The Davenport daily gazette. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1856-1869, 1857-10-07

memorial to the President On Kansas affairs,
have published rcjoinder To his reply. 1t
takes up and dissects, scria,im, the position
of the President, and fully exhibits their
falsity and weakness. Mr.. Buchanan should
have learned by the melancholy fate Of
Senator Douglas, that il j. iiazarlou, bust
ncs. 10 run till with New England clcr-
| gymcn, who believe. as dill the divincs Of
the Revolutionary era, that enlightened pa
triotism il consistent with Christianity.
The document is long As well A. able, but
we have space for only brief extract;
with the solemn decision Of the House
II Representatives, after long investigation,
that the legislature Ut Kansas had nv author
| ity, and that its laws were 40 laws-with
| that direct, positive and unimpcachablc evil
| dence before You, your memorialists cannot
but express their surprise, that YOU have re-
| licG upon Your construction IT Indirect, in
conclusive acts IT that same body, n sri.
atEs of the authority Of that legislature
They know of no rule of law by which You
can set up constructive, lnterentlal evidence.
against direct and positive evidence from
the same source But this proof YOU pass
over in utter silence
Abiding IL he condition of the Terri
tory, YOU speak of the course which you
adopted, a " absolutely necessary and ask
whether YOU would not have been Justly
condemned. had You left. what you assume
Ia be the gereei. mesf and its administration
" iinpotcnt, and thus have suffered IL t. be-
come All object ~ contempt IA the eyes III
the people our first reply Ia tins view
of the case. Il, A. before, there was no terri
torial) government IN Kansas e. he execu-
ted, n you supps,e And again, We say
the usurpcd government ought 10 have
been rendered imIaofs,.t. and 10 have become
an object ot contempt in the eyes of the
people, n il has become. But further. Con-
gress had passed law for tn, establish
ment Of n government in this territory, with
the formal and positive explanation, that
the people, IN the territory, he left perfectly
free To form and regulate their domestic in
stltutions in their own way. Why then
could not governor 81 Kansas have been
appointed at any time, acting under your
authority, anil with an army under his con-
troll, who would have suppressed all inter
nal violence and contention, and lett the
people free t. form and regulate their do
nestle institutions, ae, n well ~ tn em-
ploy the arm, IL act the absurd and iarci
cal part 81 a Posse Cumrnitatus Ia enforce.
under your direction, territorial Laws which
had M pretence Ia authority ! Without
saying Who We're OF who wcr. not the res
ponsible erlginators Of the troubles in Kan
sss, can IL lie doubted that the President
long before this time, by the course now
suggested, or some other might have put an
end 20 these troubles Has lac not the
power To- take care that the laws" and
of course, that the law of Congress respect
ing Kansas, -" be faithfully executed "
!. You have introduced several topics, into
your reply, As that of slavery. the decision
of the Supreme Court in the case Of bred
Scott, with others, gu which your memoir
alists have said nothing in their memorial,
aud on which they intend 10 say nothing
now, except 10 express their dissent from
your opinions. II il needles. 10 prolonc
this discussion. Your whole yindicasion,
il il has any ground, tests, in the view OF
your memoriall,ts upon one pslpably false
assumption That whatever claims To be-
q government ds facto, without any pre-
tense Of its proceeding from any law-mak-
ing power. u entitled 10 your support. The
world has not seen an usurpation which
this principle would not sanction. II adop-
ted in the administration Of our government
il must involve, sooner or later, It's destruc-
ton.
.Your memoriallsts have spoken earnest
ly, because they deeply deplore the adop-
tion oi n principle which leads To the NAL
administration u 40 perfect a system Of gov
crnment, ~ that which our fathers by their
wisdom, their prayers, and their blood, have
given TO their pos,erity. They cannot be-
liese in the unapproachablc iniallibility OF
their rulers, under this syetcm of true libcr-
y; aud, while they would honor them in
the fear Of God, they are confident that
neither they, nor even kings, have the right
divine To govern wrong They hope for the
continuance of our National Government.
and for its wise and effective administra-
ton, in guarding the privileges and blcs-
sing il Is 81 fitted to afford and perpetuate.
They wait with hope for the emancipation
Of the nation and Of nil men by the light
and power Of the example Of such govern
mcnt. They trust that no unauthorized
mode " its administration will cause IL 10
fail in il. design, aud that YOU may yet see,
that in this respect, one false principle, IL
adhered 10, must prove principle Of weak
ness and decay SURE prelude 10 the end
Of all our greatness, happiness and glory
dcafh-spot in the tree Of liberty, whose
leaves, like those Of the tree Of life, are for
the healing Of the nation.'