Speech ."TVi/\aWS 0^ Ks^-n«'-^S. I85fc, ^^^•if». Glass ^^? Book C^l THE "LA.WS" OF KA.]SrS^S. SPEECH OF SCHUYLER COLFAX, OF INDIANA, m THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, JUNE 3 1, 185 6. The House being in Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union on the Army appropriation bill Mr. COLFAX said : Mr. Chairman : I desire to give notice that I shall mcve, when we reach the third clause of the pending Army bill, the following amend- ment ; and I read it now, because the remarks I shall make to-day are designed to show its necessity But Coiig:ress. hereby disapproving of the apde of al- Jeged law* omcially communicated to them bjiWie Presi- dent, and which are represented to have been enacted by a bffdy claimin? to be the Territorial Legislature of Kan- sas, and also disapproving of the manner in which said alleged laws have been enforced by the authorities of said lerritory, expre=sly declare that, until these alleged laws shall have been affirmed by the Senate and House of Rep- resentatives as havina: been enacted by a le>ral Lea-isla- ture, chosen in conformity with the organic' law by the people ot Kansas, no part of the miliary force of the Uni- ted Slates shall he employed in uid of their enforcement- nor sliall any citizen of Kansas be required, under their provisions, to act as a pan of the posse co?/iitatus of any oflicer acting as marshal or sheriffin said Territory." My especial object to day is to speak relative to this code of laws, now in my hand, which has emanated from a so-called Legislative Assem- bly of Kansas ; and for the making of which jour constituents, in common with mine, have paid their proportion — the whole having been paid for out of the Treasury of the United States In speaking of the provisions embodi- ed in this voluminous document, and of the manner in which these "laws" have been en- forced, I may feel it my duty to use pkin and direct language; and I find my exemplar, as well as my justification for it, in the unlimited freedom of debate which, from the first day of the session, has been claimed and exercised by gentlemen of the other side of the House. And, recognising that freedom of debate as we have, to the fullest extent, subject only to the rules of the House, we intend to exercise it on this side, when we may see fit to do so, in the same am- ple manner, ilence, when we have been so frequently called "'fanatics," and other epithets of denunciation, no one on these seats has even call- ed gentlemen of the other side to order. When it has pleased them to denounce us as Black Repub- licans or colored Republicans, we have taken zo exception to the attack, for we regard free- dom of speech as one of the pillars of our free I institutions. When, not content with this, they . have charged us with implied perjury, in being hostile to the Constitution, and unfaithful to the Union, we have been content to leave the world tojudgebetween us and our accusers — a scrutiny in which principles will have more weight than denunciation. In spite of all these attacks we have not been moved to any attempt to restrict the most perfect and unlimited freedom of speech on the part of our denouncers ; for we acknowl- edged the truth of Jefi'erson's sentiment, that Error ceases to be dangerous, when Reason IS left free to combat it." If that constitutional safeguard of our ri(»hta and liberties, free speech in debate, is to'' be recognised anywhere, it should certainly be recognised, enforced, and protected, in thia House. _ Every Representative of a free constit- uency, if worthy of that responsible position, should speak here at all times, not with "bated breath," but openly and fearlessly, the senti- ments of that constituency; for, sir, it is not alone the two hundred and thirty-four members of this House who mingle in this arena of de- bate; but here, within this bar, are the teeming millions of American freemen, not individually participating, as in Athens in the olden time, in the enactment of laws and the discussion and settlement of the foreign and domestic poli- cy of the nation ; but still, sir, participating in the persons of their Representatives, whom they have commissioned to speak for them, in tho important questions which are presented for our consideration. Here, in this august pres- ence, before the whole American people, thus represented, stand, and must ever stand, States and statesmen, legislators and jurists, parties and principles, to be subjected to the severest sciutiny and the most searching review. Here Alabama arraigns Massachusetts, as she has done through the mouth of one of her Repre- sentatives but a few weeks since; and here Massachusetts has equally the right to arraign any other State of the Confederacy. And while the Republic stands, this freedom of debate, grarantie.l and protected bv the Constitution, must and will be sustained and enfciced on thia floor 2 %B^ Mr. Ohairman, I feel compelled, on this oc- casion, therefore, by truth, &n(\ by a cunscien- lious conviction of what I know to be the feel- iiigu of my constitueiita— for whom I apeak as much as I do for rnvself— to denounce, as I do this day. the "code" of the so called Lei.'isla- ture of Kiiiisas, as a code of tyranny and op- I wish first., Mr. Chairman, to speak of th6 manner iu which the Chief Justice, aitti'j^ aa the supreme judicial CyfKcer of the Territory of Kansas, has performed the fanctions of his of- fice. I have no imputation to make upon him as a mau of moral character or of judicial abil- ity. I know nothi!!? in regard to either. I do pvession, acodeofoutra>jeandofwn)n?,which notsayhe has wilfully and cnrrupi'y violated would diWrace the Lr-islature of any State of his official oath; for I can say ///«/ au hontaave- the Union, as it disgraces the Gotbs and Van dais, who, after invading and conquering the Territory, thus attempted to play the despot over its people, and to make the white citizen.s of Kansas greater slaves than the blacks of Missouri. No man can examine the decrees of Louis Napoleon, no matter how ignorant he may have been of the procession of events in France for the past six years, without having the convi ction forced upon his mind that they emanated from an usurper and a despot. The very enac . ments embodied in these decrees be* testimony against hiai. The limitations on the righ t of the subject; the mockery of ihe pretended freedom of elections which he has vouchsafed to the people; the rigid censorship of the press ; the shackles upon the freedom of speech ; all combine to prove that they emanate {h)m an au tocrat, who, however men may dif- fer