Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1852-1859, 1857-12-24
sPE II
SENATOR DOUGLAS
%PREsIpENT's MESSAGE.
OK IHB
IL THE G. 5. sESATE DEC 9. 1881.
MR- DorGLAs said

sion that the President OF the OulItu SCaNeS la
approved and Endorsed the action Of tie ecomp-
ton convention in Kansas Under that impress
sion, I felt 1t my duty to state that while con-
CURED in the general views Of the message. yet,
so far as it approved or indOTsed the action OF
that convention, l entirely dissented from it,
and would avail myself Of an early opportunity
to state nv reasons for my dissent Upon =
more careful and critical examination of the
message. I am Tejoieed TO find that the President
of the United States has not that
Congress shall pass \ law to receive Kansas in
TO the Orion under the constitution formed at
Leeompton- It is true that the tone ofthe mes
sage indicates n willingness on the part Of the
President to sign a bill, if we shall see proper
to pass one, receiving Kansas into the Union I'M
der that constitution. But, sir, tits a fact ofgreat
significance, and worthy of consideration. that
the President has RETAINED from any indorSc
ment Of the convention, and from any recon.
mendation as to the course Congress should
pursue with regard to the constitution there
formed.
The message Of the President has made an ar
gument-an unanSWerable rgument in my
opinion-agai1st that constitution, which shows
clearly, whether intended TO arrive at the re-
suit or not, that, consistently with his views and
his principles, he cannot accept that e%onstitn-
ton. He has expressed his deep modification.
and disappointment that the constitution itself
has not been submitted to the people of Kansas
for their acceptance or rejection. He informs NJ
that he has unqualiiedly expressed his opinions
on that subject in his instructions to Governor
Walker, assuming as = matter Of course, that
the constitution was to be submitted to the peo-
pie before it could have any vitality OF validity.
He goes further, and tells us that the example
set by Congress in the Minnesota case, by in
serting a clause in the enabling act requiring
the constitution to be submitted to the people,
ought TO become \ uniform rule, not to be de-
parted from hereafter in any case. On these
various propositions l agree entirely with the
President of the United States, and ] ana prepar-
ed now to sustain that uniform rule which he
asks us to pursue, in all other cases by taking
the Minnesota provision as our example.
l%rejoice, on a careful perusal OF the message,
to find so much less to dissent from than / was
under the impression there was, from the hasty
reading and imperfect hearing of the message
IN the first instance. In effect, he refers that
document to the Congress of the United States
AS the Constitution Of the United States re-
fers it-for us to decide upon it under our re,
spOnsibility. II is proper that he should have
thus referred it to US as n matter for congression-
al action, and not as an Administrator or Exec.
utive measure. for the reason that the Constitl-
ton Of the United States saws that "CongreSs
may admit new States into the Union" Hence
we find the Kansas question before us now, not
as an administrator measure, nor as an EXccu.
tive measure, but az a measure coming before
us for our free action, without any recommends
ton or interference, directly or indirectly, by
the administration now in possession of tho
Federal Government. Sir. | propose to examine
this question calmly and fairly, 10 see wherher
or not we can properly receive Kansas into the
Union with the constitution formed at Leeomp.
ton.
The President, after expressing his regret and
modification and disappointment. that the con-
stitution bad not been submitted to the people
in pursuance of his instructions to Governor
Walker. and in pursuance of Governor Walk
p-AS Insurance tn the DnOnla cavS hOtrorar tb,k
by the KanSaS-N Nebraska act the slavery ques-
ton only was required to be referred To the peo-
pie. and the remainder of the constitution was
not thus required to be submitted. He acknOwl-
edges that, as a general rule, on general prin.
Ciples, the whole constitution should hc submit.
ted; but according to his understanding Of the
organic act of Kansas, there was an imperative
obligation to submit the slavery question for
their approval or disapproval, but no obligation
to submit the entire constitution. In other
words, he regards the organic act, the Nebraska
bill, as having made an exception of the slavery
clause, and provided for the disposition of that
question in n mode different from that in which
other domestic or local, rs contradistinguished
from Federal questions, should be decided. Sir,
permit me to say, with profound respect for tho
President of the United States. that / conceive
that on this point he has committed a funda-
mental error, an error which lies at the founda-
ton of his whole argument on this matter. l
can we'll understand how that distinguished
statesman came to fall into this error. lie was
not in the country at the time the Nebraska bill
was passed; he was not a party to the contro-
versy and the discussion that took place during
its passage, He was then representing the honor
and the dignity of the country with great wis.
dom and distinction at a foreign court. Thus
deeply engrossed, his whole energies were alb
sOrbed in conducting great diplomatic questions
that diverted his attention from the mere terri
tOrial questions and discussions then going on
in the Senate and the House Of Representatives,
and before the people at home. Under these
circumstances, he may we'll have fallen into an
error, radical and fundamental as it is. in regard
to the object of the Nebraska bill aud the prin-
ciple asserted in it
Now, sir. what was the principle enunciated
by the authors and supporters of that bill when
it was brought forward? Did we not come be-
fore the country and say that We repealed the
Missouri restriction for the purpose Of substitute
ing and carrying ont as a general rule the great
principle Of selEgoycrnment, which left the PEG.
pie Of each State and Territory free to form and
regulate their domestic institutions in their own
way, subject only to the Constitution Of the
United StateSg In support of that proposition,
1t was argued here and l have arguedi it wher-
ever I have spoken in various States Of the
Union, at home and a broad, every where l have
endeayOred to prove that there was no reason
why an exception should be made in regard to
the slavery question. l have appealed to the
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