Territory
J. Enor even by arespectable numberof ofthem
i It did not receive more than seven hun.
dred and nineteen votes, all told, in 8
d Territory which contains Eve or six thou,
! sand legal voters. There isno pretense
4 in the papers Submitted to us, that ths
III ..oxxx,L, arar rotsfsad ;tz;a T,5.e ,1ot:ts-.-