1 -» Class H? Q^ KANSAS--THE LECOMPTON CONSTITUTION. SPEECH, OF HON. EMORY B. POTTLE, OF NEW YORK. Delivered in the House of Representatives, March 22, 1858. Mr. Chairman: Before the vote shall be taken which will either leave the people of Kansas the control of that Territory, or, denying' the right of self-government, compel them to submit to laws to which they never gave their assent, and to institutions which they loathe and protest against, I desire the indulgence of the Commit- tee for the brief time allotted, that I may place upon your records the fact— important to me, ir to no one else— that in all the stages of this Kansas matter, I have, to the extent of my con- stitutional right, opposed this contemplated out- rage upon a portion of our people. Sir, I have not the foolish vanity to suppose that anything which I can say will change a vote upon this question, for I suppose that every member of this House has already in his own mind settled the question as to his vote upon this measure, according to the dictates of his conscience, or under the influence of surround- ing circumstances. If there were some voice among us potent enough to hush the jarring elements, and restore us to that harmony which once characterized the Representatives of the various sections, it would indeed be well. But, sir, I doubt that any one will be found able to hush the wild storm of passion which has taken possession of the public mind; surely not, unless we can better under- stand one another, and the points upon which we differ. Bound together by the ties of com- mon brotherhood, and with a' history which proves that our Union has thus far proved a success almost or quite unexampled, we yet meet here day by day, with feelings more embittered than we ever felt against the people of any father Government, even in times of war. And it would seem as though we had indeed reached thatjpoint of our history when the strength of this Confederacy was to be severely tried,- that period when the antagonism between our two eystems of labor, free and slave, will no longer be put off. Compromises have been resorted to, in order to delay this struggle, until they have teen exhausted and discarded by all parties. 'Phis is a struggle which is not confined to Kan- sas. It neither began there, nor is it likely to end there. It began with the Government, has kept pace with it, and- will not be likely to end until there is nothing left to struggle for. Nor do I think that it is a mere struggle for political power. That may be a means of its progress but is neither its cause nor its end. I believe' sir, if the Union were to-day dissolved, that this struggle would still go on, and wax fiercer from that very cause. It is one of the evidences that the world moves, and that progress is slowly surely, and certainly, undermining and sweeping away those old abuses which deny to labor its proper reward, and to man that dignity to which he is by nature entitled. In my judgment, sir, it only remains for us to say whether that struggle shall be peaceful, and according to the ordinary course of events, or oth- erwise. The immediate point of this contest now presented, is whether Kansas shall be now ad- mitted into the Union, or rather, to speak more proper!}-, forced into the Union, under the Le- compton Constitution. Now, sir, the question of Slavery is certainly not the only one which the people of a new State have the right to pass upon, in framing for themselves a Constitution- nor are they bound to accept a Constitution until it shall, upon that and all other questions, be in accordance with their wishes. Yet I think none will dissent when I say, that if it had not been for this question of Slavery, the people of Kansas would have been left unmolested to settle and arrange their affairs in their own way, and would have come into the Union in proper time almost without question. _ Now, sir, I desire to say, and I wish to be dis- tinctly understood, here and elsewhere, that while I am opposed to Slavery as a great politi- cal and moral evil, determined to oppose and re- sist it whenever I have the right so to do, there is not one constitutional right, one guarantee which State sovereignty has thrown around this institution, which I have ever sought, or which I now seek, to interfere with. As I said, I look upon Slavery as a great wrong to the black man, and equally so to the white man, whose labor and political rights are affected by it; but I haye looked upon it, and still look upon it, as a question which belonged to the States where it is, and not to me. Deeply de- ploring its existence anywhere, and hoping for the time when those having the right to put an end to it would see how much it was for their in- terest to do it, I have been willing to leave it there and to them. I speak, sir, for no one but myself and that constituency whose opinions I mean faithfully to represent; but I believe that, in the position just stated, I share a common feeling with the party of which I claim to be a member. Sir, I desire just here to say one word in re- gard to the charge so often made, here and else- where, that this party is sectional; that it has for its object interference With Slavery, in violation of its rights under the Constitution, and in defi- ance of the sovereignty of the States. These are charges easily made, but not so easy to sus- tain. If gentlemen who make them would but take the trouble to look into the platform of the ■Republican party, they would meet with greater success than I have, if they could there find any- thing to sustain these charges. The first resolu- tion^ that' platform is, in