Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1852-1859, 1857-12-24

form ana regulate their domestic institutions :,
their own way? Is that the mode in which +
am called upon tai carry out the princinIo -
self government and popular sovereignty in the
Territorics-to force a constitution on the nan.
pie against their will, in opposition TO their pTo.
test, with n knowledge of the fact. and Then =,
assign, as a reason for my tyranny, that tbey
would be so obstinate and so perTerse as to vo;s,
down the constitution il l had given them a"
opportunity to be consulted about 1t:
Sir, / deny your right or mine to inquire of
these people what their objections to that con-
~stitution are. They have a right to Judge fnr
themselves whether they like or dislike # Il
is no answer to tell me that the constitution L.
good one and unohjectionable. It is not satis-
factory to me to have the President say in h,
message that that constitution is an aim;r,hl,
one, like ali the constitutions of the new S,,tes
that have been recently formed. Whether good
or bad, whether obnoxious or not, is none or
my business and none of yours. 1t is their
business and not ours. l care not what tbs,
have in their constitution, so that it suits tbo!5,
and does not violate the Constitution Of The
United States and the fundamental PRINCIPLES of
liberty upon which our institutions rest. am
not going 10 argue the question whether Tho
banking system established in that cOnStitution
is wise OF unwiSe. 1t says there shall be NO
monopolies, but there shall be one bank Of is.
sue in the State, with two branches. All b,v.
" Sui III l1EuN lJOttiE = u GlCI Will Z D1nk1DU
system let them have it; if they do not want #
let them prohibit it If they want a bank with
two branches, be it so; if they want twenty lis
none of my business, and it matters not to me
whether one of them shall be on the north side
and the other on the south side of the Kaw riv.
er, or where they shall be.
While | have no right to expect to be consult.
ed on that point, l do hold that the people of
Kansas have the right to be consulted and tn
IacSIa If and V0n have M riUlff,i autbos;t, 4
deprive them of that privilege, 1t is no ius'i.
%tication, in my mind, to say that the provisions
for the eligibility for the Offices of Governor and
Lieutenant Governor requires twenty years cit.
izenship in the United States. If men think
that no person should vote or hold office until
he has been here twenty years they have a
right to think so; and If a majority of the PEG.
pie of Kansas think that no man of foreign
birth should vote or hold Office unless he has
lived there twenty years, its their right to say
so, and | have no right to interfere with them;
it is their business, not mine; but if | lived
there | should not be willing to have that pro-
vision in the constitution without being heard
upon the subject, and allowed to record my pro.
test against it.
1 have nothing to say about their system of
taxation, in which they have gone back and
resOrtel TO the old exploded system that we
tried in Illinois, but Abandoned because we did
not like it If they wish 70 try it, and get tired
of ii, and abandon it, be it so; but if / werea
citizen of Kansas 1 would profit by the expert.
ence of Illinois on that subject and defeat it if
1 could. Yet I have no objection To their haV-
ing it if they want it; it is their business, not
mine.
So it is in regard to the free negroes. They
provide that no free negro shall be permitted 10
lire in Kansas. / suppose they nave a right to
say so if they choose; but if I lived there
should want to vote on tina, question. We, in
Illinois, provide that no more shall come there.
We say to the other States. sstake care of you:
own free negroes and we will take care of oufs.p
But we do not say that the negroes now there
shall not be permitted 10 live in Illinois; and |
think the people of Kansas ought to have the
right 70 say whether they will allow them 10
live there, and if they are not going to do so,
how they are to dispose of them.
So you may go on with all the different clauses
of the constitution. They may be all right: they
may be all wrong. That is a question upon which
my opinion is worth nothing. The opinion of the
wise and patriotic GnIef Magistrate or thc United
States il nOt worth any thing as against that of the
people of Kansas, for they have a right to Judge
for themselves; and neither Presidents, nor SEN
ate, nor House of Representatives, nor any 9TH
er power outside of Kansas, has a right to
Judge for them Hence It is no Justification, in my
mind, for the violation of a great principle of self
government, to say that the constitution you are
forcing on them is not particularly obnoxious, Ori5
in its provisions.
Perhaps, sir, the same thing might be said ofthe
Topeka constitution. lido not recollect
its peculiar provisions. l know ono thing: We
Democrats, we Nebraska men, would not even look
it to see what its provisions were. Why? Be-
cause we said it was made BIZ a political party,aud
not by the people; that it was made in defiance of
the authority of Congress; that If it was as pure
as the Bible, as holy as the ten commandments, yet
we would not touch it until it was ubmittcd to
aud ratified by the people OF Kansas, in pursuance
of the forms of law. Perhaps chat Topeka cOnsti-
tuition, but for the mode of making it, would have
been unexceptionable. l do not know; l do not
care. You have no right to force an unexception-
able constitution on a people. 1t does not miti-
gate the evil, it does not diminish the insult, itUocS
not ameiorate the wrong, that you are forcing q
good thing on them. l am not willing to be forced
to do that which l would do If L were left free to
Judge and aet for myself. Hence 1 assert that
there Is no justification to be made for this ia
grant violation of popular rights in KIusas,on the
plea that the constitution which they have made is
not particularly obnoxious.
Bat, sir, the President of the United States is
really and sincerely of the opinion that the slavery
has beeu fairly and inlpaetially submittedto
the free acceptance or rejection of the people OF
and that, iuasmuch rs that was the excl
ting and paramount question, if they get tho right
to vote rs they please on that subject they ought
to be satisfied; and possibly it might be better five
would accept it, aud put an end to the question
Let me ask, sir, IS the slAyary clause fairly sub
mltted, so that the pople can vote for or against
1t. Suppose l were q citizen of Kansas, and should
90 uD to the nails am say ct ,In-;-a 10 yote TO