The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1858-05-08
Tho Kansas Fraud.

institutions With American vigor'
Tho Kansas Fraud.
The great prjuciplc contcnded for by the
Republican mtnbers of Congress, /. that the
constitution should bo submitted to the vote
Of the people Of Kansas, for adoption, or re-
lection This cardinal democratic principle,
has been opposed by all the power Of the
President, and the concentrated energies Of
the oiicc.holdcrs, in aud out Of Congress.
Some twenty democratic members of the
House, from the free states, backed, by the
loud tones Of their constituents, refused TO
sanction the Senate bil, recommended 10y the
President, and defeated It by substituting the
Crillendcu amendment, which provided for a
direct submission Of the question to the poo
pie Of Kansas. The Senate refused 20 CON
cur, and askdl a committee Of conference
That Committee, through Mr.. English, re-
ported the nondoscrpt biz which has just
become a law. Some eight or ten Of the
Auli.Lccompton democrats, understanding
that the bill provided indirectly for submis.
sion TO the people, gave their adhesion To- IT,
On the other hand several southern democrats
declared In debate that they supported it
because It did net submit the question to the
people Of Kansas. Mr. stephens, Of Georgia,
when asked by Mr.. Gilman, how hc under
stood il, replied, 81 tell the gentleman frankly
that the bin does not submit the constitution
to the people" MIR Kcit' said "by this bill
the lccompton constitution Is obligatory Is
IN lci nnllllN."- several Other SuuLhrlA
Democrats, gave as reason for supporting
the hin, that /, did not submit the consiilu.
ton to the people,
Still the Northern Democratic newspapers
claim that 1t does thus submit IT,
The North sta Of last week, copies from
III I4le4. l. Rcpuhliean papcr.in sup
port Of the assumption that Mr.. English
bill is IN effect the same in tii, respect as the
/ Clillrudcn amendment.
~ al2a eais-flaa4- tl4s-.Ar J. -l4.-44s il4e
following just and appropriate remarks.
The bill posed the House yesterday by a
\ vote OF II 10 1913, An the Southern Demo.
/ Gratis voted Tor il, aud enough at the North.
cru Auti.Lpcomptou DpmocratAto secure its
-, passage The most surprising Vote given is
probably that of Mr.. Cos, OF Ohio, who had
vcry strongly pledged himself to vote for no
/ bill which did not submit the Lccomptun
] Constitution TO the popular vote, aud who
, yet did not venture To say thdN>in his iudg-
men,, this bM would have that effect, In
I fact, no Northern Democrat seems to have
been willing 10 express such an opinion The
emphatic ard dictuturisl declarations of
/ Stephens, Shorter, aud one or two other
/ Ultra Southcrs men, that II did no; submit the
question To the popular VOTE seems To- have
30 tcrriicd't these Northern gentlemen that
none OF them vcnturcd to hint an opposite
'iew of the case. [ pom their part the pro-
cCeding We must confess, was a very humili-
atiug display Of personal and political pusll-
lanimity. We cannot doubt their belief that
the question is thus submitted: and they will
certainly take that ground when they come to
face their constituents at home. What mo-
tive but cowardicc, or bipartisan subsorvicncy
still more contemplate, should prevent their
: s7yr1E 81 IN tuUETUSs, We CANNOT imagine.
Our two Representatives Mcssrs lIaskin
and Clark, maintained their consistency and
integrity to the last.
Our opinion orthc hill itself has been ire.
qucntly expressed. We think il does submit
the Lccompton Constitution to the vote OF the
/ people of Kansas and when the returns of
/ the vote upon the land grant are received, we
think the authors of the bill will concur in this
opinion. The fact that the matter is left
doubtful that there is room for cayil or
bubble on the ubjcct-condcms the bill and
/ brands its competitors as trickstcrs and gam
| blers in politics rather than men fit To be in
/ trusted with the management ofpublic affairs.
| Persons who, in the ordinary business of life
should resort to cquiNocatons and phrases of
questionable meaning in order to cntrap those
with whom they are dealing, into transactions
which they would reject il fairly aud openly
] presented, would be stained and distrustet
/ forever after. 1t is one of the worst signs OF
/ the age that different morality prevails in
I political life, that the struggles of party are
conducted upon principles which are despiscd
on the race'coursc, and that the lowest resorts
of thimblc-rggers and pntent-safc operators
must be explored to find fitting parallel TO
the ordinary transactions of our highest Ma
tional Councils. This bill is a sneaking un-
| digniticd and disgrncclul specimen of the
worst kind of legislative legcrdemain and sc
have sufficient faith in the instincts of human
nature to believe tbst before many months,
both its authors and its dupcs will be heartily
ashamed of il,
| Apart from It's meanncss, no feature of th;,
bill IL more conspicuous thnn the political
blindness and stolidity of it's authors. They
have denounced the Republicans. in Kansas
and IN Congress, for seeking to prolong this
contest, ard make political capital out of il.
And they have given them means and an OPP
portunity OF doing so, which neither chance
nor their own ingenuity could ever have fur
nlShed. The struggle now goes To Kansas,
The Lccompton Constitution will there be