substance, that the maintenance of the principles of the Declaration of Independence and of the Federal Constitution is essential to the preservation of republican in- stitutions; and that the Federal Constitution, the rights of the States, and the Union of the States, shall be preserved. The second resolu- tion contains a denial of the right that Slavery can, under the Constitution, be established in the Territories. The third, that Congress has, under ; the Constitution, authority to govern the Terri- ' tories, and is bound to prohibit Slavery there- from. The fourth recites, substantially, the " bill of rights," and its infringement in Kansas. The fifth, the right of Kansas to be admitted into the Union under the Constitution which the people of that Territory had adopted. The sixth takes ground against the doctrines of the Ostend man- ifesto ; the seventh, in favor of a Pacific railroad ; the eighth, in favor of the improvement of rivers and harbors for certain purposes : and the ninth, an invitation to free men of all parties to unite and uphold the principles above set forth. And this is all. Now, sir, I call upon the gentlemen, one and all, who make these charges, to inform the House and the country upon which of these they base the charge that the Republican party is a sec- tional party. Let us, Mr. Chairman, have the specifications. Let us have the proof. Sir, I ask you, and I ask the members who make these charges, if there is anything upon the subject of the rights of Slavery in this platform, that was not to be found in the platform of that party upon which the honorable member from Georgia [Mr. Stephens] stood and battled so long and so well? upon which a score of honorable mem- bers from the slave States, whom I now see around me, fought so valiantly? Were these gentlemen, during all these years, standing upon a sectional platform, and one at war with the principles of the Constitution? No, sir; the charge is not true. The Republican party stands to-day upon a platform as broad as the Consti- tution, and no more. It is opposed to Slavery under the Constitution, and only under it. Its principles embrace and guaranty the right of every section of the Union under the Constitu- tion ; and if you have denied it a hearing in one- half of the Union, it is because its principles are national, and conflict with the sectional dogmas that have taken possession of that section — dog- mas which admit of no right but Slavery— no nationality but Slavery— no Constitution but Slavery — no Democracy but Slavery. And be- cause we will not subscribe to this new rev- elation, we are called sectional and fanatics. Because we stand by principles as old as the Government, and much older, you say we are inflicting wrongs upon the South. Mr. Chair- man, I tell you, and I tell gentlemen, that I am not here with an intention to inflict a wrong upon any section of the country; and if gentle- men, instead of asserting it, will show me facts to prove that by my action I interfere with the constitutional rights of any section, I pledge my-* self not only to desist, but, by my future action, to make such reparation for the past as I can. I have listened long and with attention to the j many eloquent gentlemen from the slaveholdinc 1 section of the country, who have spoken upor the question of admitting Kansas under th. Lecompton Constitution, but I have yet to lean, the wrongs which it is said we of the North hav inflicted and are seeking to inflict upon them< And yet, these wrongs are said to be so flagrant that if we persist in them the South cannot an will not longer remain in the Union. I am e* ceedingly anxious to preserve the Union. I ha-v been taught to love it; and I believe I can trill say, in the language used by my colleague, [M Burroughs,] the other day, that " if need be, j am ready to lay down my life in its defence But, sir, I do not expect it to stand, and, furthe I do not desire it to stand, unless upon the brof j principles of justice, and with a full and consta recognition of the rights of all the parties w; compose it. When, now or hereafter, instead of protecti the rights of all, it is found that it has beco; the means of oppression to a portion, then, sii say, let the oppression cease ; let the rights of be respected, or let the Government end— pea ably or forcibly ; let it give place to one wh I will better accomplish the purposes for wh I Governments are instituted. If I have correctly understood gentlemen i*j their charges against the North, they are, tha we are seeking to deprive the South of its jus share in the Government ; that we are endeavor ing to compel them to take a position subordinat to us. If, at any time, there has been any dis position upon the part of the North to accomplis. this, it should, in fairness to all parties, be ad mitted that we have, thus far, met with jer indifferent success ; and that, as far as holdin offices under the Federal Government is cor cerned, the charge would much more proper come from the other side. Sixty years the Go- I ernment has substantially been in the hands an under the control of the slaveholders. If you look at the amount of territory which each sec- tion has acquired, (that of the slaveholding sec- tion nearly or quite doubling that of the free States,) you 'will be forced to the same conclu- sion; that is, that we, not you, ought to com- plain of being deprived of our "just share of the Territories. 