Carroll free press. [volume] (Carrollton [Ohio]) 1834-1861, 1858-05-19

recognize the right Of Eve bubdrsd meae
Eve hundred thousand men, 10 eslabIis
any State constitution, or Government, an
where within the territories Of The Uniie
States, without the consent Of the pecpl
Of the Usited States expressed either pr
Viously or subsequently, through their rep
rssentaliyes 10 Congress assembled.
This brings me, therefore, 10 the poin
now before Us. / do not End hnit viii
tbs bill because !, asserts the power Of Con
gress 70 anoex conditions precedent BpOI
which alone the Stsle Of Kansas is to CON,
i1to tie Union. I iHd fault with this BIZ
because, 10 my judgment. it Is grea
crime, not only against the people Of KaS.
sss, bat against the Constitution Of oul
cOmmOh country, and against lbe sacred
rights Of human nature. I'D
Gloze that bill over with what word
you may. it is a written crime: enact il in,
to a hw,and il will be legislative stroeily
eBgrossed upon parchment Dignity tbi
act With what tile you please. history,
stern, truthful, impartial history, viii en-.
title it "An act TO take away the libeniei
of American citizens." That this bin Is 4
crime, / will Try to show. In the ffsI
place, this bill does not submit, Is the gen.
tIeman from Georgia Mr. STEPHEss
very frankly Acknowledge, to the people
Of Kansas the question, whether they will
approve or reject the Lecompton eonstitu,
ton.
Instead Of that; sir, it submits TO then
a bribe 10 the way Of lands ard mouey,aBt
says TO them, ''if you will vote for thii
proposition ynu may come into the UOior
under the constitution framed at Lecomp.
ecu on the 7tL day Of November: 1857
but if you reject this bribe the penalty
which will follow shall be that you shall
not come iOto the Union as a State until
you shall have population equal to the
ratio Of representation at the time Of your
subsequent application" I say such a
b ngis without precedent 10 the Legislation
Of the country; is unauthorized by and in
direct contrayention Of the Constitution Of
the United States. There is nothing in
the Constitution Of The UnitedStates which
gives colorable authOrtTfor such legislation.
There is nothing in the past Legislation Of
this county that gives colorabIe authority
for it. 1t is simple act Of dsspOtism al.
tempted to be enacted here by the Con
gress Of tie United States under cover Of
hat Constitution which bears the peerless
game Of Washington. 1t were better, sir,
that that sacred instrument should perish
as though smote by the tightening Of heav-
en-, than that any such act as that now
proposed should be placed upon our stat
ute-book. What is it? Why, that the
Congress Of the United States shall dictate
to fIeemen that they shall accept under
pains and penalties a brbe. and thereby
become subject to a constitution which they
never made, which they abhor, and which
they have condemned! l say, asd say it
without the fear of contradiction. that the
genius Of our Constitution is this: that
new State constitutions must emanate from
The people within the limits of the propos.
ed State, vnd fiom no other source. Iu
raining State constitution. they are sub
ect to the limitations of the Federal Con-
stitution, and The limitations or restrictions
imposed bv acts Of Congress. They may
10 anything in framing their constitution
hat is not inconsistent with the provisions
IF that instrument, or Of such restrictive
The moment they violate
hese provisions, their constitution ought
o be rejected by Congress. That is our
position.
But this bill assumes the very contrary
and provides that Congress shall adopt a
which was framed by conspi
rators at LecomptOn. The people of Kan.
sas never framed it by delegates or other
wise. On the contrary, on the 4th Gay
Of last January, ten thousand OF the law
ful voters Of that Territory, large majori-
Ly of all its qualified electors condemned
this instrument at the baIlot-box. They
never framed that instrument. 1t was
framed, | admit, by delegates at Lecomp
on; but, as had occasion to say on a
'ormer occasion. they were delegates whom
.he people had never chosen, nor authOri.
sed TO be chosen, and they only sat iD,
safety at Lecomp,ouunder cover of Federal
ayonets. That fact is notorious; aud the
President of the United States, who is to-
lay, by the use Of his patronage, engineer
Dg this internal proposition through the
Congress oft United States. came before
his body. aud BY his message of the I'd
lay of February last, comedies to US aud
o the world, that the people of Kansas
lever framed this constitution What does
le say sirI Why be says in that message,
amongst other things. that ever since the
lay OF his inauguration the 4th
# March, 1857-tbe people of Kansas
rave been in open rebellion against the
rovernment established theIe by Congress.
he says further, that they wished during
III that time TO establish revolutionary
government under the so called Topeka
constitution. He says further, and therein
les the confession Of the truth of this mat,
er, that they were arrayed in such num-
oers against the existing authorities in that
Territory, that they wouId have overturned
he territorial governmeut--out Of which
'prung this Leeempton cOnstitution-but
or the fact, to use bis own words, that that
government was protected from their as
iauIts by the troops of the United States.
Now, submit to you, sir, whether that
5 net fair, uHeQuivocaLopen confession of
he fact that the great majority of the peO-
pIeofKarsas never assented, from first to last,