Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1858-03-27
P@a11 T0OAG,
The Kansas Debate.

1ne Kansas Debate
The Kansas discussion was continued ON
Tuesday in the Senate by Mr.. Hamlin,
CMe.0 and, in the House by NIcssrs. Kcitt,
(S. CD Clemens, (Va5) English, (Ind., )
Phillips, Pa,,) and others. Mr., Keitt's
remarks are thus reported by the Union ::
Mr.. Keitt, of South Carolina, said he
should limit himsclfin discussing the adj.
mission of Kansas under the Isecompton
Constitution to two Questions; first. the
constitutionality of the application and,
second, the cxpcdiency of her admission.
The first proposition naturally came under
two heads first, the power of Congress in.
the promises; and, second, the character
OF tho proceedings in Kansas. Whatever
power Congress possessed must be derived
from the Constitution. The Constitution,
OF the United States was a compact or trea
ty between States, delcgating certain now
crs to agents created or appointed by them
selves fora certain purpose 1T was diff
fercnt from the Constitution within the
limits of State, because the State Gonsti-
tuition was aprohibition upon the exercise
ofpowcr. The Federal Constitution was n
delegation of power, and Congrces could not
exercise any power except that which was
strictly within the stipulations of the or.
ganic act or federalcompact There could
be no exercise of implied poverty Congress-
except under powers delegated specifically.
lit was atruo, then, that the federal
constitution was a compact between sover.
eign and independent States, and true that
they could exercise none but powers speci-
fled, the questic4 came back ~ the power
Congress had IN rie promises that was in
the constitution,, No power was granted
over this subject, except in those words:
@New States may bC'udinitted by Congress
into the Union" What was a StateR Tt
was political term representing two ideas
"a certain amount of land laid off ON the
surface of the earth, and apopulntion, not
n,the sense. of mere individuals, but in the
sense of people who could not die, people
peipetuated geTeration after generation. -
The absorption Of these two ideas, the
blending of he.spiritual with the corporeal
in the concrete form of political society,
was State. 1t was State such as were
the old thirteen, that declared their indel
pendence and maintained it by force of
arms, and the power tosadmita a new State
was the power to treat, with an equal+--
This clause did not endow Congress with
power to rear and train up and form a State
nor to manipulatea Territory into,the MAJ
turity Oft State; but it only gave it power
to treat with am equal, and when theytreat-
ed with Kansas they treated with an equal.
The nexttclausewas that che United States
should guarantyito every State q rcpubIi-
can form of government, and that meant
any form of government which correspond
cd with the government Of any one of the
original thirteen Statess They were not
loft to nice distinctions 1T was the parti.
tion of power into the great departments OF
Legislative, executive and judicial We're
not all powers divided under the constttu-
zion of Kansas between the legislative, ex-
eeutiye and jpdicial departments, land was
not that republican, Under Che cehstftns
tion the power Of Congress was exhausted
when it had inspected thef form, Of govern.
merit. isa
a. Ito came nextto the proceedings in Kan
sas. The federal government being itself
founded by political societies could know
nothing but a political society. Ali inte.
Tiorlnattersy all municipal affairs, were alb
eolutely within tlle scope and compass of
State jurisdiction, A State cdnstitution
sprung fyopl o mass Of mon, but the federal
constitutions sprung from organizod politi-
cal socletlcsj q State might therefore know
lndigiduals, but the federal. constellation
must know only political soc5ctyss The
shansas bill organized government, and in.
: deed a politiealsocicty Iiiis government,
'of course, pcrpetaatcd itself; aud nothing
could ho known, except what came through
It, The only authority existing IN Kan
sas, The only organized political society,
through their nocssary forms, called .upot,
the people to know whether or not thoy
would have 9 convention and forps . con.
atitaticn. They said they ,woeld. That
convention was fopined, and vas the inSe
nation and embodiment Of the peppl onlv
-asseaec Of sovereignty. glieyss4 ~