1 ' Aud yet gentlemen gravely tell us, (and look and act as though they were in ear- nest,) that we are depriving the South of her just share of the territory; and that, unless we cease to do so, the Union must and will come to an end. Sir, I propose briefly to examine this question. I know that it has been many times done, and yet in these debates these old facts seem to be utterly forgotten or ignored. At tbe begioning of the Government, Slavery had no share in the territory not organized into States. It was con- fined to the States; looked upon as a local evil, which was soon to be got rid of; and was ex- pressly prohibited from occupying the Territories, or any portion thereof. It was the settled policy of all sections to prevent it from spreading. If proof were needed for facts so common- place and widely known, it would only be neces- sary to refer to the "ordiuance of 1*787, ; ' and to the expressed opinions of every distinguished gentleman, North or South, who took such part in the formation of the Government as required the expression of an opinion upon that subject. When subsequently we acquired additional territory, you requested that this policy should be abandoned ; and then, as now, you threatened a dissolution of the Union unless your request should be acceded to on our part. We of the North asked, as we had the right, that the then settled policy should be adhered to. But a prop- osition was brought forward by a distinguished statesman of your section, to compromise by di- viding the territory between us ; and it was ac- ceded to on our part — reluctantly, I confess ; un- wisely, I have never doubted ; but still, it was agreed to. Our portion, as a part of the agree- ment, being forever devoted to Freedom ; and yours — by far the better portion — was left free to you as to us. In that agreement you gained all that we yielded; we gained nothing; we simply reserved to a part of the territory that principle which before applied to the whole. You entered into that agreement as a fair com- pact between us — one which, as I have said, was made at your request ; and whether, in your esti- mation of it at this time, you gained or lost, you were in honor, and by all the rules of fair deal- ing, bound to carry out its provisions. We have faithfully abided by all the obligations which it imposed upon us. How have you kept faith with us ? I have no time to trace the history of bad faith and of wrongs on your part, and shall leave the compromises of 1850 and 1854 to answer my question. By the first, vou obtained rights and defences for Slavery, which we believe were not intended by the Constitution ; and by the other you have broken all faith upon this question, and by legislative enactments cancelled your agree- ment. But gentlemen tell us that the Supreme Court has decided that the compromise of 1820 was unconstitutional. I deny it, and appeal to the record of the court to sustain my assertion. I «ay that the Supreme Court has made no such decision. It is true that a partisan court, packed for the purpose, has so far forgotten what belongs to the power and dignity of a court, that individ- ual members of it have passed out of the record before them, and given extra-judicial opinions to that effect — opinions as binding upon that ques- tion as if givenr by the same gentlemen at a po- litical meeting, and no more so. By the repeal of the compromise of 1820 you threw open all the Territories to the occupation of Slavery. Starting with none, you acquired the right, in common with us, to all. Does this look like oppression on our part? Was this depriving you of your just share in the Territories ? What was the plea under which this was accomplished ? That the restriction was not democratic. That Congressional intervention, as you call it, was not democratic. That the true rule was to open the Territories to all sections, and allow the peo- ple occupying them to settle their domestic insti- tutions in their own way, subject only to the Constitution of the United States. We, at the North, or a portion of us at least, took issue with you upon this question, and went to the people, and were beaten. And now, when we call upon you to carry out this principle which you have introduced into the Government of the Territo- ries, and to which you have procured the sanc- tion of the popular will ; when we ask of you to abide by the will, again and again expressed, of the people of the Territory of Kansas, you refuse. You say that the popular majority in Kansas are factious. That to admit them into the Union under a Constitution of their own choice, which excludes Slavery, deprives you of jour rights, and that they must be admitted under the Le- compton Constitution, or you can no longer re- main with us in the Union. Sir, if any gentleman shall say that I beg the question, and that this Lecompton Constitution is to be regarded as expressing the consent of the majority of the people of that Territory, I beg to remind this House of ihe preamble and resolu- tions upon this subject which the people of that Territory have placed upon our records, and which I desire to incorporate into and make a part of my remarks : "Preamble and joint resolutions in relation to the Constitution framed at Lecompton, Kansas Ter- ritory, on ihe 1th day of November, 1857. '• Whereas a small minority of the people liv- ' ing in nineteen of the thirty-eight counties of ' this Territory, availing themselves of a law ' which enabled them to obstruct and defeat a ' fair expression of the popular will, did, by the ' odious and oppressive application of the provis- ' ions and partisan machinery of said law, pro- ' cure the return of the whole number of the ' delegates to the Constitutional Convention re- ' cently assembled at Lecompton; and whereas, ' by reason of the defective provisions of said ' law, in connection with the neglect and mia- ' conduct of the authorities charged with the 4 execution of the same, the people living in the 4 remaining nineteen counties of the Territory 4 were not permitted to return delegates to said 4 Convention, were not recognised in its organi- ' zation, or in any sense heard or felt in its de- 4 liberations ; and whereas it is an axiom in po- ' litical ethics, that the people cannot be deprived * of their rights by the negligence or misconduct 4 of public officers ; and whereas a minority, to ' wit, twenty-eight only of the sixty members of 4 said Convention, have attempted, by an unwor- 1 thy contrivance to impose upon the whole peo- 4 pie of the Territory a Constitution without con- 4 suiting their wish, and against their will; and 4 whereas the members of said Convention have 1 refused to submit their action for the approval 4 or disapproval of the voters of the Territory, 4 and in thus acting have defied the known will 4 of nine-tenths of the voters thereof; and where- 4 as the action of a fragment of said Convention, 4 representing, as they did, a small minority of the 4 voters of the Territory, repudiates and crushes 1 out the distinctive principle of the Nebraska- 4 Kansas act, and violates and tramples under 4 foot the right and sovereignty of Ihe people; 4 and whereas, from the foregoing statemant of 4 facts, it clearly appears that the people have not 4 been left 'free to form and regulate their do- 4 mestic institutions in their own way,' but on 4 the contrary, at every stage in the anomalous 4 proceedings recited, they have been prevented 4 from so doing: " Re it therefore resolved by the Governor and 4 Legislative Assembly of Kansas Territory, That 4 the people of Kansas, being opposed to said Con- 4 stitution, Congress has no rightful power under 4 it to admit said Territory into the Union as a 4 State ; and we, the representatives of said people, 4 do hereby, in their name and on their behalf, 4 solemnly protest against such admission. " Resolved, That such action on the part of ' Congress would, in the judgment of the members 4 of this Legislative Assembly, be an entire aban- 4 donment of the doctrine of non-intervention in 4 the affairs of the Territory, and a substitution in 4 its stead of Congressional intervention in behalf 4 of a minority engaged in a disreputable attempt 4 to defeat the will and violate the rights of the 4 majority. 41 Resolved, That the people of Kansas Territory 4 claim the right, through a legal and fair ex- ' pression of the will of a majority of her citi- 4 zens, to form and adopt a Constitution for 4 themselves. " Resolved, That the Governor of this Territo- 4 ry be requested to forward a copy of the fore- 4 going preamble and resolutions to the Presi- 4 dent of the United States, the President of the 4 Senate, the Speaker of the House of Represent- 4 atives, and to the Delegate in Congress from 4 this Territory. G. W. Deitzlkr, " Speaker of the House of Representatives. " C. W. Babccck, 44 President of the Council. " Secretary's Office, "Lecompton, K. T., January 12, 1858. " I certify the above to be a true copy of the r -i enrolled resolutions deposited in this L L - S -J office. Hugh S. Walsh, Clerk. " Originated in the House of Representatives.- " C. F. Currier, Chief Clerk." Sir, with this protest before us, how can it be said that the Lecompton Constitution legally expresses the will of the people of the Territory ? That there has, in all its stages, been a large actual majority against it, is a fact which has been so fully established as to require no com- ment ; indeed, I think it is not seriously denied, here or elsewhere. But the friends of this Con- stitution, including the President, say that if a Convention be duly elected, although by a minori- ty of the people, and frame a Constitution, it is as binding upon the people as though all had voted ; in other words, those who had a fair op- portunity to vote, and yet refused or neglected to do so, are bound by the action of those wh* did vote. Sir, I have no fault to find with that position ; it is one incident to our form of Gov- ernment. But, while conceding this, I take oc- casion to say to the gentleman, and to the Presi- dent, that this position cannot avail them here against the fact which they know, against the fact established, not only by the whole history of this Kansas difficulty, but also by the evidence taken by a committee sent there by Congress to inquire into that history. There never was a legal Convention to frame that Constitution. The Legislature which authorized the election of delegates to it was a fraud, and held their seats, not by the votes of the citizens of Kansas, but through the violence and ruffianism of those who never had been citizens of the Territory. The Legislature thus elected had no legal right to their seat3, no power to order a Convention, and wer^ only kept in their seats by the force of Fed- eral troops. When they ordered the election of delegates, without the legal right so to do, there could be no obligation upon the people to recog- nise that order by voting; nor is it possible to fairly raise an intendment again t them by rea- son of their refusal to sanction this outrage, not only upon their rights, but upon the principles which underlie our whole structure of Govern- ment. But, sir, suppose, for the sake of the argument, we adopt the view of the friends of this Lecomp- ton Convention. What then? Gentlemen tell us that there are many precedents where States have been admitted without referring the Con- stitution framed by the Convention to the sanc- tion of the