Weekly American. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1858-1858, 1858-02-27
LETTER FROM GOVERNOR WISE,
or Virginia.
RlcunosD. yInorNIA. February {

LETTER FROM GOVERNOR WISE,
OF Virginia.
RICHMOND VIRGINIA, February 6, 1858.
GEsrLEmES: In reply to your telegraph, received
| this morning, have said that cannot attend the
mass meeting Of the Democracy Of Philadelphia, pro-
| posed TO be held on Monday evening next And
have hardly time 10 respond TO your letter, since
celved, and the request to present my views on the
question Of the admission of Kansas State of this
Union, under the Lecompton constitution present
ed to Congress by the President of the United States
For the last seventeen years have been advocating
the nomination of James Buchanan for the presi-
dency for more than twenty years have been his
warm personal friend and as responsible, per-
haps, as any other man in the United States for his
election and deeply anxious any other person
that his Administration shall be successful and above
all, be worthy of confidence and respect Our per-
sonal relations nothing compared TO the impor-
lance of supporting his Administrator On questions
ofmere expectancy and where it is based in its action
on moral and legal right. But personal and admin
| istrative relations combined nothing. on the
other hand, compared with great fundamental moral
and political principles involved in the Issues now
presented to the country in the question of admitting
Kansas under the constitution now presented the
act and deed Of herPepe and as an instrument fepub
| These are the two issues now pending before Con-
| gress:
lst Is the Lecompton Constitution the act and deed
| of the people of Kansas2
| I'd. Is il republican in form?
These are the only two essential issues to be tried
And with view to full, fair, and friendly verdict
to the fact and judgment to the law Of the case
have carefully, patiently, and repeatedly read the
Presidents message of the 2d~ instant in which he
recommends the speedy approval by Congress of the
Lecompton constitution, and the reception of Kansas
under il, as State into the Union regret to say
that the earnest honest convictions of my mind
strain to differ from the President Of my choice
and to declare cannot endorse the Lecompton con-
stitution the act and deed Of the sovereign people
whose act and deed it processes to be- and that pro-
NIos led
be submitted to the people, as ant-republican and
oppressive and offensive to the sefrespect and moral
sense Of {. free people.
opposed to slavery, might have voted it out of the
| Cons tuition on the 2lst of December. deny that
they could have voted for against slavery under
this schedule unless they voted also the C0astitu-
| tion. AS have said nine hundred and ninety-nne
might have gone to The polls and voted for against
slavery and vet have been out-yoted by one-adn if
they voted against the Constitution and the fer it,
In word, no one who voted against the Constitution
could vote at all How unfair then to urge that those
who were opposed to the Constitution, though for or
against slavery stad away from the polls the 2lst
OF December, and let the election go by default!
Gould they have uotd at all if they against the
Constitution Gould they be counted for or against
slavery, unless they voted for the Constitution
Why hold the people responsible for not attending
the polls when if they had attended them, they were
not allowed to vote but in way, not all allowed to
| vote way anu minority 0l one WAS given
the majority of one over thousand? Do you call
this ecionf Election has which of the t,oo at least
to choose" But here there no alternative butn
respect to slavery, and that was not allowed unless
| you voted the one way on the Constitution. Such
monstrous injustice and inequality offended the
moral sense of freemen before in this country can
noagree with the President therefore, when he says
at is impossible that any people could have pro-
cecded with more regularity in the formation OF q
Constitution than the people of Kansas have done"
The people of Kansas have not been allowed tu hold
fair free, and full election at all though the whole
Constitution pretended to be submitted TO them.
No not upon the part which the President says was
alone submitted to them.
You see gentlemen, that arrive at these facts from
| the face of the record-fron the schedule ITSELF l
don't go into Kansas for evidences of fraud or any
other fact don't go behind the schedule which is
annexed tp the Lecompton Constitution itself 1t
shows its face fact stronger than any proof, that
the people did not vote-it shows that il was tpos-
sJIe for them to vote their sovereign will in fair
Free and full election. Such an election cannot pos
sbly be held under such q schedule. TIL 8 Congress
is bound to look at i am bound in certain to
cause the seal of this State to be affixed to papers for
the purpose of Authorization. have no election.
If the paper is proper to be titled must afx the
SEAL But suppose that in the act of authorization
by aixing the SEAL it appears TO me that there is
doubt even whether the paper is the act and deed o.
the party 1T purports to be; Must not inquire
whether IL be the act and deed of the party? II
afx authenticat on to what is not his may do him
irreparable damage But suppose that it appears on
the face of the paper that it couldn't be his act and
deed-that he was not left free agent. Am bound
to certify that TO be his act and deed? Now, as
said in November, if the Convention had proclaimed
this constitution, and sent il to Congress- tgt0ut sub
mitting IL at all 10 the people, then Congress would
have had simply the evidence of the Convention, the
representative and agent that this the authorized
instrument of their principals-the people. Eyi
dence 10 the contrary wouldn't have appeared in the
record and on the return ITSELF And we wouldn't
have been authorized, if you please, TO go behind the
| of - ~ har tab
| dIiunde, or admitted plea 10 matter debars the
| record But the Lecompton Convention submitted
their Constitution to popular approval or disappro-
val ratification rejection. Ii purpCrts TO be the
act Of the people-po Of the Convention only, but Of
the people also The Convention did not fully and
finally adopt it, and this schedule shows that the
people did not because they could not as il was pro
posed 1t is them neither the act Of the Convention
nor of the people II is in fact adopted by neither
and couldn't be by the latter.
IfCongress received and adopts il as State Con.
stitution for Kansas under these circumstances, will
not Congress be intervening to impose Constitution
upon people which is not theirs? Will they not
arbitrarily intervene 10 decide question which be
longs the people of Kansas aoneto all and all alike
allowed by law TO vote? Have all and all alike been
allowed to voter Were those who did vote allowed
| to vote against the Constitution as well as f1 III
We are told that we are 10 shut eyes TO the
cord What evidence have we, then that IL is Con-
stitution at all? We told then, that this is MOI
the time TO raise the question de facto, whether II is
would be the time, when the time, il il be not
the time now, 10 inquire whether this is genuine
Constitution of the people Of Kansas, aud whether il
is is not republican, when these, and these only are
the ques ions before Congress?
Why it is asked has the issue Of fact been delayed
so longl answer, how could the issue be made up
before the returns were made and the evidence APP
peared on the record submitted TO Congress-
All but we are told that il is iherpcdieht to raise
this question at all that expediency requires Con-
gross TO decide the question When was it morally
determined that the policy Of this nation should BE-
governed by expediency rather than by justice or
rghtS But wbaI right has Congress ~ up its de-
crees of expediency over and above the sovereign
rights of people TO free and fair election Is expo
dency TO be carried far 10 allow Congress to in
tervene so TO set its viii the will Of the people
of Kansas to substitute its will for theirs and to
give a minority Constitution TO Majority This
would be intervention with vengeance, in the teeth
Of non-interveption, much exclaimed for by those
| who advocate this Constitution
But the President offers an nducement to the anti.
slavery party in Kansas by saying: "If majority o
of them" (the people Of Kansas desired to abolish
domestic slavery within the State there is no other
possible mode by which this be effected so speed
lily, as by prompt admission" This hint is somewhat
dangerous in point Of policy. II cuts both ways II
might be asked whether this commends itself 20 pro
slavery gentlemen who are advocating the prompt
admission" Some of them once repealed laws pro
tectng and establishing slavery in Kansas. They
had better not make 1t too apparent in the South thai
prompt admission" would most speedily unma ,
the slavery th,re which was restored by the Drcd