as to the wisdom of his statesmanship, un- doubtedly governs France with a strong arm •nd an iron rule. And so, sir, no unprejudi- ced man can rise from a candid perusal of this code without being thoroughly convinced that it never emi^n-ited from a Legiblature volunta- rily chosen by the people whom it professes to govern, but that it was dictated and enacted by usurpers and tyrants, whose leading object was o; crush out some sentiment predominant amongst that people, but distasteful and offeu- 8ive to these usurping legislators. I know this is a strong assertion; but, in the hour of your time which I shall occupy, I shall prove th\A assertion from the intrinsic evidence of the code itself. Before I proceed to make an analysis of these laws, which I hold were never legally enacted, ■were never tit to be made, nor fit to be obeyed by a fre« people, let me say a few words in re- gard to ihe manner in which they have been administered and enforced. We have heard of murder after murder in Kansas — murders of men for the singular crime of pn f rring Free- dom to Slavery; but you have not hturd of one single attempt by any court in thai Teiritoryto indict any one of those murderers. The bodies of Jones, of D jw, of Barbei-, and others, mur- dered in cold blood, are moaldcving away and joining the silent dust ; yet one of the mur- trers this very day holdis a Ter itorial ofSce in ansas, and auotner of thim holds an office of ly in only one way— and that is, by voting for hia impeachment. I shall not comment, sir, op the extraordinary manner in which he hiis enfi-rce'l ,lhe Kansas code, with Draconian severity, against all who advocated Freedom lor Kansas, but with a serene leniency towards all who did not ; pushing its severest provisions to the _es- Iremeat point in the one casc^, and forgetting, apparently, that it contains any penalties what- ever in the other. But 1 desire to draw the at- tention of the House to the fact, proven by the code itself, that this " LcKislature " have u^i^d every exertion v/ithin their power to make that Judge the interested champion and advocate of the validity of their enactments. Pecuniary interest, sir, is a powerful argument with man kind generally. We all see and we all recog- nise this fact as a truism which no logician de- nies. The Administration that gives a mau an extensive or a profitable contract may reaso):a- bly expect to find in him a supporter. The Legislature that confers on a man a valuable charter, would have a right to feel surprised if he did not decide in favor of the legality and the constitutionality of their enactments ; as well as use all of his influence in their favor, if their authority to act as grantors was disputed, and if his charter fell to the ground as worthless, in case their right to grant it was overthrown. It is true, some men are so pure as not to be affected by such things; but in the generality of cases, the human mind cannot fail to be thus influenced, even if it is not absolutely covitroiled. Now, if you will turn to the conohidirig por- tion of this " code of laws," yon will find one hundred and forty pages of it, over one-sixth of the whole, devoted to corporations, shingled in profusion over the whole Territory, granting charters for railroads, insurance comijanies, loll bridges, ferries, universities, mining companies, plank roads, and, in fact, all kinds of cliarters that are of value to their recipients, and more, iiideed, than will be needed there for many years. No less than four or five hundred persotn (not counting one hundred Territorial road oommis- sionersj have been thus incorporated, am! have been made the recipienta of the bounty of th- legislation of Kansas, making a great, portion, if'not all of them, interested advocates to sus- tain the legality of those laws now in dispute be- fore the American peojde. I need scarcely add. influence and rank under the authority of the ihat tho name of nearly every citizen ot L.u.sas General Government, while neither the Territ,.- who has been conspicuous in the recent bloo..y rial northeGeneralGovernmentinqaire in othe , .-.cenes in th.at lerntory on the side ot Slavery, crimes th-y have committed, or the juntific ition \ can be found amoHg th« favored ^-rantees ; ami tr their brothers' blood that stains iheir hands. ' all of them know that, it that Legislature. iS proved to be illegal and fraudulent, their grants become valueless. In quotinij from this code of the laws of the Legislature of Kansas, I desire to state that I quote from Executive document No. 23, sub- mitted to this House by the President of the United Stntes, and printed by the public printer of C-'ni?ress. It is entitled " Laws of the Ter- ritory of Kansas," and forms a volume of eight hundred and twenty-three pages. I notice that many members have a copy of this code before them now ; and as many people, as they discuss these enactments around the hearthstone at home, cannot believe that they are authentic, I will take pains to quote the section and page of every law I allude to, and will say to gei»tle"men upou the other side, that if they find me quoting incorrectly in a single .instance, or in the minu- test particular, essential or non-esseutial. I call upon them to correct me on the spot.* I wish tolay the exact truth, no more, no less, from this official record itself, authenticated as it is by the President of the United States himself, before Congress and the American people. You will find in this code of laws, that Mr, Isaacs, the district attorney of Kansas, figures in four acts of incorporation, and cannot'' fail, therefore, to believe in the legality of their enact- naent. Mr. L. N. Reese figures in three more ; Mr. L. J. Eastin in three ; Stringfellow in three' of course ; and R. R. Reese in five— all of them earnest defenders of the code and its provisions, as might be expected. But I desire more par- ticularly to show you the incorporations in which the Territory of Kansas have given an interest to the Chief Justice of the Territory, Judge ie- compte, sitting though he does upon the judicial behch, to decide upon the validity of these Ter- ritorial laws. You will find him, on page 788, incorporated as one of the regents of the Kan- sas University ; but I pass by that, as of very little moment. At page 7G0 you will find a char- ter for the Central Railroad Company, with a capital of $1,000,000, in which S. A. Lecompte is one of^the corporators. The Chief Justice's name is S. D. Lecompte ; and as I cannot hear of any other person of the name of Lecompte in the Territory, I have no doubt that this is a misprint in the