people. Granted ; but, sir, I call upon them, one and all, to point to a precedent in this Government where a State was forced into the Union against its will ; where a Constitution was ever forced upon the people of a State against the protest of a majority of that people. And yet that is precisely what is sought to be done in this case. Those who claim that the Conven- tion was regular, cannot, will not, say that the Legislature which puts this protest npon our records is not also regular. If the Convention must be deemed as embodying the will of the majority of the people, are you not mu;h more bound to say that the Legislature also represent- r ed and expressed the will of a majority of the people? And, sir, in the name of that majority, they protest against being brought into the Union under this Constitution. Now, sir, I ask by what precedent, by what reasoning, by what right, you can do this in a Government resting upon pop- ular will — in a Union made up by the volunta- ry agreement of each new member that becomes a party to it? I would like to have gentlemen explain. I desire to be informed in relation to this new creed of Democracy, which puts minorities in power, and compels majorities to submit against their legally-expressed will. Sir, there is but one answer; and if it were fairly given, it would be simply that Slavery, in its determined spirit of propagandism, defers to majorities when to its purpose, and overrides and disregards them when they conflict with its interests ; heeds the will of majorities as it keeps compromises and com- pacts, and that is Just so long as it is for its inter- est, and no longer. These are harsh and unpleas- ant truths, sir; but truths, nevertheless — truths which I take no pleasure in uttering, yet estab- lished so that neither I nor you can chauge or falsify the record if we would. You say, with the President, that the country wants peace, and a stop to this excitement. So say we; but we want a peace founded upon jus- tice, and none other could be obtained if we desired it. If you really desire such a peace, abide by your compacts, and we will abide by ours ; abide by the principle of " popular sov- ereignty," which you have established, whether it works against you or for you, and not make coniphvsKs and threats at its results. We pro- tested, as I have said, against the introduction of that principle into the Territories. But, sir, while it remains, we shall adapt ourselves to it, contest every inch of territory, and beat you in every one if we can. You complain that we did all that we could to induce the emigration of those in favor of free principles into Kansas. AVe did so. We intend to do so in eveiy one of the remaining Territories. We had and have the right so to do. You did the same thing in the same way in relation to emigration from your section of the country, and you are preparing to do it in relation to Arizona and the other Territories. It is your right ; and we have not complained, and shall not, on our part, that you had not the right so to do. I repeat, sir, that this new way of settling the " domestic institutions " of the Territories is a spirit which you called up from the political depths to serve your purpose ; and if it will not "down at your biddmg," surely, complaint does not come from you with a good grace. It is true, we have more people to spare in the settlement of the Territories than you, and their position gives them greater facilities for emigration ; but you knew that fact before you broke up the di- vision line between us. You submitted the ques- tion as, to what share Slavery should have in the Territories to the popular will; and if that pop- ular will decides that you shall have none, where is the wrong or injustice in asking to abide the arbitrament of your choice? Some gentlemen tell us that Slavery is a God- ordained institution, justified by the Holy Scrip- tures — the type of the highest civilization known ; and that if we do not desist from our opposition to its spreading, the South intends to invade us with the sword in one hand, and a Bible in the other. Now, sir, I beg gentlemen of that section not to take offence at my interference in their preparation for this mighty onslaught, if I sug- gest to them that it would be better to leave their Bibles at home. We have a good many of those North now; and besides, sir, in such a district as that represented by the honorable gentleman from Georgia, [Mr. Gaktrell,] where he says there are fifteen thousand freemen — and I add, that to make up a congressional representation there must necessarily be about one hundred thousand slaves — it would be wise to leave your Bibles for the slaves, that they may read them, and be kept quiet by the knowledge that it is God's will that they should occupy their present position. After mustering the army t necessary to compete with the one hundred thousand freemen of my dis- trict, (if the gentleman will allow me to offset one district against the other,) I do not see what else he could leave to keep them quiet. Mr. Chairman, it may be that gentlemen are serious in these threats of war and dissolution of the Union; but they have been so often repeated in Congress, and have so often failed of fulfillment, that we must be excused if we do not at this time give to them that attention which their im- portance demands. We were told the other day, by the honorable member from Virginia, [Mr. Smith,] that " any State of this Union had a right to secede at pleas- ure." Without stopping to comment upon that position, the gentleman will pardon me if I in- quire of him if he expects there will be a peace- able