Staunton vindicator and general advertiser. (Staunton, Augusta County, Va.) 1858-1860, 1858-02-13
HansaS-Ths Presidents Message
The Dufy OF Congress,

lish in to-day's issnc, will be read with pro-
found interest by the whole country and
viii remain as an enduring record Of the
true history Of the cause Of law and order,
| against faction and rebellion, in the distrac-
| ted Territory Of Kansas. The President.
like an able, impartial, dispassionate judge,
after the case has beoa perple.cd by the
sophistries and subtleties CT counsel, has
stripped the subject Of all impertinent and
foreign matter, has eliminated from the IT.
relevancies which surround it, the true point
in issue, has summed up fairly and accu-
rately the whole evidence, and has charged
the tribunal which is to decide the contro-
rersy, upon the law Of the case as the facts
stand. Tpon the verdict which Congress
renders, depend consequences more momen-
tous than any which merely affect the vel
fare Of Kansas itself. The South urani-
mously approved, as 3 great peace mcs-
sure, the Kansas Nebraska act, which laid
down the great doctrines Ct non-interven
ton by Congress in the domestic affairs ola
Territory, and the right Of the people to
regulate their affairs in their own way, sub
jcct only to the Constitution Of the United
States. The act embodies great principles
Of law, designed to furnish an invariable
rule Of action to Congress upon the appsica
ton for admission Of new States into the
Union, operating upon all alike without re-
gard to geographical position.
The enemies Of peace opposed the act be-
cause it was peace measure; they have
thrown every obstacle in the way Of its sue
cesaful operation, and they now seize with
avdity the first opportunity which presents
itself Of multiplying in Congress the pract-
cal benefits Of the law itself If the prin-.
ciplcs Of the Kansas Nebraska act are sane
toned, in their application to the first case
which has arisen under it, a precedent viii
have been established for future action, and
the friends of peace will have achieved a
triumph if they are not sustained, aglta-
ton will be removed with ten fold force and
the way opened for stornlier scenes than
were ever before witnessed in eur political
history. 1t is this consgmmation which
the enemies of Kansas and the Union desire
to effect. 70 quiet the slavery agitation
upon fair and equitable principles, is to stop
the breath Of that little life in which they
move and have their being They are,
therefore, opposed to it Kansas for the
past six years has been the fulcrum on
which they have placed the lever of agita-
ton to rescue it from their grasp, is to
render their lever useless and to deprive
them Of their occupation. The whole
South, and all Of the conservatism Of the
North, demand that this shall be done, and
look with impotence and anxiety to Con
gress 10 admit Kansas into the Union with
her Leconpton Constitution.
What are the facts Of the case? The
President has stated them 50 clearly and
has 50 satisfactorily disposed Of the objec-
tons to the Lccomrton Constitution, that
to enter into, them at any length would be
an idle repetition. Briefly, the case may
be stated thus:
The Territorial Legislature Of Kansas,
acting under tue law Of Congress, passed a
law referring to the people the question Of
calling Convection to frame Constitu-
ton for Kansas. The people decided to
call Convention. The Legislature then
enacted law for tie election Of delegates
to the Convention, guarding with the ut
| most stringency the right of suffrage. and
providing for fair aud impartial rcpresen-
| tation Of the true sentiments Of the people.
| Under this law, delegates were elected to
the Convention which framed the Constitu-
ton which Kansas now presents, known as
the Lecompton Constitution. The Con-
venticn provided for the submission to the
people Of the slavery question, which was
the vital point Of difference between the par
ties The people adopted the Constitution
with slavery and now ask for admission in
to the Union with that Constitution. Eve
ry step in the history of this Leeolnpton
Constitution has been taken in strict con-
formity not only to the letter, but to the
spirit Of the law The objections With
which il has been met are frivolous and IT.
relevant Il is true, that at these elections
the factionists Of Topeka refused to vote,
but they were solemnly warned that if the
elections went By default they alone would
be to blame. They were told that the inia-
tory steps taken BY the Territorial Legisla-
ture to call Convention, and the subse-
qucnt proceedings, were strictly legal
The opportunity was again and again pre-
scented to them Of asserting their alleged nu-
merical superiority at the ballot-box, and
of securing reflection Of their own senti-
ments. But they turned deaf ear to these
warnings, refusing to participate in the e.
lections. and adhering to their revolutionary
Topeka Government.
The right to vote under the law is all
that the citizen can claim. If he abnegates
his right, if he stands by and permits an
election to 60 by default Of his own, he has
no right to complain of the result. AS has
been we'll said it is the majority of those
who vote that must decide any question in
a republican country the right to vote is
secured to the citizen, he has the oppogtu
nifty to vote. and the majority Of votes actu
ally given must decide the question. -
There is no other means by which to taxi
the sense Of the people than BY accepting al
their sense the opinion Of the majority Q
those who DO vote Indeed it is perfect,
, apparent that no other principle can be re
cognized without subverting the essentia
doctrines Of the sovereignty Of the people.
The objection that the free State men di
: not vote is 80 untenable, that excuse for tn
+ opposition to the Lecompton Constitution
t has beer sought in other objections
mong them that the Constitution formed a
Lecompton provides that the Consttut;o
: shall be unalterable until 1861. Thos
who make this objection must be aware tia
5 no convention can bind the Sovereign Pes
1 II n, i = ,xco14oroIl, law rTbo