The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1858-04-08
VOL. XII.

lougment IN the memory of the country rho,
the Hartford convention, which was held M .'1
than forty years ago. All remember the sb1.
tive treason of Burr; and the movements e.
nulilncation In South Carolina, in 1899 dc.
pated by the pen Of General jackson. VII
proclamation at the time invoked demonst,,'
< ucn OF oeVouon to the Union from the peorIs
OF every one Of the United States Fp's
Reconections of the conventions at Hast,
ana at Nashville remind us that the idea oc
aissoiying the Union has been imputed to SOM
ana entertained by others in this country
have never believed that the peonIo 81
! State of the Union favored it altbonob -!
become too common to talk OF il in tho n
of Congress, and to pass resolutions on ~,
subject In party conventions and State Leo,
latures o@
/ For the purpose of extending slavery IN.
! Kansas, great wrong has been corny,;,,.5
against the principles of republican eovey,
ment and against the rights Of the peonl. y,
that Territory. Let the Federal Goyernmert
retrace its steps; restore the Admipi,trafor
to the principles and practices Of Wasbing,rr
and Jefferson; abandon the Lecompton con
stitutlon; withdraw the troops from Kanss.
permit the people to make a constitution g.
themselves; admit the State into the Union o..
every other State has been admitted in N.
constitutional manner in which her peopIe n.
sire to come, and the wrong which has bes,
done, great as it is, may be forgiven IT,
country would be at peace; and, in rcioicrr
over the return Of the Government 70 Teasor7
might forget the past
Persist in accomplishing the object forwb Oh
so much has been ventured BY the present Al
ministration and the one which last preced.f
lt-attempt to force the Lecompton constir
ton upon the people of Kansas bv the author
lty OF an act of Congress and the power ~
the Federal army-and YOU will have inspI
ordination, resistance, boodshed, civil war
| The people OF Kansas will never consent =,
have slavery established among them; tbcv
/ Will never accept the Lecompton constitution.
/ they have already rejected it. In such am i,,p.
| OF blood between the Federal army and the
| people of Kansas, the Government will N.
| wrong, and the people of Kansas will be rioft
| Will the people of the States remain spectator.
of the conflict? They will not. The people Of
Kansas are the counuymen and the kindred Of
! the people Of the States Your law opepir,
| the Territory for settlement invited them 10 90
| there. Let the Federal army spill American
blood in Kansas and you kindle fire which
the Federal Government and its army canu5,
eXtinguish.
Who, Mr.. President is responsible for III,
long series Of wrongs out of which the,.
troubles come? And who can be held account
able to the country for the pernicous acts oc-
curing during so large space of time. Der
formed in so many places and participated in
by SO many and various persons, for two sue
cessIve administrations Of the Government:
Plan, system, design, moving and directing
the action of all the varied agencies to a com.
mon end and object, are now plainly visible.
from the act repeating the Missouri compro.
| mise to the bill before US, which proposes 70
impose the slave constitution of the Lecomp.
ton convention upon the people of Kansas.
The act Of Congress that repealed the Ms.
souri, compromise the course of President
Pierce, stimulated 10 he a candidate for renomi-
nation, and persuaded to rely upon the author,
of this scheme for his success; the institution
of the blue lodges in the State of Missouri:
the resignation of office blythe President Of
this Senate, who went straight from the Capito
in Washington to organize in those lodges, on
the borders of Missouri, the armed invasion Of
Kansas; the march from that State of forty
nine hundred armed men, not residents Of
Kansas, organized in companies and detach-
ments, to the places for holding the elections
in that Territory their seizure Of the polls on
the day of the election, and their appointment
OF legislators for Kansas by force and usuTa-
ton the recognition of that usurpation as the
Government of Kansas by the administration
of General Pierce; the odiOus and oppressive
laws they enacted; the indictments for treason
against the usurpation in the Federal courts Of
| the Territory, which were never tried; the
total prOStration Of the rights Of franchise in
elections; the repeated removal Of Governors
who refused or failed to sustain the proceed
ings Of the usurpers; the decision of the Su-
preme Court of the United States in the case
of bred Scott the Lecompton convention and
its constitution, with the faitheSs assurance,
to the people of Kansas that the conStjtutica
for their State should be submitted to their
vote for adoption or rejection; the quarNHns
large bodies Of Federal troops in KanssS the
election of State officers ordered by the lie
compton convention, appointing the president
of the convention (Mr. Calhoun sol judge 81
the elections; the false and fraudulent returns
of votes at that election, now AID for nearly
three months in the possession of Mr.. Cal.
houn, and his refusal to decidPwho were elected
until Congress shall have 9cted on the conSl'
tuition and the bill now here to impose The
Lecompton constitution upon the people Of
Kansas-are all parts oFone continued plan and
design. Those who hive performed the various
parts are responsible and accountable IN Their
several degrees f,r what they have done; but
they have been mere agencies of the power
that controlled and directed their action That
power is the national organization Of the Dem.
ocratic party, and it is responsible for the
long series of outrage, and for the great wrong
which the bill before US proposes to conSum'
mate The organization of the Democrat.
party has fallen irretrievably under the control
Of nullifers and slave propagandists many Of
oil IL
slave States, were, until very recently, the
open enemies of the Democratic party, yiru-
lent denouncers of General Jackson and the
measures of his administration men who have
not now, and never did have, drop Of Demo
cratic blood in their veins The Organization
of the Democratic party, controlled by The
counsels of such advisers, has abandoned Us
principles and its trust Public meetings and
conventions of veteran Democrats demonstrate
in vain. Why is there any apprehension that
the Lecompton constitution will be adopted by
Congress, and the attempt be made to force
upon the people of Kansas? Many OF the
Democratic members of the Senate and House
of Representatives abhor the LecomptOn con-
stitution and detest its frauds.
Is there a man in or out of Congress who
doubts for moment that the LecOmpton con
stitution would be rejected by Congress, II the
Democratic party did not demand its adoption
The severest discipline of party, the most IN
decent dispensaton of executive patronage,
are made use of to influence the action AM
control the independence Of Congress.
In this dark hour when the Republic IS IN
danger, hail the coming day of emancipaucn
from servile obedience to party, heralded 10
this Chamber by the independence of the dis
tinguished and fearless Senators on the Demo
cratic side of the Senate, from Illinois, IRON
Michigan, and from California, upon who's.
limbs the bands Of the Democratic party ina
would bind them to LecOmpton are like zoe
green withes Of Delilah upon the limbs OF lny /
nnshnrn Samson I hail, too. the hosts o. |