dismemberment of a Governmeut like this? Does he believe that if we were, by common consent, to make the effort, we could separate our entangled interests so as to satisfy both par- ties ? But what, I ask, do gentlemen propose to gain by dissolution, supposing it could be peacefully accomplished ? You have, by the compromise of 1864, got the right to all the territory, in common with us. A portion of this you would certainly lose. We now, in great part, support your mail service ; that we should no longer do. We guard your frontier ; that we should no longer do. We pay a very disproportionate part of the cost of the Government ; you, alike with us, would be left to pay your own. We hold your millions of slaves in subjection to you, a service which we shall not regret to be absolved from. We return the fugitive which escapes to your service, except an occasional one, who prefers death to your higher civilization ; and we not only return them, but we pay the expense of our own dishonor in this respect. Now, sir, it is very clear that, in a division, this business will be handed over to you. We shall neither per- form it ourselves, nor allow you to do it upon our side of the line. And you surely do not ex- pect to lessen our objections to human bondage by absolving us from all obligations to respect it 6 as a system, and from even indirectly yielding it support. I tell the gentleman from Virginia, [Mr. Smith,] and I tell honorable members who threaten dis- union, that there will be no peaceable dismem- berment of this Government, even if we endeav- ored so to have it ; and the gentleman's colleague well said that, if disunion ever comes, it will not begin in Congress. It will begin, as other revolu- tions have begun, among the people. It will begin only when the conviction is forced upon the minds of the people, that the Government, in its corruption, has left them no hope of peacea- ble means of redress. It will not be hastily begun, nor even by the ordinary causes of pop- ular outbreaks in other Governments. "We are a law-loving, law-abidingpeople, North and South. I speak now, sir, of the people — the masses — and not of ambitious political leaders. Were it not so, we should now be deciding this question upon the battle-field. But, sir, there is a point in this matter which it will be fatal to pass — a point upon which trem- bles the lives of millions of men. Should we ever unsheath the sword of civil strife, it will be no common feud. We are children of the same fam- ily, actuated by the same courage, as has been proved upon many a battle-field, feeling the same unyielding determination to stand by our rights, or fall in their defence. Sir, J believe that the page on which is recorded the history of that struggle (should it ever come) will be the red- dest page which God has ever permitted to be written upon this earth. I hope, I pray, it may never come. But, sir, I may add, should it come, we of the North are not responsible for it; we have tried to keep peace ; we have made sacri- fices to this end which few people ever made ; and we will not be responsible for its results. If you begin a revolution to spread Slavery, you should not complain if, like all other revolutions, it breaks the fetters of the slave, and lets up the oppressed. If you begin the war, and find in its results that your millions of slaves, hardly now held to subjection, shall rise up and enact upon you, your wives and children, the awful atroci- ties of British India, charge us not with the fault. We want peace, not war ; union, not dis- cord ; brotherly feeling, not hatred. And we can have these only upon the terms of justice and fair dealing. Sir, as dearly as we prize these blessings, and great as are the sacrifices which we have made, and are willing to make, to ob- tain them, for one, I say — and I have well con- sidered the words — rather than see a continu- ance of the wrongs and outrages, the frauds and villainies, which have been connived at and sus- tained by this Government in this matter of Kan- sas, I would prefer to see an end of the Govern- ment, and abide the result. Mr. Chairman, the people of the North are not " negro worshippers," as they have been termed on this floor. Nor are they, abolitionists. As I have already said, they dislike your institution, and believe it to be wrong in the sight of God, and unworthy of the civilization of our age and country. They would gladly assist — not force — you to abolish it where it now exists. But the great objection with the masses of the North, and one which will ultimately unite them in the same manner to oppose its progress that the South is united to spread it, is the effect of this institution upon the growth and prosperity of the people — is its bearing as a question of political economy. These effects are no longer matter of doubt or speculation. Gentlemen may talk about the value of their annual product of cotton and sugar. What do such facts weigh against' the comparison of States, side by side, in wealth, in population, in schools, in general intelligence, in all the comforts and blessings of life ? Weigh Virginia against Pennsylvania, Kentucky against Ohio, and the slave State3 which have been ad- mitted since the formation of the Government against the free States admitted within the same time, and answer the question for yourselves. There is no chance for mistake here ; for in soil, in climate, in everything, you had the advantage; and yet, with all these, how far you have fallen behind ! I do not deny but that your sys- tem gives, in individual instances, the very high- est opportunity for improvement. The