Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1858-05-28

N.
sometimes wish to change places With them
Hero IS proposition Offering a premium e
Slavery, aud immediate admission without in
curry as to the numbers, if the people ef Kan
sas will come here as Slave State; hat Il
they decide on the side Of Freedom, they are tc
be indefinitely postponed until census shall
Oe taken a: the will of a craven ana besotted
Executive That is the proposition offered ia
the high minded people of that section from
winch come. They will spurn it, though
perceive that some Of their Representatives are
about to take IT,
Now, what are to be the consequences Of tho
passage OF this propostion7 | mast Judge
from what has preceded it. | DO not know hut
that may be uncharitable in my supposition,
but when look at your candle box frauds,
! at your Cincinnati Directory frauds, all adopt
ed o. your Executive, and the agents who com
NIT the frauds applauled and foisted into high
Offices OF power aud respectahilty, how can
repoSe confidence in yoa? When see the lust
arrangensnt which bad been made by that
just man, the lover Of equality and justice to
ali parties anu TO all sections, the Senator from
Kentucky, stricken out, aud another man added
to the board tc supervise the eleetion-a man
who WAS no more wanted there than a fifth
wheel to coach, for yoa had full board be-
fore | ask this committee, ana | wish them Ia
Answer ne now, why did you place the district
attorney OF the Territory on that board OF com
niissioners9 repeat the question, Why did YOU
do II Was 1t not right beforea A corrupt
Executive was allowed 20 appoint two. Was
it wrong that the people should appoint two
morea Why give your Executive the appoint-
Iueht OF majority Of the board, and full pow
er over the people to trample them 10 the dust?
Answer ms thar, il you cam | pause, but /
pause IN vain. for reply. What shall say.
then! Sir, it savors too much Of the candle
box and of the Cincinnati Directory. l. it ill-
tenced, at all hazards, against the vote of the
people, and IN defance of their wishes, to forge
majority, to make a false return to the Pres
ident that you have oUtvo.ea the Free State
men, and that I.ecompton is adopted? WIS
daal OWN bartf ha f6 tat tg Ind thrown to the wind
people on equal terms %ilIp Vi n tllo l1fE tsFi
Sir, | have no fears Of the people Of Kan
sas if you give them any chance, even if You
viii be honest in counting their votes; but here
the matter is left to the President of the Uni-
ted States, who censured his Governor be-
cause he had refused to yield to an outrageous,
notorious, palpable, and undisputed fraud, aud
ultimately compelled him to resign. say,
when such things arc done, what may We not
suspect! | eau hardly realize that am in the
Senate of The United States, when propositions
calculated 10 blind the people, propositions cal
culated to hold ont false coors, are presented
i'll this way. In this scheme, you have evident
ly followed, as far as you could, the bill pre-
scnted by the Senator from Kentucky; but you
have amended that most just clause of biz, up
on which the honesty of the whole transaction
turned, IN order that y3u might still keep the
hands of those who have proved themselves TO
te unworthy Of such a trust, the power to de-
eide against the people, as they have done here
tofore, the fate Of the new State.
Now, sir, | am Hot so much Of an enemy TO
| the people of the South as they suppose.
/ think they viii never gain anything BY such
proposition as this. 1t is net because ] sup
pose they viii, that | manifest this zeal against
/ it; but because, like the Senator from Ken
tusky, know that the safety, tue permane ncy,
! the trne glory Of our Institutions, must be built
upon the solid foundations OF eternal right and
Justice. and this ;rckery, these frauds, aItho
they may serve the purpose Of party for a
day, are frqught with danger TO the .shole com
/ muuity, and viii finally result in disastrous
consequences even to those for whose benefit
they seem to be perpetraied.
Sir. PIesidela, have now said ell that iu-
! tended to say, and much more, because when [
see a proposition that appears to be unfair, and
| will say, tina. appears to be dishonest, ! eau
not retain exactly that eduanimity that per-
haps ought. 1t may be all fair anu all right
but must announce the impressions that
deliberately have on that subject. | think il
is palpably wrong--wrong to the high-rnuded
people of the South, who, am sure, when
! they understand IL will trample it beneath
their feet as an unelean hing--unjust, palpa-
fiT unjust, to the North, whom it places ou q
footing Of inequality. Sir, if | did seek the
destruction OF the institutions of the South,
could devise no way more facile than that yog
have yourselves marked out; for, being in tbs
minority, whenever you shall have diyeSteC
yourselves OF that character which we have
conceded to you that you are high-minded
honorable men-you will have lost the grca
stake in the Government that would ever ena
Bile you, as long as you practised on these prin
ciples, TO enjoy your full share in the council
!, of this nation, aud even more. rs | said,
do not know but that this proposition may
{ right; but disappearance is absolutely and dc
{ liberately wrong.
!; Now, MIR. President, regret that such
I proposition should have been brought in her,
r Why would you not let Lecomplon die, if yo
u had not the force to put it through2 woul
: infinitely prefer; for the horror of the nation
: both North aud South, that yoa had the for.
G in both branches to put your Lecampon Col
: stitution through here, rather than hgve aet
e compelled to resort 10 this indirecion,
: order to accomplish the same result; becau
% its effect ia demoraiizing the nation, perver
e and iniquitods as | think 1t was, would ha'
u been infinitely less than by this monster Ct
: proposition.