Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1858-01-23
GOV. WISE ON THE LEC0MPTON CONsTI
TUITION.

to the Committee Of the Tammany Society, wht
had invited him to partic; pate in the celebration
! of the battle of New 0rlesRf on the 9Th OF Janu
ary. In this letter, after brief introduction OF
other topics, he proceeded as follows:
8 "As to your other mc,to-'Ciyil and Religious
. Llberty--eurs was sased by the Niigiuian De
mocracy in 1865. We struck the dark Lantern
out of the hands of inelfabe Sam, and none now
are found so poor to 'hurrah for him. We
therefore, have some right to say to you on other
topics, that all common sense and justice requires
it, that we let each others property, and peace
and political privileges alone, and attend TO the
conservation Of our own interests, at home, When
we happen to meet in the common Territories to
make new homes and neighborh0ods there, all we
have to do is to respect each others equal rights
If we Southern Shareholders, don't let our
property be invaded or taken away from us ; don
allow any power to prevent US from settling upon
common lands, or don't drive us away from the
settlements we have made upon domain pur
chased or won by common treasure and unlteo
valor On the other hand, if yCu prefer thai
Slavery shall not be incorporated in the new body
polite of which you are to become members, We
promise you that it shall not be imposed upon you
with consent, either by force or by fraud. We
propose to go together to the polls equals justly
respecting each others rights, and there determine
by legal votes, what shall be the lar of the case
If property be established in one form or another
it shall be respected ard, If forbidden in any
particular form. it shall not in that form exist 10
that part of the community. Now has this just,
fair and equal course been observed in Kansas
fearlessly say that has not been observed. Force
and fraud both, on both Sides have been attempt
ed, and have to a shameful extent prevailed. And
it is tho great vocation of Democracy to put down
both fraud and force in this and in all other
How =? The case divides itself in two categories
the one de jure in the Territory: as between the
Convention aud the other poople; the other de
tacto in the country at large, between Congress
and the Territory. In the first, in Kansas there
was an Enabling Statute. If the Kansas Nebras-
ka Act did not enable the people to hold 4 conven.
ton, or to make laws for their own self.govern-
ment, il had no virtue in it at all. The Kansas
Nebraska bill organized q Territory, and the
people thereof were enabled thereby to govern
themselves. By their own laws they organized a
| Convention to frame Constitution of State Gov
ernmeut. That Convention therefore, is de jule le
gitimate. 1t formed q Constitution and had right
to form it. That was it's function. and there its
power ended, except to submit it, ns proposed
organic law, to the fair and free election of the
sovereign people, to be adopted to be rejected by
them. They in their organized being of legal
voters, are alone sovereign. The entire COnstitu.
ton ought to have been submitted to their lawful
voices at the polls. The power was not delegated
to the Convention to proclaim and establish State
Constitution; it had to be approved by Congress
and much more had it to be approved by the soy.
ereisn principals for whom the mere agent, the
Convention, acted 1t was not mere statute law
3EepcdaDie at WILL ny LeSlslaluTe 10
to be chosen by the precincts of annual elections
1t the great fundamental organic law
under which title and tenures and franchises
were to be held; and Judges and Legislatures
were to sit and Executive authorities were to
WELD the of State and Offices to be
filled and justice was to be administered and
law was to be enacted and confederate station
was to be assumed and it was to be irrepealable by
| legislation and to be in word, the Supreme
Constitution of State under which she was to
be received into the most glorious Union of States
which ever protected and fortified the liberties of
mankind What tell us that an Instrument of
this dignity that Republican Governments itself,
was not to be submitted in its form and plan
proposed, to the only lawful veregns-the or
ganzed peope-not mere mass of persons,
but the bona fde nhabiant and legal voters Of
| the State to be governed. for their election to
adopt eject it! De jure, | say it ought to
have been 80 submitted Pure and undefled Re
publicanism, conservative Democracy, required
that it should be submitted There is mobo
cracy In that idea. 1t is even, ust, steady, or.
ganized, free Republican action the law of pop.
ular liberty. defined by citizenship and the rule
of election, and is the true example of essential
sovereignty in the People. Instead Of sub
mitting this proposed Constitution by the mere
agent, the Convention, defegentiay to the prin
cpais, the organized sovereign People, there was
a usurpaton. Withholding frem them of fair
! free. full and equal election to choose or not to
choose their Constitution of self government
1t was &c pdrte; it was s on 0ne sid; ; it was in
gambling phrase, the foul "Ieads win and tails
you lose" the Constitution was obliged to be
adopted, with the clause or without the clause !:
! the vote was bound to be "for the Constitution -
it was all pro and no con; and we say that was no
submission to an election at oil. Election is choice
of alternative to adopt or to reject; to reject as
well as adopt, to adopt as we'll as reject.
There was no choice in this case, and no equal
ity of votes in the case. Three men went to the
polls A said, | vote for the Consultation, with or
without the clause :" but and c said, I'VE
vote against it. with or without the clause" AS
vote was counted, BIS and C's were not to be
counted, and thus one was made not only to offset
| two, but to be sole substitute in fact for three
against the majority of two to out of three.
Now this was but the veiled trickcry and shame
| less fraud of n SO called schedule. There was
neither right nor justice in it. The Democracy Of
Virginia at least scorn title of any sort founded
on fraud, occult or palpabe, like this. We say
that ss between the Convention Of Lecompton and
the people of Kansas, the question was one de
lure and de jure the whole Constitution in all its
parts ought have been submitted to all the legal
voters pro and con, and the two voters ought
to have been allowed their voice against
| it as we'll as the one voter his voice for it,
And, so Gar as Slavery is concerned, it made the
case wor against that species of property, to sub
nit the Slavery clause alone to the election of the
people. Why DISCRIMINATE in respect to that "pe
culiar institution" Is it because it peculiari
If contend for anything especially, it is that
property shall not be distinguished or discrimira
ted from other property in legislation. 1t stands
on the same footing of right to protection and
preservation which is claimed for any other descrp'
ton of thing owned or possessed by others as pro,
perty. Why was this singled out for the chance OF
prohibition Was it not enough that the Badger
F amendment of the Kansas Nebraska bill had
already enacted that all laws protecting and estab,
fishing it prior to 1920 should be repealed !?
Why repeat discrimination against Slavery in
this schedule of submissonG This was ground
enough to make Pro.S!avery partsans reject 1t.
In fact and, of right if the Constitution had not
been submitted at all, in whole or in part, to the
people, it would have been more impartial and
more Just to the STAKEHOLDER than as it was sub
{ mtted If there be any mistaken and misguided,
and misguidng parties in the South, who would
be guilty of arraying against the equal rights OF
Slave.property, the Irresistible and indisputable