individual who reaps the unpaid toil of others may have, and will have, leisure and means for cultivation beyond that of him who toils for his support. But, sir, we hold that Governments were made for the good of all, and that one the best which consults the interest and happiness of all. In striving to keep the Territories free, we seek, not only the interests of the people of Kansas, but of free labor everywhere. I know that we are told, by the honorable Sen- ator from South Carolina, [Mr. Hammond,] that labor is servile, and laborers everywhere slaves. To make sure that I do him no injustice, I quote what the honorable Senator said on that point : " In all social systems, there must be a class to ' do the mean duties, to perform the drudgery of ' life. That is, a class requiring but a low order ' of intellect and but little skill. Its requisites ' are vigor, docility, fidelity. Such a class you ' must have, or you would not have that other ' class which leads progress, refinement, and civ- ' ilization. It constitutes the very mud-sills of ' society and of political government ; and you ' might as well attempt to build a house in the ' air, as to build either the one or the other, ex- ' cept on the mud-sills. Fortunately for the ' South, she found a race adapted to that pur- ' pose to her hand — a race inferior to herself, ' but eminently qualified, in temper, in vigor, in 1 docility, in capacity, to stand the climate, to ' answer all her purposes. , We use them for the 1 purpose, and call them slaves. We Jare old- ' fashioned at the South yet ; it is a word dis- ' carded now by ears polite ; but I will not char- ' acterize that class at the North with that term, ' but you have it ; it is there ; it is everywhere ; ' it is eternal. " The Senator from New York said yesterday ' that the whole world had abolished Slavery. ' Ay, the name, but not the thing ; and all the 1 powers of the earth cannot abolish it. God only ' can do it when he repeals the fiat, ' the poor ye ' always have with you ; ' for the man who lives ' by daily labor, and scarcely lives at that, and ' who has to put out his labor in the market, and ' take the best he can get for it ; in short, your ' whole class of manual laborers and operatives, 1 as you call them, are slaves. The difference ' between us is, that our slaves are hired for life ' and well compensated ; there is no starvation, ' no begging, no want of employment, among our ' people, and not too much employment either. ' Yours are hired by the day, not cared for, and ' scantily compensated ; which may be proved in ' the most deplorable manner, at any hour, in any ' street, in any of your large towns. Why, sir, 1 you meet more beggars in one day, in any sin- 1 gle street of the city of New York, than you ' would meet in a lifetime in the whole South. ' Our slaves are black, of another, inferior race. ' The status in which we have placed them is an ' elevation. They are elevated from the condition ' in which God first created them, by being made 1 our slaves. None of that race on the whole ' face of the globe can be compared with the ' slaves of the South, and they know it. They ' are. happy, contented, unaspiring, and utterly ' incapable, from intellectual degradation, ever ' to give us any trouble by their aspirations. "Your slaves are white, of your own race; ' you are brothers of one blood. They are your ' equals in natural endowment of intellect, and 1 they feel galled by their degradation. Our ' slaves do not vote. We give them no political ' power. Yours do vote, and being the majority, 'they are the depositaries of all your political ' power. If they knew the tremendous secret, ' that the ballot-box is stronger than an army ' with bayonets, and could combine, where would 'you be? Your society would be reconstructed, ' your Government reconstructed, your property ' divided, not as they have mistakenly attempt- ' ed to initiate such proceedings by meeting in ' parks, with arms in their hands, but by the ' quiet process of the ballot-box. You have been ' making war upon us to our very hearthstones. ' How would you like us to send lecturers or ag- 1 itators North, to teach these people this, to aid ' and assist in combining, and to lead them? : ' Sir, I tell you, and I tell the honorable Senator, that the very thing which he holds up to fright- en us — viz : that those who labor will yet rule us — is what we have already accomplished; and therein lies the difference of our system of labor and that of the gentleman's section. With him, power in the hands of the laborer is his greatest dread; with us, it is our highest boast. In his section, the "mud-sills of society " are slaves, who would use power, if they had it, to repay long years of wrong and degradation; with us, the "mud-sills," the laboring men, are in power already, and using it, not to avenge injuries, but to perpetuate and increase blessings which are common to all. Labor, instead of being a stig- ma, is the proudest dignity which we know. With us, those only are dishonored who are the drones of society, and refuse to labor. Our la- boring men, our "mud-sills," are representing themselves ; the gentleman can meet them in the Senate, or here upon the floor of this Hall ; and however much he may disallow their claims, they will, here and everywhere, insist that they are the peers of all those who represent his sys- tem of labor. The honorable gentleman from Georgia, [Mr. Crawford,] who, I think, has made up the strongest case upon the Lecompton side, indulged in a_ course of remarks calculated to convey the impression that all the wrongs and outrages which had been