The Hancock Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Ohio) 1857-1870, 1858-01-08
F1NDLAY, O., FRIDAY, JANUARY 8, 1858.

est mana qualification confessedly
in violation of our platiorrp:sW e
are toA.'by the PRESIDENT thA our
iaith aHd our honor are pledges that
the slavery clause shonld be submit.
ted without qualification Of any
kind whatever; and now am to be
called upon to forfeit my faith and
my honor in order to enable small
minority OF the people Of Kansas to
deraud the majority Of that people
out OF their elective iranchise2 Sir
my honor is pledged; and before it
shall be tarnished, will take what
ever consequences personal to my.
self may come; but never ask me
, Ito do an act which the President in
bis Message has said is forfeiture
} OF faith, a violation Of honor, and
: that merely for The expediency ol
saving the party. | will 90 as far
as ony of you to save the party. !
J have as much heart in the great
cause that binds us together as par.
ty as any man living. will sacra-
fee anything short of principle and
honor for the peace Of the party; but
if the party will not stand by it's prin.
cipIes, its faith, its pledges, ! will
stand there, and abide whatever con-
sequences may result from the posi-.
tion.
Let me ask you, why force this
constitution down the throats of the
people Kansas in opposition to their
wishes and in violation OF our pledge?
What great object is to be attainedl
Cui 6onoS What are you to gain
by it? Will you sustain the party
by violating its principlesl Do you
propose to keep the party united by
forcing a division2 Stand by the
doctrine that leaves the people per.
icctly free to form and regulate their
institutions for themselves in their
own way and your party will be uni.
ted and irresistible in power. Aban.
don that great principle and the
party is not worth saving. and cannot
be saved after it shall be violated
| trust we are not to be rushed upon
this question. Why shall it be done?
Who is to be benefited! Is the South
to be the gainer? Is the North to
.be the gainorl Neither the North
nor the South has the right to gain
a sectional advantage by trickery
or fraud. But ] am beseeched to
wait until hear from the election on
the 2lst Of December. | am told
that perhaps they will put it all right,
and will save the whole difficulty
How can it! Perhaps there may be
IA large vote. There map be large
vote returned. Laughter. But |
deny that it is possible to have tar
vote on the slavery clause; and ! say
that it is not possible to have any
vote on the constitution. Why wait
tor the mockery OF an election, when
it is provided unalterably that the
people cannot vote-whcn the ma
joriiy are disfranchised? But | am
told on all sides, "Oh, jnst wait; the
pIo- slavery clause will be voted
Ilown." That does not obviate any
of my objections. 1t tdoes not dimin'
ish any olthem. You have no more
right to force free state constitution
on Kansas than slave-state consti
tuition. Ii Kansas wants a slave
state constitution she has right to
it; il she wants free, state constitu.
ton, she has right tcit. tits none
o: my business which way tie slave
ry clause is decided. care not
whether it is voted down or voted up.
Do you suppose, after tile pledge OF
my honor, that | would go Tor that
principle and leave the people vote
as they choose, that | would now de.
grade myself by voting one way if
the slavery clause be voted down,
and anoth way If 1t be voted up?--
care not how that vote mny stand, =,
| take it for granted that it will be
voted up. | think l have seen
enough in the last three days to
make it cerntain that it will be ruled
out, no matter how tue vote may
stand. Laughter.
Sir, | am opposed to that concern,
because it looks to me like a system
OF trickery and jugglery to defeat
the iair expression OF the will Of the
people. There is no necessity
Tor crowding this measure so un'
lair, so unjust as it, is in all its
sspccts, upon us. Why can we not
now do what we proposed to do in
the last Congressa We then voted
through the Senate an enabling act
called "the Toombs bill," believed
to bejust and fair in all its provisions,
pronounced to be almost perfect by
the Senator from New Hampshire
[Mr. Hale, ] only he did not like tht
man then President of the United
: States, who would have to make the
+, appointments. Why can We no
, take. that bill, and, out Of compli
! ment to the President, add to it {
clause taken from the Minnesota act
which he thinks should be a gener
al rule, requiring the constitution t
f be submitted to the people, and pass
that? That unites the party. Yor
u all voted with me for that bill, a
the last Congress. Why not stant
Q by the same bill nows Ignore lie
4 compton, ignore Topeka, treat boil
those party movements as irregula
= and void; paas a fair bill-the ON
that We framed ourselves when W
!, were acting as a unit-havc d fai