middle initial, and that his name was intended. But I will give him the benefit of the doubt, and pass over this charter. On page 7G9 you find another charter, in which Chief Justice S U. Lecompte fij^ures as a cor- porator. It is the charter of the Leavenworth, Pawnee, and Western Rdlroad, which, iu the opiiiion of many, is destined to be a link in the great Pacific Railroad, or at least an important section ffi one of its branches. It is chartered with a capital of $5,000,000, and five years' time is given for the grantees to commence the ♦ The patrcs referred to are numbered in Bccordance with the Oftcial Reprint of ihe l.aws by Congress, of Vk'hich ear h Aieini.er luis a c»y. and not the puyes of the edition primed m Kansas. J! the Sections, liowcver, are generally (;uoted in full, they can easily be traced by any person h aving the latter edition. work. This charter, valuable as it must become as the Territory advances iu population ai.d wealth, is pre.sented as a free gift to Judge Le- compte and his associates by the mfck Legis- lature of Kansas. Of course, fn all tht^se char- ters the directors are to open bookn for the sub- scription of stock, keepin.ir them open "as long as they may deem proper ; " no barrier existing against their subscribing the whwle sident should pause long be.rore trea'iiig-as 'treasonable insurrectinn' the action oV those iiiliiibiiaiiis of Kansas who deny the binding autho-ity of the iMis'ouri- Kansas Legislature; for. in our liumhle opinion, a people that would not be inclined to rebel against the acis of a legislative boOy forced upon them i-y fraud and vioUnce, V-'Ould be tt?iwortlnj the nn.ne of Ayijrican. If tihfrf was ever justifiable cause for popular recolution ai;ainsl a usurping and obnoxious Goi-ernirunt, that cause has existed in Kan- sas." The President of the United States has de- clared, in his special message to Congress, in his proclamation, and in his orders to Governor Shannon and Colonel Sumner, through his Sec- retary of State and Secretary of Way, that this code of Territorial laws is to be enforced by the full exercise of his power. He has, of course, read them, and knows of their provisions. He must know that they trample even on the or- ganic law, which his official signature breathed into life. He must know that they trample on the Constitution of the United States, which he and we have sworn to support. Reading them as he has, he could have chosen rather to support the law of Congress and the national Constitution ; but he preferred to declare pub- licly his intention of assisting, with all his power and authority, the enforcement of this code, which repudiates both. The National Demo- cratic Convention also, at Cincinnati, denounced "treason and armed resistance to the laws" in a marked anH special manner; and if there was any doubt as to the object of this denunciation, the speech of the author of the Nebraska bill himself, Mr. Douglas, at the ratification meet- ing in this eity, a few nights since, shows plain- ly its "intent and meaning." Wishing to do no injustice to any one, I quote from his speech, as reported in the National Democratic organ here, the Washington Union, of June 10, which I hold in my hand : '■'I'lie plaiforin w.as equally explicit in reference to the ditturha-tccs in relation lo the Territory of Kansas. It de- clared that treason was to be punished, and resistance lo the laws was to he put down."' * « * * " He rejoiced that the Convention, by a unanimous vote had approved of (he creed thai tiw must and shall prevail [Applause,] He rejoiced that we I ad a standard-bearer [.Mr. Buchanan] with so much wisdom and nerve as to enforce a iirm and undivided execution of (/lose laws.''' And Mr. Buchanan, after the nomination, replied to the Keystone Club, who called on him on their return from Cincinnati, as fol lows : '' Gentlemen, tvv-o weeks since I should have made you a longer speech, but now I have been placed upon a plat- form of which I most heartily approve, and that can ipeak for me. Being the rcpre.-entalive of the great Democratic party, and not simply James Suehanan,! must square my conduct according to the platfoim of that party, and insert n) iievv plank, nor lake one from tt. That platform is suf- ficiently broad and national for the whole Democratic party." I shall now proceed to show you no less than seven palpable violations of the organic lam^ (the Nebraska bill,) incorporated' into this code by the bogus Legislature which enacted it. The President, Judge Douglas, and Mr. Buchanan, who are ail pledged "to enforce these Territorial laws," cannot have failed to notice that the conquerors of Kansas enacted their code, regardless of whether its provisions coincided with the organic law or not; but, nevertheless, where they differ, the law of the United States is to be ignored, and the Pro- Slavery behests of the Kansas invaders are to be carried out at the point of the bayonet, if necessary. First. Section twenty-two of the Nebraska bill enacts that the House of Representatives in Kansas shall consist of twenty-six members, "whose term of service shall continue one year." That does not mean eighteen, nine- teen, or twenty months, but "one year," and one year only. The Legislature of Kansas was elected on the 30th day of March, 1855— a day which has become famous from the discussions in this House and elsewhere in regard it ; and, sir, if you will turn to page 280 of this Kansas code, you will see that there is not to be aa election for members of the lower House of the Legislature until the first Monday in October, in the year 1856 — over eighteen months after the first Legislature was elected. If you turn, then, to page 403, you will find that no regular session of that Legislature is to be held until January, 1857 ; so that the term of that House of Representatives, in defiance of the organic law, is prolonged to twenty-two months instead of twelve mouths. Sir, their term has expired now. There is no Legislature in the Territory of Kansas this day ; and therefore, in the lan- guage of the Declaration of Independence, "the legislative nowers, incapable of annihila- tion, have returned to the people at large for their exercise." For exercising them, how- ever, in no coriflifl with 'he Tern?orial "jT'ivern- Eieiit, bat carefully avoWing it, and abstaining from putting any I'^gislation in force, bat only organizing as a State to apply for admission here, as "a redress for their grievances" — for doiii? this, the court of Jndge Lecompte ar- raigns them for treason, and scatters its indict- ments ail over the Territory. Second. The same section of the Kansas organic law says that the members of the coun- cil jhall serve for " t\70 years ; " but *heir term has been prolonged in the same manner to neaihj three years, so that the councillors elect- ed in March, 1855, remain in otfice until the 1st of January. 