The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1858-05-20

Constitution, and vote themselves free State,
although the form of submission is such that it
only brings disgrace upon that Party.
The Freedom-loving People of the country
ere this have pronounced their judgment upon
this act of Republicans rs" well done, good and
faithful servantsl" In minority in both
Houses, their persevering energy and practical
ssgscity have been more than match for the
Slavery Propaganda, and have virtually de-
fested their attempt, backed up by servile
Administration, to fasten Slavery upon Kansas.
This was the purpose of their vote on the Crit
tenden amendment-this Is the effect: the vote
really needs no other vindication.
Had they refused to give it, the bill to admit
Kansas under the Lecompton Constitution
would have become Law; ere this, United States
troops would have been summoned to the field
to enforce the Internal iniquity, at the point of
the bayonet, on q resisting People, and upon
the Republican members of Congress would
have rested part of the blood guiltiness Of the
horrible conflict, because, when they had the
power to prevent it, they refused to exert it.
Hitherto we have addressed ourselves to the
common sense of the People but we have
word or two for the few who permit themselves
to be perplexed by metaphysical subtilties.
Surely, they say, the Republicans, in voting to
submit to the Judgment of the People of Kan
sas the Slave Constitution of Lecompton, ad.
mitted their right to ratify it. or, in the language
of Dr. Cheever, "that the right to enslave is an
elementary, native, intrinsic right of Popular
Sovereignty" t4
Surely, they did no such thing. Posoer and
Right are not convertible terms. For reasons
satisfactory to myself, may invest my son,
before he is of age, with the posoer to act for
himseh-to decide upon his own course of
ife-but it does not follow that invest him
with right, or admit any right in him, to act
dishonorably, or adopt an immoral course of
life. God has made man free agent-given
him the po,oer to choose or reject good or evil,
but he has not given him the right to reject the
good and choose the evil. Colonel Benton
held, and other eminent statesmen have held,
that the Constitution of the United States does
not extend to the Territories of the Union
that the Federal Government has supreme
pOsoer over them, there being no constitutional
restraint upon this power. Admit for moment
that the view is correct, would it follow that the
Federal Government has the right to do injus-
tice, TO practice oppression to establish Slavery,
in the Territories2 1t would have the po,oer,
not the right. In voting for the Crittenden.
Montgomery amendment, the Republicans
voted to give the People of Kansas the po.oer
to choose or refuse evil, but they did not admit
their right to choose evil. They could not
impart what they did not possess-could not
admit what they had utterly repudiated as an
impossibility. You did not object to investing
Minnesota with a State organization-but the
People of Minnesota may now call Conven.
ton, and amend their Constitution so as to toll.
crate Slavery and exclude free colored persons
They have the power, as State, to do 30 !;
you have aided in comforting it upon them /;
they abuse it; are you responsible? Did you
give them the right to abuse it Did you
admit that they would have such a rightP
"Oh-but you say, we had no reason to believe
that they would act in that way, every reason
to believe that they would not" Very good.
So had the Republican members of Congress
every reason to believe that the People of
Kansas would do right and reject Slavery, and
no reason to believe that they would do other
wise. Having no power to save that People
from the curse of Slavery, but being able to
secure to them the power to save them.
selves, and having every reason to believe that,
if conferred, it would be used for that purpose,
and knowing that, if they did not confer it,
Slavery would be fastened upon them, they
voted them the power but they never voted
them the right to do wrong, or admitted such
right-for they are neither fools nor Atheists.