The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1858-02-17

'Sectionalsm,Shcy thought would prevail.
Looking bach upon that fearful as,raggle,
may we not weilpanse long enoaghto in-
qpife~s hat will rohablybe thcaresalt of
future hattIes,swhcn soldiers are SO uncer-
emonions!y shot, at the. same time when
they can be SO lily spared?
- have not forgotten the almost impen-
etrable gloom, which .ovsrhung myf,o own
State, and, couseqaently the4'Shole, coah-
try, during the fierce conflict to which !
have alluded. 1t was then that the per.
suasiye voice of one who now Ellis place
near the person of the Presiuent was
hearstia our midst, ,roclaimins the RICH,
of Kansas TO be self-goverued, and ex-
pressing his determination, rs u son of
The South, to carry out the willzofszherI
people. Ills present. high position was
bestowed upon him, ,sdoubtless, in sconse-y
quence of the inaaepce il was his fortune
then to exercise fear his friends Who,
at that time, listened to him with so much
true pleasure, were not prepared for the
Intelligence which just before our meeting
laashea aloeg The ,telegraphic wires, that
the President and his Cabinet were a, unit
in favor of the admission of Kansas into
the Union under The Leeompton constitu-;i
-tion. But their greatest regret will, per-.
baps, be that they have forfeited the fa-
vorsSe regard of one in whose behalf they
have taken SO strong an interest, for the
reason that they learned too well the sal
utary lessons be inculcated, -, Il isy
J cannot follow this digressioa further.
although not uuproitable,j but must re,
sumo my argument deny that the LIE,
,compton convention represented the soyer,
eighty Of the people, for another reason,
In the election Of its members, o majority
Of those really entitled TO vote were com,
plelely disfranchised. II was thus made
10 be tho representative Of a minority
merely. In the language OF Governor
Walker, ''it had vital, not teeanieal, dc,
fects in tho very substance Of It's organi-
zatien under the territorial law. "as Ont Of
thirty-four, coIntiss composing election
districts, md In whioh,it was requisite q
census should ybe taken aud voters regis
tered by officers appointed by tho Legis.
laturc itself, nineteen had no ccnsns taken
and no representation assigned them, sand
fifteen had no registry Of voters. aRd
could not, therefore, vote ut oil, The
Hnineteen countios were u majority OF all the
counties, and were iunrapreSeutedi tho Gr-.
teen counties had more votes thans were
given to oil tho delegates who signed the
constitution, md could not cast q single
veto low, then, can Ii be said that this
was eopyeullop Of delegates OF the peo'
plei and, as such, entitled 10 speak. sfoI
lhem, act Tor them, and biud thsmy Il Ua'
der such circumstances, are =, people left
afree 10 form and regulate their ,domestie
institutions, In thelr own way!ndtegoa ne
y A further obleqllon exlsts TO- the com,
posIlloh Of this eonyeu,iea, Ils members
not only did mot represent a majority
but those who eonuolledi.s aellon proear-
,ed their election by y fraud. Tbs dele
gates from Douglas county, including tho
president OF thu eonyenlloll, suspected 4 oi
. design TO fasten y aeonstItution upon the
people without submitting Ito them for
their acceptance or rejection, issued the fSl.
lowing eard's 81 sd Aaiils asafpas ,
"za the Demoeratie potsrs Of Dougla,
county, di noqa es,iesi tilss9'pa ssiis
+ "It havlng beetf stated by that dAboli
ton newspaper, the Herald Of Freedom
aud by some disatleuted bogus Democrats
who have gotup I'm independent tleke,
for the purpose ofseeuring the vote IN,
Black Republicans, that tho regua noln
lnees of lhe democratic convention wer,
opposed to submitting the constitution ;,
the people. we the csndlAaies of the Dem
I ocratie party, submit the following resolu
ltions, which were adopted by the Demo
cratic convention which placed usin nom
ination, and which We fully and heartily 10
dorse, as o complete refutation of tn,
slanders above referred TO. -,s.d.ilp.s
JOHN CALHOUN b A. w. JONES.
w. 8. WELLS, i'e7a H. BUTCHER, ie. e
L 8, BeLL1No, JOHN NJ WALLACE
VIM. T., SPIcELY, l.. A. PRATIIER i.
] 'LEooMpToN, Kansas Territory, Jane l9
i 1872 ,nsBil.isJ ssi..ss4s ssk elt p u assuis
"Rssolred, That we will sapport no nam al
a delegate to the constitutional convention
whose duties 1t will be- to frame the oonstitu
ltion Of the future State Of Kansas and to mold
the political institutions under which we, as
people, are to live, unless he pledges himself
fully, freely, and without reservation, to use
fsyery honorable means to submit the same t.
every bona fds actual citizen of Kansas, at tn.
nraner fi,aa for tha vate bejng taRsu =, non 4.