1858 — longer than a member of this House holds his t-eat by the authority of his constituents. And it is to this Legislature, the Senatorial branch of which, even if legally elected, should expire in nine months from this time, but which, in defiance of the organic lav<, have taken upon themselves to extend their term to a period nineteen mouths distant, that Judge Douglas de.ures, in his bill, to submit the question of when a census shall be taken preparatory to admission as a Siate, and to clothe them wi'h the superinteiidence of the movements in the Territory, pi'elirainary to said admission. When we have investigated today the "constitutionality," the "justice," the "impartiality," the "humanity," of their acts thus far, no one will need to ask, why I am not willing, for one, to give them the slight- est d('i:ree of power or authority hereafter, but, on the contrary, desire to take from them that ■which they have illegally usurped and tyranni- cally exercised. But, if to these two points it is replied that the term of the House of Representatives was intended by this mock Legislature to expire on the oOih of March, 1856, ten months before the new House takes its seat, and the Council, in M,ach, 1857, ten months before the new Ceun- oil meets, it follows that, though the Nebraska bill extended " popular sovereignty " by giving the President absolute control of two of the three branches of the Government, the Execu- tive and Judicial, and kft to the people only the Legislative, subject to a two-thirds veto of the Preeiden:'s Governor, this Legislature so legislates that there is no H';ut prevent mi-construclioii or abuse of its power, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be addp.'f." Therefore the amendments that followed were proposed. Thus it is conclusively proven that the amend- ment prohibiting any abridgement of the free- dom of speech w!\3 adopted to prevent "an abuse of power;' which our fjrefathers feared might be attempted by some degenerate de- Eceniiants at some later period of our history. But, though they thus sought to preserve and protect free speech, by constitutional provision, their prophetic fears have been re;i!i^ed by the enactors of the Kansas code. Its one hundred and fifty-first chapter, on pages GO-i and fi05, is entitled, " An act to piini-*h otTeiices against slave property;" and there \^ no decree of Aus- trian despot or Russian Czar whinh is not mer- ciful, in comparison with its provisions. Here, sir, in the very teeth ot the Constitution, is sec- tion twelve of that chapter: "If any (ree person, by speaking; or bv wriliTiir. angertof mat" lain that persons' have not the right lo hnl I slaves Mt th'S Tt'ritory, or shall introduce into this Tirrilory', print, publish, wrie. circulate, or c use to be introduced into this Territory, written, printed, published, or circulated, in this Territory, n»!i/ b^ok. paper, ma-jrazine, pamphlet, or in this Territory, slunl sit as a jaror on the trial ol'any |iros- eculionlbr any violation of any of the sections of this act.'' Here, sir, in these instances which I have quoted, stand the Constitution of the United States on the one side, and the Kansas code on the other, in direct and open conflict — the one declaring that the freedom of speech shall not be abridged, that the freedom of the press shall be protected, that juries, above all things elde, shall be entirely impartial; the other trampling all these safeguards under foot. And because a majority ot rhe settlers thore, driven from the polls by aruied mobs, legislated over by a mob in whose election ihr-y had no agency, choose to stand by and maintain their ritchts under the Conslitution, you liave seeti how anarchy and violence, how outrage and persecution, have been running riot in that Territory, far exceed- ing in their tyranny and uppressiou the wrongs for which our revoiiuio'iary forefathers rose against the m-xs'^-rs who opprfssed them; and yet, though thw pr..tecnon tlii-y have had from the General Gjvtrttn.eut iias been only the same kind of protection which the wulf gives to the lamb, they have, while repudiating the Territo- zial sherifi'd, bowed in submission to writs in the hands of the United States marshal, or when the soldiers of the United States, yielding to orders which they do not deem it dishonorable for them to despise, assist in their execution. Such forbearance — such manifestations of their allegiance to the rational authority — become the more wonderful, when it is apparent as the noonday sun that every attempt has been made to harass them into resistance to the authority of the United States, so as to furnish a pretext, doubtless, for their indiscriminate imprison- ment, expulsion, or massacre. Fourth. The Constitution also prohibits cruel and unusual punishments. I shall show, before T close, that this so-called Kansas Legislature has prescribed most cruel and unusual punish- ments, unwarranted by the character of the of- fences punished, and totally disproportioned to their criminality. Fifth. The Constitution declares (article 1, section 9) that "the privilege of the writ of ha- beas corpus shall not be suspended, unless whea, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it." But the Kansas code, in its chapter of habeas corpus, (article 3, seo tion 8, page 345,) enacts as follows: '• No neijro or tnulatto, held as a slave within lhi« Ter- ritory, or lawfully arr>-sted a? a fugitive I'rom servii-* fcoin a)iotlier Stale or Territory, shall be dischar'Ted. nor shall his Tt^hl offreedoin be had under the provisions of this act.'' This provision, suspending the writ of habeas corpus in the above cases, is not only a viola- tion of the Constitution, but also of the organic law; for that provided, in section 28, for ap- peals to the Supreme Court of the United States on writs of habeas corpus, in cases involving the right of freedom, the issuing of which this Territorial law expressly prohibits. The lan- guage of the Nebraska-Kansas act is as fol- lows : '• Except, also, that a writ f>f error or appeil shall a,s« be allowed to the Supreme Court of the United States from the decision of th'^ said Supreme Cour, created by thi" act. or of any judije thereof, or of the district courts created by this act. or of any judge thereof, upon any writ of habeas carpus, involving the quesiion of personal /nf dom." But the Kansas Legislature coolly set aside the law of the United States by which alone their Teriitorial organization was brought into existence, and effectually prohibited any appeal to the Supreme Court, " upon any writ of habeas corjms, involving the question of personal free- dotn," by declaring that the writ shall not be used in the^Territory for any su^h purpose! Having now referred to a few of the many acts embraced in this code, which conflict with the Constitution or the organic law. I proceed to the exami'iation of other provisions, some of which stamp it as a code of barbarity, aS well as of tyranny — of inhumanity as well as of op pression. And, first, to "the imprisonment al hard labor," which is made tlie pun-ishment foi "offences against th'e slave property," in the sections which I have already quoted. The general understanding of the people at larga bas been, that, as there was no State's prison yet erected iu Kansas, this imprisonment would be in some Missouri prisons near the frontier. But, sir, such is not the case. The authors of these disofracetul and outrageous enactments, with a refinement of cruelty, provided that the "hard labor'' should be in another way; and that way will be found in chapter 22, entitled "an act providing a system of confinement and hard labor," section 2 of which (page 147) reads aa follows : " Every person who may be sentenced by any court of competent jurisdiction, under any law in force within this Terrirory. to punishment by confinement and hard labor, shall be deemed a convict, and shall immediately, under the charge ot' the keeper of such jail or public prison, or under the charire of such person as the keeper of such jail or public prison may select, be put to hard labor, as in the first section of this act specified, (to wit. 'on the streets, roads, public buildings, or other puhlic works of the Terri- tory" — [Sec. 1, page 146;] and such keeper or other person, having charge of such convict, shall cause such convict, ■while ensaged at such labor, to be securely confined by a. chain, six feft in UnglK. of noHe.'S than four-sixteenths nor more ihsui three-eighths of an inch links, with a.round tall qf iron, of not less than four nor more than six inches in dirimeter. at'ached. which chain shsll be securely fast- ened to the a/iW-i of such convict with a strong lock and key; and such keeper, or o'her person, having charge of such convict, may .if necessary, confine such convict while so engaged at hard labor, by other chains, or other means, in his disoretion, so as to keep such convict secure, and prevent his escape ; and when there shall be two or more convicts under the charge of such keeper.or other person, such convicts shall be/astened together by strong chains. ■wi h strong locks and keys, during the time such convicts shall be engaged in hard labor without the walls of any jail or prison." And this penalty, revolting, humiliating, de- basing as it is, subjecting a free American citi- zen to the public sneers and contumely of his oppressors, far worse than within the prison walls, where the degradation of the punishment is relieved by its privacy, is to be borne from two to five long years by the men of Indiana and Ohio, of New England and New York, of Pennsylvania and the far West, who dare in Kansas to declare, by speech or in print, or to introduce therein a handbill or paper, which declares, that " persons have not the right to hold slaves in this Territory." The chain and ball are to be attached to the ankle of each, and they are to dra? out their long penalty for exercising their God-given and constitutionally- protected freedom of speech, manacled together in couples, and working, in the public gaze, under task-masters, to whom Algerine slave- holders would be preferable. Sir, as this is one of the laws which the Democratic party, by its platform, has resolved to enforce, and which the President of the United States intends to execute, if need be, with the whole armed force of the United States, I have prociared a specimen of the size of the iron ball which is to be used in that Territory under this enactment, and only regret that I cannot exhibit also the iron chain, six feet in length, which is to be dragged with it. through the hot summer months, and the cold wintry snows, by the Free State "convicts'' in Kansas. [Here Mr. C. exhibited a large and heavy iron ball, six inches in diameter, and eighteen inches in circumference.] Mr. Chairman, if the great men who have passed away to the spirit-land could stir them- selves in their graves, and, coming back to life and action, shotald utter on the prairies of Kansas the sentiments declared by them in the past, how would they be amazed at the penal- ties that would await them on every side, for the utterance of their honest convictions or. Slavery. Said Washington to John F. Mercer, in 1786: "I never mean, unless sorae particular circumstance should compel me to it, to possess another slave by pur- chase, it being among my first wishes to see som« plan adopted by which Slavery in this country may be aboi- ished by law." Said Jefiferson, in his Notes on Virginia : "The whole commerce between master and slave is a continual exercise of the most unremitting despotism on the one part, and degrading submission on the other." * * * "With what execration should the statesman be loaded, who, permitting one half of the citizens thus to trample on the rights of the other, transforms those into despots, and theselnto enemies, destroys the morals of the one part, and the amor patriae of the other! Can the lib- erties of a nation be thought secure, when we have remo- ved their only firm basis — a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God ? That they are not violated but by his wrath f Indeed, I trenibk for mij country when I reflect that God is just, and his justiM cannot sleep forever.'^ Surely such language, in the eyes of a Pro- Slavery jury, would be considered as "calcu- lated" 'to render slaves "disorderly." And surely, in the language of the President and his party, "the law must be enforced." Come, then, "Sheriff Jones," with your chain and ball for each of these founders of the Republic, and, manacled together, let them, as they pursue their daily work, chant praises to "the great principle for which our revolutionary fathers fought," and of which the defenders of the Ne- braska bill told us that law was the great em- bodiment. Said Mr. Webster, in his Marshfield speech, in 1848: '■ I f>'el that there is nothing unjust, nothing of which any honest man can complain, if he is intelli?ent. and I feel that there U nothing of which the civilized world, if they take notice of so humble an individual as myself, will reproach me. when I say. as I said the other day, that I have made up my mind, for one. that under no cir- cumstances will I consent lo the extension of the area''of Slavery in the United Stales, or lo the further increase of slave representation in the House of Representatives. And again, in 1850 : •Sir. wherever there i-s a particular good to be done— « wherever there is a foot of land to be staid back from be- coming slave territory — i am ready lo assert the principle of ihe exclu.'