Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1880-07-08
The English Bribe to the People of
Kansas.

1858, OF what was anu is Sllll hHOmH DIS
the English bill" it is important that
the public should have clear idea of
that act
March 2S, 1858, the Senate passed a
bill admitting Kansas into the Union
under the Lecompton Constitution,
which established slavery in that State,
after ratifying the ordinance attached
to'that instrument. April the House
passed the Montgomery substitute
which provided for the submission to
the bona fide voters of Kansas of the
Lecompton Constitution, and that the
admission Of the State should be depen-
dent on the approval or rejection of that
instrument at free and fair electlen
therein provided for. If the Constitu-
tion should be rejected, the voters were
then authorized to form for themselves
a new Constitution and State Govern
ment, and the State should be admitted
within twenty days after the adoption
of the Constitution by the people. 1t
also rejected the ordinance attached to
the Lecompton Constitution. The ma
jority for this substitute was eight, Mr..
English voting for it.
The Senate disagreed to the substitute
by a majority of nine votes. The House
voted by majority of eight votes to ad-
here to its amendment. Thereupon the
Senate insisted by majority of six
votes upon its disagreement, but asked for
a Committee of Conference uponithe dis
agreeing votes of the two houses. Upon
the fate of this motion depended the
fate of the measvre. Mr.. Montgomery,
on whose motion the House adopted the
substitute which emasculated the Le-
compton pro-slavery scheme, asked on
the 14th of April. 1858, that the House
should maintain its ground. He moved,
instead of agreeing to the appointment
of committee of conference, that the
House adhere to its substitute. This, if
adopted, would have. closed the contro-
versy adversely to the whole LecompteL
movement. At this critical moment
temporizers came upon the scene, and
Mr.. English, inspired by Mr.. Alex. FL.
Stephens, who was the most sagacious
of the pro-slavery leaders, moved that
the House agree to the conference ask
ed by the Senate, which was agreed to
by the casting vote eff the Speaker, Mr..
James L. Orr. of South Carolina.
Senators Green, of Missouri, and Hunt
er, of Virginia, and Representatives
English, of Indiana, and Stephens, of
Georgia, represented on the Committee of
Conference the pro-slavery element in
Congress and Senator Seward, of New
York, and Representative VIM. A. How
ard, of Michigan, represented the anti
slavery element. This Committee, on
the 22d of April, reported, as the result
of their conference, the English BILL"
which Mr.. Alex II. Stephens now claims
was his suggestion. This bill proposed
to admit Kansas into the Union upon
this fundamental condition precedent,
namely: That the question of admis-
sion with the following proposition,
in lieu of the ordinance framed at Le-
compton, be submitted to vote of the
people of Kansas and assented to by
them, or majority of the voters vo-
ting at an election to be held for that
purpose, namely: That the following
propositions be ard the same are here
"by offered to the people of Kansas for
acceptance or rejection, which, if ac-
cepted, shall be obligatory on the Uni
ted States and the said State of Kan
sas."
These conditions were:
First-That two sections of land in
every township shall be granted for
schools.
Second-That seventy-two sections
should be granted for State Universe
ty.
Third-That ten sections should be
dDpll6u W
Fourth-Salt Springs, not exceeding
twelve, shall be granted to the State for
its use.
Fifth-Five per cent of the net pro-
ceeds of the sales of public lands, after
admission, shall be paid for public roads
and internal improvements.
If these propositions were accepted,
the State was to be at once admitted.
If rejected, it should not be admitted,
and the people of the Territory should
not be permitted to frame State Con-
stitution and apply for admission until
it was ascertainsd by a census legally
taken that the population of the Terri
tory equaled the ratio of representation
required for a member of the House of
Representatives. Mr.. Seward, of the
Senate, and Mr.. VIM. A. Howard, of the
House, refused to concur in the report.
One week thereafter this report was
by the House by a majority of
nine votes. The Affirmative vote was
made up chiefly of Southern Democrats
aided by Southern Americans like May
nard and Zollicoffer, of Tennessee, and
by Northern Democrats like Cox, Groes-
beck and Pendleton, of Ohio; English,
Hughes and Niblack, of Indiana; Ahl,
Dewart, Florence, ,Gillis,J. Clancy Jones,
Owen Jones, Henry NJ. Phillips and AL
lison White, of Pennsylvania. 1t was
resisted by the entire Republican party,
aided by Northern Democrats like Hor-
ace F. Clark and John B. Haskin, of
New York; John G. Davis, of Indiana /;
Thomas L. Harris, Samuel S. Marshall
and Isaac N Morris, of Illinois Joseph
G. McKibbin, of California, and Henry
Chapman, of Pennsylvania, and by
Southern Americans like H. Winter Da-
Morrio0n HarriS ond ToOpl R