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sod shall nave taken an oath 10 support The
Constitution Of the United States and the pro,
visions Of said KanEas- Nebraska act, and who
are actual residents Of the Territory"
These, sir, are limitations imposed by the
organic act upon the territorial lsgislation oI
ksnEas. Let US see whether the enactmentI
OF this Hslf-cousdtuted legislative body violate
these ProVisiOusOf Of the organic act. II they
DO, | would like to know by what process O
reasoning gentlemen arrive at the conclusion
that anybody is estOpped by them? The elec.
ton enactment of this Legislative Assembly
which we are .Old has the authority Of Law
and that it concludes US, in my judgment i
WsntOn and Aagrant abuse Of the powers in.
tended TO be conferred by the organic act, and
also gross Violationof that act. refer, Mr..
Speaker, to the election law under which the
sitting Delegate was chosen. It will be found
on page $50 Of this volume before me, pur.
porting be the statutes of the Legislature Of
KanEss.
Section irst provides that, on the first Mon
day Of October, 1855, there shall be an elec.
ton in that Territory for Delegate to Con.
gress. Section four provides that in case there
be a courthouse in the several counties OF the
Territory, the election shall be held there; but
that, in case there be no courthouse, the
county commissioners shall fix the place Of
election and, In case the commissioners shall
fail to FIX the place for the election in any coun-
ty twenty days before any election, it shall be
the duty Of the sheriff Of such county to des.
ignate the place Of holding the election and
it further provides that the county commits
sousrs may establish such additional elective
precincts as may seem to them proper, not ex-
eeeding one precinct in any one municipal
township. This Legislative Assembly, it will
thus be seen, delegates, in certain cases, the
power Of fixing the places Of election (which,
by the organic act, was conferred exc lusively
upon the legislative Assembly of Kanzas) to
the county commissioners first, and then il the
the sherifs of the several counties. submit
to the House whether delegated authority Of
this kind can be thus transferred and exercised
through irresponsible agents. II this asse m"
bly, in KanEt IS, which we are old is the valid,
legally constituted Legislative assembly" Of
the Territory, could transfer to the county
commi ssioners. and after them to the county
sherifs, the power of fixing the places of cleo
ton. which this organic act conferred excu-
slvey upon them, could they not, in like man
ner, transfer 10 the sheritfs and county commits.
sioners the power of also fixing the time and
manner Of elections Is there any man who
is willing to stultify himself by saying that it
would be within the power Of the Legislature
to do this =? Why, sir, the organic act does
not contemplate that any Legislative power over
the time, place, and manner of elections in
that Territory shall vest in the county sheriffs
or county commissioners. On the contrary,
read in the organic act this strange language,
that the legislative power and authority Of
that Territory shall be vested in Governor
and Legislative Assembly," and that "places,
as we'll as the time and manner of eleuton,
shall be prescribed by law"
The place of the election Of the first Monday
OF October last was not prescribed by law"
as required; but that power, as said before,
was, upon certain very probable contingencies
strangely delegated TO the county sheriffs and
county commissioners. Is not that an unusu
Il sort Of legislation? By this enactment the
people we're advised that ia whatever county
here is a court house the election shall be held
here but if there is no court house, then the
election shall be held at such place as the
county commissioners or sheriff may prescribe
provided, however. that the county commits
sioners may establish an election precinct in
every municipal township, and it is supposed a
place for the election therein. Sir, this election
law, as it is called, passed by this body of u
surpers, assuming to be the Legislative As
sembly Of Kansas, violates the organic act Of
that Territory in another very important par
Licular. The llth section Of the Kansas eleC.
lion act provides for the qualification of cleo
.ors aud declares, among other things, that
'every free male Indian, who is made citi'
zen of the United States by treaty or other.
wise, who is over twenty one years OF age,
who shall be an inhabitsnt of the county and
Territory, who shall have paid territorial tax
'hall be aquahfed elector." The "otherWise"
lsed in this statute is supplied by the succeed
ng clause ofthe same enactment: which clause
$ in these words: sand all Indians who are in
labitants Of this Territory, and who have adop-
ed the customs Of the white man, and who are
liable to pay taxes, shall be deemed citizen"
tits understood, believe, that all the Indi.
an tribes in that Territory are not made Cii-