-ion of Slavery." Said the noble old statesman of Kentucky, Henry Clay, in 1 850 : •• I have said that I never could vote for it myself; and I repeat, that I never can and never wjll vote, and no earihlij jjnieer ever will make me vote, to spread Slavery ovtT territory where it does not exist."" Surely this, too, conflicts with the law of Kansas. Hurry them. Judge Lecompte, to the chain-gahg ; and as they commence their years of disgraceful and degrading punishment, for- get not to read them from the Nebraska bill that "its true intent and meaning"' ia "to leave 10 the peopip tfipreof perfectly frpp (rot only free, but PKKFECTLY frop) to form and regnlale fhoir domebtic institutions in tli>-ir own way, pulij-^Ci only to the Constitution of the United Stites.'' There is ani/ther portion of this aet to which I wish to crtU special attention. It is the suc- ceeding section to the above, (sec. 3, p. 147:) "AVlie ever any convict shall be cirployed at Itibor for any incorporate town or city, or any cou I'y, piich town, city, or ciiinty. f tisll pay into the Terriiorihl treasury llie sum oi fifty cents for each coiivicl. for every (l:iy iucb convict sh:i II he erieua'eil at such I:ittf)r; a '(1 vvhenever such nvi l shall be eti;p'oyetl iilion Jirivate hiriixg. tii \ i bur. it shall be at such pri-e tacli, p r day, as may he asrcd upon with such keeper, or other p.*rso]i having charge of such and the proceeds of said labor s'lall Le collccied by sucli keeper, and put inti; the Territorial treasury." Not content with the degradation of the chain-gang, a system of whme slavery is to be introduced by "private hiring;'' and the "convicts,"' sentenced for the exercise of the freedom of speech and of the pre,pro- val in its provisions. But, ala^ ! it is a fit asso- ciate for the rest. By it, it appears that "a per- son held in slavery " cannoif. me _/o>' his freedom till he first petitions the court for leave to estab- lish his riffht to freedom. If that leave is de- nied, whether he is legally or illegally held in slavery, no matter how clearly he cotild prove his freedom, yet, if the court withholds its per- mission, he has no alternative bu^ to continue in slavery till death frees him from his unjust ser- vitude. But if the court consent, he can only go on by giving security for the costs, when it is a conceded fact that, as a slave, he has not a dollar or a copper of his own in the world, and caiuot even mortgage his own labor for indem- nification of his security. On page 325, section 12, of this same law, there is a singular provis- ion: ^•Ifxhe phiiniifT lie a negro or mulallo. he is required R> prove his rii»lil 'o freedom." There can be only one fair, legitimate, infer- ence from this — and that is, that it is considered quite possible that persons iiof, negroes or ma- lattoes — in other words, ivhife pernoiis — may happen to beheld in slavery in Kansas; but me requirement of the consent of the court, and se- curity for costs, applies to thein also ; and, of course, section 14 adds: "inactions prosecuted under this act, the \\\MnuS shall not recovt¥ any damages" from the person who has betn thus proven to have held him illegally, and perhaps for years, in slavery. The code also, to be complete, provides for slav-Jlogipng by laio. By the one hundred and twenty-second chapter, on page 454. patrols are to be appointed by the county boards, who are to visit negro quarters, and to watch unlawful assemblages of slaves. If slaves are found at the latter, or strolling from one plantation to another without a pass, they are to suffer teu or twenty lashes. There is one exception, and, as I desire to do impartial justice to this code, I wish to say, to be placed to the credit of the men who enacted it, that that whipping clans* is not to be construed to prevent slaves from going directly to or returning from divine wor- ship ou the Sabbath. They believe, it fleeras, in the " stated preaching of the Gospel," and 11 therefore that, is excepted. But, sir, when vis- itiny written or Erinted advertisemf iits, put up or distriluitetl fifteen day- efore siid da, , call out all coinpair and siulf officers under his commaMcl, to rendezvous at >o ne convenient ai;d suitable pU(Ci>, where they shall be formed and drilled in flompauy order by the commandant; and at said rendez- vous the commandiiut shall give to the offi crs public no- tice of ihe plaC'" where the regiment or hallalion shall meet, whieh place shall bf within his district, and the lime as follows, viz : thefint regiment, or one lowest in uuniher in each hri^ade. shnll men at ttn o'clock in the forenoon on the first Monday in October,''^ &c. It adds that the next regiment in each brig- ade is to meet the ensuing day. In order that (here may be no mi.sunderstand* ing or denial that this is the regular election day, I quote from chapter 6G of the Code, page 2Md pi;j;ht hundred and fifty five, and on the first .Mon- day'in October, every two y'-ars thereafter, an el-'Ction for delesrate to the House of Repr<'¥eiitatives of the United Stales shall be held, a' the respeotive places of holding e'eciions, in ihe Territory of Kansas. Skc. a. On the first Monday in October, in the year one thousand 'Mtrht Imi-.drec. and iifiy-six, and on the first Mon- day in Octcb-r in ever, year ihere-fier, -jii election tor I Representatives of the Lesrislative Assembly, and lor all other elective offices not otherwise provided for by law, shall be held, at the respective places of holding elections, in this Territory. "Sec 3. On the first Monday in October, in the year one thousand eiijht hundred and fifiyseven. .ind on Ihe first Afonday in Ocioberevery two years thereafter, an elec-ion shall be held, at the respectivp'plJ>',-esof holding elections, for members of the council." On the very day of thf» election, therefore — which in every other State of the LTnion is some- thing like a Sabbath, so far as ordinary busi- ness is concerned, and men are permitted to choose their own officers and legislators as they