Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1858-1860, 1858-04-09
acknowledgement Constitution.
SPEECH OF HON. JOHN BELL,

SPEECH OF HON. JOHN BELL,
OF TENNESSEE.
In THE UNITED STATES SENATE, March H. 1853.
The Senate having under consideration the bill for
the admission Of Kansas into the Union Il State
Mr.. BELL said: Mr.. President, it is my mis-
fortune to be obliged to address the Senate at
this late hour of the day, upon a subject Of so
much Importance, or not at all. After the
spec CHI of the honorable Senator from Geor-
gia, (Mr. Toombs,) | shall be compelled to
tre=pass longer upon the indulgence of the
Senate than | hoped would be necessary. He
ha- made issues, he has stated facts, he has
promulgated doctrines and arguments from
his seat in the Senate to-day, which no man
Can pass unnOticed who takes the views do
OF this question. He says, in substance. that
il is question of union or disunion; il is no
sectional question, but one which concerns the
whole country-the North as well as the
South. He has proclaimed to the Senate that
he nas estimated the value of the Union, and
that upon proper occasion, he is ready TO
state that value. With him it is a myth a
false dol; and he fears that the State OF Ken
tn XIV (which my honorable and eloquent friend
(Mr G. ittenden) SO well represents has wor-
shio- and loved, not wisely, but too we'll
He has brought the question 10 a point-an
issue which it becomes us all to ponder.
have been fearful that there were such calcu-
lations as he has suggested founded on the pos
sible result of this question:; but [ had before
no evidence of it. 1t was only vague dread,
an impression resting on my mind; but now
we must meet it as admitted fact. 1t is
now placed before us openly, boldly, directly;
and therefore feel called upon to notice it in
every aspect to which he has pointed.
| do not mean to go into an estimate of the
value of the Union nor of the consequences
which would flow from its destruction; but
mean to go into an investigation of the ques-
tion before the Senate-the proposition to adj
NIT Kansas into the Union under the LecOmp-
ton constitutional show that the rejection of
this measure would not be fit pretext to be
adopted by the South, for the purpose of lead
ing TO that final issue to which the Senator
from Georgia has alluded. 1t concerns not
only the Senate, but the whole country to
loo at this question in a different light from
tina in which the honorable Senator from
e. OI gia has presented it. | am tempted by
these considerations to depart from any regu-
lar course of argument, such as | had prescri-
bed for myself, in order to notice at the outset
some of his most unbranded statements i'll re-
gard to the true facts of the case. | do not
mean any personal disrespcct to the honorable
Sen tor; do not mean to say that he has will
fully presented a false view of the case; but
MANY of his statements of fact are wholly un-
ounded.
propose to go back to the original Organi-
cation of the territorial government in Kan
sas-a part of the history Of the Territory
which / had intended to pass over, with sum-
mary statement only of such facts-undisput-
ed facts-as might be found chronicled in the
public journals, without going into any min
ute investigation of them; but now feel COM
PEELED to look more carefully into all the de-
tails of the subject, by the eXigencies and i'm
portance of the question, by the demands
which | consider the country has on every
man having seat here, to be well informed
upon every material point connected with the
subject, Like the honorable Senator from
Kentucky, | do not mean to refer to the or
ganization of the territorial government in
Kansas for the purpose of juslitying the party
who have opposed that government, for mean
to become the partisan of neither side of this
controversy. have considered from the very
origin of these difiiculties-the passage of the
Kansas-Nebraska act-that there has been
more of party interest and necessity than of
any possible good to the country connected
with this whole movement; and when | say
this, do not mean to impugn the motives Of
the no. able Senators who discllim any such
party interests. They may be unconscious OF
them. | therefore give them credit for their
disclam r.
l shall not at this time enter into full
staten mt of the facts connected with the cleo
ton of members to the first Territorial Legis-
lature, which took place in 1885 or with the
arm intrusion of the people of the western
border sof Missouri into Kansas, at that cleo
ton. The Senator from Georgia says that the
statements which have been made on this sub
ject are entitled to no credit. lie ridculcs
them so far as they are made on the authority
of individuals engaged in that invasion, us il
has been called. as the idle boasts OF van-glo-
rious individuals. | admit that. general
rule little credit is to b. attached To such
statements; but | will lay before the Senate
some facts that are founded upon that sort of
record which the honorable Senator says will
last as long as society lasts. | shall refer To
authentic, well-coniirmed facts, proved ut the
time of their occurrence by contemporary evil
d nce-testimony taken by men of credit and
good character. lretcr, i'll this particular case
to the Investigations OF members OF Congress,
and of both sides in politics, commissioned and
authorized to investigate.
Now, what are the most material and promi-
nent facts connected with the election in 1859?
i may possibly go INTO Il fuller statement of
the circumstances of that election before |
close my remarks A census was taken under
"a provision of the organic law of Kansas one
month before that election, and the returns
showed that there were twenty-nine hundred
and three qualified voters then in the Terrific
nv of Kansas. The election came on, and six
Thousand three hundred and seven votes were
polled, as appeared from the poll-bOokS. or
the twenty-nine hundred and three returned
on the census list. only eight hundred aud
ninety-eight voted. Where were the remain
der of the twenty -nine hundred aud odd re-
ported in the census returns! AS the honorg-
BILE Senator from Kentucky has spoken of in
terviews he has had with gentlemen connect
ed with this transaction, will tell what have
learned from similar sources. | understand
that the census returns were in part, made out
In the bord II counter of Missouri; and il APP
pears from an examination of the pOll-books,
tbat two thousand persons and upwards, whose
names were on the census lists did not vote in
the election. We cannot draw any certain in
ference VIII ,ther the two thousand who did not
vote were free-State men who were driven
from the polls or how otherwise. | only state
the sample fact, that bat about niue hundred
of em voted. The argument on the other
side is, that of the twenty niue hundred per-
son whose names were ON the census returns,
sew enteen hundred were emigranIs from the
Southern States, and but 1900 from the Free
States. Wei do not know what proportion
of the nine hundred who voted were iree-Statc
m N from the Northern States, or what por-
ton came from the Southern States; nor Is it
material to decide that question, for only a
bout One-thrd OF the whole voted. The hon
orable Senator has spoken ofintrinsic evidence;
be has appealed to what he considers the mon
umental record that is 10 last ~ long as sOei-
ETY. lasts. l appeal to it, too.
Mr.. TooMBs. Do | understand my friend
10 say that OF the twenty-nine hundred voters
rec orded ON the census only nine hundred vo-
tedy
Mr. BELL. Yes, sir.
Mr.. TooaBs. | assure my friend he Is mis-
skei, for my friend from Vermont, lhr-
,oliamer.) said in his report that fix thous-
md voted. His complaint was thai they
doubled
Mr.. BELL / see that my friend from Geor-
IA does not understand the question at all,
nd was utterly astonished when heard him
asai.a,r den Wing The