Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1858-01-19
For tie Enquirer.
THE KANSAS CONSTITUTION.

For tie Enquirer.
THE KANSAS CONSTITUTION.
Messrs. Editors Among other articles CT Demo
c,sio faith, which the present excited controversy
about Kansas affairs has brought under Gscussin Ii
this: "Can sovereignty be delegated r. The aiilr,a'
tive has been deliberately maintained by some el .e
prominent advocates of the admission OF hdusas'
with the Constitution about to be presented
upon it depends the proposition laid down ~
that the work of the Lecompton Convention IL oouu
to be received aud submitted to IA BHn III 80 A' 10
that Convention chooses TO make it 40 Now sTf'k's
me that the supporters Of this theory may W euTe
ally silenced by pointing oat the sosutG,'y ~ ,i,
their own admissions lead them. lhey ~. :. .ho
the very moment Kansas is constituted o.ase, a'
people" have this Constitution IN their own manu-
with sovereign power TO alter or d60i'm now, ne'';
in the name Of common sense, can IL oe ~ ,s
that the work Of the Convention was J1"M nao
:. sov.reignty" which they argue, was "delega'eu
70 the Convention, returned to the people IL 80,
by what process Can yom understano, San H..
body understand how "soveregnty, whlcn 'ne
Constitution says, and Senator Green says; 10 ,a
herent in the people" passes to ooh'en''ou "' -
renders their work binding, Sd tar as 10 ulahe q
material change in the political status Oh lha' peoPe,
and w. eilsntly returns to that people, 30 taa'
thew can destroy the work Gan ahyoouy un-
dersand in what sense the people oil territory q, .
bound to receice Constitution, which they nave e
right to destroy! Ii the people, in appointing aeie
gates to prepare form of government for them have
delegated their sovereignty" who has lne S'il
yention of course Are tue American people prepared
TO succumb to this doctrine, that ConVen"En sov'
ereign7 Ifit is, then "the people are hoe. sov
ereign power bound TO resign its sovereignty II So'
the meaning Of the word has certainly undergone
radical change if not then how and when do the peo
pie recover their sovereignty II inc peoPe nave
delegated their sovereignty, it is no longer IN mem
il the Convention is limited at all 10 its powers mus
not got it then tohere is h1 No wnere.
Governor Walker maintains that sovereignty can
not be delegated; the government organ says can.
Let us examine some OF the strong Po,nls WIG. .e
Union has made against what II ID p!easea " telu
'.Goyernor Walkers sublimated theories dna WHO va
psrie,," "Soyereignty lie exercised by and through
agents. representatives and delegates and the act o.
the agent ia The act of the principal, II the prnciPa
has authorized the act On tacH per ditam, JacI
per Sc. This is the doctrine OF the common law ahc
Of comnou sense" Grant it, with all my nearI.-
But mark you, Mr.. Organ, doctrine may be per
fectiy sound when applied to s opporpr'ate snc!eet
and very absurd when applied to one to which II Il
totally irrelevant Your doctrine appertsins to mat
ters in which there are ttco parties. Ii MAKE
written contract with another man, my contract 6nd'
me. IL make IL through an agent, it binds me. Bu
il make contract with myself is it 20 II employ
an agent to do for me thing 10 which alone an
interested, am bound in any way IL cohtrac
with agent to do piece OF WORK Tor me- LOT coz
s,deration, am bound, because that agent ID Inc
other party interested But that is not the case sup
posed. Now let MS apply this doctrine to Conven
lion of delegates appointed to draft Conslte.ioh
The sovereign people are one party interested IN INT
result of their labors pho me ohern 10 Iue.'
am otherl Certainly not the delegates themselves
for they are part OF the people, their agents. the
seryants" in other words, they are me peoPe them
seires. They are tho mere machine, which the PEG
ole have chosen to do certain work; the people at
Inc only party in the least interested in the result
You are bound to chow some other party either d.
recty or implicitly interested in it, before you csu
bind the people to receive even for one moment Ine
work of these delegates. You'd az wen eooei.a ,
to bind to adopt and execute pian Q. hy ImI
individual action, according to my own ,noivioual
conception, or which is the same thing the cohcep
ton Of some one whose assistance have requested
and the case under consideration STANDS upon even
stronger ground than this, because as SAID before 10
the case or The Convention the delegates are eral
" the party ITSELF while the illustration, though per
fsctIy conclusive, is somewhat obscured ny
the unavoidable introduction OF second par
ty. Then the people, in forming Constr
tuition by means Of Convention, do not come unde'
the head OF those ''gn, Jae'ent Per ahum Ilnsy arr
literally doing the work "per We" Are they bound tt
receive and put in action their ,cork7 Can they
not repud,ee their own work? II this reasoning De
"sublmsted theory" or a wild vagary, h certain
y leads to the inevitable conclusion that Inc peopi'
have the right to examine their own work, and &C
knowledge il as theirs, and if they do not it 10 no
theirs, and therefore, the people OF Kansas nave d.
yet presented no Constitution to Congress.
The Union says that the people, "by the deiegali9l
Of their power to Convention, become az en'rei,
responsible for it's acts as il they had acted Tor INT
same ends. in great Democratic macs meeting, &c
Grant it, again, pror'ded these ends do not ,nvolv
the interests of another party Suppose they DO NEE
en- masse, to make government Tor themselves
is there any power under the sun that cal
force upon them particular iorm AUD
they adopt one, can't they in the next Sreatl
abolish it! You blow up your own mime, MIR. organ
unless you.-not satisfied with taking sovereignty
from the people and vesting it in Convention
mean to invest the Convention with powers ever
greater than sovereignty itself:
Two more quotations from the Union, which to M
eye, are about as much alike as black and white. an
have done-the italics my own: Sovereignty can
delegated is delegated every day"
"Does Governor Walker mean to imply, that tn
people, in whom the sovereign power RESIDES, rnaysno
employ ss many agencies as they think proper, I
carry ont their sovereign ni without destroying the
unity and individuality, and withont losing
smallest part of their soeereigntyy"
Governor Walker does mean to imply, and commo
sense-if popular soverei4ty" is common sense
implies: that the people may employ as many ngenc'c
as hey choose without losing one particle Of the
sovereignty. Such is not the meaning Of the Union
language, IL it msanssnything. G. r. IL.