see fit, untraraelled by any power upon earth, and when men, in many States, are exempt from arrest for all offences but felony, to aid to the furthest extent in leaving the people perfectly free in the exercise of the freeman's most price- less right, the elective franchise — these citizens of Kansas are to be summoned forth by l.heir superior officers, wherever they may choose to march them, subject to the penalties of an in- stant court martial, if they do not obey. For section 13 says, page 423 : " If a non-commissioned officer, musician, or private, shall be ffuilly of ilhohedienre of orders, or disrespect to an officer, during the lime lie shall he on duty, he .shall be tried by a court-martial, and fined, not less than five dollars, nor more than twenty dollars." There is no provision in this chapter by which these officers, appointed by the Governor, are to supply the privates with tickets of an orthO' dox character, to be voted under their " or- ders;" but the selection of election-day for training-day is a coincidence that is obviously not accidental. The authority given by French generals to the army to vote as they please, but if they vote, they must vote for Napoleon, is to be re-enacted in Kansas ; and even if the freemen of Kansas, under training orders as they are, should vote as they please, despite the reign of terror existing there, and the an- gry denunciations of their officers, they can be kept by those officers, as it was doubtless in- tended they should be, under such orders as will prevent them from protecting their ballot- boxes against the invasion which is, doubtless, this fall — as so often before — to crowd thena with fraudulent votes. Section thirteen of this same law brings all the Sharpe's rifles on the ground, where the " superior officers" can take possession of them under color of law, without fear of their con- tents : "That it shall be the duty of every non-roinmissioned officer and private who owns a rifle, musket, or fire-Ioct^ to appear with it in good order at every parade." 12 The whole country has heard, sir, of the sec- tion of the election law which allows " inhabit- ants " to vote at the general election, without requiring them to have resided in the Terri- torf a single day ; and of the test oaths to sus- tain the Fugitive Slave Law and the Nebraska Bill, which are intended to shut out all men opposed to both from the ballot-box. And I will quote it from page 282, because I desire to contrast its provisions with another : " Sec. 11. Every free white male citizen of the United States, and every free male Indian who is made a citizen by treaty or otherwise, and over the age of twenty-one years, who shall be an inhabitant of this Territory, and of the county or district in which he offers to vote, and shall have paid a Territorial lax, shall be a qualified f lector for all elective officers; and all Indians who are inhatiitants of this Territory, and who may have adopted the customs of the white man, and who are liable to pay taxes, shall be deemed citizens: Provided, That no soldier, seaman, or marine, in the regular Army or Navy of the United States, shall be entitled to vote, by rea.soa of being on service therein : A>Ld provided, further. That no person who shal", have been convicted of any violation of any provision of an act of Congress, entitled 'An act respecting fugitives from justice, and persons esciping from the service of their masters,' approved February 12, 1793; or of an act to amend and supplementary to said act, approved ISth September, 1>50; whether such conviction were by crim- inal proceeding or by civil action for the recovery of any penalty prescribed by either of said acts, in any courts of the United States, or of any State or Territory, of any of- fence deemed infamous, shall be entitled to vote at any election, or to hold any ofiice in this Territory : And pro- wled, further. That if any person ofTering to vote shall be challenged and required to take an oath or affirmation, to be administered by one of the judges of the election, that he will sustain the provisions of the above-recited acts of Congress, and of the act entitled 'An act to organ- ize the Territories of Nebraska and Kansas,' approved May 30, 1354, and shall refuse to take such oath or alBrm- ation, the vote of such person shall be rejected.'' Merely being an " inhabitant," if the person is in favor of the Nebraska bill, and of the Fu- gitive Slave Law, qualifies him as a voter in all the elections of the Territory affecting National or Territorial politics. The widest possible door is opened for the invaders to come over and carry each successive election as '' inhabit- ants" for the time being of the Territory. But, turn to page V50, and notice the following pro- vision (section 8) defining the qualifications of voters at the petty corporation elections of Lecompton : '■ All free white male citizens who have arrived to the full age of twenty-one years, and who shall be entitled to vote lor Territorial officers, and who shall have resided within the city limits at least six months next precediu"- any election, and, moreover, who shall have paid a city tax or any city license according to ordinance, shall be eligible to vote at any ward or city election tor officers of the c.ty."' Being an inhabitant a day elothes a person with the right to vote for Delegates in Congress, and Representatives in the Legislature; but to rote at an insignificant election, in comparison, six months' residence is required I Am I wrong in judging that this inverting the usual rule, shows that Missouriang are wanted at the one election, but not at the other? If any one deems this opinion unjust, let him study the following sections of the General Election Law, page 283 : "Sec. 19. AVhenever any person sliall offer to vote, he •nail BK PBssLjtED to be entitled to vote. " Sec. 20. Whenever aiiy person offers to vote, his vota ,nay be challenged by one of the judges, or by any voter, and the judges of the election may examine him touching hi.* riaht to vote ; and if so examined, no evidence to con- tradict Sn.ILL BE RECEIVED." Certainly these provisions explain themselveSi without comment. I will now invite your attention to a contraat in the penal code of this Territory, singular in its character, to say the very least. Section five ofthe act punishing offences against slave property, page 604, enacts as follows: " If any person shall ai/lor assist in enticing, decoying, or persuadins;,OT carrying away, or sending out of this Territory, any slave beloiiging to another, with intent to procure or effect the freedom of such .