Marshall County Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1855-1859, 1857-12-31


Justly conducted, the Constitution will be
and ought to be rejected by Congress.
This inaugural most distinctly asserted
that it was not the question of slavery
which believe to be of little practical
importance then in its application to Kan
sas, J but the entire Constitution which
should be submitted to the ratification or
rejection. These were my words on that
subject in my inaugural: "It is not merely,
shall slavery exist in or disappear from
Kansas, but shall the great principle of
self-government and State sovereignty be
maintained or subverted. des 'gnate this
as 'great constitutional right" and add,
"that the convention is the servant, and
not the master of the people,
In my official despatch to you of the
second of June last, a copy of that inaugu
raj address was transmitted to you for the
further information of the President and
his Cabinet No exception was ever taken
to any portion of that address. On the
contrary, it is distinctly admitted by the
President in his message, with commend
able frankness, that my instructions in fa-
vor Of the submission Of the Constitution
to the vote of the people were general and
unqualified" BY that inaugural and SUBJ
sequent adress. | was pied ,ed to The peo
pie of Kansas to oppose, by all lawful
means.'' the adoption of any Constitution
which was not fairly and fully submitted
to their vote for ratification or rejection.--
These pledges l cannot recall or violate
without personal disbonor. aud the aban-
donment of fundamental principles, and
therefore it is impossible for me to support
what is called the Lecompton Constitution.
because it is not submitted to the vote of
the people for ratification or rejection.
have ever uniformly maintained the
principle that popular sovereignty is vested
exclusively in the people of each State, and
that it performs its first and highest func-
ton in forming a State Government and
State Constitution. This highest act of
sovereignty, in my judgment, can only be
performed by the people themselves, and
cannot be delegated to conventions or other
intermediate bodies. Indeed, the whole
doctrine of the sovereignty of conventions,
as distinct from that of the people--of
conventional or delegated sovereignty, as
contraiistinguished from State or popular
sovereignty has ever been discarded by
me, and was never heard of, to my knowl-
edge, during the canvass of 1856. Indeed
this is the great principle of State rights
and State sovereignty maintained in the
Virginia and Kentucky resolutions of 1893
and 1899, sustained By the people in the
great political revulsion of 1900, and en-
braced in that amendment to the Federal
Constitution, adopted under the auspices
of Mr.. Jefferson, declaring tGat, "the pow
ers not delegated to the United States by
the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to
the States, are reserved to the States re-
spectively, or to the people. The reser-
vation to ''the States" is as separate States
in exercising the powers granted by their
State Constitutions; and the reservation to
"the people" is to the people of the seve-
raj States, admitted or inchoate. in exercis-
ing their sovereign right Of framing OIL
amending their State Constitution. This
view was set forth il my printed address,
delivered at Natchez, Mississippi, in jan
uary, 1888, against notification; which
speech received the complimentary sane
ton Of the great and good Madison, the
principal founder of our Constitution, as
shown by letter of Hon. Charles J. Inger-
soil, Of Philadelphia, as published in the
Globe at Washington in 1886. What adds
much to the force of this opinion is the
statement then made by Mr. Madison, thai
these were also the views of Mr.. Jefferson
T By this clause of the Federal Constitution
the sovereignty of the people. of each
State is clearly reserved, and especially
their own exclusive sovereign right te
form, in all its entirety, their own State
Constitution.
l shall not enter fully into the argumen
of this question at the present period, bu
will merely state that this is the position
have ever occupied, and my reasons for en-
} tevtaining this position are clearly and dis
tinctly set forth in the printed pamphlet
published over my signature, on the 13tl
OF June, 1856, and then extensively circu
lated. from which quote as follows, Un
der our confederate system, sovereignty il
t that high power which, at its pleasure