Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1858-12-07


public lands for the support of common
schools, which had ever been previously
granted to any State upon entering the Union;
and also the alternate sections OF land for
twelve miles on each side of two railroads,
| proposed to be constructed from the northern to
the southern boundary, and from the eastern
to the western boundary of the State. Con-
gress, deeming the claims unreasonable, pro
vided, by the act of May 4th, 1858, to which
have just referred, for the admission OF the
State on an equal footing with the original
States, but upon the fundamental condition
precedent" that majority of the people there
of, at an election to be held for that purpose,
should, place of the very large grants Of pub
lie lands which they had demanded under the
ordinance, accept such grants as had been
made to Minnesota and other new States. I'm
der this act, should majority reject the prop
OSition Offered them, ." it shall be deemed and
held thathe people of KanzaS do not desire adj
mission into the Union with said constitution,
under the conditions st forth in said PROPOSE
ton" In that event the act authorizes the
people Of the Territory to elect delegates to
form constitution and State government for
themselves; whenever, and not before, it is
| ascertained by a census, duly and legally tax
en-, that the population of said territory eqnals
or exceeds the ratio of representation required
for member of the House of Representatives
of the Congress of the United States" The
thus assembled "shall first determine by a
! vote whether it is the wish of the people of
| the proposed State to be admitted into the I'm
ion at that time, and, if so, shall proceed to
form a Constitution, and take all necessary
| steps for the establishment of State govern
ment III conformity with the federal cOnstitu-
| ton" After this constitution shall have been
formed, Congress, carrying out the principles
OF popular sovereignty and non-intervention,
have lettthe mode and manner Oft approval
or ratification by the people of the proposed
State, to be prescribed by law" and they
"shall then be admitted into the Union as a
State under such Constitution thus fairly and
legally made, with or without slavery, as said
constitution may prescribe"
An election was held throughout Kanzas, in
| pursuance of the provisions of this act ON the
second day of August last and it resulted in
the rejection by large majority, of the prop
ositlon submitted to the people by Congress-
This being the case, they are now authorized
to form another constitution, preparatory to
admission into the Union, but not until their
number, as ascertained by a census, shall equal
or exceed the ratio required to elect member
to the House of Representatives.
1t is not probable in the present state of the
case, that third constitution can be lawfully
framed and presented to Congress by Kan
zas, before its population shall have reached
the designated number. Nor is it to be pre-
sumed that, after their sad experience in re-
slstlng the territorial laws, they will attempt to
adopt constitution in express violation of the
provisions of an act of Congress- During the
session Of 1856, much of the time of Congress
was occupied on the question of admitting
hanzas under the Topeka constitution. Again
nearly the whole of the last session was devo-
4ed to the question of its admission under the
LecomptOn constitution. Surely it is not I'M
reasonable to require the people of Kanzas to
wait before making third attempt until the
number of their inhabitants shall amount to
ninety-three thousand four hundred and TWEEN
ty. During this brief period the harmony Of
the States, as well as the great business inter
ests OF the country, demand that the people of
the Union shall not for third time be CON
vulsed by another agitation on the Kanzas
question. BY waiting for a short time, and
acting in obedience to law, Kanzas will glide
into the Union without the slightest impedi-
ment.
This excellent provision, which Congress
have applied to Kanzas, ought to be extended
and rendered applicable to all territories which
may hereafter seek admission into the Union.
Whilst Congress possesses the undoubted
power Of admitting new State into the Union
itants, yet this power ought not, in my opinion,
to be exercised before the population shall
amount to the rate required by the act for the
admission of Kanzas. Had this been previous
ly the rule the country would have escaped all
the evils and mistortunes to which it has been
exposed by the Kanzas question.
Of course, it would be unjust to give this
rule retrospective application and exclude a
| State which, acting upon the past practice of
| the government, has already formed its consti-
tuition elected its legislature and other officers,
and is now prepared to enter the Union.
The rule ought to be adopted, whenever we
consider its bearing on the people of the Terri
tories or upon the people of the existing States.
Many of the serious dissensions which have
prevailed in Congress and throughout the
country, would have been avoided, had this
| rule been established atan earlier period of the
! government
Immediately upon the formation of new
| Territory people from different States and
from foreign countries rush into it, for the
laudabe purpose Of improving their condition.
| Their first duty to themselves is to open and
cultivate farms, to construct roads, to establish
Schools to erect places Of religious worship,
and to devote their energies generally to re-
claim the wilderness and to lay the foundations
of a furnishing and prosperous commonwealth
IL, Ill lillS WIIll q
Of few thousand, they should prematurely
enter the Union, they are oppressed by the
burden of State taxation, and the means ne
cessary for the improvement of the Territory
and the advancement of their own interests
are thus diverted to very different purposes
The federal government has ever been q liber-
al parent to the Territories and a generous
contributor to the useful enterprises of the ear
ly settlers. 1t has paid the expenses of their
governments and legislative assemblies, out OF
the common treasury, and thus relieved them
from heavy charge. Under these circum
stances nothing can be better calculated to re-
tard their material progress than to divert them
from their useful employments by prematurely
exciting angry political contests among them
selves, for the benefit of aspiring leaders Il
is surely no hardship for embryo governors
senaeors, and members of Congress, to wal
until the number of inhabitants shall equa
those of a single Congressional district. They
surely ought not to be permitted to rush into
the Union with population less than one-hal
of several of the large counties in the interior
of some of the States This was the condi
ton of Kansas when it made application to be
admitted under the Topeka constitution Be
Sides it takes some time to render the mass O.
a population collected in a new Territory at al
homogeneous, and to unite them on anything
like a fixed policy. Establish the rule and al
will look forward to it and govern themselves
accordingly.
But justice to the people of the severa
States requires that this rule should be estab
lishep by Congress. Each State is entitled t.
two senators and at least one representative il
Congress. Should the people of the States
fail to elect Vice President, the power devol
YES upon the Senate to select this officer from
the two highest Candidates on the list In cast
of the death of the President the Vice Presi