Western sentinel. [volume] (Winston [i.e. Winston-Salem], N.C.) 1856-1886, 1858-07-02
No q

| have said | will not handy epithets with
my colleague, and [ will recall what I
have said. My colleague may not have
read the enabling act" by which the last
Congress authorized Minnesota to form
! State constitution preparatory to her ad-
mission into the Union !; he may have vo-
ted against her admission without having
informed himself Of the facts in the case.
Now, sir, [ shall quote the proviso contain.
ed in the fifth clause of the fifth section Of
! the enabling act, by which ample security
was made for the rights ofthe Governments
in the public domain. Here is the pro-
| viso:
"Ir6ride0, The foregoing propositions
| herein offered are on the condition that
the said convention which shall form the
constitution of said State, shall provide by
clause in said constitution, or an ordi-
nance, irrevocable without the consent of
the United State shall never interfere with
| the primary disposal of the soil within the
same by the United States, or with any
regulations Congress may find necessary
| for securing the title in said soil to bona
| F0o purchasers thereof, and that no tax
shall he imposed on lands belonging to the
| United States, and that in no case shall
nonresident proprieties be taxed higher
than residents'
| And here am reminded by the chairman
Of flle Committee on Territories Mr.. STE
PUENs] that the constitution Of Minnesota
ratified and confirmed this land provision.
| [ quote here the third section of the second
article Of that constitution:
THE propositions contained in the act
| of Congress entitled SAn act to authorize
| the people of tho Territory of Minnesota
to form constitution and State govern
nent preparatory to their admission into
the Union on ali equal footing with the
original States are hereby accepted, rati
fed, and confirmed, and shall remain ir-
revOcable without the consent of the Uni
| ted States; and it is hereby ordained that
this State shall never interfere with the
primary disposal of the soil within the
same, by the United States, or with any
regulations Congress may find necessary
for securing the title to said soil to bona
tde purchasers thereof; and no tax shall
be imposed on lands belonging to the Uni
! ted States, aad iza. no ease shall ns1aa,rees
1 dent proprietors be taxed higher than res
idents"
Now, submit to you and the commit
tee, I submit to the people of North Car
olina, whether there is the smallest degree
of fairness or justice in the gentleman's
charge against me as TO this matter.
Another charge alleged against me by
the gentleman from North Carolina is,
that had done him the injustice to place
his opposition to the admission of Kansas
under tho Lecompton constitution, upon
the ground that she would thereby be ad-
mitted as q slave State. Is there any such
charge in my speech2 My colleague can
not show it. ! made no such charge.
said
& lie bases his opposition to the admis-
sion of Kansas under the Lecompton con-
stitution, in other words, to her admission
as slave State, upon three points of OBJ
lection first, that the Green amendment
afirms the right Of a majority of the peo-
pie to change the constitution at any time
they please; and that, by the establish
mont of that principle, slavery may be ex-
cluded whenever q ma ajority of the peo-
pie choose; second, that the population Of
Kansas is not sufficient to entitle her to
admission and, third, that the constitution
framed at Lecompton is not the will Of the
people OF that Territory"
Now sir, is that charging him with op-
position to the admission of Kansas, be-
cause she would come in ''as a slave
State?' Ny charge against him was that
while ss Kansas was as much a slave State
as Georgia or South Carolina, under the
Lecompton constitution" by voting down
that constitution. and enabling the people
of Kansas to frame another, if the opinion
he gave as to the will of the majority in
that Territory was correct, slavery would
be abolished, and she would become free
State. I shall not stop here to make an
argument upon this point Every body
knows that the seventh article of her con-
stitution established slavery by every guar
antee that could be thrown around that
Institution. It was opposed by the Black
| Republican party upon that ground. The
lo,,4 f,at he
ial message, that Kansas was as much
a slave State as Georgia or South Carolina,
and my colleague labored throughout his
whole speech to prove that the people of
/ Kansas would vote down the Lecompton
constitution if we submitted it to them and
would, as certainly, frame free-State con-
stitution in its stead.
But, sir, my colleague says he was un-
| willing to bring Kansas into the Union by
unfair means; he would not countenance
the 's shuff1ing" by which ali " unnatural
enaagratioaa was forced into Kansas he
would not force upon On unwilling people
a constitution which they were opposed to.
Yes, sir, my colleague had such an abhor-
renee for the shufiing which had been
witnessed in Kansas" he was 50 much op-
posed to that sort of shufHing by which an
unnatural emigration had been forced into
that Territory he was so honest, so fair,
and so Just, he felt constrained TO vote
against a constitution which made Kansas