Weekly Council Bluffs bugle. (Council Bluffs, Iowa) 1857-1860, 1858-12-22

Fssl0ao Gasfxs the Seaats
assd H0stes of Renrs8aat ffgsss

= @ze MshS g - - - n - ~ &&zaFNS = II :
FssI0ae CTS tae Senals
0fsd H0stas Of Representatives
when we compare the condition {
tha country At tho present day vii
What II was one year age, at the taeetsu
ok Congress, We havs much reason Ia
! gratitude 10 thai Almighty Providence
! which has neTer failed 10 iEtegposs fo
our ralisfs at the most critic Il pariod 0
onr history. 0ae year ag8 The section
al strife hsgwsan tha North and saus
on the dangsFous sabiesG Of slavery, ha
, again become } Intense as TO thTsata
the peace and perpetuiEy Of the confed
eracy. The apphaation for the admias
sion Of Kansas as State into the TN
, ions fosEered this unhappy agitation
. and brought the whole subJset bef0r
Congress- Il was the desire of ever,
patriot that aaeh measures of Legislation
migAE be adopted, as would remove thr
sxeitsmant from the States, and DoaEa
! it to the Territory where it iegitinatel]
belonged. Much has been done, an
happy to say, towards tire accomplish
msnt Of the object, during tbs last ses
sion Of Congress,
The Supreme Court Of the UuiteC
States bad previously decided, that all
American citizens have an equal righ
to take into she Territories. whatever !.
held as property under she guardianship
Of the federal constitution, go long I'd
the territorial condition shall remain.
This Is now a we'll established p0si.
tion, and the proceedings Of the last ses.
sion we're alone wanting TO give it pras-
tical effect. The pElncipla has been FsQ-
0gniEed, In some form or ath3T, by an
almost unanimous vote Of both house sof
/ Congress, that territory has right 10
/ 0ome into the Union either as free or
slave State, according to the will Of a
majority Of its people, The just equal
7 fty of all the States has thus b zen vlndI-
Gated, and fruitful source Of danger
Gus dlssensiGH among them h IS been re-
moved.
/ Whilst such has been the beneficial
/ tendency Of your proceedings outside Of
Kansas, their influence has been nowhere
so happy as within that Territory itself.
Left to manage and control its own nf-
fairs iq It's QFn way, without toe press
uro Of external Influence, the vcFoiuIiUR-
ary Topeka Organization and MI resis-
taaoe 10 the territorial government us-
stablishod by Congress, havc been final
lY abandoned. As natural eunss-
quenea, that fne Territory now appears
70 be- tranquil and prosperous, and is
attracting increasing thousands Of imi-
grants 70 kansas to make it their happy
h0ma.
KANSAS.
The past unfortunate experience Of
kans as has enforced the lesson so often
already taught, tbatresi8tancs 10 lawful
authority, under our form Of govern
ment, cannot fail in the end to prove dis
asterous to its authors. Had the peopls
Of the Territory yielded obedience TO the
laTs enacted By their ~ Legislature, It
would at the present moment have con.
tanned large additional popuI agion Of
industrious and e0terprising citizens,
who have been deferred from entering
it's borders by the existence Of civil strife
and organized rebellion.
1t vas the resistance 10 rightfal au-
thority, and the perseveEing attempts TO
establish a revolutionary government
under the Topeka constitution, whfeh
caused the people Of Kansas to commit
the graYer error Of refusing to vote for
delegates TO the convention 10 frame p
constitution under q Law not denied TO
Da TaIF ana 1asB IN tIs PROVISIONS. Efns
refusal to vote has been the prolific
source OF ali the evils which BaEe fol-
flowed 10 their hostility to the Territo-
rial government they disregafded the
principle absolutely essential to the
working Of our foIm Of governm ant, that
a majority of those who vote-nog the
majority Of those who may rumaln at
home, from whatever cause-must de-
eide the result Of an election, For this
reason, seeking TO take advantage Of
their own error, they denied the author
iFy Of the convention thus elected TO
frame a constitution.
The convention, Notwithstanding, pro-
ceeded to adopt a constitution unexcep-
tl0nable n It's general features, and
providing for subm ssion Of the slave
r. question to Q vote of the people,
whteh, in ms opinion, t7ey we're bouud
to do, under the Kansas aHd Nebraska
act. This was the all-Important quess
siou which alone had conYulsed the Ter
ritory; and yet the opponents Of rhe
lawful government, persistiug in their
6rsE error, refrained from expressing
their right TO vote and preferred that slas
very should continue rather than sarreD-
der their revolutionary Topeka organ
izltl0n.
A wiser aud better spirit seemed to
prevail before the GrsE Monday Of jan
uary last, when an election was held un-
der the constitution. A majority Of the
people then voted for Governor and
other State officers, for q member Of
Congress, and members Of the State Leg
islature. This election was warmly con
tested by the two political parties in
Kansas, and q greater vote was polled
than al any previous election. A large
majority Of the member, OF tho Leglsla-
tare elected belonged to that party
which had previously refused TO vote
The anti slavery party we're thus placed
in th8 ascendant, and The political pow
er of the State was 10 their own hands
Had Congress admitted Kansas into
the Union under the Lacompton COnsti-
tuition, the Legislature might, at its very
I first session, hare submitted the ques-
lion to o vote of the people, whether
( they would or would not have q Cenvea-
I ton TO amend their constitution, either
on slavery or any other question, and
/ have adopted al necessary means for
/ giving speedy effect to the will of the
majority. Thus, the Kansas questioa
would have been Immediately and fin
hlly settled.
Undeg these circumstances, submit
/ ted Congress the constitution thus fram-
/ ed, with all the officers already alseted
necessary to put the State government
! into operation accompanied by strong
/ recommendation In favor Of the admIs-
/ siou Of Kansas as State. In the course
oF nv long pnblie life have never per.
| formed any ofieial act which, in the ret
respect, has Afforded me more heartfelt
isatisfaction. It's admission could have
inflicted no possible injury on any hu-
man being, whilst il would, within a
lbrieR period, have restored peace q
Kansas and harmony 10 che Union. IE
thai event the slavery question woaid
ere this hare been Gnaily settled, aeeoF'
ding to the legally expressed viii Of Z
majority Of the voters, and popular sov'
ereigusy would thus have been yindies-
tied in q constitutional manner,
With Kay deep cony sctioas ak duty,
could have pursued no other course. 1
10 true thar, as ah individually have sx
pressed an opinion, both bafoTa and dur
ing the session Of sha conventions in ID
IYof Of Submitting the remaining oianse'
of the constitution, - well ~ thaa con
earning slaysrys 10 she people. Bat, ae