The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1858-01-28


provision continuing in force all existing laws OF the Ter
ror 9ni repealed by the Leg isaiure Of The State 10 be
| elected under The provisions Of this Constitution"
The Charleston Mercury entertains similar
opinions, as will be seen by the following
We are equally satisfied with the action OF the Con-
vention we differ too with the President as 10 whal Is
submitted to the vo. of The people We do not mink thai
ofae people Waeie1 The clause IL. he Constitution rOd
@t on t0td an agtry crisis and has guarantee IN IN:
the slavery party ia Kansas can keep or get The maort
Of The Legislature they may open wide the door for the
OF difference with the President"
Mr.. Chairman, not only are the people of the
Territory deprived of the right of voting against
the Constitution, and defeating it altogether; not
only are they denied the privilege of voting for a
| Constitution which prohibits Slavery, but the
Free State men, who are admitted to compose
an overwhelming majority, have no opportunity
| allowed them to choose between the two Pro-
| Slavery forms which were submitted. Their
| right even to make this choice is dependent on
the performance of condition which, it must
have been well known, they cannot do other
| wise than reject.
Section nine of the schedule provides as fol-
| lows
upon said Constitution, SHALL if challenged take oath
support The Constitution of the United States and 10
support this Constitution adopted under the penaues of
perjury under the Territorial laws"
Now, sir, under this schedule, the voter knows,
when he offers his ballot, that the Constitution
| with Slavery may be adopted. He not only has
| the right to assume, but he does and must as
sume that it will be. In this case, may is equiv
| alent to must. He must be prepared to say and
swear that he will support the Constitution in
| whichever of the two forms proposed it may be
adopted. Suppose it to be accepted &C. with Sla-
| very "-as in fact it has been-and one of its
| sections will read in these words:
"The right of property as before aud higher thai, any
stutioaa! sanction aud The right Of the Of Stare
such Stare and its the and i,tcioabe
the righI Of the otcner of any property schaterer."
Thus the citizen who offers his ballot may be
required, before he can deposit it, to swear that
he will support and maintain, great funda-
mental truth, as one of the axioms of government,
the proposition that the right to hold human
beings in Slavery is before and higher than any
constitutional sanction; or, in other words, is
founded in absolute and eternal justice All this
he must swear, or he cannot vote. 1t is not
enough that he should make oath that he is of
lawful age that he is an American citizen that
he has been resident Of the Territory the term
required by law, and is in all respects qualified
voter but he is esteemed unfit to vote concerning
the institutions under which he is to live unless
he will recognise, by an appeal to the God of
TRUTH the baldest btterest lie that ever blistered
human lips.
Speaking of this SYSTEM General Cass said, in
his Nebraska speech:
Slavery is, in my opinion have said more than
once before In the Senate, and. have doubt,
cep,ably TO many, great evil, social ard political"
Henry Clay declared that it could never be de-
Tended, so long the light of reason and the
love of liberty remained among men," To the
mind of Daniel Webster it was thing {" &C
cursed" Thomas Jefferson denounced the traffic
upon which it was founded as "PIRACY" and
"THE OPPRoBRIUM INFIDEL POWERS" Lord
BrOugham has characterized its fundamental idea
| "wild and guilty fantasy" John Wesley
pronounced it "the sum of all villianies" The
great master of the drama, who understood so
well all the sides and relations of human life to
whose marvellous insight nothing concerning man
was impenetrable, speaks of it as a course" and
as feeding its victims with dstressful bread :"
and our blessed Lord and Saviour has condemned
it in all the lessons of His life, not less than in
the memorable words, All things whatsoever We
would that men should do unto you, do We even
so to them" But now, in the last half of the
nineteenth century, in free democratic America,
the people not to be intrusted with the exer-
else of of their dearest rights, until they de-
clare that they will maintain, protect and uphold
this system, founded in natural right, SO HELP
| THEM GODI
And, sir, the Free State men of Kansas must
have foreseen that in any possible event, whether
they should attempt to vote not, a majority of
the votes were to be counted and returned for
who had counted twelve hundred votes in Oxford
precinct would be ready to do it again if neces-
sary. They saw that the army, whose protection
had been refused them when they had needed it.,
would be employed to protect voters from abroad,
Tbrta s hundred votes
in Oxford, not one hundred of which can be le-
gal-but they are to be considered legal, and no
evidence will be permitted to affect their recep-
ton. President Pierce, in his special message Of
January 24th 1856, told the Free State men, dit
is not the duty of the President of the United
States to volunteer interpositon by force to pre-
serve the purity of elections either in State or
Territory. To do so, would be subversive of
public freedom" Oh, no! the army may not be
| used to protect the actual residents and legal
voters in 1855 and $50, who for free Kansas
but is to be paraded around the polls and the
| avenues thereto in 1857, to guard the Missou-
rians, who have come over to the Territory on
the neighborly errand of voting Constitution
for its people, which establishes Slavery as an
Interchangeable system among them.
Mr.. Chairman, the " Constitution with Sla-
very" was accepted on the 2lst of December by
the vote of meager minority of the actual resi-
dents of Kansas 1t is to be the organic filnda-
mental law of that State, Interchangeable forever
in respect to Slavery, as appears from provision
which / have already cited, and will here read
again-it is in the section 0ourteen) of the
schedule which refers to the future amendment
of the Constitution, and is as follows: "But no
alteration shall be made to affect the rights oproperv
| IN the ownership Of siaves." In no way but by
revolution change be effected in the slavery
provisions of this Constitution, and should
movement of this kind be resorted to by four
ifths of the people, the President stands ready
with the army of the United States to crush it
and those who participate in it.
That the people might have voted on the 2lst
of cd no odd -;
Constitution, is, as have shown, palpable and
vital error. But, let me repeat, the Free State
men, who admitted all hands, even by
Calhoun and the Border Ruffians to be largely
in the majority, were excluded from the ballot
box by the oath which have read for tAey could
not take that oath and be Free State men, But if
no such oath had been interposed, how would
the case have stood2 The election was under
the entire control of the architects of the Oxford
and MCGEE frauds, and those who had procured
or connived at the voting of Missourians in pre-
vious elections; and the Administration at
Washington had, by its rebuke of Governor
Walker and Secretary Stanton, for their reec-
ton of false and fraudulent returns, intimated
in the most unequivocal manner, that any meas
ures necessary to carry the points of the Propa-
gandists would be approved, or, at least winked
at And besides, even if the election had been
committed to the supervision of just and impair
tial men, who would have received and counted
all legal votes, and others, there would,
nevertheless, have been no opportunity for
vote against the Constitution, nor whether Sla-
very should should not exist in the new State.
The people were only permitted to say from
what sources the future supplies of slaves should
be derived.
Sir, with this plain and truthful statement,
which defes contradiction, what insult is it
to the intelligence of this country, what cruel
mockery to the abused people of Kansas, for the