Randolph County journal. [volume] (Winchester, Randolph County, Ind.) 1855-1862, 1858-04-08
SPEECH or SENATOR DOUGLAS
ON THE
KANZAS BILL.
Delivered in the u. =. senate, on
Monday Evening, March 23d.

fThe following abstract Of Senator
Douglass speech is furnished by the
correspondent Of the New York Trib-
une:
At little before : o'clock Douglas
entered, and was greeted with loud ap
plause by the galleries. As soon as
the Senate came to order, motion
was made and carried to admit the
ladies' to the floor. The doors were
Immediately opened, and great throng
poured in. Without any preliminary
form, except the reading of the title of
the bill for the admission of Kanzas,
Mr.. Douglas rose. He looked pale
and careworn. and his voice at first
was feeble and uncertain. AS he went
on it acquired its customary ring and
force, and he spoke with all his won't
ed animation.
He began with an allusion to his
sickness and to his absence from the
Senate, declaring that he should take
no notice of the criticisms that had re-
Gently BEEN made upon him. He in
tended, he said. to state the nature
and bearing of his own political con-
duct and actions upon the question Of
Slavery He gave detailed account
of the condition of the Slavery ques
tion on his entrance into public life; of
his action upon it in various cases,
among them that of the annexation of
Texas, at which time he had proposed
to extend the Missouri Compromise
line to the Pacific, but the House of
Representatives rejected the PROPOSE
ton, and established the policy of
abandoning geographical lines of re-
striction upon Slavery.
The objection to the policy Of re-
stricting Slavery by geographical lines
was difficult to answer. If Slavery
was wrong on one side of line, it was
wrong on the other Still, such had
been the policy Of the fathers, and he
advocated it at that time in the hope
of avoiding sectional strife. It's defeat
at the time of the annexation of Texas
had given additional scope to the Sla-
very agitation, and to a sectional ami
mostly, which was greatly to be lie
plorcd. Had the Missouri line then
been extended to the Pacific, there
would have been an end of this form
idablc agitation. Both sections would
have been satisfied, especially the
South, to which the Missouri restric
tion was practically an advantage, for
it was really restriction on the North.
The policy of geographical restric
ton having been abandoned, Mr.. Dou-
glas said he felt bound to recur to the
original principles of the Government,
to localizc and not nationallze Slavery,
bv leaving it to the States, and taking
it out of the arena of Congress. This
brought upon him great Indignation,
especially at his own home in Illinois.
But, on appealing to the people OF his
State, and explaining his views and
his course. he was fully sustained by
them. Continuing for some time Ion
ger his explanation and defence of his
support of the Nebraska Act, Mr..
Douglas arrived at the consideration
Of the I.ecompton Constitution. The
question al ont that was, is it in ac-
cordancc with the principles of the
Compromise measures Of 1850, and oi
the Nebraska Acte is it the result,
and has it the sanction of Popular
] Sovereignty? "Will any man." hc
asked, within the hearing of my voice
say that that Constitution embodics
the will and has the sanction of the
majority of the people of kanzas?"-
He rccapitulatcd the well-known facts
Of the recent history of Kanzas and e
the origin OF the Lecompton Constitu
ton. The evidence was conclusive
that the Constitution had not the sane
tion of the popular will. If you judge
this Constitution by the technicalitie'
and forms of law, you will find that i
was voted down, legally voted dowr
; hy the people of kanzas, and was
rejected. repudiatcd instrument.
If you look at it as Statesmen yol
will arrive at the same conclusion
The Lccompton Constitution is no
the work nor the will Of the people o
Kanzas. Why then force it upol
them? Ask the Governor. ask any o
the past Governors of the Territory
men who know the people there, anc
they will tell you it is mockcry. nay
crime, to uphold that Constitution
as the will of the people of Kanzas.-
If it ever becomes the organic law o
Kanzas, il will be the act of Congress
: and not the act of the people that vii
make it so.
To the argument that the Constitu
tion could be changed, MIR. Dougla
replied. that made no difference what
ever. The principle involved was tn
same, whether YOU forced the Consti
tuition on Kanzas for day, or for
, year. or for ten years You set pre-
cedent which unprincipled men hcreai
ter would use to the perversion an
/, destruction of our Liberties. But h
argued that the Constitution could nc
DO changed. The clause prohibitin
change before 1864 was a suffl
eient bar to all change before that time
But no MATE. ior that. You have n
right to force that Constitution upo
kanzas for day; for an hour, no. nc
o for an instant Neither have you
i right to ipterrepo. and ca9struc {
Il change a State Constitution. IL til
privilege be conceded TO Congress,
, farewell to State rights. farewell
" State Sovereignty. farewell to all T.
straint upon Federal power. ior
States will become provinces of n
more account than so many countie
Mr.. Douglas then went into an elal
orate arguement against the right I
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