Year: 1859

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Of the President, therefore. could not be
lawfully made. Should it be attempted,
Judging the future by the past conduct of
the Executive towards .he people of Kan.
sas, the President would declare it a case
of rebellion or treason. and the army Of
the republic will again be employed, under
the plea of preserving claw and order"
to suppress constitutional liberty in Kan
sas.


This is the first instance in the history
of the government, where Congress has
declared that the same population which
1t recognized as sufficient for slave State,
was not sufficient for free State. And
the Chief Magistrate not only sanctions
such discrimination. but avows his resd-
iness to insist on it in the execution Of the
laws, so far as they affect the people Of
Kansas.


With this law on the staute book, and
with these official declarations of the Pres
ident. it is proposed to admit Oregon into
the Union with population less than the
number required by this law. and from the
best sources of information within the
reach of your committee, not cxcceding,
if equal, to that of the Territory Of Kan
sas.


The undersigned minority of your COM
mittee are unable to appreciate the fairness
or justice of this kind of legislation to-
wards the people OF different Territories,
and are unwilling to give their sanction in
any way to a discrimination as to the
amount of population required for free or
slave State, and much less as t. their con-
trolling political character of the proposed
State.


The application for both Kansas and
Oregon to be admitted into the Union was
presented at the last session of Congress.
Neither had been authorized BY previous
act of Congress to form constitution. SO
in that respect they were both alike as near
as could be ascertained, (no census having
been taken in either since 1855, there was
little or no difference as to the number of
their population. Each had elected "a
State Legislature asd other officers" and
so far they were alike prepared to enter the
Union. The only real difference that ex-
lstcd in the two cases prior TO the
application of either was, that Oregon had
a Territorial Government not unsatisfacto-
ry to her people, a Legislature chosen by
her own citizens, while the territorial or
ganization OF Kansas was usurpation by
fraud and force, and its political pow
ers were welded by usurpers and des-
pots.


Without expressing any opinion as TO
the proprlety of a restriction on new States
as to population, if general in its charcter,
or as to the necessity for any previous act
by Congress authorizing the formation ola
State government-and without inquiring
whether the constitution submitted by the
people of Oregon is republican in form
and consistent in its provisions with the
guarantees of the Constitution Of the Uni
ted States. while the restriction on the ac-
tion of the people of Kansas remains on
the statute book. unless made of universal
application to all the Territories, the un-
dersigned feel that their approval of the ap-
plication of Oregon, under these circum-
stances. would be giving their sanction to
an unjust discrimination between the peo-
pie in differen. Territories, in not directly
ChuoiSihS tuC OuiOus ulSllucIlOn maze IN
the law of the last session of Congress
against free institutions and free States.


The Washington correspondent of the
Cincinnati Commercial says:


1t was originally proposed to recon-
mend substitute for the bill anticipated
from the majority of the Committee, to the
effect that the people of Oregon might e.
lect delegates to form Constitution pre-
paratory to the application for admission
into the Union.


Whenever and not before 1t was ascer-
tanned by census duly AMI legally taken,
that the population of the Territory equal
ed or exceeded the ratio of representation
required for member of the House of
Representatives of the Congress of the
United States. and that whenever there
after the delegates should assemble in Con-
vention, they should first determine by a
vote whether it was the wish of the people
Of the proposed State to be admitted into
the Union at that time. DC, DC.


This substitute will not, however. be Of
fered; but a clause will be submitted as an
amendment to the Oregon bill to repeal so
much of the English Conference bill as
precludes Kansas from coming into the
Union on an equal footing with other
States