St. Cloud visiter [sic]. [volume] (St. Cloud, Stearns County, Minn.) 1857-1858, 1858-03-18
- Letter From Senator Douglas.
WAsH1NGroN Oiry, Feb. s, 1868.


lie dnties here will not permit me to
be present and to participate with the
Democracy of Philadelphia in their
demonstration against the position to
imrose Constitution upon the people
Of Kansas against their will,
| That the Lecompton Constitution
is not the act Of the people of Kan
sas, and that it does not embody the
popular will of that Territory, is now
conclasive]y and undeniabIy estab-
| lished by. vote Of the people, taken
at a fair election, he ii on the 4th day
LOT January, 1858, in pursuance of
law passed by the Territorial Legis-
iature established by Congress.
The idea that the I.eccmpton Con-
vention, clothed with no other author
ity than that which it derived from
the Territorial Legislature, could OBJ
tain Constitution and put it in force
without the consent of Congress, and
in defiance and subyersion Of the aa-
thority Of the Territorial Legislature
established by Congress, is too pre-
posterous to admit of argument
Under our political system it requires
| sovereign power to ordain and estab-
iish Constitutions and Governments.
While Territory may and should
enjoy all the rights Of self~govern-
ment, ia obedience to its organic law,
It's not sovereign power. The SOW
ereignty Of Territory remains in
obeyance: suspended i'll the United
States, in trust for the people when
they become State and cannot be
withdrawn from the hands Of the
trustee, and vested in the people Of a
Territory, without the consent of Con-
gress. The last Congress having
withheld this assent by refusing to
pass the bill recommended by Presi-
dent Pierce to authorize the people
of Kansas to forna a Constitution and
State Government when they should
| desire it and have the requisite pop
ulation, the sovereignty Of Kansas
still remains in obeyancc, without
any authority Of the Territorial Leg
is!ature to transfer it from the United
States and vest in tho people Of the
territory, without the consent Of
Congress.
|. Htrce, / repeat, the Lecompton
=, Convention possessed just such au-
; thority as the Territorial Legislature
was competent to confer, and by the
terms Of the act, did confer upon it:
nc more.
The Territorial Legislature did not
endow the Convention with soyer-
eighty Tor It had none to in1paIt.---
It did not even bestow the power OF
, legislation; for by the organic act it
, was vested with the Legislative power
> Of the Territory, without the right to
delegate it to Convention Of its
own creation. Hence the Lecomp-
ton Convention only possessed the
authority, derived from the Legisla-
t';re, to collect, ascertain and elnbody
the viii Of the people Of the Territory
upon the subject Of admission into the
Union, and to send the same as me-
mortal to Congress-, under the clause
, Of tl,e Constitution Of the United
); States which secures the right peace
: ably to assemble and petition for a
redress Of grievances.
, Such memorial, even if it embodied
the form of State Constitution, Con-
gress would be at liberty to accept or
reject, according as it fairly repre-
sents, oF,nisrepresents, the will Of the
,, people of the proposed State.
. The Territorial Legislature just
elected by the voice ana votes Of the
people OF Kansas, believing this Le-
compton mela orial or constitution to
! be fraud upon the wishes and rights
l of the people Of Kansas, assembled
and passed a law submitting the in
strument to fair vote of the people
; on the 18th Of January last, at which
:, election a majority OF more than ten
,, thousand votes were recorded against
:, it..
t H. With what show Of justice or fair
g ness can it be contended, in the face
/ Of this vote, that the people Of Kan
sas do not, and have not, in the most
J solemn manner known to the laws,
'epudiated the Lecompton constitu-
J tion as a wicked fraud upon their
I. rights and wishes?
The enormity of this Lecompton
: scheme should not be concealed un-
l. der the plea that the Convention de-
g clared the Consultation to be in force,
as the fundamental law of Kansas,
a without submission to the people,
(except the slavery article, and that:
c.nsequently, the authority Of the
Territorial Legislature was suppressed
ed on the 2,st OF December last. .--
The Convention had no lawful autho