Staunton vindicator and general advertiser. (Staunton, Augusta County, Va.) 1858-1860, 1858-04-03


$ a constitution was once adopted they Shout
: MAINTAIN II until it was regularly and lie
. gally altered. Upon that vote it was dc
g termined by majority of those who d
vote, that tie Tsr'sSs,visien in favor Of Saver
) should be retained. Afterwards, vote wa
$ taken for the election of members to tn
j new government which was ordained b,
, this constitution, and upon that occasi, n
} large vote was cast, some eleven or twelv
| thousand in number, who, got only by tina
, act. gave their implied assent to this consti
) tuition, but who expressly declared whcr
| they voted, that they would Support anc
maintain it, It is tr4se That in the NEAR
,time session Of the Territorial Legislature
had been convened. to meet after the con.
vcntlon to form constitution, was in ses-
sion and that this Legislature provided 70,
taking the sense Of the reeple on tie 4th Of
January, in regard to the Lecompton con
stitution. It is also true that upon that oc-
casion a large vote is professed to have been
least, by which majority Of some ten thoq,-
sand declared against this constitution.
! These are the circumstances, as [ ander-
stand them, under which Kansas presents
herself here with this Lecompton constit,l-
ton asking for admission into tsse Union,
and to that admission there are two classes
of DIRECTORS; the one maintain that the o.
riginal Legislature, the first Legislature,
which was elected was not clothed with le-
gal authority, because, as they assert, an
armed invasion of Missourians took posses
sion of the ballot-box, and nterferrcd with
a fair expression Of popular opinion. As
suming that the &C ton of sucA body was
invalid, they say there was no law in the
proper sense Of the term for taking the sense
OF the people as to a convention there was
no law in the proper sense Of the term pro-
vldlng for a registry, and for enabling
them to vote for members of a convention !;
and that the convention itself when it as
sembled was, therefore, without authority
and invalid. They have also maintained,
believe, that some of the cotnties were
not allowed to vote, and that, therefore, the
representation in the convention was ;u-
complete.
At this point there comes in another
class Of objecters, who deny the vadility
Of this convention, because they say that it
was not authorized to act by means of what
is called an enabling act on the part of Con-
gress. They also insist that this constitu-
ton is not the act of the people, because it
was not submitted as whole by the con-
vention to the people for their ratification !;
and as evidence that the constitution does
not only not express the sentiments of the
people, but that it is repugnant to their
wishes, they refer te the fact that MAORI
tv of ten thoszsand was cast against it, un-
der the law passed BY the Territorial Legis-
lature requiring the sense of the people 70
be taken on the 4th Of January
propose u tako up these objections 4.
their order and, first, as to the authority
Of the Legislature know that, on one
side, the statement has been maze that on
armed invasion of Missourians took posses
sion of the ballot-b box and disturbed the fair
expression Of opinion bit. on the other
hand, it has been asserted that these Mis-
sourlans consisted Of persons who had ''sta-
ked out their claims, as it was called, fol-
settlement and presumption in the preceding
autumn, and had returned to Missouri,
where they could viii t'r, with the ipten-
tion Of coming back again in the spring,
when the growth of the grass would enable
them to sustain their stock and take posses
sion of their new homes. It has been said
! that most Of those persons did return to
| Kansas, and did settle upon these claims
That is the statement of the subject on the
other side and find that, in the report OF
the Senator from Illinois (Mr. DouGrAs, }
made two years ago, Upon this subject, he
took that view Of the question. He said
"For the successful prosecution of such q
scheme, the Missourans who lived in the
immediate vicinity possessed peculiar I'D
vantages over their rivals from the more
remote portions of the Union Each family
could send one of its members across the
line to mark out his claim, erect cabin,
and put in small crop, sufficient to give
| him as valid right to be deemed al a8tual
settler and qualified voter as those who were
being imported by the cmigrant aid socie-
ties
In the same report he states the fact, which
is worthy Of observation, that enough mem
fbers were elected to each House of the Ter
ritorial Legislature to constitute quorum
in the opinion Of the Governor, who, as
some thought, was the only Judge Of The e.
lcctions and returns; and enough were C.
lected to constitute quorum of each House
in the opinion Of the Legi fitivc Assembly
itself. In referring to the two reports which
were made on that subject, he says that ac-
cording to either, there was quorum o
each House elected without and beyond dis
! pute.
Mr.. Co1LAMEn. Does the gentleman say
both reports show that to be so I? 1t is di
rectly the other way They were elected
but they were elected, as my report shows
by that invasion.
Mr.. Hunter. | will quote Here Mr.
Hunter quoted from the Kansas Legislative
report, at the election in MAJ b
Mr.. CoLLAMER That is not the election
I was speaking Of. The special election was
only in those districts which the Governor
set aside. | speak of the election Of thu
body of the Legislature itself, Che first cleo
ton Of the 3Uth Of March. You say thai
both reports then made show that there wa:
a majority legally elected.
! Mr.. HUNTER. said the reports of tho
majority and minority of the committee o
the Legislature of Kansas showed it. I dit
not refer to our committee
i Mr.. CoLLAMER I beg the Senator par
Il don thought he alluded 10 the majority