The Union and eastern journal. [volume] (Biddeford [Me.]) 1854-1858, 1857-12-25

well; vote aeAinst him, and you are in o
tantly to Do shot" That was q fair cleo ],
lon. LAughtsr.) This election Is to DO o
qually fair. All men in favor OF the con-
tuition may vote for it-all men against d
shall not vote at all. Why not let them '
'ote against IL? lpresume you have asked
many man this question. / have asked
Iery large number Of the gentlemen who
ramed the constitution. quite number OF
delegates, and u still larger number Of per-
'ons who are their friends, and | have re-
,eiyed tho same answer from every one oil
them. never received any other answer.
What u that? They say if they allowed
negative vote the constitution would have
been voted down by An overwhelming major
ity, and hence the fellows shall not be al
lowed 70 vote at all. (Laughter.)
Mr.. President, that may be true. Il il
no part OF nv purpose to deny the PROPOSE
ton that that Constitution would have been |
voted down IL submitted To the people.
believe IL would have been voted down by n
majority OF four TO one. am informed by
men well posted ere-democats-that It
would DO voted down by ten to one; some
say by twenty to one. But Is il q good res.
son why you should declare it in force, with
out submitting it to the people, merely be-
cause it would have been voted down by i've
to one IL you had submitted il, What does
that fact prove3 Does it not show undeni-
ably that an overwhelming majority Of the
people oil Kansas are uualtersbly opposed to
that Constitution? VIII you fo.ce it on
them against their will simply because they
would have voted it down If you had con-
suited them? II the plea Of leaving them
perfectly free to form and regulate their de-
nestic institutions in their own way? Is
that the mode in which lam called upon to
carry out the principle Of self.government
and popular sovereignty IN the Territories
~ force u constitution on the people against
their will. IN opposition to their protest,
with knowledge Of the fact, and then TO
assign, as q reason for my tyranny, that
they would be 80 obstinate and so peryerse
as to vote down the Constitution II had
given them an opportunity to be consulted
about il?
Sir, deny your right or mine to inquire
of these people what their objections to that
Constitution are. They have u right to
Judge for themselves whether they like or
dislike il. IL is no answer to tell me that
the Constitution is good one and unobjec-
tionable. IL is not satisfactory to me to
have the President say in his Message that
the Constitution Is AN admirable one, like
all the Constitutions OF the new States that
have been recently formed. Whether good
oI bad whether obnoxious or not, is none
Of my business and none Of yours. 1t is
their business and not ours. care not
what they have in their Constitution, so
lhat-it suits them and does not violate the
fundamental principles ofliberty upon which
our institutions rest | am not gong to
argue the question whether the banking sys-
ten established in that Constitution is wise
or unwiss. |, says there shall be no monop.
olies. but there shall be one bank of discount
IN the State. with two branches. All have
To say on that point is, if they want bank
ing system, let them have it; if they do not
want it, let them prohibit it. If they want
u bank with two branches, be il 30 il they
want twenty il is none Of my business and
il matters not to me whether one OF them
shall DO on the north side and the other on
the south side Of the Kaw River, or where
they shall DO.
While | have no right to expect to be con-
suited on that point, do hold that the
people OF Kansas have the right to be con-
suited and to decide it, and you have no
rightful authority to deprive them Of that
privilege. IL is no justification, in my mind,
to say that the provisions for the eligibility
Tor the Offices OF Governor and Lieutenant
Governor require twenty years citizenship
in the United States. II men think that no
person should vote or hold office until he
has betn here twenty years, they have
right To think 50 and IL a majority Of the
people Of Kansas think that no man Of for
eign birth should vote or hold office unless |
he has lived shsrs ,wonty years, it Is their
right to say 80, and have no right to in
terfere with them il is their business, not |
min. but il lived there should not DO
willing to have that provision in the consti-
tuition without being heard upon the subject. |
and allowed to record my prOtes. against 1t.
have nothing to say ..bout their system OF |
taxation, in which they have gone back and
resorted to the old exploded system that we
tried in illinois, but abandoned because we
-, 81 &C :, al oh,.dn, I, h, I; -
Set 'neu VI ',; aau =" " WuO :" ,s,',,S os
NV the s,nsr;snce IF Illinois on .bat IN b;sc,
a nj dss,i II n conId Vet I bavs nc Or
;sc,;on IN their bav;nc Il ;f thew want !, !,
Is their business, not mine. SO IL is in re-
gard to the free negroes. They provide that
no free negro shall be permitted to live in
so II ,hev CHOOSE but IN lived tbers shoniJ
w,n, ~ wa nm ,b,, nne.,;on Az. in NM;
ro,s nrov;de that mn NOR, sbalI como ,bsra
We ,av 10 rho otber STATES. :. tale care of
,onr own fras neyrnes and we will ,ake cara
NJ our," But we do no, saw that the ma.
,rn.s now tbsre sbalI mn. be nermitted n
'i,e in Illinois. and / think the psoplo Of
Kans,, ouch. 10 have the right TO cav wbetb.
J. ,haS iii liz, ,bsm 70 live thar and n
= 49, W." 49,, " -, ,o =, :, now s,s ,has >"
,;"sos 49, Of ,ns ms " ~ WV ' '' "