Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1857-12-23
RESIGNATION OF GOV. WALKER.
WASHINGTON CRY, Dec. 10th, 1857.
Lc...is G1.ss Sccrof1.a.,. e St..in

IerrltOry OF KANSAS. nave Dctn most rciuC-
family forced TO this conclusion after anxious
and careful consideration of my duty TO the
country, to the people of Kansas, to the Pres
ident of the Z. S., and to myself. The
grounds assumed by the President in his late
message to Congress, and in recent instruc
tions in connection with the events now tram
spring here and in Kansas, admonish me that,
as Governor of that Territory, it will no longer
be in my power to preserve peace or promote
the public welfare. At the earnest solicitation
of the President, after repeated refuSals, the
last being in writing, | finally accepted this
office upon his letter showing the dangers and
difficulties of the Kansas question: and the ne
cessity of my undertaking the task of its adjust
mept. l accepted, however, on the express
condition that should advocate the submis-
sion of the constitution to vote of the peo-
pie for ratification rejection. These views
were clearly understood by the President and
all his Cabinet; they were distinctly set forth
in my letter of acceptance of this office on the
Goth of March last, and reiterated in my inau-
gural address on the 9th of May last, IS fol-
lows: ssIndeed, cannot doubt that the con-
vention, after having framed State Consti
tutiod, will submit it for ratification or rcjec
tion by majority of the then actual bona
| fide resident settlers of Kansas
With these views, well known to the Pres
| ident and the Cabinet, and approved by them,
| accepted the appointment of Governor of
| Kansas. My Instructions from the President,
through the Secretary of State, under date
J 30th March last, sustain the regular Legisla-
ture of the Territory in assembling Conyen-
| tion to form Constitution, and they express
| the opinion Of the President that s.when such
| 4 Constitution shall be submitted to the people
| of the Territory they must be protected in the
exercise of their right Of voting for or against
| that instrument, and the fair expression OF the
| popular will must not be interrupted by fraud
| or violence. l repeat, then, as my clear con-
viction, that unless the Convention submit the
| Constitution to the vote OF all the actual res
| ident settlers of Kansas, and the election be
| fairly and justly conducted, the Constitution
| will be, and ought to be rejected by congress-"
| This inaugural most distinctly asserted that
| it was not question of Slavery merely, which
| l believed to be of little practical importance
then in its application to Kansas, but the en-
| tire Constitution which should be submitted
to the people for ratification or rejection.
| These were my words on that subject in my
| inaugural sit is not merely, shall Slavery
! exist in or disappear from Kansas, but shall
! the great principles of self government and
| State sovereignty be maintained or subycrted?''
In that inaugural proceed further TO say,
| the people ssmay by subsequent vote defeat
| the ratification Of the Constitution | dcS-
| ignate this ssa great constitution right,' and
| add, '.that the convention is the servant and
not the master of the people, In my official
dispatch to you the ID June last, copy of
| that inaugural address was transmitted TO you
| for the further information of the President
and his cabinet. No exception was ever ia
ken to any portion Of that address. On the
contrary. it distinctly admitted by the
President in his Message, with commcndable
| frankness, that my instructions in favor of a
| submission of the Constitution to a vote OF the
! people were sEgencral and uuqGalificd.''
By that inaugural and a subsequent address,
| Was pledged to the people of Kansas to op-
| pose, by all lawful means, the adoption of any
,;n,,r 81, ft,ll.
| submitted to their vote for ratification or re-
lection. These pledges | cannot recall or Vi
| olate without personal dishOnor and the aban-
donment OF fundamental principles and,
| therefore, it is impossible for me to support
what is called the Lecompton Constitution, be-
| cause it is not submitted to a vote of the peo-
! pie for ratification rejection.
l have ever uniformly maintained the prin-
| cIple that sovereignty is vested exclusively in
the people of each State, and that it performs
| its first and highest function in forming State
| Government and State Constitution. The
| highest act of sovereignty, in my Judgment,
can only be performed by the people them
selves, and cannot be delegated to conventions
or other intermediate bodies.
[Gov- Walker here goes into lengthy ex-
position of his views of sovereignty. He con-
tends that 'sthe Government of the United
States is not sovereign, nor does it exercise
any sovereign powers that it exercises only
delegated powers,' as declared by the Consti-
| tuition, and those powers only that granted
by that Instrument 20 that the doctrine that
! ''sovereignty rests exclusively with the people
of each State,'' was always regarded by him
as fundamental principle of public liberty !;
and as fully secured 10 call the Territories, +"
! in adopting their State Constitutions by the
| Kansas Nebraska bill
Indeed, | believe the Kansas and Nebraska
| bill would have violated the right of sovereign
ty reserved to the people of each State by the
Federal Constitution, if it had deprived them
| or Congress should now deprive them of the
right of voting for or against their State Con-
stitution. The President, in his message,
thinks that the rights secured by this bill to
the people, In acting upon their State Consti-
tuition, are confined to the Slavery question :;
| but think, as shown in my address before
quoted, that ''Sovereignty is the power that
makes Constitutions and Governments" and
that only the Slavery clause in State Consti-
tuition, but all others, must be submitted
The President thinks that sovereignty can
be delegated-at least in part; think that
| sovereignty cannot be delegated at all. . We
know no sovereigns but the people. Conven-
tions are composed of ssdelegates.'' They are
mere agents or trustees, exercising not a SOW
ereign but a delegated power. and the people
are principals. | have therefore
discussed the subject mainly on the question
that conventions are not sovereign and cannot
| rightfully make a State Constitution without
| Its submission to a vote of the people for rati-
| ficatiOn or rejection. Yet, surely. even those
| who differ with me on this point must concede.
| especially under the Kansas ebraska act it
is only such Conventions called sovereign ~
| have been truly elected by the people, and rep
resent them well. On reference, however, to
my address of the 10th of September last. on
| the disqualification question, it is evident
that the Lecompton Convention was not sucb
a body. That convention had vital, net tech