The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1857-12-24


ton, but fair reasonable construction and that con-
structon in strict conformity with what have before
stated IL TO be
When the senator says he wants constitution that
win reflect the will Of the people, respond 10 him as
heartily and say want other kind Of constitution
must say however that when his bill says TO the people
Of the Territory they may fix this constitution IN their
own way aud they have seen proper TO take way he
did not approve he has power 10 supervise them un
less indeed he prepared 20 trample under foot the very
principles asserted in that bill.
have also asserted and again repeat that the people
act eectualy and completely through delegates
representing thela ia convention, in any other way
Who in this government would rise and say that the pre-
sumption is not that the laws passed by Congress are APP
proved by the StAses and the peopes Who would rise
and say the presumption is that the laws OF the State
Legislatures Afford intendnen that they emanate from
the people It's subversiyc Of the whole representative
principle stsss at the Foundation OF republican gov
eminent in this great confederacy Even another way
be prefered and be believed 20 be most In accordance
with what democracy requires still IL is for the Territory
and not for the federal government to decide.
Mr.. DOUGLAS The senator from Missouri will not
find enabling act In the treaty with France True, the
treaty provides that the inhabitants Of the territory ceded
by France the United States shall be admitted into the
Union as soon possible according to the principles Of
the federal constitution mot when there shall be sixty
thousand inhabitants not when there shall be any patc
uar number of inhabitants but soon as may be coa
sistent with the principles of the federal constitution
Nor does it provide with what boundaries they should be
admitted We admitted the inhabitants Of Louisiana,
then those Of Missouri then those Of Arkansas, then
those of Iowa, until we had thus admitted all the
inhabitants there in the country acquired from
France There waste country still left, but there
was no time fixed by the treaty, data laid down
by which il could be determined when or how they
should be admitted into the Union Thus 1t has been re-
served Congress determine when they may have the
requisite population It is for Congress to determine
what shall the boundaries IL is not for the people Of
Territory to say aHhoritatively what boundaries they
shall take On the contrary Congress has always
aries and such Is undoubtedly the in the Kansas
Nebraska act
Congress never intended that Kansas should necessar
lily have right to into the Union with her present
boundaries the organic expressly TO Con-
gres the right alter and divide the Territory and at
tch parts Of it to other Territories In the enabling act
which the Senate passed last year. cut of about one
third of the present Territory of Kansas and provided for
the admission of the remainder State. We never
contemplated bringing her into the Union with the bound
aries fixed by the organic act and Lecompton con-
sttution VIII it he conenoed that the Kansas Nebraska
bill contemplated bringing the whole OF Nebraska INTO
the Union as one State Does that act authorize the
people of Nebraska to form constitution when they
please and to into the Union with territory eight
times large New York Certainly it never the
intention of that organic act to confer the people Of
Territory the authority of saying that they will come in
when they please with few many inhabitants as
they please with such boundaries they choose absorb
ing the whole waste country of the United States and
making an empire instead of a State. sE
The meaning Of the kansas-N Nebraska act was, that
when the time sould for them to form State gov
ennent they should be admitted into the Union with or
without slavery, their constitution might prescribe
and that they should be left perfectly free to decide
their local and domestic institutions for themselves but
there pledge, authority given to them 10 form
State with the extended limits included within the Terri
tory nor to form State at ell until Congress should de-
termne that they authorized to form State IL
for the very that the Kansas Nebraska act did not
contain enabling provision that President Pierce in his
message at tine first session OF the last Congress- recon-
mended to Congress TO pass enabling act authorizing
the people Of Kansas to form constitution when they
should have the requisite population The President said
This it seensto me- he best accomplished by proyi-
ding that when the inhabitants OF Kansas may desire it,
and shall be Of sufficient number To constitute State
convention OF delegates duly elected by the qualified
voters shall assemble to frame constitution and thus
prepare through regular and lawful means, for it's adm
sion into the Union State respectfully recommend
the enactmest of law to that effect.
This message proves that in the estimation of Presi-
dent Pierce and his administration in the beginning of
1856 the had not then arrived for the admission Of
Kansas because she had not the requisite population
and also that enabling act necessary to give her
authority TO proceed to form constitution and State
government Now, SIR, let us see how the Committee
Territories OF the Senate that year understood IT,
Here the response Of the committee to the President
message
I'm compliance with the first accommodation your
committee ask leave to report bill authorizing the legs
ate OF the Territory provide by law or the election
delegates by the people, and the assembling
ton to form constitution and State government prepa-
ratory TO their admission into the Union on equal
footing with the original States it shall APP
pear by TO be taken under the direction OF the
governor by the authority Of the legislature that the
Territory contains ninety three thousand four hundred
and twenty inhabitants being the number required
by the present ratio of representation for member
Congress
Thus the Committee on Territories in 1856 responded
TO the recommendation OF President Pierce and the Senate
responded TO the report by passing through the body
bill authorizing the people Of Kansas to form constit
ton and State government This shows that / am not
the only who construes the Nebraska bill to mean
that enabling act IL necessary before herght Of ams
sion into the Union becomes complete show you that
the President Of the United States who approved the bill
the President who made IL administration measure SO
understood il the time and declared in his message
show you that The COMMITTEES Territories which
draughted the Nebraska BILL understood it az that time
Ishow you that the Senate which passed the Nebraska
bill by the votes Of the identical senators who passed that
bill thus construed IL at the time.
ID is late to say that neither the President
who signed the Nebraska bill the committee who re-
ported IT, the democratic Senate who passed IT,
derstood IL The evidence be accumulated mountain
high That il the intent and meaning OF the act
exponnded il At the time that the people should be
@ free 70 form their nsttutonsin theirown way up the
hast moment of admission slavery only but all local
and domestic institutions ia conradstnction TO federal
national institutions. They have as much right to vote
system the school system, they have to vote ON the
slavery question
The senator tells us that the Nebraska bin meant only
the slavery question because here felt interest
anything else 1t may be that the people OF Missouri
felt no interest IN anything else IL may lie that the
people Of Illinois felt special interest about the bank
ing system or school system Of Kansas 1t may be that