Marshall County Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1855-1859, 1857-12-24
THE KANSAS QUESTION.
O~~O-OOO~O~OOO~-~-
SPEECH OF
HON. STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS, OF ILL.


In the Senate of the United States, on
Wednesday, Dec. 8, 1857.
On motion of Mr.. DOUGLAS, the Senate
resumed the consideration of the motion,
made by him yesterday, to print the Presi-
dents message and accompanying docu-
ments, with fifteen thousand extra copies.
Mr.. DouGLAs-Mr. President, when yes
terday the Presidents message was read at
the Clerks desk. heard it but imperfectly
and was of the impression tha; the Presi-
dent of the United States had approved
and endorsed the action of the Lecompton
convention in Kansas. Under that impress
sion, felt it my duty to state that. while l
concurred in the views of the message. yet
SO far as it approved or endorsed the action
of that convention. entirely dissented from
it, and would avail myself of an early op-
portunity to state my reasons for my dis
sent. Upon a more careful and critical ex-
animation of the message, l am rejoiced to
find that the President of the United States
had not recommended that Congress shall
pass law to receive Kansas into the Un-
ion under the constitution formed at Le-
compton. 1t is true that the tone of the
message indicates willingness on the part
of the President to sign any bill that Con-
gress may pass. if we shall see proper to
pass one receiving Kansas into the Union
under that constitution. But, sir, it is a
fact of great significance. and worthy OF
consideration, that the President has re-
Trained from any endorsement of the con-
venrion, and from any recommendation as
to the course Congress should pursue with
the constitution there formed.
The message of the President has made
An argument-an unanswerable argument
in my opinion--against that constitution,
which shows clearly, whether intended to
arrive at that result or not, that, consist
entity with his views and his principles, he
cannot accept that constitution. He has
expressed his deep modification and disap-
pointment that the constitution itself has
not been submitted to the people of Kan
eas for their acceptance or rejection. He
informs us that he has unquali6edly ex-
pressed his opinions on that subject in his
instructions to Governor Walker, assuming
as matter of course, that the constitution
was to be submitted to the people before it
could have any vitality or validity He
goes further, and tells us that the example
set by Congress in the Minnesota case, by
inserting clause in the enabling act re-
quiring the constitution to be submitted to
the people, ought to become a uniform
rule, not to be departed from in any case
thereafter. On these various propositions,
1 agree entirely with the President of the
United States, and l am prepared now to
sustain that uniform rule which he asks us
to pursue, in all other cases, by taking the
Minnesota provision as our example,.
Irejoice. on careful perusal Of the mes
sage, to find 81 much less to dissent from
than was under the impression there was.
from the hasty reading and the imperfect
hearing Of the message in the first instance
In effect, he refers that document to Con-
gress--as the constitution of the United
Safes refers it--for us to decide upon it un-
der our responsibility 1t is proper that he
should have thus referred it TO us as mat
,tsr tor Congressional action, and not as an