perpetrated in Kansas were by the Free State men. From the high character which the gentleman sustains, I was prepared to hear from him a different statement, and I was not a little surprised when the gentleman dwelt so long and so pointedly upon our Northern " Emigrant Aid Society," and the combinations by Northern men in Kansas, that he omitted, possibly forgot, to mention Southern " emigrant aid societies" and "blue lodges," as connected with this Kansas history. Sir, I do not intend to go over the history of these wrongs. The people of my section know them all, and those of your section would never see the evidence, were I to collect it. It has already been many times done more perfectly than I could do it, and presented in a way no hour speech can present it. But I have just received a letter from a distinguished citizen, until within a few months a resident of my dis- trict, afnd now a resident of Kansas, which, from his high standing, and from long years of unti- ring, unfaltering support to whatever has been called " Democratic," will entitle it to credit in my district, if nowhere else. He, for years, shared the toil and the triumphs of that party ; he was the supporter of Mr. Pierce and Mr. Bu- chanan, and he left his old home for the West with feelings toward the " Black Republicans " similar to those taken to Kansas by Reeder, Geary, Walker, and Stanton, and you will see by his letter that his conversion has been not less perfect than theirs : "Leavenworth City, Feb. 23, 1858. " Dear Sir : You may not know that I have been a resident of this place since May last. Supposiug that the political storm which raged here with such fury had passed away, I came here with my family, together with Mr. Brown, (who married my youngest daughter.) with the intention of making this my future home. The end, however, it seems, is not yet. No man out of the Territory can form any just idea of the enormity of the wrongs to which the Free State people have been subjected. Very little reli- ance can be placed on the public press. To know the facts, a person must live here. The Free State people outnumber the rest of our population in the proportion of five to one ; and yet, through the atrocious frauds committed on the ballot-box, we are never sure of securing our rights. By this time you will have seen something of this in the testimony taken by a committee, &c. We care nothing tor what may be done by our opponents, if the ballot-box can be sacredly secured to us. Until that right is secured, we are at the mercy of the most un scrupulous gang of marauders that Heaven ev. suffered to live. 8 " You know I have always voted the Demo- ' cratic ticket — one of the Hard-Shells of New ' York ; but if the treatment we receive at the 1 hands of Government be Democracy, \ am no ' longer one of them, and from my inmost soul ' bid you and your Republican brethren God ' speed in any and all honorable means to hedge ' up their way in all attempts to violate the great ' principle on which the Kansas-Nebraska bill is ' based. " This is a fine country, and when peace is 1 restored, and, the right shall prevail, will rap- ' idly fill up, and ultimately become a first-class ' State. " I shall be happy to hear from you, from time ' to time, at your leisure. " With much respect, I am, dear sir, yours, " James Taylor. "Hon. E. B.Foitle." Mr. Chairman, I have but few words to add in conclusion. I will only repeat, I desire peace ; I desire that the present excitement shall pass away, and give place to that brotherly feeling which ought to exist between those of the same nation, of the same blood, and speaking the same language. War and strife is ever hateful, and doubly so when waged by members of a common family against each other. But, as I said, there will be no peace except it be founded in justice ; fraud and violence never yet produced peace, and never will. They are ever the harbingers of strife and of war ; and so will they prove, if a continuance of them is persisted in. The people of Kansas have patiently waited, and borne wrongs which would have shaken any monarch in Europe' from his throne. They have waited in hopes that finally they would be allowed the peaceful, constitutional remedy of the ballot- box, and thus put a stop to their oppressions. Compel them into the Union under this Consti- tution, and take from them that hope, and they will wait no longer. They will resist, I doubt not; and I think they will not be left to resist alone and unaided. The cause of constitutional right is the cause of millions who never saw Kansas. The honorable member from Georgia, already referred to, told us the other day that "the North, in this Kansas matter, had fought with a steadiness and zeal worthy of a better cause." Sir, I tell the gentleman, and all who seek to fasten this great wrong upon the people of Kan- sas, that, should they succeed, they will see a zeal and steadiness upon the part of the North hitherto unknown. They will yet come to real- ize that our "fanaticism" has already reached that point where we recognise no better, no ho- lier cause than that of human liberty — no higher duty than opposition to fraud and oppression. They will come to know that, however we differ as to whether any more slave States shall, under any circumstances, be admitted into the Union, there is one point upon which we agree; and that is, that Slavery will not be allowed to add new States by fraud or by violence, without meeting our determined, unfaltering, resistance ; and from this position we cannot be driven by any threat of danger to the Union. WASHINGTON, D. C. BUELL & BLANCHARD, PRINTERS. 1858. ■