The Washington union., 1858-02-05
THE WASHINGTON UNION.

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putting the question on the great fundamental prin
ciples that will live through all time and all ages Mis-
souri, may violate them Ohio may violate them but
they will live as long liberty is preserved Those
whom the constitution and the laws have enfran-
csed are the people, and the only people in legal
sensethe only people anybody by any possibility could
in this act You did not mean women, you did not
mean children you did not mean idiots Whom did you
mean The people under the government you were ma
king You made government, and declared in the act
creating it who should be ennchised and how other
people should be afterwards enfranchsed
say now it did necessarily happen and perhaps it
was impossible that it could happen In q single of
the thirteen original States of the Unon that its coast
tuition adopted by majority of its people, in
fact or by consent because most OF them adopted
by conventions and they divided into districts for
the purpose of electing delegates to the conventions
Population the usual rule for such divisions In our
section of the country usually take the federal popu
ation including whites and blacks according to the
portions recognised in the federal constitution You take
numbers but you do not by any means determine how
many of them voters think probably Kansas comes
to proposing an absolute naked rule OF GOVERNING
by numbers than any community have known
The Lecompton constitution based nearly on
that idea than which has ever come under my observa
ton. They obliterated all county lines took census
and said will have sixty members in the conventon
we will take the whole population and divide by sixty
and give the proportion all the Territory l
say that is nearly according to mere numbers than
any instance have known
When proclaimed that the people should be free to
form their institutions declared who were the people
who had the right to make institutions. They are made
in country by representation. We provided gov
ernmcnt for this Territory the people elected terrific
rial legislature, and they to govern through that
Legislature until their admission into the Union
State and then the people whom the constitution en-
anchised were the people ntrustet with the power OF
making, altering, and changing their government That
is plain proposition which nobody mistake who will
look at the law That point provided for in the
bill from which this clause Is seized 1t said that
at the first election every citizen of the United States
lover tVeu uty of
declared oath their intention to become citizens and
then that the first legislature should fix the right of suf
frage certain limitations and therefore ''the people
meant by this clause of the act expouned by the act
itself.
Then the President properly states in his message,
the territorial government thus acknowledged set out
the principle of the Kansas act that the people, act
ing according to aw-the people, acting through the
government established by aw--have this right That
government stands there to-day. 1t submitted to the
people the proprety Of calling constitutional
ton. The people decreed that there should be
tion and the legislature called it, The convention met
the fruit OF that convention is before AT this
point objection is made, by gentlemen with
whom have acted heretofore in regard to this matter
They do not disagree with the President up to this point
but they say the constitution ought to have been submit
ted to the people Why From whence do you de-
rive the idea that it must be submitted do not pre-
tend to that 1t may not be submitted but hold
that is point to be determined by the law making pow
err l admit that it may be submitted, and it must be
submitted if the law wills it, the territorial law
the convention had deCreed that constitution
should be submitted to popular vote the work would
be incomplete without submission If the convention it.
self had declared that it should be submitted, it
would be incomplete without that sanction because il
would have lacked sanction required by law.
This however, lacks sanction of law. The con-
venon determined TO put the qaio rerata, the ques
ton of slavery before the people, and they submitted
other question They that eighteen States had been
admitted into the Union with constitutions framed by
conventions. They from all your enabling acts be-
ginning with that of Ohio in 1902 to this day such
requirement was made by this government until it
slipped somehow other into the Minnesota bill
They that in enabling act had such requirement
been demanded by Congress essential to the validity of
State constitution 1t not required by the territo
rial law, by the convention Hence say there is
absence of all foundation for the idea that there such
necessity unless you get it somewhere else Where
you to get it from? 1t not in the law of Congress
it is not in the action of Congress it is not in the terri
oria law calling the convention it is not in the cons
tuition itself Where, then, do you get it FROM You
must go to the higher law of the honorable gentleman
from New York and there you will not find it, Go and
look at the revelation of which he speaks and not
there. Go to the only utteance of his that know Of
and is not there Go, then, to Nature from the be-
ginning of the world and she gives such uttcrance
Where you to get it 1t faction it is demagog
ism 1t is nothing else; it has no warrant in law none
in philosophy in nature, and in the revealed
will of God.
The Kansas convention thought proper to submit
portion of the constitution to the people The President
that in his opinion according to his construction OF
the act they bound to submit the slavery question
In that / think he is mistaken because have shown
you what meant by ''the people, and when the peo
pie act they act through organization they act through
the legislature they act through the convention and
the action Of the convention is the action of the people
themselves 1t the Embodiment of their sovereignty
Millions of people have been born under the constitutions
of Georgia and other States which never had this
tal prerequisite of popular sanction it is now consd
ered
Mr. DOOLITILE. viii the honorable senator allow
me- the point he is discussing, to ask single ques-
ton
Mr.. TOOMBS. With great pleasure.
Mr.. DOOLTTTLE. My question u.s. from what source
do you derive the legal authority of the convention to
form constitution at all From the legislature of the
Territory
Mr. ToOMBS Entirely from the Legislature of the
Territory. If the authority from Congress, we
should be bound by any propositions made If it
from the territorial legislature may accept
reject the propositions,
Mr. DOOLI1IIE. / will put one further inquiry. If
the legislature of the Territory has not the legislature
of the Territory, until the State is admitted into the
Unon the legal power of legislation still for the State
and may not the legislature pass law submitting the
constitution to the people of the Territory May ii not
be done by any legislature, well the original cgs
ature which authorized the calling of the convention
Mr. TOOMBS think not, and for very obvious rea-
sons. The Legislature called this convention togsther,
and has performed its duty and the people voted upon
the question submitted to them before the action of the
legislature To which the senator from Wisconsin has
erred, took place Then the previous law executed
and the constitution wanted nothing but the action of
Congress TO become the fundamental law. II then
too late for the territorial legislature interfere It