The Washington union., 1857-12-04
AUTHORITATIVE PREcEDENTs.

The stress lald py some OF our cotemporarles on
the fact that the Kansas convention submitted only
part and not the whole constitution to the popular
Judgment has induced to recur to two recent pre-
cedens which, in the present case entitled to pc
culiar weight.
The first is bill reported from the Committee on
Territories, in the Senate the 18th of March,
1856, by Judge Douglas, entitled A bill to author
ize the people of the Territory of Kansas toform
constitution and State government, preparatory to
their admission into the Union when they have the
requisite population This bill provided that after
should be ascertaincd that there the requisite
population the Legislature Of Kansas should be
authorized to provide for the election Of delegates
to form constitution, at which all white male in
habitants over twenty-one years Of age and actual
residents for six months, should vote. The consti
tuition so to be made was required to be submitted
to the people for ratification. The convention was
left to make all the necessary provisions for submit
ting the constitution to the ratification rejection of
the people. This bill was not passed, and we be-
lieve, not acted on by the Senate
The second precedent is bill introduced by Mr..
Toombs, and which finally passed the Senate on the
I'd Of July, 1856. Its title was substantially the
same with that of Judge Douglas 1t provided for
an enumeration of the inhabitants and for this pur
pose required the President to appoint five commits
soners under specific regulations. After completing
the enumeration as directed, those commissioners
were required to have election held on the first
Tuesday after the first Monday in November, 1856,
for members of a convention to form constitution
for Kansas The commissioners were to make all
nccdful rules and regulations for holding the cleo
ton. Every white male citizen over twenty-one
years Of age, and bona de nhabtant on the 4th of
months, was entitled to vote. Stringent provisions
were made to to every voter the free exercise
of his right The delegates elected were required
to assemble on the frst Monday Of December, 1856,
and determine whether it was oxpedicnt to form a
State constitution; if deemed cxpedient, they
to proceed to form constitution and State govern
ment which should be republican in its form, for ad-
mission into the Union. No prouisioa pas made for
submitting the constitution to the people for ratification
OF rejection, rhote part but the TO be
ralid tphen made by the convention.
This bill was fully discussed in tho Senate, and
amendments made to secure the unbiased choice Of
delegates. It was passed by the united vote of the
democratic senators against the persistent oppos
ton Of the blackrepublicans In the House it failed
to pass but there too, ii received the approval of
the democratic members. We have d right, there
FORE to bring forward this case rs conclusive pre-
cedcnt establishing it as the Judgment of the entire
democratic representation in the last Congress that
Kansas ought to be promptly admitted as State
and that not essential prerequisite that its constr
tuition should be submitted for popular ratification.
At the same time it is proper to remark that the
bill for the purpose reported by Judge Douglas, as
well MS the action of Congress on the Minnesota BILL
shows that the submission of constitution for pop
ular ratification was recognised and sanctioned by
the democrats of the same Congress as proper pre-
lminary step when the same is ordered either by the
enabling preparatory act or by the decision of the
constitutional convention The precedents taken to-
gether demonstrate the position that the submission
of the constitution in whole in part is not an in
dispensable prerequisite, according to democratic
usage, to the admission of State.
It will be recollected that it was in consequence of
the defeat in the house by the blackrepublicans of
the Senate bill before referred to that the Legislature
of Kansas passed act providing for the doing of
the same thing proposed by the Senate BILL The
act passed by the Kansas Legislature was recog-
nised valid by President Buchanan and by Gov.
Walker, and by all democrats It is not denied that
the election for delegates fairly held according
to the act Of the Legislature Gov Walker urged the
free-State men to come forward and aid in forming
constitution They had ample assurance that they
would be protected in free exercise of the elective
franchise They resisted all his appeals and allowed
the delegates to be chosen by the pro-slavery men
In accordance with the true spirit of the Kansas
act the President recognised the delegates so elected
as representing the legal majority of the people, and
therefore, as constituting legal convention with
power to frame constitution and submit it in whole
or in part or to send it directly to Congress as they
deemed best Now, the question presented is, shall
the action Of the convention be recognised legal
or shall it be repudiatcd illegal Shall the ad
ministraton go back and inquire whether any, and
how many, of the people refused to vote for dele
gates ON what grounds they refused to vote and
whether any of the delegates made pledges to sub
mitting the constitution which they have not re-
deemed II is seen at once that to do these things
would involve tho administration in the incon-
sstency of having recognised the election of del
egates as regular and legal and tho body of the con-
vention as legal and valid but because the whole