Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1858-08-28
BY ROB'T. A. THOMPSON.
SPEECH OF HON. JAMES L. ORR,
Delivered at Craytonyile. S. O.. on Thursda,

tho 18th of August, 1858.
My FRIENDs The warm and generous
tribute you pay me to-day is the greatest
triumph of my life My heart is touched
with the deepest emotions of gratitude for
such manifestations of friendship from YOU,
the companions of my buyhood am stan
ding today upon the soil that gave me birth
surrounded by the friends of early youth
surrounded by the friends of my vcncratcd
parents those who have known INC long
est and who have known me hes and to
be esteemed by you worthy ofsucll an ova-
tion as grects nc Is indeed the highest hon
or have ever won. / can find no language
that will truly tell you how profoundly
grateful and Thankful feel for this crown
ing manifestation of your afFcctionatc dcvo-
tion to me. 1thank you and if you could
look into my heart you would sec how much
of the feeling of the soul il conveys
Through life | shall cherish the memories
of this day as the brightest and most hon
orable of my existence.
propose to-day to speak to you, of n
few of the leading measures that engaged
the attention of Congress ut its last session.
of the Slave Trade, and of the power and
purpose OF the Democratic party to preserve
the Constitutional rights OF all sec ions, and
to maintain the Union of these States.
The most exciting topic of the late ses-
sion was the proposition to admit Kansas
as State into the Uaion under the Lccomp-
ton Constitution. The Territorial Lcpisla-
ture of Kansas had by law authorized the
election of delegates in June, 1857, to
frame State Constitution The delegates
were choscn-many of the voters of Kansas
not appearing at the polls, but it was their
own fault that they ubsentcd themselves.
The Convention met and organized in Sep
tembcr, but adjourned over for some weeks
when it re-asscmbled, adopted a Constitu-
tion and ordinance, and adjourned sine 1ie.
a clause was inserted in che Constitution
in effect making Kansas slavcholdng
State. This clause was submitted bv the
Convention to the qualified voters of the
Territory, on the 21st of December; if
majority voted for the clause, it was to re-
main part of the CONSTITUTIONAL against
1T, then 1T WAS to be stricken from the Con
stitution before that instrument was sub
mltted to Congress. On the 21st of De-
ccnibcr the voting took place, and tho re-
turns Showed that some six thousand votes
had been cast, large majority of which
were i'll favor of rctuiuiDg the clause refer
red to. 1t was alleged that many more
votes were returned than were actually cast
and am of the opinion that the allegation
was not altogether groundlcss. At the
election in October last, for members of
the eTcrritorial Legislature, the " Free State"
party elected majority of their rcprcson-
tatives, and after the Convention adjourned,
Nlr. Staunton, the acting Governor, called
an extra session of that Legislature prior
to the 2lst of December 1t passed Il law
to submit the whole Constitution to the
people for adoption or rejection early in
January. at that election some ten thou
sand votes We're returned against the Lee
compton Constitution and very few in fa-
vor of it. 1t was alleged that many more
votes were returned at this election than
were cast, and / have no doubt thai the al
legation was true. The truth is, the Free
State men did not attend the polls in De-
cember nor the pro.slaycry men in January
and lapprehend that both parties were gull
ty OF gross frauds in making the returns.-
1fthc Convention at Lecompton was law.
full body. (and its legality is abundantly cs-
rapllsiled IRON point to point, from its IN.
ception to its adjournment, then a Terri
torlal Legislature, by an lct passed subse-
quently, could not alter, change or modify
the proceedings of the Convention. The
conyocatiQn, therefore, OF the Legislature
by Mr.. Stanton to do an act which was
clearlyillcga namely, to submit the whole
Constitution at another time, when the
Convention had submitted only tho Slavery
clause on the 21st of December, was un-
warranted and culpablc--so unjustifinblc
that the President promptly removed him.
The vote against the Constitution in Janu-
airy could not then be recognized as posses
sing any valid force, becam it was not in
conformity with the ordinance of the Con-
ycntion--a legalbody 9t
One of the clauses of tho ordinance
aud the ordinance was as valid and binding
as any part Of she body Of the instrument
provided in8effeet for appropriatine in
rouad numbers 25,000,0007 of acres of the
public land for educational and internal
Improvement purposes, when Congress had
never given any other State moro than
6,000,000 of acres on admission for those
purposes.
The Constitution was communicated by
the President to the Senate late in the win.
ter, and q bill was there introduced provi-
ding for the immediate admission of Kan
SAG into the Union, withoutany condition
precedent, but requiring that the Legisla-
ture of kaDsas should by act release to the
United States the excess of 20, 600 900 of