The Washington union., 1858-02-04


Yes. sir, without any previous assent of Congress- with
out even the authority of territorial Legislature with
out any census, land Of roaming adventures was
iuRged INTO the Union all law and precedent ths
coequal Of the oldest State Of this Union because 1t hap
pened to I've free State What hen said this sickle,
for enabling acts How spoke the putatve father Of these
iatter-fiay doctrines Mr.. D0u0LAs said. In 1850:
consider California as state Tho question now
presented whether will
Union; and sir why should proceedings.
IN the arma,ion her
irregular u this no, whose h III people
@ % you ~ n.ss rus for the psroa q two years 70 pass law n
you ~i not panh tho people Of Csrna your
IN Will be ecoIectsd
@ ~ no Ss more than one year broush. in
and 70 come n he Union Had that bill passed. proceedings
Vol the hill people California acting
upon hs"e suggestions and relying UPON the pecsdeu,s cited
they to be told that they Congress
Jailed cd 70 pass law and the proceedings are irregular Without Y
procecdngr hAvo examined the precedeuss all
Wisconsin wi not 20 over them in do.ai &C. Those pre-
cedsnn show that there established There
several Ia which there have been
no eea. taken no qualifications for voters prescribed
porr California had right do what they have
they had moral political and legal right do all they
| have done y
How different is his language to Kansas The very
refusal OF Congress to enabling act for California
is urged justification Of her monstros proceedings
and presented her strongest title to admission But
when Kansas applies, the action by Congress Is
ucu uS All ukfulOuntHOc OOSt0cle 10 ner AQmlb
sion The California convention had the perfect right
moral legal and political to do what they have done
But the Kansas convention, although acting under act
OF Congress which pledged the faith of the nation to her
admission State, acting under regular and legal
call Of her people every safeguard provided is held to
have no power to do any net q convention forming
government that the act calling it null and void
from the beginning and that Congress in refusing to
pass enabling act (no matter what the motive,) de-
MED to the people the right to form constitution and
State government.
Sir how to reconcile such garing inconsistency!
There is but one solution and every day is veting it in
the southern mind and that M where State applies for
admission with constitution excluding slavery rreg
ularity be too violation of precedent
too MARKED disregard of constitutional procedure
papable outrage be too for its adInis
sion State into the Union but when State applies
for admission with slavery in its constitution,
can be too trivial petence too patry and gnoble to
keep her out Sir, the direct tendency, and with
the avowed object of all this opposition Is to delay the
admission of Kansas until she becomes free State
do not charge this that gentleman But why does he
pursue this course 1t is but ofshoot Of that ana
BILE policy which has been preyng upon the vtas Of the
South for the last forty of buying peace from
the turbulent and anac at the expense Of the quiet
and orderly. When Missouri applies for admission,
abolitionism gets up excitement about slave terri
tory For peace sake Congress overleaps the consti
tuition, and marks out line beyond which slavery
shall not go Abolitionism raves to be heard in Con
gress about slavery generally, and for the sake of
peace Congress allows to fill the Capitol with abo-
grant Abolitionism hires armed bands go drive
shareholders out of Kansas and Robert j. Walker for
peace sake would hand 1t to them. To pacy band
OF rebels rcekng with the blood of southern men, women
and children to whom he is indebted for all is he
turns against hs benefctors he violates his pledge
abuses his trust dsgaces his Office, trucklcs to the ve
traplcs the just and scatte the rebrand Of dscord
throughout Kansas, the Union, and the Capitol. And
STEPHEN DoruLAs, who for lasoing California and
and the yioused rights of fifteen of the sovereign States
Of this Union, would subject Kansas to all the gors
of the Inquisi,ion to keep her out Of the Union
But told that it is contempt of the authority
Of the people Of Kansas that it is an nroad upon popu
lar sovereignty to withhold from them revision Of their
constitution Sir, the authority Of the people is fully
recognised popular sovereignty, principle fully
enforced when opportunity Is afforded to the legal
voters deposit their votes for delegates to n conven-
ton Sir not those delegates the peoples agents,
Is there lawy present who would teach his client that
the acts Of authorized agent invalid if not submit
ted for ratification to the prncpal Would he tell them
that such acts, unsubmitted, would be insulting to the
principals dignity, intrusive upon his prcrogatves
Would you say that respect should be paid to the
acts to the principal himself, if he suffered them to
go forth his unraticd The truth lies Just in
the opposite direction 'he right Of elecng delegates
to a convention in the language Of the profoundcst
writer the philosophy Of government, places the
powers Of the government fully in the of the
munty they would be had they assembled made, and
executed the laws themselves without the Intervention of
agents representatives.
The people act in their sovereign capacity when they
elect delegates and the delegates thus elected and
vened are for all practical purposes identical with the
people. Sir take higher grounds. hold that the high
est imbodment of sovereignty the most imposing poit
cal assemblage known to constitution and laws, is
convention Of the people legally assembled, not
mdsse for such assemblage is unknown in repro
sentative system, but by their delegates legally elected
When such body, with declared limitation upon
their powers deputed to form constitution and
they execute their trust the constitution pso faao be-
the supreme law of the land unquestionable and
Interchangeable by any power earth that which
dained it. This is novel doctrine 1t has the sanction
of the wisest and greatest known to American his
tory Mr. Calhoun speaking of convention Of the peo
pie, says it implied meeting of the people, either by
themselves by delegates chosen for the purpose in
their high sovereign character 1t H. in word meet
ing of the people in the majesty Of their powerin that
in which they may rightfnlly make abolish consttu
tions and put up md down governments at their pleas
ure Calhoun Works, vol. 2, page 6l2.) Our present
Chief Magistrate in standing by the action Of the Lecomp
constitution, is only acting in accordance with his
opinions long since recorded In the debate the veto
power, no said
sThe Csy)
constitutions h be restrain Congress equal
F TO restrain The this Ia
equally oud e absd appeal through Ae inter
the They
by virtue Of their and naenabe
sovereignty and when they speak their legsl
tive, judicial or cxccuive--must be silent"
Such the convention of Lecompton and the con-
stution it presents established under laws federal
and territorial, to which every in Kansas except
rebels has given his consent These laws direct the
election prescribe the order of It. the qualification of
voters, and the times of holding the meeting and the
duties and qualifications of the presiding officer In this
way the delegates elected They met, and upon
del tuii ution