The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1858-09-13
The cr,,scnacn Amendment.

Inc Locofoco papers and speakers are
making desperate attempt to befog the
public mind in regard to the position of
Col. Curtis upon bis Kansas votes in Con.
gress last winter.
In order to show the real position of Col.
Curtis and the entire Republican party upon
that matter, We will make copious extracts
from the speech of Humphrey Marshall, of
KY, the leader Of the South American party
in the House Of Representatives.
This speech was delivered in the House,
April 90, 1858. After stating various OBJ
jections to the report Of the English Confer
ence Committee, Mr.. Marshall, - who, let il
DO remembered, is Southern slayeholder,-
preceded to say:
| To another branch of that report am de-
terminedly opposed, because it presents a
condition THAT is DEGRADING TO TUE PEOPLE
or TIE NORTH. ask the people Of the
South to hear me. We of the slaveholding
states are in this chamber 10 minority Of
fifty. Suppose that this Lecompton consti
tuition, instead of introducing slave state
introduced free state, and that the MAORI
ty OF the representatives Of this country had
sent that constitution back with this imma.
terial proposition attached to it, saying to
| the people of Kansas, stake these lands and
/ you can come in as a free state but il you
attempt to come here with slave state con-
stitution, you must come under legal cen.
sus,' showing $4,000 inhabitants come here
| with a slave constitution, and you must show
REtulAR PAPERS - would not my fellow It'll
zens Of the slaveholding states have rejected
such a proposition with Indignation and
scorn? By what sort of ethics, in this coun-
ell of -equals, can we, who are legislatng for
| all sections, attempt to propose one thing to
the North. which we would consider our
selves insulted by, if proposed to the South?
| Sir, the men who send me here do not send
| me here to play the sectionalist they do not
eend me here as u steward TO SER now Mucn
| CAN GET FOR THE SLAVE STATES, AND now
MUCH CAN wREsT FROM THE FREE STATEs.--
/ Whenever thew wan, to degrade me to that
position, shall be here no longer. have
| learned in the school Of morals in which !
was raised, that among equals, it is not fair
and proper to propose what you would not
be willing to accept; and as southern man
no, not as southern man, for | never
claimed to be southern man-but as a
western man, ms a citizen belonging to that
section Of the country which has "a minority,
by representation, apon this floor nm I'M
willing to lay down rule of action which
| in its sequences offers nothing but sackcloth
and ashes to my people.
| And when you men Of the South apply
this rule to the North, how can you, when
! the next case arises in this country OF q SIM
| liar nature, resist the application Of the same
rule? With what face will you stand up
and complain Of any inequality which may
be attempted to be enforced upon you by a
majority Of the representatives, 81 this coun-
try They will refer you to your own act,
your own vote, as having established the
precedent. What opportunity would you
have to escape from the consequences Of this
act?
Gentlemen hug delusion to their bosoms
shen they suppose that under this bill, ami
mated by desire to have this grant Of land,
or to acquire immediate political position,
the people of Kansas will be induced to nc.
cept this proposition, md that we shall then
have summers sea before US. This is
sheer decision. Kansas will reject this pro-
position. II you are prudent men, reason
with me upon the sapposition of its rejec-
,ion, and look then to the consequences
which are to flow from that fact.
What will those consequences be? Every
free State of this Union will at once arouse
itself TO REPRAL TIE DISABLING PART OF THIS
VERY BILL. All the sluces Of ,hnt pernicious
agitation which has flowed over this country
like lava for years past, will be re-opened.-
Repeal will be the shibboeth Of party in the
next election Of the North. The free States
wil say TO you, sin April Kansas bad popn-
dation enough to be "a slave State; in Decem
Der following she has population enough to
be free State"
So help me God if | were nolhern man
should feel it my duty to open that direct
attack. would feel that you had attached
a condition to the passage of this measure
which degraded me from that equality
about which you know We have talked
so much, and upon which we have insisted
SO strictly. And until that equality WAS
restored, should exert myself, were ! a
northern man, up to the full point of my
capacity to have il restored by all legitimate
means.
So much to show the opinion of high
souled southern stakeholder as to the degraa-
ing and dsgraceful terms proposed to the
North in the English bill.
Now for his opinion Of the action Of the
Republican party upon the matter;
"But, II Kansas must be admitted, the
plain. fair. equitable proposition is the pro-
position Of the Crittenden Montgomery
amendment. Gentlemen upon this side Of
the house, who voted for that proposition,
voted for it with their eyes open. They yo-
ted for it not only as TN amendment, but
they voted TO make it an net of Congress.
They did SO, well understanding that it en-
braced the principle that if it was the will
Of the people of Kansas that she should
be slave State, they conceded that she
should be.
Here Mr.. SHERMAN, Of Ohio, interrupted
Mr.. Marshal, who yielded the floor, where
upon sherman said:
desire to sny that ! agree in every partic-
ular with the sentiment just uttered by the
gentleman from Kentucky, and will say,
that so far IA my knowledge extends, every
Republican member Of the House read, care
fully considered, and pondered over the Crit
tenaen amendment, and voted for it with hrs
eyes open but with the distinct understand
ing thet The gentlemen from the free States,
belonging to the Democratic party, had
pledged 10 Us their faith and honor that they
only wanted fair, straightforward, open
opportunity % carry out their principle Of
popular sovereignty in Kansas, and thar they