Weekly American. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1858-1858, 1858-05-29

to have organized here this country, adapted to
union of people North and South. Nature has
given her sanction to the Union. Nature has
traced that Union and you alone disturb 1t. Gen
tlemen, you alone disturb il by making this subject
of slavery the cause of dissension. The dssen-
sion has been kept up, though we but seldom come
to any practical question that calls upon us to
act on the subject. Now, il we were through with
this petty Kansas affair, what a summer sea of
bouudless expanse lies before us, where there Is
nothing but repose. There is no other territory
that you can dispute about in my lifetime, or the
lifetime of any man here This is the last point
on which controversy can probably be made.
We lave gone through many difficulties on this
subject. Now We have reached the Last of ii,
the least of it, Let us settle this matter in
peace; let US settle it in good temper; and l
see nothing before us but long period of repose,
and, hope, of mutual Cancellation. OF one thing
am certain, that elimination and recrimnation
between the North and the South, the getting up
and maintaining of sectional feeling, sectional pas
sion, sectional prejudices, can do no good to any
section; and there is not one Senator here who
does not recognize and feel all this as much as
do. / am certain of it. ~.
My vote on this subject, sir, has nothing Sec
tional in it. The only difficulty have in voting
is, that this is regarded by some as a sectional
question and am on one side of that section,
and am voting for the other side of it, if we
divide on it as sectional question. Now, do
not regard it as a sectional question. My allc-
glance is not to any particular section. I do not
want to know any such thing as a section in my
conduct here. want to be governed by ccnsti-
tutional spirit, and constitutional and just
principle, in all do, matter whether it relates
to the North or to the South / do not want to
increase the sectionality which exists in the coun-
try by placing myself or my vote upon it go far
as regards this question. / want to wipe out that
L.. n L 49,
upon it as a sectional question. do not. / vote
upon il as Senator of the United States of Amer
lea. That is my country, and my great country.
The Constitution of the United States intended to
wipe out all these lines of division and section
alism. It is we, we, that disturb our own Urop.
1t is we that make sections; it is we that make
sectional lines to divide and distract the country,
whose Constitution, whose present interest, whose
future hopes, all tend to unite US. ...,. ..a
There are some doctrines which have been ad-
vanced here with which / disagree, and upon
which | will briefly express my views. Some gen.
tlcmen have argued, and they have the authority
of the President to sustain them, that the Kansas.
Nebraska act gave all the authority that is usu-
ally confer ed by what is called an enabling act on
the people Of Territory. never considered in
so / do not believe tits to be considered So Some
gentlemen, on the other hand maintain that, un-
der the Kansas-N Nebraska act, the convention were
the popular suffrage indeed that it is the right of
the people to have every convention submit every
constitution to them. | do not agree to that doc
trine The people are too sovereign to be required
TO do that. They can confer upon convention
the power to make constitution that shall be good
without reference to any other power. The SOW
ereignty over the Territory is in this Government.
II bel ngs to the people Of the United States,
and all. The people Of the States own it; and
they are the real sovereigns of the Territory and
we, as their representatives. They have no more
power in the Territory than We give. They have
no governments but what we give. IL is not in the
nature of things that they should have. All squat
ter sovereigntes, and sovereignties of all sorts,
vanish before the sovereignty of the people Of the
United States.
But the President says, in reference to this Kan.
sas constitution, that although il contains pro-
vision that after 1864 convention may be called
TO change it, the people can, nevertheless, change
it before that time That is 20 say, the people, by
their irresistible" power at any timo notwith
standing the provisions Of their constitution to the
contrary, change il they please. Sir, the Presi-
dent Of the United States is very high authority |;
but IL is, in my humble judgment very dangerous
doctrine and a very untrue one. the people can
not bind themselves by Il constitution thought
that was one Of the great virtues and purposes ofa
constitution. We admit them to be sovereign.
Why cannot they make what sort off constitution
they pleasel The constitution which sovereignty
makes in all its parts and in all its purposes, must
be the rule Of conduct for all. II cannot be abol.
ished, except in the prescribed and pointed
out in the constitution itself, if any manner is pre-
sc, ibcd. .E. " H "t.sH #"
| If the Presidents doctrine on this subject be
true what becomes Of the Constitution Of the Uni
ted States2 Instead offollowing the mode ofamend-
ment prescribed in the Constitution the people, by
their 'ir csistble' power may in any other manner
at any time change the whole frame Of our Govern
ment. There is not State constitution in the
Union that does not impose some restraint as to
the manner OF change What would constitution
be If il just as liable to change as any ordi.
nary act Of the Legislature? 1t would lose its
character. Those who talk to the people about the
unlimited and illimitabe power they possess are
teaching dangerous doctiinc. That is sort of
sovereignty which the people cannot exercise 1t
may be made very Aatterihg 10 their ears but il s
impracticable in th, nature of thng'. 1t cannot
be exercised at all. The people must exercise their
sovereignty through agencies They must exercise
ii through Representatives and governments; they
only exercise il safely through constitutions. If
they could not make constitutions bind themselves
their sovereignty never would be safe. If it we're
not invested in a constitution, IL would be con-
stantly escaping into the hands Of some Of those
gentlemen who could talk most eloquently to the
people about their irresistible sovereignty. That
would be the end of that sort Of sovereignty in the
people.
| The people must understand that their sover-
eighty, is TO be exercised
through representatives aud delegates, over whom
| they are to hold the proper control; and to hold
| that contrel, and TO fix and make permanent and
operative their sovereignty, they must putt in the
form Of constitution That the only security for
popular sovereignty. Therein IL exists and therein
alone Il exist practically. Iii not true that the
people cannot bind themselves, and are not bound,
by the restrictions of their constitution They may
| rebel against their own constitutions; they may
violate their own law and constitution just as they
could violate the law or constitution OF any other
| people; but il does not follow that because they
could do that, they have not created political
obligation on themselves by constitution only TO
amend that instrument in the guarded, temperate,
| gradual method which the constitution may have
provided for and prescribed. ........ g
| Sir, am sorry TO have occupied the time of the
Senate SO long l can say, with the President Of
the United States that on this important occasion
I have endeavored to do my duty, with full sense
Of my responsibility tony God and TO my country.
Under the conviction that the best results to be
| obtained under the present circumstances, unless
some material amendment can be made TO the bill,
win be attained by rejecting this constitution,