Meigs County telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy [Ohio]) 1848-1859, 1857-12-29
THE KANSAS QUESTION.
M ESSAGE OF GOV. STANTOo
To tie Territorial Legislature.


leave of the President, has gone for sho 81
time to Washington, On important +hnhltc
business, and while thus temporarily
clothed, by the Organic Act, with all the
powers and duties OF the Chief Executive
Office of the Territogy, fnd myself COM
pAlfed, by 'Asseiise toe dtfy, 10 call you TO-
-gethet. in lhrdsE- that yoaA4Ray- -adopt prompt
legislative measulss, 70 avert tbe ePkpities
which hnfninenly threaten the public
peace. From the representations of "A ma
jority. Of yoairfow6 bpdiesj as well as from
.,tAthArillformation ofan authsntie. eharacter,.
~ have reason TO, knoW, that regent events
q have produced alprefoupd agitation, ,0f the,
public mind, and that a sense Of, wrong and,
.,ii;justice, whether well or ill-fQunled, and
a Jan appi ehepsion Of greater evils to arise
thercfrom. have aroused the people Of the
% Territory to A. condition Of dangerous exT
element, TIE proesedipgs Of the late
Constpu ional Convention are the imme
,dia;e cause of this trouble and alarm. sl, y.
h,,, The law passed at,the last session of the
Legislative Assembly, providing for the,
.. .ForIanizalion of a, Convention 10 frame a
7 Constitution for the government of K Ynsas.
~ qas one of the States Of the Union, was ad :,
opted at,a period when, unfortunately, athe'
people Of the Territory, were, DIVIDED BY a
bitter hostility, resulting from the previous
stale of commotiCn and civil war. In con-
sequepce of this, embittered feeling, and
the M utual distrust naturally, thereby, en- :.
gehdered, one Of The parEies,, constituting a
large majority of the people refrained al
most entirely from any participation in the.
proceedings instituted under.the law afore-
said,rr Thy census therein provided, for
was imperfectly, obtained from, an unwil-
ling people, in nineteen lcouptiess OF the.
: Territory; while in the remaining counties.
being also. nineteen in number, from yari-.
GUS causes, mo attempt was made to 3 com
ply with the s1law; In some instances, ),
people and officers were, alike ayerse TO, the
proceeding; in Others the officers neglected
Tor refused, to raet; and in some, there, was
but NJ small population, and no efficient
organizations enabling the people, to secure
,a,representationg in. the sCYnYention.q Ih-
,derith operation Of all these causes com
lrbined z a, census list, was obtained, ef only
mine Thousand two hundred and ffty7ene
> legal votsrs,, confined to PRECISELY ore7halt
the Icounties of The Territory, tLhough
these, undoubtedly, contained much, the
larger part of the population. v,rG,, ,-y.il
nv AT 1.-The. election which followed in pur
suance OF the law, only two thousand two
,,,hundred persons, being less than. one
fourth Of the registered voters, participated,
in any paapner, in the choice of delegates,
either by voting for those elected, or for
o;heruSPefsons-i The q. average aggregate
= vote, il, ytapor Of the successful candidates,
WAS about eighteen hundred. aa sic, l!ri ,
ym l, thus appears, that in the election of
2 the 18th June lasts rtar delegates, a to, the
Convention the great mass of the people
irsfrained from voting, and left the whole
proceeding. with all aits important conse-
,Quences, 81 TO. the active ominority, under
WHOSE auspiees the law had been enacted,
r aud also executed, SO iaras that could be
done by the executive officers, without the
4coneurrenee ofsa majority of the people.a
.,zThat the refusal of the majority to 90
into the, election for delegates was unfor-
tuuate, is now too apparent to be denied
Itrlas, produced all the evils and dangers
rofthe present critical hour. oIthas enabled
body Of men, not actually representing Q
the opinions of the people, though regular
lyr and legitimately clothed with their au-
-,thority, to prepare for them form of gov
,s6inment, and TO withhold the greater part
of its most important provisions from the
atestsof opular,judgmentand sanction. Il
has created the; present profound excite
ment, consequent upon the apprehension
that Cong ressmay admit the State under
this Constitution, and that the people o
Kansas may be thus forced to submit t.
the operation of a fundamental law in til,
Adoption of which they have had no actua
participation. suc.Inl;g.Hi Or 9WCu g"H5
It. il notmy purposeynor is it necessary
sGg inquireahow far either of the parties INT,
which the people were unhappily dividet
upon the proceedings i'll question, was jus
,;k L., .,, fI,a .aI. Nka T.,
important question which seems now t.
concern the people or their representatives
is as to the legal and political effect of tn
factsas statedAwherher theytlo, or do not
impose upon the whole people an obIiga
ZION to accept the work of the Convention
and to acquiesce in its plan of adoptin
the Constit ion and sending it up to Con
gr9ss for tie admission Of Kansas as
State into the Union. 'a.m 30 '
If a Convention, organized as this was
can be considered dis embodying in itsel
the sote eighty Of the people, the difficult
" is undoubtedly insuperable, and th
on i.sion OF the majority to vote last June
is past all present remedy. But, in m
Judgment, such position cannot be sue
eessfully maintained. The efundamenta
pr1nciPie Of popular self government, an
especially of that republican form wbic
tie GINS ituion II tie tinted States pual ,,,;,
jantees to every memberof the Confederacy
excludes the possibility, of the tdeegati6
ortransfer of their Sovereignty, by til
people. 70 any authority. whatever, In il
v;ry nature, that soYereignty which erect
governments and endows them, with the
legitimate powers, can be exercised ,onl
81 the people themselves. IT is iipcapabl
oi alienation, and is as iinseParably inner