Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1858-03-20

ahoViicr was TO be framed, In the slow way
IN which we do public business here. before
it would reach Congress, in anotheriyeur.
perhaps the majority would be turned the
other way. '
SIR whenever'you so outside of the reg
ular forms of law and constitutions to seek
for the will of the people, youare wander
ing ina wilderness--a,wilderness of thorns.
Ii this wasa minority constitution, 4 do not
Know that that would be an objection to it.
Constitutions are made for minoritics. Per
haps ninorities ought to have the right to
make constitutions, for they are admins
tered by maiorities. The Constitution of
TINS Union. was made by minority and as
late as 1870 q aminority had it in their
hands, and could have altered or abolished
IT. for, in 1910, six out of the twenty-six
States oftAe Union held the numerical ma
jority. aa sgt$SG . .} =. 20, ~
The Senator from Illinois has. npon his
view of the Leeompton Constitution and
the present situation of affairs IN Kansas,
raised thecry of popular sovereignty. The
Senator from New York (AIr. Steward) veg
terday made himself faoetious about it, and
called it "squatter sovereignty" There is
apopuiaf u sovereignty which is the basis of
our Government, and ! am unwilling that
the Scnatorsboud have the benefit of uri-
ting stIuatter. sovereignty with popular soy
creIgnty Sir, in all countries and in all
TIME, 1T is well understood that the numer-
ical majority of the people, if they choose,
exercise the sovereignty of the country;
but for want of Intelligence, and for want
OF leaders, they have ncyeryet been able
successfully to combine and form a popular
geternment.g7 They have often attenipted
1t, butte has always turned out, instead of
apopular Sovereignty, populous sovereign
ty5s, and denagogUes, placing themselves
upon the movement, have invariably led
them into military despotism. ,ra's
think that The popular sovereigntv
which the Senator from msllinols would do.
rive from the acts of'his Territorial Iieeis-
iature, and from the information received
from partisans and bipartisan presses, would
lead us directly into populous sovereignty,
and not popular sovereignty The first or,
Gauization ofpopular sovereignty ona prop
'er basis, took placetin this country. The
first gun of the Revolution was a salute to
a.ncw organization of populalS sovereignty
thst was embodied in the Declaration Of
Independence, developed, elaborated, and
tnaugufated forever in the Constitution of
the United States and the true pillars of
1T were representation and the ballot-box-l-
the legal aud constitutional ballotbox on.
'daincd by the people. In the division of
power, III distributing thosovcreign powers
among the various dcpartmentso of the Gov
'ernment, the pcopleretuihed for themselves
the single power of the ballotbox; and n.
great power ib%as Through that power,
thcy3were able to control all the depart
ments of the Government. Itwas not for
tie people to be exercising political power
in detail it was not for them to be annoy
ed with the cares of government; but from
tincto time, through the ballotlbox, to ex-
'ert then power to control the whole organ,
.iSltion; and Sovereignty remained with
them. This is popular sovereignty, the /
popular sovereignty of alegal, constitution
al'ballot- box and when ssokeh through
thattbox, the yoiccof the people, forall po-i
llticaf purposes, is the Voice Of God; but
whenlit is outside of that, iit is the voice of
ademon, the d6ctrinoof the reign of terror. I
Permit me to say, that in passing omit
ted to answer question that the Senator
tgon1 Illinois hast believe, repeatedly ask 4
ed; and thatis what were thellecaljl now
ersof the aTerfitorial Legislature after the.
formation ard adoption of the Leeomptoh
Constitution? That had nothing to do 4
with the Territorial LeSislahre. Phey
lnoYedi in totally different spheres. Phe
Territorial Legislators was "a provisional.
goyernment,sa almost twiehoat power, appoint-
ed aud paid by this Government. The lie
compton Consultation was the act ofa peo-i
pic, and the sovereign act of people
They moved in different spheres and On diff
fefent planes, aud could not come IN con.
tact al all without usurpation on the one
part or the other. 1t WAS not conipeeent
for the LecoAptop Consultation to oyerturn
the Territorial government aud etkshp a
government In place of it, because that Con-
Stitution, until aeLne&ielg gedE BY CONGRESS-.
was nothing; it was not In beip9.g 1T |
ccdld well order the people to pass upon IL:
it could do whatever was necessary to 4,oI.
feet that constitution, but nothing beyond
that, until Congress had agreed 10 accept
II In heiheahtiipe The territorial govcrh-
mont "a government al interim, vas ei,ti
lied 70 exercise all the sway ever the Ter
ritofy that it ever had been entitled e.
The error of assuming, MS the Senator did
that the cohventionwas the creative Of tho
territorld governments, haslcd him intofflo
dtiiicpSSS5 aud CONFUSION Of uniting and dis
uniting these two governments according |
~ It may suit SIS alignment There is no |
'ssoyernmeht ID the convention until after
sltoaaoption By Congress Of It's constitutions;
and there is no InteffeFeace at any TINE |