Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1858-03-04

st moment they were defeated, and the powe
passed into the hands of their opponent
N they rebelled against it, defied its aulhorit,
and devised schemes TO destroy it. The
J. proposed to abrogate and subvert the terri
e torial government, by providing that tn
people should vote for their Constitution
but not against it. What is this but REBEL
ion;open, marked, undisguised rebellionl-
Where is the difference between this al,
the Topeka movement, which the Presiden
n denounces as , revolutionary government
2 The LecomDfon, as well as the Topek;
Constitution, was declared to take effecr
? and be in force not only without the con.
] sent If Congress, but in defiance and con-
tempt Of the authority OF ;Ee TER torial Leg
%isiature established by Congress. Upon
what pril ciplr o: fairness, then, can it be
urge that We should admit Kansas into the
Union under the LecomPton ConSti u,i1n!
The sueedy admission OF Kansas is urged
by the President as a question o; mere ex-
ped.ency, 10 a!lay aeitation. In ordsr u rec
oEc.le the antiSlavery feeling TO the admis
sion OF Kansas under the Lecompton Con-
stitutiOn. tie President presents the follow
ing propositions: lst, That Slavery already
exists in Kansas. %, That it can never be
prohibited except by a Constitutional pro-
vision. 81, That the people will then be
sovereign, and can regulate their own af-
fairs in their o*n way. 4Ih, That Congress
may annul SO much of The Lecompton Con-
s%titution as for5ids any amendment before
1864, and requires tTo-th!rds Of each House
OF the Legislature to authorize the people
TO vote for a Convention, and declaring The
right of the Legislature slready elected 10
call a Convention, by a majority vote, in
violation Of the Constitution under which
its members were elected, and which they !
were sworn to support.
Tie President can perceive no obje, ton
to this; but what right has Congress to in
tervenP and anTui, alter. or even construe
the provisions of 4 State Constitution, and
license the members OF the Legislature to
disregard their sworn obi gBtiOns to support
the Constitution, under which they hold
their %officesl
When a Constitution has Dnce become
the supreme law OF a State, what lawful
manner is there of chm ging it, exec pt the
one provided and permitted by The Constitu-
ton!
| agree with the President that there are
two ways of doing this; but one is a awful,
and the other revolutionary. Suppose the
line OF policy indicated by the President is
pursued, and Kansas admitted under the Lee
compton Constitution, what relief will ii be
to the oppressed people, unless Mr.. Calhoun
should set aside the fraudulent returns from
Delaware Crossing nd kickapoo, in order
to insure a majority in both branches OF the
Legislature in favor Of an immediate
change!
1t is wUrse than m0ckery 10 talk about
change at its very first session. Mr.. Cali
houn'S returns have not We: been declared,
though more than d month has passed since
the election. Any argument or proposition
founded on The idea that the people of Kan
sas vii! have the opportunity of Hanging
the Constitution by peaceful means through
the instruments lily of the Legislature. must
Prove de'usive. Should the deed be con-
summated. their only alternative will be
submission or evolution Revelations are
Sometimes peaceful, and sometimes bloody;
do lie history OF tie L~ecompton Consritu-
ton, the character and purpo< e of the men
eng gcd in the movement furnish Us ASST
ranJe that they will permit their power to
be subver'edt They will demand the pro-
lection Of the Federal Army, or should it be
made a judic al instead o. a political qnes-
lion, would net that court be compt He'd to
decide that the CONSTITUTIONS, having once
become the fundamental law o. the State,
must be obeyed as such uutil changed.
Should there be two State governments
in Kansas, one organized under the i.ecomp,
ton Constitution, and the other established
by the people, which will the President re-
cognize as valid. and which will he denounced
as a revolutionary government, adhered to
with such reasonable pertinacity as to make
it his duty. under the Constitution of the
United States, to pat down the insurr ection
and crush out the rebellion with the Federal
1t is important that this question
should be determined, n order that the peo-
pie of Kansas may know how they are %
that great indefeasibIe right of
which the President speaks when he says:
" They can make and uDmake Constitutions
at pleasure"
Does he mean that :nalienable right of
to which every people NAV re-
s'rt when their oppression is intolerable,
and submiSS on is a less evil than resistanre1
/; So, | fear that the bright anticrpalions of
the President would not be fully rea lized
when he in'agines that the speedy admis-
sion Of Kansas into the Union under the
Constitution would restore
peace an quiet to the whole countro,' and
enable him Ito withdraw the troops of the
United Suites from Kansas and employ
them on branches of the service where they
are much needed"