Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1852-1859, 1857-12-15

TRATIoN-In our columns to-day, Will ne louhu
an interesting letter from Washington, giving
us some account of the recent bolt. so to speak,
of Senator Douglas, from the administration
party. In order that all may understand clear
Is the subject to which the letter refers, we
will state in as brief and plain terms as possible
our understanding of it
| A body of men known as the LecomPton
Convention, in Kansas, elected by minority OF
the qualified voters of that Territory, assembled
few weeks ago and made Constitution, As
if conscious that they were non-rePresenting
minority, they refused at the close of their ses-
sion to submit their work or Constitution to a
free, open and fair vote of all the people of all
parties in the Territory. But instead of such
open and fair provision, they devised plaza
specious plan of this sort. They state that the
slavery question or clause, is the only one
about which there is difference of opinion,
and hence that it alone is worth submitting
So they pretend to submit that clause of slave.
nv, or no slavery-thus: a. comes up to vote
ticket in hand. He offers his ticket and it is
refused. Why? Because, on the back of it he
has not written, '.tar the Constitution" Those
words are an indispensable prerequisite to
vote. Well, what is the effect of writing those
WOrdsP 1t is this: a provision is contained
| in the Constitution that the right Of property
in slaves held in the Territory shall not be di-
vested by any action of the Legislature. In
other words, the effect of the words are, that
let A. vote as he will, free State or slave State
| Kansas, in any event, is made slave State.
But we prefer to give Mr.. Douglas exposition of
the mockery-and here it is from his great
speech. He says;
How is it to be submitted2 1t shall be sub
mitted in this form: Constitution with slave
nv or constitution with no slavery. All men
must vote for the constitution, whether they like
it or not, in order to be permitted to vote for or
against slavery. Thus constitution made by
| Convention that had authority to assemble and
petition for redress of grievances, but not to
establish government; constitution made un-
der pledge of honor that it should be submit
ted to tile people before it took effect constl.
tuition which provides, on its face, that it shall
have no validity except what it derives from such
submission, is submitted to the people at an
election where all men are at liberty to come for
ward freely without hindrance and vote for it,
but no man is permitted 10 record vote
against it.
That would be as fair an election as some Of
the enemies of Napoleon attributed to him when
/
called out his troops and had them reviewed by
his officers with speech, patriotic and fair in
! its professions, in which he said TO them: "Now,
my soldiers, you are to go the election and vote
| freely Just as you please If yon vote for Ma
poleon, GALL is well; vote against him, and you
are to he instantly shot" That was fair cleo
ton TLanghter.l This election is to be equally
fair. all men in favor of the constitution may
vote for it; all men against it shall not vote at ALL
! !WhY not let them vote against it? presume
have asked very large. number OF the gentie-
men who framed the constitution, quite n mum
Der of delegates, and a still larger number of
persons who are their friends, and have re-
ceived the same answer from every one of them.
never received any other answer, and pre-
sumo we never shall get any other answer
What is that? They say If they GIlo5oed q mega
| tire r0te the constitution icoud hare been rOte2
dOlon dy an overwhelming majority, and henc c
the JSlLotos shall not be GtLOl0sG to UOte at all
| lLaughter
But is it n good reason why you should de-
clare it in fotee, without being submitted to the
people, mereI because it would have been voted
down by Eve TO one if you had submitted iH-
What does that fact prove? Does it not show
undeniably that an Overwhelming majority of
| the people of Kansas are unaiterably opposed to
that constitution? Will you force it on them
against their will simply BECAUSE they would
have voted it down If you had consulted them?
If you will, are going to force it upon them un-
der the plea of leaving them perfectly free to
form and regulate their domestic institutions in
their own way2 Is that the mode in which am
called upon to carry out the principle of self
government and popular sovereignty in the
Territories-to force constitution on the peo-
pie against their WILL in opposition to their pro-
test with knowledge of the fact, and then to
assign, as a reason for my tyranny, that they
would be so obstinate and so pervcrse as to vote
down the constitution if had given them an
opportunity to be consulted about it?
Very we'll may the Senators have laughed at
such an insulting mockery as the L compton
Constitution. And one can hardly u', Icrstand
how it is that Mr. Douglas and the AL ,nistra
ton party should he at variance upon su ii doc,
ument But it is nevertheless true that they are.
Mr. Buchanan goes in for receiving the consti,
tuition. Mr.. D. opposes it So that we have
the two great leaders of the Democratic party
and their followers, now pitted against each 9TH
err, and the battle is but just begun.
But the main or chief causes of Mr.. Douglas
opposition, are first, that the Convention that
framed the Constitution, never had legal ex.
istence, and from this fact: The legislature that
called it was merely an agent of tho federal gov
eminent, which owedits origin and its capacity
Ito oct &c oroDt IN tl,n organic ocE blishino