The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1858-04-01

n
Of what avail is this Constitution until
accepted by Congress, and The State ad-
mittod upon it? Whom does it bind2
Is it anything more than a proposition
BY the people Of kansas, that awe
shall be admitted with this instrument,
which we offer as our Constitution 2'
What more is 10? Does it bind any
body2 Where does it deiive its author
ity2 The organic law authorized no
legislation by a convention The Com
ventiOn could exercise no legislative /
power which Congress had given be-
cause Congress gave its power 10 a Ter
ritorial Legislature, 90 be elected iu o. /
certain manner, and to be exercised In
a certain manner The Convention
could exercise no legislative power It|
bound no one. 1t did not bind the fu-
ture State; for until you accepted it,
what prevented the people from calling
la Convention the next day, and alter
ing or modifying it according to their
own views? Is there anything of reason,
Of argument Of law, to support such a
proposition as that the people are re-
strained f'om making a~oher Constitu-
tion because they have proposed one not
yet accepted and acted upon by Con-
gress2 Think not.
THE RIGHT OF TIE PEOPLE.
Here, it seems to me, applies that
great principle to which / advertcd at
first, that the people have the right to
govern themselves mean, of course,
according TO the constitutions and laws,
such as they have This people had no
. Constitution-could have no Coustitu-
ton; and when the act Of the Territorial
Legislature was passed requiring vote
to be taken on this Constitution they
had full authority to pass that law
Their hands were not bound. Here was
a great act about to be done-an act to
bind the State, to give it a new charac-
ter to give it new institutions, to put
upon tia CoRstitution-tha panoply Of
the rights of ALL This was the great
/, act 60 be done IL is an act which none
but the people can do, through them
3 selves or their proper representatives
3 1t is in all cases directly or by refer
, cnce, the act Of the people. The laws
p which they establish are not Of that
, transient character which can be made
+ to day and repeated tomorrow. They
S are made for permancncy. They are
b the great, immutable and eternal truths
{ and principles on which all government
D mustrest They are expected to be per
G manent The people delegate to others
s he power Of passing your temporary
- and repealable laws. They reserve tC
e themselves the great right of passing
c those which are permanent and irrepeal
able except by themselves.
p Was it not Of consequence, was it no
,, Of importance, to know the will of tn,
. people, whether they really did approve
2 of this Constitution which was about t,
9 be offered to Congress- law which
g when Congress putits imprimaiar on i
! by admitting the State, is to be pcrma
s neut? Would it bcany harm to tax,
the vote over and over again? Wha
# objection could there be to it? Yol
q might have said "Tt is an unnecessar,
care Of the peoples rights; you have ha,
u their decision once, therefore, it is no
Nc necessary to have it tagain;" but out ot
~ abundant care, and abundant zeal 70,
, may choose to take it again and again
and ascertain whether there may b
a change or variations in the public opin
, ion. Where is tho man who can sa
p |aught against it? Do you object to
~ because it is taking too great care O
IF public liberty, paying too great respcC
.e TO popular rights? Nobody will tax
that ground.
But it may be said you might della
! the application to Congress by these rC
! peatcd elections Notat all. You mu.
- avoid that as far as you can. In th
70 case it has not delayed it. Tn this cas-
u this vote was taken before this Const
=, tuition came before you-whilc it VI
~ slumbered in the hands of Presidcl
~ Calhoun. No objection can be mad
y then, that this was made the cause o
~ or intended for the purpose Of della
i0 The result shows that it was nccessal
~ and proper. The result shows that, no
y withstanding the vote of six thousau
a. though all real, here were ten thousar
W who were opposed to it. / say, ther
" fore, this is not the Constitution of Il
people Of Kansas 1t may in a certa
p- sense be a Constitution offered by Il
a. Convention to the people Of Kansa
no but which the people of Kansas, by Il
a thousand majority, have rejccted-ha
at lawfully rejected in the last vote, as
lie was lawfully approved by the six thou
ce and FIRST voting in theprecoding DcceI
he Der.
fly WHAT TIE RECORD SHOWS.
to I say, then, Mr. President, upon t
le, record evidence, upon all the oviden,
he this is not the Constitution of the pc
he pie of Kanzas. 1t is not the Constit
or ton under which they desire that y
as shall admit them into the Union. Nc
IRE will you, against their will force th
rat into the Union under a CONSTITUTE
I'D which they disapprove? That is
1u, question. You know the fact that
nj thousand against six thousand are
,ur posed to the Constitution. You kn
.he that, by the act of their Territorial J.,
bat islaturo, they entreat you not to adj
as them with this Constitution They
The you, moreover, as one of their reaso
3h- not only that they disapprove of
err whole Constitution, but that it is part
bat ularly hateful to them because the vo
ght given for it, or apparently given for
] it were 10 a great extent fraudulent O