The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1857-12-17
THE NATIONAL ERA: WASHINGTON, D. c. DECEMBER

Constitution ought to be submitted to the pop.
ular vote ?
Section %, article 5, of the Constitution, fur
nisbes singular specimen of the zeal of the
Convention for tie interests of Slavery:
CSC. 20. 1t shall be the duty of all civil of.
fcers of this State to use due diligence in the
securing and rendition of persons held to SER
vice or labor in this State, Tor either of the
States or Territories of the United States, and
the Legislature shall enact such laws as may be
necessary for the honest and faithful CARRYING
ont of this provision of the Constitution"
According to the opinion of the Supreme
Court in the Prigg case, the power of Congress
in regard to the rendition of slaves is exclu-
sive-the States have no right to act in the mat.
ter. This wise Convention at Lecompton
thinks differently. The clause of the Federal
Constitution concerning the rendition of per.
sons held to service or labor, is restricted in
terms to "persons escaping from one State
to another. The Lecompton Constitution
embraces all persons held to service or
labor in Kansas, or any other Territory or
State, whether escaping or not. 1t makes the
whole ministerial force of Kansas slave
catching corps. All civil officers are bound to
be on the alert in hunting down aud Selling
persons held to service or labor, any,caere,
whether runaways or not, and the Legislature
is bound to pass all needful laws on the SUBJ
jectl
That such Convention should care any
more for logic or consistency than for fair deal
ing, is not to be expected. In its article con-
corning Slavery, it asserts that the right of an
owner to his slave as property dis az inviolable
as the right of the owner of any property ,Chat-
ever" And yet, in the closing par: of the arti-
Gle, it provides that "any person who shall ma
liciously dismember or deprive slave Of life
shall suffer such punishment as would be in.
ficted in case the like offence had been COM
mitted on free white person, and on the like
proof except in case of insurrection"
So if an owner, infuriate with passion, kill his
slave, he must De hung. Would you hang
the owner of an OK for knocking him in the
head, or master, for killing his dog? And
yet the right of property in the two-legged ami
NAL, you tell us, is as inviolable" as the right
OF properly In the 1Our-legged
The members of this Convention admitted
that they represented a email minority of the
People. It's President expressly acknowledged
this in his closing speech. It is notorious that
not two thousand votes were polled for them.
but it is the official record that nine thousand
were polled for Mr.. Parrot, the Free State del
egate for Congress. The bill of rights agreed
upon by the Convention contains the following
declaration:
"2d. all political poper is Inherent in the
people, and all free Governments are founded
on their authority, and instituted for their ben.
eft, and therefore they have at ali times an in.
alienable and indefeasibe right to alter, reform,
or abolish their form of Government in such
manner as they may think proper"
And yet, this spurious Convention, rep.
resenting not fifth of the People of Kansas,
after this fact had been asceriained by the o..
tober election, had the audacity to proceed to
form q Government for the other four.ffths,
and, when their work was done, to deny to the
People not only the power to vote against their
plan of Government, but the right to alter at
any time hereafter certain part of it, even al.
though unanimous against it 1t tramples
under foot It's own declaration Of q solemn
truth, and refuses to submit its plan of Govern-
---~--- - 49, E~-r'-y 49, -a-~- F,~'4,,~.-.
power is inherent" expressly on the ground
that they would vote it down. In short, it is
in rebellion against the People, and, what is
worse, the President suatains its rebellion, and
becomes an accompice in the conspiracy to
deprive them of their rights.