The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1860-10-27
The LecOmpton Constitution.
WAS Mr.. DOUGLAS ITS AUTHoR?- sPEEc
AT MILWAUKEE,

a mass meeting at Milwaukee. Wisconsin.
He took up the charge which has recently
been made against him-that he was the
author of the Lecompton Constitution,
and discussed it at length. He said
IAN abolition newspaper has just been
placed in my hands. containing what pur-
ports to be a correspondence between q
Breckenridge committee in Kansas and
certain citizens of that Territory / have
no means of knowing whether this cores
pondence is genuine or fictitious. A
voice, Fictitious, undoubtedly l have
looked over the names attached to it, and
recognize no one as personal acquaintance
In this correspondence | am distinctly
charged with being the author OF the Le-
compton Constitution. Great laughter
do not blame you for laughing at that
statement. Renewed laughter. If there
is any statement on earth that ought to
seem ludicrous and laughable, it is charge
of that kind. But nevertheless the charge
is distinctly made that not only devised
the Lecompton Constitution, bat that it
was submitted to me, and that | approved
it, together with the plan of submitting
the Slavery clause. Laughter. / desire
to say TO you empha,cally that it is false
in every particular Immense applause.
never saw the Lecompton Constitution
until after it had been adopted in Kansas
by the Convention, and sent to the Presi-
dent of the United States for acceptance.
! never saw the schedule in which the
slavery clause was submitted until after it
was forwarded to the States for publica-
tion. | nor heard, nor conceived, nor
dreamed that any man on earth ever
thought of such "A scheme ! make these
statements distinctly, without equivocation
0p M | to aI
in the presence OF high heaven and this
audience, that the charge is false, care
not who made it. Tremendous applause
1t seems as if the Disunionists OF the
South, and the Abolitionists OF the North
are determined to hunt me down by all
the means that malice can invent. That
Is so, they can't do it, Never, never, You
are too much of a giant, and applause.
Then Mr.. Douglas proceeded TO make
what he termed a simple statement of
facts, narrating how he used his influence
in persuadng Hon r. J. Walker 10 ac-
cept the appointment of Governor Of the
Territory, and how Gov. Walker insisted
before accepting the nomination that every
Federal otliceholder IN Kansas must coop
crate with him 4 few weeks afterwards
Mr.. Douglas called at the Revere House
at the request of Gov. Walker, who there
read TO him his inaugural address, stating
at the same time that President Buchanan
had read the document, and that he had
made one or two verbal alterations in it,
which he showed to Mr.. Douglas Gov
Walker states explicitly in reply to a ques-
tion from Mr. Douglas. that the statement
in this address that he was authorized TO
say that if the constitution was not accept
ed by the people. it would not be accept
ed by Congress, was approved by the Pre-
sident, as well as the rest of the address
This proposition Mr.. Douglas most EN-
phatically approved, and stated 10 Govern
or Walker that he should want the most
decided evidence that the people did APP
prove the Constitution before lie should
vote for its acceptance. Some further con.
versation ensued regarding the prospects
of the territory. and the interview termi- /
mated GOV. Walker went TO Kansas and !
delivered his address, and when the Con- /
vention adopted the Constitution without
submitting it to the people Mr. Douglas I
declared that he denouncsd the outrree ,
III the most unmeasured terms. . de- 1
nounced it. he said before | knew what 7
the course Of any other man in America .
in relation 10 it would be. did not wait .
one hour. or one minute when discover /
ed the trick by which the people were to 4
be cheated" When | reached .
Washington, three days before the meet /
ing Of Congress. ! went directly TO the .
President, and had a talk with him upon +
this subject, in which ! implored him,
i friend not to send the Constitution into .
Congress for acceptance. ! told him il i
was a violation of every pledge we had 4
made to the people violation of the fun /
damental principles of the democratic par /
ty, snd a violation of the principles of all |!
parties in all Republican Cover ments |
because it was an attempt to force Con- |!
stitution upon an unwilling people. He /
begged me not to say anything upon the /
subject until we should hear the nevis as !
to how the vote stood on the slavery clause I
The vote, you remember, was to oe taken I
on the slavery clause on the 2lst of De /
cember, three or four weeks subsequent to !
this Convention. | told the President !
that if he would withhold his recommend /
alton until the vote was taken on that
clause, would withhold my speech
against the measure He said he must re-
commend it in his message, and ! replied
that if he did / would denounce it the mo-
ment his message was read Great ap-
plauso A voice-'We like you for it.
At last the President became somewhat
excited upon the subject l. lighter.
And he arose and said to me: - Mr. Doug
las, | desire you to remember that no De-
mocrat ever yet differed from an admins
tration of his own choice without being
crushed. e All p an laughter Then
he added: Beware Oh the fate of Tall
madge and Rives." | arose and said
Mr.. President, wish you to remember
that Gen. jackson is dead, Sir" TTumul-
tuous cheering From that d:E to this,
he and | have been trying the question
whether or not Gen. jackson is dead
[Great laughter and applause. And one
thing is certain-the people OF llincis de-
cided in 1858, that James Buchanan was
not Gen. Jackson. Renewed laughter and
applause
Mr. Douglas then alluded to lis speech |
in the Senate on the subject, ana claimed
that these men who had written the letters
on this subject would have denounced
him then had there been any foundation
for the charges which they nov made
He criticized the correspondence at some
length. and related the particulars of an
interview which he had at Washington
with Gen Calhoun who called tI.on him |
in company with Mr. Weir, then District |
Attorney in Kansas Then he declared,
as he had before, that fraudu ent sub |
sanction it without repudiating all the acts |
of his life and doing a political ct which |
he regarded immoral and unjust.
With regard to the charge tha he had
offered Mrs Calhoun $1,000 toeuppress
letters which he had written toher hus-
band on this subject, Mr. Douglaa said:
a never insulted Mrs. Calhotn, or de
graded myself by Offering her or anybody |
else any money or other compensation for
suppressing my private correspondence
with Mr. Calhoun, or anybody else on
earth will tell you all knok about
this last charge. just before LETT Wash
ington, a few months ago, receivsd a let
ter from a near relative of the lae John