Daily Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1857-1858, 1857-12-16

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER IS, 1857.
Mr.. Buchanan and the kansas COnven-

to frame a State Constitution and the le-
galty of the constitution, framed by 1t, IN
wolves the venerable trimmer in an lncon-
sistencv which has already been cited by
Mr.. Douglas in the q. S. Senate, causing
Mr.. Bigler to plead the statute Of limita-
tions in behalf of the President. Mr..
Douglas, however, would not consent to
the admission of the plea. The inconss-
tency is this: In the debate on the ad-
mission of Michigan into the Union, Mr..
Buchanan, who at that time occupied the
post of Senator, from Pennsylvania, uttered
the following sentiments
I'VE ought not to apply the rigid rules of
abstract political science too vigorously 20 such
cases. It has been Onr practice heretofore to
treat our infant Territories with parental care,
to nurse them with kindness, and when they
had attained the age of manhood, to admit
them into the family without requiring from
them a rigid adherence to forms. The great
questions to be decided are: Do they contain
q sufficient populatOn2 Have they adopted a
republican constitution And are they will
ling to enter the Union upon the terms which
we propose? If so. all the preliminary pro-
which we have waived in repeated instances.
They are hut the scatfolding of the building,
which is Of no further use after the editice IL
complete. We have pursued this course IN
regard to Tennessee, to Arkansas, and even
to Michigan. No Senator will pretend that
their Territorial Legislature had any right
10hateUer TO pass Laaos enabling the people to
elect delegates to a cOnUentiOn for the purpose
of forming q State constitution. 1t S0as an act
Of UsurpatjOn on their part"
Here, Mr.. Buchanan denies to a terrific
rial Legislature the authority to call
constitutional observation-disclosures the eX-
ercise of such authority Gan act of usur-
patton" In his message, on the other
hand, he recognizes the right of the Leg
islature of Kansas to call such a cOnven
ton and the validity of the acts Of the
convention We have no doubt Mr..
Douglas pressed this point with force and
emphasis.
Whilst we are not satisfied as to the au-
thority of the Legislature, we agree that
we Fought not to apply the rigid rules of
abstract political science too vigorously to
Sucu cdSeS, anu lOI JIlIS anu OCHcI IedSOuo
are in favor of accepting the constitution
when it shall be presented to Congress,
and of admitting Kansas into the Union
as a State The character Of her "dOmes-
tic institutions" will then be eliminated from
the political controversies of the nations
and she can give them any hue or color she
may deem proper, not violative of the Fed
eral Constitution. They have already en-
crossed too much attention, and diverted
the people from the proper consideration
of other questions, in which they have a
deeper stake. Who believes that the
American standards would have trailed in
the dust of defeat in 1856, and James
Buchanan elected, had not the Kansas brOi
given the sham democracy an OppOrtu-
nifty to cheat and swindle the masses?
The dread of evil, growing out of Kansas
affairs, was the potent weapon that beat
down the patriot Fillmore and the Ameri-
can party. The politicians of the repub-
Iican party, and sham democrats of the
| DOuS las oClIOOlJ NCoIlC W htCp tIC question:
open for another Presidential campaign
they would not settle it, if they could, at
present, on their own bases. It should
therefore, be the aim of the conservative
and patriotic to deprive them of this fruit
ful theme of discord, and to throw upor
Kansas herself the decision of the Ques
tions which have disturbed her and tn,
country. We give Mr.. Buchanan no par
ticular credit, if we do not misapprehenC
his motives, for the position he ha
thought proper to assume; still we shal
sustain him in the effort to rid the cOuntr,
of the "noise and confusion" engenderec
by the principles of the Nebraska-K ansa
bill" But whilst doing So we do no
wish to be understood as approving tn
reasons which appear to have brought hin
to his conclusions. We see much in then
that indicate the astute pettifogger rattle
than the profound statesman, and an in
depreciation of the territorial organic &C
with which we cannot concur.