The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1858-01-03
The Kansas Trouble In Congreas-Win TN
South he Driven to the Wall!

! The Kansas Trouble I'm Congreas-Win tn
South be Driven to the Wall!
1t appears, from our latest Washington ad
vices, that Mr.. Pugh, Of Ohio, proposes to-mor
row, in the Senate, to give notice of bill for tn
! admission of Kansas into the Union as slav
State, upon the basis Of the Lecompton consti
| tuition, and the result of the recent Territorial
elections upon the question Of slavery" or ''n
| slavery" But in this bill Mr.. Pugh propose
to embrace a section or two providing at al
| early day for such notifications Of the salt
! Lecompton constitution as the people Of Kan
| sas, under the sovereign authority Of State
may think fit to make.
| This proposition, in the way Of compromise
| may lie fair enough but il strikes us that i
does not cover the whole ground. There arr
two other new States awaiting their admission
into the Union, and they are both free States o.
the most decided character, viz. Minnesota and
Oregon. They should not be overlooked as a
Northern balance of power, In view of the ad-
mission of Kansas as a slave State. From the
adoption of the slavery compromises Of the
federal constitution down to the present day
every adjustment Of the slavery question has
been made upon the basis Of mutual conces
sions, North and South
Take, for example, the Missouri compromise
Of 1920. The great difficulty there was upon
the question of admitting Missouri as slave
State; but at the same time the new free State
of Maine was knocking for admission at the
doors Of Congress, and the Southern men made
good use If Der as Northern equivalent for
the surrender Of Missouri 10 the South. Thus
Maine and Missouri were put together in the
same bill 10 the Senate: and although they
were separated in the House, the two States
were admitted simultaneously; and this was the
real substance Of the Missouri compromise. The
interdict excluding slavery north Of 36 deg.
80 min. from all the Territories west Of Missouri,
was nothing more than tub to the whale. II
amounted practically to nothing, although it
answered its purpose very well so long as the
Territories concerned remained unnhabited ex-
cept by wild Indians.
The adjustment Of 1850 was upon the same
principle Of mutual concessions of practical
character, as between the North and South.
As an equivalent for the admission Of Califor-
MIA M free State, the South was given
the Fugitive Slave law, and an equal chance
of making a slave State of New Mexico, by
leaving the whole subject Of slavery to
the people Of that Territory. Ten millions of
dollars were also given to Texas az an equiva-
lent for the curtailment Of the boundaries
which she claimed; and "a a Northern Offset TO
this the slave barracoons and the buying and
selling Of niggers in the District of Columbia
were abolished.
Everybody knows, however. that the South.
in this adjustment Of 1850. got the worst Of the
bargain. They can never make anything OF
New Mexico. a slave niger there would eat
his head off in five years, and free Niger is
worse of at Santa Fe than in Canada The
ten millions to Texas were but as drop in
the bucket: and a. for the Fugitive Slave law,
IL has only operated to systematic the business
Of the Northern underground railroads Prac-
tically, therefore. the South. in 1850 received
nothing but the husks Of that compromise The
golden fruits Of II were all secured to the
| North, in the admission Of all California a.
| q free State including her territories on both
sides Of the Missouri Compromise line. And
| yet this famous line. which was practically
abolished by the North in 1850. has given rise
to all this Kansas fuss and fury in the North
! from the repeating act Of 1854, as a Southern
measure
Now. then what are the claims of the men oil
the South in reference to Kansas They claim
that under the Kansas Ncbras ka bin. and through
/ the regularly constituted local authorities. re-
1 oognized by the last and by the present federal
administration. q slave State constitution has
| been adopted for Kansas, and that nothing hs.
been done by Congress TO vitiate this result
The men Of the South demand, therefore, the ad
mission Of Kansas as a slave State, upon thc
basis Of her Lecompton constitution. n Kansa,
has thus been made slave State, through the
refusal Of the free State party to participate il
the late election, that is the fault Of the fire.,
State party, and with them should rest the re
| sponsibilties and the consequences But why
should any evil consequences be apprehended
when. directly after her admission az a State
| with or without the authority from Congress
the people of Kansas may proceed. under thu
full and absolute powers Unpopular sovereignty
10 change their constitution? No act Of Con
gress, and no Lecompton Convention restric
lions, can impair the sovereign powers which
rest with the people of a State. But between
the Executive authority Of the President ant
the legislative powers Of Congress what Is
popular sovereignty in Territory but an un
mitigated humbug?
To give Kansas. then. the full benefits ofpopu
lar sovereignty, abe should. he admitted al once