Lewisburg chronicle. [volume] (Lewisburg, Pa.) 1850-1859, 1857-12-25

gates may tA.uE one way aud the peopl,
another, AID that the delegates, as WI.
tie case in Kansas, may violate their
pledges c. fall to execute the will Of the
people. And Wy does Tot this reason
ing apply wish equal force to all othc,
questions embodied IL the State Consti;u-
tom Why should the question Of Sls-
very alone o.euide AID cx;irguish the
doctrine c! popular sovereignty and tbs
right Of self government Mos. for,u-
naicly, this Is n sectional question for
It belongs alike to the States admitted "
inchoate, Of the South as Of the North.
1t is 10; ? question Of Slavcry, but Of
State rights, and Of state and !opular sove-
reignty; and my objections to the Lc-
compton Constitution, are equally strong
Uhe.hc. Kansas, under i;s lrovisions,
be made free or slave Str,e. Ny os-
jec.ious are based upon the violation vi
tie right Of self g1yernment, and Of State
aud popular sovcrei Gnty, and Of forcing
any Constitution rpou the people against
their will, whether it recognized freedom
or slavery. Indeed, the frs. question
which the people oagLt to decide, ID f rm-
ing government f,r al inchOate State, is
whether they will change, or not, from a
Territorial 10 State Government. Now,
no enc, who, With :He, desires Federal or
Territorial sovreignty, viii contend that
Territorial legislature is sovereign to rep
resent so7reigutyj Or, tha; such legisls.
tcrc, = mere creature Of Congress, eau
transfer sOvEeiguty, which it does not pos
Sess, to Territorial Convention. This
change from Territorial to State Gov
crameu; can oaly be made Ly the power
where sovereignty rests, n4mely,the people.
Yet State GoyeEG.Atr, Is forced upon the
people Of Kansas by the Lscompton Con-
sti;ution, whether they will or rot-fcr
they can ouly vote .ior the Constitution,
and not oy.iastit. Bu! besides the change
from Territorial to State Government
which the people Of kan-as alone have
the right to make, in the framing of
State CJn=.itgt;0u-thcre are many qucs-
t!ons Included in that instrument 1t in-
wolves all the powers Of State Government.
There Is the Bill of rights, the nuagaa
ch,utl Of the liberties ot free people the
Legislature, executive, and jgli-ial func-
tiyus TIE taxing power, t!.c elective fran
cLi.e, the great question Of education, tho
sacred relations IF husband and wife, pa
rent md child, cua.lian and wa-d, and all
the rights affecting life, liberty and pro.
pcrty. There Is also the question of Stats
deIts, Of banks aal paper mouey, and
whether they shall BE permitted or prohi-
tited. rs al free governments, as stated
by Nr. Jefferson i'll TIE Declaration of In
dependence, depends upon "the consent Of
the goTerned,' how can it be known whc-
Their the people would assent to the Cen
situation, unless it IS submit ted TO their
vote for ratification or rejection
But, ii acquiescence can be presumed
in any ease, surely it can not be in that Of
Kansas, where 50 mauy Of the delegates
;Leir pledge to submit the Consti-
tuition itself to the vote Of the people
where the delegates who ,igued the Con-
stltuti7n represented scarcely one-tenth Of
the people and where nearly oue-hali Of
the counties Of the Territory were disfran-
chised, and, by uo fault Of theirs, did nos
and could not give single vote at the
election of delegates TO the Convention.
l have heretofore discussc;! this subj CT
mainly on the question that Conventions
ire not sovereign, and can net rightfu!!y
make State Constitution without its sub
mission 20 the -O,e Of the people, fer it,
'atificati0u or rejection. Yet, surely,even
hose who differ with me on this POINT,
must conceie, especially under the Kansas
Nebraska bill, 1t is only sucL Conventions
an be called sovereign as have been truly
lcrtel by the people and represent their
vii. On reference, b0wercr,to TO my address
fihe sixteenth Of September last, on thu
TX qualification question. "a ccpy Of which
vas Immediately transmitted for the infor-
nation Of the President and the tabinct,)
I is cYiien. that the Lecompton Conyeu
ion was not such body. That Conveu.
ion had vital, not technical defects, III tie
cry substance Of its organzltign uuder
he Territorial law, which could only DO
ured, in my judgment, as set f,E.h IN my
Inaugural aud other addresses, by the sub
iission of tee Constitution for ratification
r r'j-ction.
Ou reference to the Territorial law uutcr
hich the Convention was assembled, thin
: :Uug regularly organized counties werO
lmel as election districts FOX delegates TO
le Convention. II eacn and I'll Of these
,untics, it was required that 4 census
rould be taken, and the votes rss..isTe@;
ID VIXEN this was cemrl,,ca, tha; ds.S-
.tes 70 tho Convention should be 4lpc--
,neI ACCORDINGLY. In Linet1tD Of these