Weekly American. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1858-1858, 1858-05-01
SPEECH
Il ON. JOHN BELL,

On the Admission of Kansas under the
r LecOmpton Constitution, n Ia b,
In THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, .i
March Is, 1858.
I Mr.. BELL Mr. President It is my misfortune
to be obliged to address the Senate at this late hour
of the day, upon subject OF so much importance,
or not at all. After the speech Of the honorable
Senator from Georgia, Mr.. fooMBs, | shall be com
PEELED TO trespass longer upon the indulgence of the
Senate than had hoped would be necessary. He
has made issues he has stated facts, he has promul
gated doctrines and arguments from his seat in the
Senate to-day, which no man can pass unnoticed
who takes the views do Of this question. He says,
union; it is no sectional question, but one which
concerns the whole country-the North as we'll as
the South. He has proclaimed TO the Senate that he
has estimated the value OF the Union and that upon
proper occasion, he is ready to state that value.
With him it is myth, false idol; and he fears that
the State Of Kentucky, which my honorable and elo-
quent friend Mr.. CRITTENDEN so well represents,
has worshipped and loved, not wisely but too well.
de has brought the question to pointr-an issue
which 1t becomes us all to ponder. have been fear
full that there such calculations as he has sug-
gested founded on the possible result of this ques-
tom but had before no evidence OF it. twas only
vague dread, impression resting on my mind but
now we must meet it as an admitted fact 1t is now
placed before openly, boldly directly; and there
fore feel called upon to notice it in every aspect
which he has pointed. asr
] do not mean to go into an estimate of the value
OF the Union, nor OF the consequences which would
flow from its destruction but mean to go into an
investigation of the question before the Senate the
proposition to admit Kansas into the Union under
the Lecompton Constiiution-to show that the reecI
ton of this would not be fit pretext to be
adopted by the South for the purpose of leading
that final issue to which the Senator from Georgia
has alluded. 1t concerns not only the Senate but
the whole country, to look at this question in diff
fcrent light from that in which the honorable Sena-
tor from Georgia has presented it. am tempted
by these considerations to depart from any regular
course of argument, such rs | had prescribed for
myself in order to notice at the outset some of his
most unfounded statements in regard to the true
facts of the case. / do not mean any personal dis
respect to the honorable Senator; do not mean to
say that he has wifully presented false view of the
case; but many of his statements Of fact wholly
unfounded. h, % .,.-;.... s.. .. ...,..-s =.
propose to 90 back to the original organization of
the Territorial Governmentin in Kansas-a part of the
history of Kansas which had intended to pass over
with summary statement only of such facts-un-
disputed facts-as might be found chronicled in the
public journals, without going into any minute in
yeshgation of them; but now feel compelled to
look carefully into all the details Of the subject
by the exgencies and importance of the question, by
the demands which consider the country has on
every man having seat here, to be well informed
upon every material point connected with the subject
Like the honorable Senator from Kentucky, do
not mean TO refer to the organization of the Terrific
rial Government in Kansas for the purpose o. JUS
tifying the party which has opposed that Govern
4
side in this controversy. Ihve considered from the
very origin of these difcultiesthe passage of the
Kansas-N Nebraska act-that there has been more of
party interest and necessity than of any possible
good to the country connected with this whole move
ment; and when say this, l do not mean to impugn
the motives of honorable Senators who disclam any
such party interests. They NAV be unconscious Of
them. l therefore give them credit for their dis
claimer .-1
shall not at this time enter into full statement
of the facts connected with the election of members
to the first Territorial Legislature which took place
in 1855, with the armed intrusion of the people of
the western borders of Missouri into Kansas at that
election. The Senator from Georgia says that the
statements which have been made this subject are
entitled to credit. He rdicules them so far as
they are made on the authority of individuals engag
ed in that invasion, has been called as the idle
boasts of vain glorious individuals. / admit that
general rule, little credit is to be attached to
such statements but l will lay before the Senate
some facts that founded upon that sort Of record
which the honorable Senator says will last us long
society lasts shall refer 10 authentic we-con-
rmed facts, proved at the time of their occurrence
by contemporary evidence-testmony taken by men
Of credit and good character refer, in this par
tcular case, 10 the Investigations Of members Of
Congress, and Of both sides in politics. commissioned
and authorized TO investigate.
Now what are the most material and prominent
facts connected with the election in 1855? | NAV
possibly, go into a fuller statement OF the circum-
stances of that election before close my remarks
census was taken under provision OF the organic
law Of Kansas, one month before that election, and
the returns showed that there we've twenty-nine
hundred and three g, 903) qualified voters then in
the Territory OF Kansas. The election came on, and
six thousand three hundred and seven (63O7) votes
were polled, as appeared from the pobooks. OF
the twenty-nine hundred and three (2903) re urned
on the census list only eight hundred and ninety
eight (s9s) voted. Where were the remainder of the
twenty -nne hundred and odd reported in the census
returnsl As the honorable Senator from Kentucky
has spoken OF interviews he has had with gentle
otal al
have learned from similar sources. | understand
that the census returns were, IN part, made out in
the border counties Of Missouri and it appears from
an examination Of the pol!books, that two thousand
persons and upwards whose names were on the
census lists did not vote in the election We cannot
draw any certain inference fr, m this fact whether
the two thousand who did not vote were Free-State
men who were driven from the polls, or how other
wise. ony state the simple fact that but about
nine hundred Of them voted. The argument on the
other side is, that Of tho tweny-nine hundred per-
sons whose names were on the returns, seven
teen hundred were emgranis from the Southern
States, and but twelve hundred from the free States
We do not know VIII proportion Of tho nine hun
dred who voted were Free-Stae men from the North
ern States or what portion came from the Southern
States; is il material 10 decide that question for
only about one-urd of the whole voted. The hon
orable Senator has spoken of intrinsic evidence he
has appealed 10 what he considers the monumental
record that is TO last as long as socie,y lasts. APP
peal 10 il too,
Mr.. TooMBS. Do understand my friend t., say,
that Of the twenty nine hundred voters recorded on
the census, only nine hundred votedp
Mr.. BELL. Yes, sir.
Mr.. T00MBS. assure my friend he is mistaken,
for my friend from Vermont Mr. CoLLAMER said in
his report that six thousand voted. His complaint
that they doubled.
Mr. BELL see that my friend from Georgia
does not understand the question at all and | was
utterly astonished when | heard him in his state
men passing over or denying the principal facts of
the case
Mr.. COLLAMER. Will my friend from Tennessee
allow me to say wordY
Mr. BELL. II is needless, know the facts but
will allow the Senator from Vermont 10 say word
as he was alluded 10 by the Senator from Georgia
Mr. C0LLAMER. The names of the six thousand
who voted are all on the roll, and when you count
those names, there but eight hundred OF them
who are on the census list
Mr. TO0MBS do not understand that
Mr. BELL Does the honorable Senator from
Georgia say he has examined tho names?
Mr. T00MBS. They have been examined by a
friend of mine.
Mr. BELL. Isit not fact that only about nine
hundred Of those whose names were on the census
list voted? ...
Mr.. T00MBS. think that is a mistake.
Mr.. BELL. can refer to the evidence
Mr.. T00MBS. What evidencep
Mr.. BELL. To the report Of the names that were
polied compared with those on the census list
Mr.. TOOMBS. That, | think, you will find not 10
be record. That is the difficulty.
Mr.. BELL. But IL shows the returns OF the cleo
ton, and is evidence.