The weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1852-1858, 1858-04-10
ssCreat Men will Diaer.v

ssGreat Men Will Dlfer.s
Never was this old adage more strikingly
illustrated than in the opinions recently ex
pressed on the Kansas question by two of thu
distinguished men of the nation, to-wit: the
Hon. HENRY NJ. RICE, United States Sena
tor from the State of Minnesota-which, &C
cording to his telegraphic dispatch to Hi
Excellency Gouermor SHELLEY, and his known
influence at Washington, mnst be fairly ir
the Union by this time-and the Hon. JOIN
j. CRIrrENDEN, Senator from Kentucky.
Senator RICE, in his recent manifesto de-
clares that the Ship of State, Captain b.
cHANAN, was sailing with favorable winds
giving entire satisfaction to the creao, and near
ing the haven of prosperity, peace and con-
tentment, when all at once dissatisfaction
arose among the passengers, and they kicked
up this muss about Kansas.
To drop nautical phraseology and transfer
Captain BUCHANAN from the old ship to the
White-house, and his crew to the different
Offices under him, Senator RICE thinks that
as long as the officers of Government were
satisfied with affairs in Kansas, other people
passengers on the ship had no right to
complain. 1t is plain to US that only one
question presented itself to these officers, 1.-THE
ships crew. namely, whether it were best to
approve the frauds in Kansas and support
the Lecompton Constitution, and retain their
Offices, or disapprove those frauds and oppose
that Constitution, and loose their Offices. That
was the question. Some chose the former,
some the latter of these alternatives. Sem
ator RICE gives the weight of his great name
in favor of those who chose the former,
while Senator CRITTENDEN, in his recent
speech, gives bis sanction to the latter. He
declares that the PEOPLE, passengers as Mr..
RICE calls them have a right to complain,
and have justly complained of the outrages
in Kansas. He is of the opinion that the
passengers who pay the expenses of the Cap
tain and crew, and to whom in this case the
ship belongs, have the right to control Cap
tain and crew in cases of mismanagement
involving danger to their interests
In proof of the fact that some of the pass
ougers most Immediately interested in this
particular case of Encouragement have COM
planned, and justly complained, he says:
''That vote (Calhoun's fraudulent election
in favor Of the Lecompton Cons titution)
was taken on the 2lst of December. Before
that vote was taken, however, legi stature
which was elected in October last, and which
met on the call of the Acting Governor, Mr..
Stanton, in December, passed an act postpon-
ing that vote from the 21st of December to
the 4th Of January; under the provis ons of
that act, question was taken upon the Con-
sttution itself broadly. 1t provided that
the question should be taken on the Le-
compton Constitution with slavery; upon the
Lecompton Constitution without slavery, and
generally upon the Constitution itself. Upon
that occasion over 10000 voted against the
Constitution; and the Legislature of the
Territory of Kansas passed resolutions unan-
amously protesting against the reception by
Congress of this instrument as the Constitu-
ton of the State; declaring that it was OBJ
tanned 10y force, and that it has not the sane
ton or concurrence of any except a small
minority of the people,"
These passengers, residing in Kansas, Mr.
CRITTENDEN thinks should be heard In this
particular case, in preference to the crew at
Washington. Mr.. RICE thinks not; there is
the difference between two great men-and
what makes the difference great as we'll as
the men, is the fact that Mr.. RICE residing in
free State, espouses the slavery side of the
question, while Mr.. CRIrTENDEN residing in
a slave State, espouses the free State side of
the question.
This difference however, although great,
will not appear very strange, when it is re-
membered that Mr.. CR1TrENDEN is one of
the old stock of statesmen, who follow the
beaten track of the fathers of the Republic;
while Mr.. RICE belongs to the modern order
of progreasives, and in telling the heavy for
ests of the West preparatory to the cultiva-
ton of the rich soil they share, has to use
many axes, which occasionally need grinding!