Weekly American. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1858-1858, 1858-05-15

'hat Hd'HS ouCe IeJeClcu ~ III uue form
of law, this form of law shall be set up
against them as an estoppel-I think the
word we have heard SO often is estoppel-
against their ever having any more land
Will the world consider il fair? Will the
people of the United States consider it fair?
If the people of Kansas are entitled to
vote upon the Lecompton Constitution,
they are entitled to it in virtue of their
right OF li-government; they are entitled
to 1t In virtue OF that great sovereign pop
ular right by virtue of which every Gov
eminent that we represent here stands.
We have no right to diminish, no right to
control, no right to cucumber it. 1t is
their right, and you have no right to annex
penalties or conditions to the exercise of
it. Although | have no idea that it is the
intention of Congress to withhold from
them, at any time hereafter, these lands
yet read this bill, and see if that is not the
impression it may make. AT any rate,
this is great bonus offered to them for
immediate admission. This is calculated
to take away from the submission the COM
plexion of fairness and equality; it is cal
culated to take away from it the face of
justice.
More than that: not only is this reward
to accompany one vote that they may give,
but there is another consequence. This
measure says to the people of Kansas:
eff you choose to take this Lecompton
Constitution, with all its imperfections on
its head; if you choose to silence all the
complaints and all the denunciations
which you have made against it; if you
choose to humiate yourselves as freemen
by confession of as much baseness as
that would imply, then, no matter what
your numbers are, we shall make no in
quiry, but come into the Union at once,
with all the dowry of land which we give
our newly-admitted and infant States you
shall come in at once 10 the great family
of sovereign States you shall come into
the Senate of the United States; you shall
come into the House of Representatives
and you shall sit side by side with those
great and mighty States which achieved
the Revolution, and achieved the liberties
which we here enjoy-come in and share
with us the crown and the sceptre; accept
these grants with this Constitution, and
you shall do it instantly, and we will make
no inquiry as to your numbers. Only
accept this Constitution, and all these
things are yours; but reject it, and you
shall not only not come in now as a sover-
eign State, but we will inquire into your
numbers, and you shall not come in now
under any form of Constitution, nor shall
you ever come in, under any form of Con-
stltution, until your population shall
amount to that number which is fixed by
the general law as the ratio of representa-
ton throughout the country" ....
Here, sir, are the benefits and here are
the penalties that are to attend upon the
vote TO be given in Kansas. Is this a fair
submission? Is it for us-guardians, if of
nothing else, of the political morality Of
the country-to put such temptation in
the way Of our people, those who are SUBJ
ject to our laws, and must follow our bid
ding? If these are unfair encumbrances
upon the right of suffrage, is it not wrong
in US to place this great free principle
under such trammels and encumbrances
as we are now doing? So it seems to
me, and, in my opinion, those who con-
slider it candidly will come to the same
conclusion. Ifmy friends, who have been
in favor of the Lecompton Constitution,
opposed 10 its submission to the people,
shall look candidly at it, they will see, not
only that the submission which they OPP
pose has been granted, but see that that
submission, and the vote which is to be
given under it, are encountered by condi-
tons, by trammels, and by temptations,
which ought not TO be presented by us to
any portion of our people. Must not that
be their conclusion?
! Mr.. President, anxious as ] am TO see
this subject entirely settled, and this Kan
sas volcano extinguished, closed up, filed
up forever, would rather that these meas
ures should all fail, and Kansas be left just
where you found her, than where this bill
would place her. To do nothing would
place her where this bill would but IT
would place her there without this inju-
rious and unjust legislation on our part.
This bill, if she refuses TO accept the Le-
compton Constitution, RENTS her to
Territorial condition. She is now in a
Territorial condition. She will remain in
il il no legislation be adopted by Congress.
What good, then, is this to ehect' Is not
every gentleman here morally certain that
all these temptations will fail, and that this
Constitution will be rejected? | am per-
fectly certain that il will be rejected; she
will be a Territory then, under the force of
this legislation. She is Territory now;
and she will continue to be Territory if
this bill passes, and she rejects the Con
sttuton. Then, what have we gained by
it, Nothing; not a straw not the dust
in the balance in which the peace oil the
country is weighed.
Another and further distinction between
the House bill and this bill is, that the
House bill provided, in case of the reJec-
ton of the Lecompton Constitution, an
immediate remedy for that, by calling
another Convention, which Convention,
before the next session of Congress, the
bill supposed, would have formed Con-
stitution, which would have been acted
upon, and we should come here finding
Kansas a State in the Union--at any rate,
the question put out Of our hands; for if
they rejected this, we provided the means