The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1858-11-17

y directed and guided by faerna affection and the die
ates of the federal constitution and not perverted
honorable well natural The republican is only
modification of the abolition party IL sprang, have
said out OF the Wilmot proyiso. What that The
Wmot proviSo asserted the principle that Congress has
a constitutional right to prevent the emigration OF the
citizens Of the slaveholdng States with their property
into the Territories of the Union not going 10
undertake in this latitude, aud in this presence to
show the pernicious sity of that heresy We fought
that heresy ls4s and again in 1885, and far the
democratic party in the North concerned it saved
from the danger in which il at one tme OF corrup
ton aud Generalization thereby in consequences of its
artful and hypocrcal appeals to the love OF freedom felt
by every democrat Adherence to the Wilmot proviso
is not the shape in which black repubcanism presents
itself and seeks popular favor at this day in this State
Penns and New Jersey 1T will not do Tor them TO
the people of these three States wish to revive
the Wilmot proyiso desire to deprive the southern
States of their equal rights in common with
of territory acquired at the common expense and by
the of all the confederated States. They
have merged the of republican eesoi party In
the socalled peoples party. The future Will show
that my prediction not erroneous, when though not
pretending to be prophet, the son of prophet
predict what any of common intelligence can fore
see that the people party in these three States lying in
the temperate of politics, is but the ackall which
precedes the hungry lion of black repubcansm rapidly
approaching them from the regions of the frgid North
[Great applause, .H ..." .. .."-
What were tho actual circumstances under which the
Lecompton constitution of Kansas was presentedt A
Legislature, which portion of the people OF Kansas
termed ''boguS legislature 1ne dded ana passed. iaWs
1t succeeded by another Legislature, elected by the
people, which also met, acted and passed laws. What
power earth could question the right of either Of these
legislatures TO act the representatives of the people OF
Kansas, save the people of Kansas themselves Could
the of Delaware question it Could the State OF
Pennsy ylva question it Surely not and if not much
less could the general government which only special
and limited agent of the confedeatcd States possessing
no inherent original political power authority
There is power given to Congress by the constitution
to interfere and decide whether the legislature OF Terri
tory is rghtfully elected not There but act
ing territorial Legislature in Kansas, and Congress, as
well every other foreign authority by the law Of ma
ons of nature well by the Kansas Nebraska act
compelled, to recognise it, When, in the regular
course of legislation the people of Kansas asked
whether they would have State government or not and
when the people of Kansas, in orderly and regu-
lar manner responded that they would, their will
the .oeCt legally and fully expressed, and no power
earth could question it, because it expressed at
the polls under the operation Of law Our institutions
democratic, not mobocratic. We govern ourselves
by means of representative republican government
Even in this small State man ever thought of sus-
gestng that the people should in mass meeting legslate
in large field, mdrtns. The people OF Della
ware have wisely adopted the representative republican
system of their orether you legsate by your repre-
sentves at Dover and your representative at Washing
ton. The people of Kansas, in calling q convention,
acted by their representatives in their second legislature
Who has right to say that it not the act of that
peoples Rumor says that majority of them stad away
from the polls How that fact be legally ascertaned
by Even III III whose Iaulb lIf IL was
their deliberate act Do you count those who
stay away from the polls here Has a right to be
counted in and counted out in the same transaction OF
course not You must look to those who choose to vote
Those who do not choose to vote you cannot compel to
do so any more than you can lead horse up trough
and compel him to drink when he will not drink.
Much applause
say then the people of Kansas by their representa-
tves, provided for calling convention they did not,
they might and perhaps ought to have DONE provide
that that convention should submit its work to the peo
ple whose fault was it Who rectify it Can the
Legislature of Delaware Pennsylvania recty itf What
man will be 80 rash foolish to say that Can the
President of the United States without assumption of
power not belonging to him. without gross violation of
the act and every principle of gov
crnnen step and say that Kansas ought to have To-
gislated differently No! The President could not look
behind the record. He could say, he said to Gov
Walker he said to Congress- that it very desirable
that the constitution when framed by the convention
should be submitted 10 the people. We all know that
he directed Gov Walker to recommend that course, and
guard the polls from intrusion and violence, and to
earnestly invite the whole people to vote for representa-
tves to the convention who would carry out the will of
the majority. Nobody doubt that il the free State
party OF Kansas had voted accordance with the desire
and invitation of the President and the strenuous solcta
ton of Gov. Walker, they would have sent representa-
tves enough there to have made freeStac constitu
ton, and submitted it to the people. Ever since they
have acted udiciously, and not in the spirit of facous
opposition and gone TO the polls they have had every
thing their but because they did not choose to
do before, Ill the matter
because they preferred to be ctous and Obstinate and
stay away from the polls had they any right to throw the
burden of these consequent difficulties the President of
the United Satos and the democratic party of the
try and call on them to rectify their wul errors
Have they right to call to be inconsistent with
our own solemn declarations to violate the Kansas Ne
braska BILL which have passed, and which has been
sustained by the verdict of the country in the face of the
most strenuous opposition2 All that Mr.. Buchanan
pledged himself to do all that the democratic party
pgd itself to do in 1856 to do all that the Kansas
Nebraska bill committed them to do and that was TO
that the people of Kansas not nterfered WITH
not prevented by force violence from manesting
their will at the polls. Has not Mr.. Buchanan fully
deemed that pledge The opposition admit it They
admit that Mr. Buchanan instructed Gov. Walker to that
effect and that Gov Walker, in accordance with such
instructions invited, pressed recommended the whole
people of Kansas to vote There was but single thing
the opposition wanted the President to do which he
did not do, to wit TO nullify the Kansas Nebraska
act, by pedgng himself that, IL constitution should
be presented to Congress in any other way than as
the black republican faction wished he would the
influence of the administration to prevent its acceptance
by Congress. What right had he SO to act The sole
constitutional power Congress is to admit State pro-
vided its constitution is republican in form. They can
enter into examination of the fact whether State
constitution is adopted with without subsequent rat
ifcaon by direct popular vote no legislative act
qirng such subsequent ratification 1T would have been
monstros outrage the part of Congress TO have in
terfered in any way with the domestic legislation in
sutons of Kansas-as great outrage IL they had
attempted to interfere in the matter Of the Pcnnsyvana
buck-shot war" BY interfering to refuse admission to
was his official notice. with every mark of authen-
tiCty Inv and