Arkansas true Democrat., 1858-04-06

animlty as to silence all opposition;" and in such case the Senator from Illinois admits that
 constitutions and governments have been changed without violence or bloodshed" The people, says the President, "can make and un make constitutions at pleasure:" can any one donbt that fat least it is so in'' Kansas?
 But. Mir. President, if it belongs to us in our
 limited sphere to go behind the constitution and look at the motives of the men who framed lt; II It Is permitted to us to weigh the consid I eratlons which, In vexed and protraeted strug- gle to restore peace and order to a distracted country, may have counted with the members Of the convention, is it fair to denunce. as a fraud and grievance the attempt if such it 1 was, to give short-lived vitality of six years to the work which they were doing? What real or imaginary grievance was there that could not be endured for that short period. Was it a vice in the constitution that it proposed. at least short truce to the conflict which had made the land desert and the government an anar- chy? If 1t was believed that this provision of the schedule was intended to infringe, to qualify. or invade the fundamental principles declared Tn ther blli of rights, 1t was but a proposition of peace rendered to the people at time when It was unknown which party would prevail in the final decision oE the great question submit ted to them; and whchsoever might be the victor Tn the contest, it proposed a short aclui- esence of the vanquished in the result.
 Mr. President. undue importance has been ascgibed to this feature in the constitution of Kansas. It will figure far more here than there If it does not, it will not be for want of the promptings which emanate from this great me- tropollS ot agitation, inviting strife and revoIu ton, and sounding the notes which are echoed Tn every nook and corner of the Union. Does any one undertake here to say that his is q inst cause ot complaint there? It has been truly Sald that those who preach to the world of it's mlssovernment will find many listeners; but is It not gfatultouS patriotism which invents grievances Tor those who never feel them?- Wlll this constitutional restriction stand one mo- ment III the way of those who wish to oyer- come 1t? Will this great faction, whose num- bers of late have sweled with such wonderful evelopment-whose past history affords no in stance where it has scrupled at the means where the end was to be attained-hestate to overleap this feeble res rant? No. Those who are in open array and in armed defiance of the whole authority of the constitution will not stop to cftlc'se an obnoxious feature of it. Those who deSre the restoration of peace, the reign of order, and the supremacy of law, will not com plan; while those who would perpetuate this anarchy anl make the strife mmortal, would soon overcome this trail barrier.
 In the remarks which l have just made I have treated this clause in the constitution as if It was restriction imposed by the people on themselves, and suspension of the general right of amendment to the constitution until the year 1861. There are certain fundamental principles of American organic law. which I hope and trust are, like the laws of the Meles and PersanS unaJerable There are other pro- visions which find place in our constitutions Wllrh should be subjected to change and reform when the will ot the people, duly expressed, demahds It. This great and universal principle ol American organic law Is contained in the bill 0! rights. IL declares Jha5 all poiitic.l power lS Inherent m the people, and all free govern ments are founded on their authority, and insti- tuted for their benefit; and therefore they have, at all times, ali inherent and indefalsibIe right to alter, reform, or abolish their form of gov ernmeut n such manner as they may think proper" This is one of those fundamental principles of which 1 have said that they should be eternal IL is logical necessity of our form o1 oYenmeut. If it $ wroHg, then represent tatlNe and republican governments are wrong The right Is essential to self-goyerumeut: and while would dePrecate a too frequent resort to l's exercise, and would always limit that in sub'rdlnaton to the forms of law, vet it is one Whlah la llTSJ m mPortance auu iJ iS better that it >honld De aUheat to abuse than to i.mtation
 his right IS thelrs 10 exercise ' at all times" ahd cannot be postponed nor suspended for a moment. Ii it can ba suspendei fo- a perol. IL can be ind ,iinitely po,tponcd-aud thus con- sH'utionS would be perpetual and forms of go. veument immortal. If this language of the constitution IS hostile to, or inconsistent with. the bill of rights, it must to that extent yield to ltS superior authority. This is one of those original aud reserved rights of the people. not delegated or alcaiated by the people. neither surrendered nor suspended, but withheld from Inc grant, which makes up the just powers of government, and which are enumerated in the constitution. In this contest for supremacy be- tween reserved rights and delegated power, it is ehSy tO determine which is the higher and which the subordinate law.
 hold, however, that there is no real hostility b'tween these provisions. The conh ct is more plausible than real. The one is the declaration of great principle Of American fundamental law, the o,her the mrra regulation of the manner" ol the exercise of this right h. .ieei, the latter clause does not form any bart ot the constitution, but Is one of the articles of 'he" SchcIuie' which provides against the in- couveneuces arising from a change of govern '" 'iu i0 mus II' ljdCc ill., ana iOrllS no part "t the constitution, the great charter, prescribing the powers oi government, and regulating their exercise. The right to alter the constitution i'm such manner aa they may think proper" is one of the rights retained to the people; and this so much condemned clause of the schedule o1ly prescribes that manner otter the year 1864 1 Until then, the right is uutrammeled. and with out prescribed form forits exercise After that ume, agree that the Senator from Illinois may he right in stating the judicial rule of interpre. tAtlon that when q constitution prescrihes one
 mode oI amendment, it must be understood and construed as having thereby preclud ,d all other modes anl prohibited all other means of ac- complishng the same object" Suppose, how ever, some other peaceabie mode of change be successfully adoptel; Is not the constitution thus adopted the supreme law of the land, and are our constitutions, thus adopted legitimate go- vemmonts or successful revolutions? It is not for Us to express controlling views to solve this problem. In admitting Kansas as State, we trust her to her own deotinies, and accomplish our whole duty