The Cadiz Democratic sentinel. [volume] (Cadiz, Ohio) 1854-1864, 1858-01-20

rnon, and went there f5r = base purpose. They |
woald bo ruled BY nothing but the bsyonei; and 4
accordingly two thousand bayOnets Vsre sent |
thsrO 10 ksep then in orlsr. But the very la |
test siVicss shew that even the PFesencs of the !
army hss not been sufficient TO awe them into
Sgbmission. OF prevent them from committing
Sis most Atrociuous outrAgsS. The natural de-
airs Of tbs Presidents heart, and every honest
AeAft in the country, Was TO pnt an end to the
isign o. terror. eonhAgrArion and blood as soon
a possible and to substitute in its place the su.
preRs Gad pSaceable rule oTthe Law. The army
Llight do Er willis. but il Was 8 disgrace to
The American mans that = military fpree was
necessary TO keep one portien Of ths people from
cutting ths throSts VI another.
4 : was plainly sesR BY every one who took
the trouble to think about il, that no progress
cOuld bs made a sapF7csSiag these disorders,
while the cause saa tho excuse for them remain.
sl. So hr a. they were not prompted by the
mere love II plHnder sad blood, they were the
otfsprings Of one relcntless ieud, one fatal dis
pute, arising out of a single subject, and that
subject was negro slavery. This split the peo-
: pie asuEasr, and made them hate each other
with the deepest intensity Of hatred There
was no other division among them. Every band
Of combatants was ranged under a pro-sayery
or anti-slavery banner. Eyory violent act of az
erosion or defence was by one Of these parties
against the other. When q lie was lost, the
news ol the victims death was always accom-
panied with a statement Of the side he had ta-
ken on the slavery issue If general riot took
ylase, the killed and wounded were enumerated
according to their classification on this question.
The sbolitionists organized their party into the
form Of State government, with all ITS nachi-
Z merry, civil and military, and ranging themselves
under il they sworc fierce defiance and deadly
hostility to the regularly constituted authorities
Of the United States, simply because Of Their
views ON slavery. This was not all The con-
test extended itself from Kansas to the utter
most ends OF the country. 1t became great
sectional controversy, and everywhere the bur-
den OF all that was said and sung upon it was
slavery. The Union itself was in danger--in
great and imminent danger-and no one dream
ed describing that danger TO any cause except
the unsettled condition of the slavery question in
Kansas.
In these unhappy circumstances the legal and
satisfactory settlement Of this exaSpcratlIEy dis
pute was consuinmation most devoutly to be
wished. To extirpate this root Of bitterness
was the first thing to be done towards paci1ca
ton. But how was it to he effected? Our polit-
ieAl opponents thou5 5ht--lnl suppose are still
of the same opinion-that the people of the Uni
ted States, through their representatives in Con-
yress, might decide it without consulting Kan
AaS, whose people according to their theory,
should be treated with utter contempt. But the
Democratic party determined to leave it with
thos: who alone were directly concerned in it.
This latter doctrine was triumphantly sustained
Ia Congress, at the polls, and by the Judiciary
Afler that the General Government could do no
saoFe thaI protect the people of Kansas in do.
Ing the work assigned them. How they should
do il, by what agents ST organs, was not prescri-
bed; they were to do it "in thir own way
by such representatives as they might see prop
er to choose. But untortunstey tho Abolition
party had become so rancorous that the olive
branch was offered them in vain. They insucd
and blasphsmcd the laws which left the matter
10 their own decision. The regular authorities
could do no more than give all fair chance Of
voting. The Legislature first passed law sub
lnitting the question Of Convention OF no
Convention y TO popular vote. The next Leg
!, islatare, afterwards, in accordance with the
Known wishes of the people, and by virtue Of
their own. rightful authority, enacted another
law for the election cfdelegateS to Convention
The delegates were chosen at q fair and free eec
ton, afeer full notice to all the voters. Wheth-
or the vote was large or small it is not possible
70 deny the right of those whe were chosen. To
say that portion Of the electors by abSenting
themselves from the polls could invalidate an
election otherwise legal AMI regular, is simply
absurd
The members Of the Convention thus chosen
met at Lecompton, and then was raised the new
alarm that the delegates or some Of tllem in
tended to make slave Constitution in opposition
to what they knew to be the will Of the people.
while the President saw that he had no right to
interfere between the people Of Kansas and their
own representatives, and while he knew very
well what was known to every other lawyer and
statesman in the country, that it was ior the
Convention to shlpc the Constitution and to de-
eide upon the form CT submission, he neverthe-
lass expressed his opinion freely that in the cir
: c.lnstances of the case, and with reference to
that question Of slavery. the Constitution ought
~ 10 10 submitted. 1t was submittel--so Snbm t.
ted that if there was majority opposed TO sia-
very, they had nothing in the world to do but 90
20 the polls and say so,
r.;z. But the moment the Abolitonsts saw the
---shoe disposition Of the slavery subject placed
-.I their own hands, they abandoned apparently
all their hostility to it. They will not conde.
Acend, not they.to vo:e on question so triling
The principle for which they were willing tc
drench the country in blood, has all at once be.
come too insignificant t. be worth ballot. Some
thing else in the organic law never thought o.
q bsEore, and not specified even now, has suddenly
become so important in their eyes that the sla.
very question may be decided against them FOL
q aught they care about it, unless this new and
underlined and unexpressed grievance be redress.
ed at the same time. To me it seems perfectly
clear that conduct like this must be prompted
either by prejudice almost insane, or else b,
hypocricy shameless beyond the reach Of com.
parison.
Ifthe Convention has no legal authority to
make Constitution without submitting the
whole of it to popular vote, then this Coustitu
tion ought to be treated as nulity. But who
b soeyer denies the general power ofthe people tc
elothe their representatives with full authority
70 make q Constitution binding on themselves
y end their constituents, knows not whereof he az
B hsms. All reason as we'll as precedent u
against him. ~
The power of the Lecompton Convention wa,
certainly not restricted, except on the subject O.
slavery. But IL It's members abused theirauth
ity by frautlulently inserting any other provis-
ion which they knew To be wrong or believed To
be disapproyed by their constituents, and diShon.
estly refused to submit it then il should be regar
asd with the contempt due to cheat. But
!, where is the evidence Of any such fraud? The
I Convention had no motive TO Commit it. They
and their constituents did not differ on the ne
.cessity oil having Consultation nor on any but
one subject embraced within its provisions On
every other subject the ananimity otopinion was
as perfect as 1t ever was in any OF those States
whore Constitution was not submitted ut all
III "a aasv nFsfttah tn af,aa thaea f..4,y h,t a.