-lavt, or with intent to deprive the owner thereof of the services of such slave, he shall be adjudged guiliy of grand larceny, and on con- viction thereof ,sAaWsj(^t'r death, or be imprisoned at hard labor tor not less than ten years," A person who, by a pro-slavery packed jary, is convicted of aiding in persuading out of the Territory a slave belonging to another, is to suffer at least twice as severe a penalty as he who is convicted of committing the vilest out- rage that the mind of man can conceive of on the person of your wife, sister, or daughter! Nay, the contrast is still stronger. The jury, in the first instance, are authorized even to inflict the punishment of death — in the latter, see page 208, the penalty is " not less than five years." Such is the contrast in Kansas between the protection of a wife's or daughter's honor and happiness, and that which is thrown as a pro- tecting cegis over the property of the slave- holder! Again, on page 208, you will find that the ruffian who commits malicious mayhem, that is, without provocation, knocks you down ia the street, cuts off your nose and ears, and plucks out your eyes, is punished " not less than five nor more than ten years ;" the same degree of punishment that is meted out in sec- tion seven of the above act, page 605, on a person who should aid, or assist, or even " har- bor," an escaped slave 1 On page 209, you will find that the man who sits at your bedside, when you are prostrated by disease, and, taking advantage of your con- fidence and helplessness, administers poison t« you, but whereby death does not happen to ensue, is to be punished not less than five nor more than ten years," though it is murder ia the heart, if not the deed. And this is precise- ly the same penalty as that prescribed by the eleventh section (quoted in my remarks al)0ve, on the five violations of the Constitution) against one who but brings into the Territory any book, paper, or handbill, containing any "sentiment" "calculated," in the eyes of a Pro-Slavery jury, to make slaves " disorderly." The man who takes into the Territory Jeffer- son's Notes on Virginia can be, linder this law, hurried away to the chain-gang, and manacled, arm to arm, with the murderous poisoner. On page 210, the kidnapping and conjine- ment of a free white person, for any purpose, even, if a man, to sell him into slavery, or if 13 a woman, for a still baser purpose, is to be punished " not exceeding ten years Decmj- inq and entiaing away a child, under twelve years of age, from its parents, " not less than Bix months, and not exceeding five years, but decoyinq and enticing away (mark the similar- ity of the language!) a slave from his master, is punished by death, or confinement, not Jess than ten years. Here is the section, page bO-i = " 'Jec 4 II any person shall entice, decoy, or carry away out of thi. Terriiory, any slave belonging to another, with intent to deprive the owner thereof ot the services of Buch slave, or with intent to elTect or procure the freedom of<^uch slave, he shall be adjudged uuilly of grand lar- cenv and. on coiivic-.ion thereof, shall suffer death, ot he imprisoned at hard labor for not less than ten years.' I had hoped to find time to cite and com- ment upon other sections in this code, but I •will quote but one more, showing that, while a tchite man is compelled to serve out the penal- ty of his crime, at hard labor, these slavehold- ing legislators have, in their great regard for the value of the slave's labor to his master, enact- ed that a slave, for the same o fence, shall be whipped, and then returned to him. Here is the section, which I commend to the consider- ation of those who, while defending these laws, nickname the Republicans "nigger-worship- pers." It is found ou page 252 : " «;ec "7 If any slave shall commit petit larceny, or shaH steal any neat cattle, sheep, or hog. or be S'uilty oi any misdemeanor, or other offence punishable under the pro- visions of this act oiily by fine or imprisonment in a coun- ty jail, or by both such fine and imprisonment, he shall. iJtead- of sneh punishment, hi punished, if a male, by stripes on his hare back not exceeding thi.ty-mne, or if a female, by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding twenty-one days, or by stripes not exceeding twenty-one, at the discretion of the justice." Such, sir, is au impartial analysis of the code of Kansas, every allusion to which has been proven by extracts from the official copy now in my hand, and in quoting which I have re- ferred, .in every instance, to the page, the num^ ber of the section, and its exact words ; and i think that the strong language at the outset ot my remarks, in which I denounced this dis- graceful and tyrannical code, has been fully justified by the proofs I have laid before you from its pages. Let it not be forgotten,-Mr. Chairman, that it is because the people of Ivan- gas — an overwhelming majority of the actual settlers there— refused to obey these enact- ments passed by a body of men elected by armed mobs of invaders- that they have been delivered over to persecutions without parallel, and to all the horrors of civil war. Had I time, I would desire to refer to the history of events in that Territory; to the reckless and ruthless violation of plighted faith in the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, which opened the door for legislation like this; to the entire absence of any protection by the President to the settlers against personal out- rage ; to the repeated invasions by which the whole machinery of legislation was usurped, but the fruits of which the President upholds by cannon and bayonet, with proclamations and peaaltiea ; to the causes which led to the civil war that has existed in that Territory ; to that most aggravating of all insults by which the very Jones who headed an invading party of Missourians at one of the polls, and with hia revolver at the breast of an election jad^e, gave him five minutes to resign or die, was commis- sioned as a Sheriff, to ride booted and spurred over the people whose rights he had thus as- sisted in striking down; and many other things that make the blood of the great mass of freemen at the North course, as it never before coursed, through their veins. But I must allude, before concluding, to the mockery of relief held out to the people by the President and his coad- jutors. In his special message to Congress, on the 27th of January last, the President spoke thus: "Our system, affords no justification of revolutionary acts; for the constitutional means of relieving the people of unjust ara me 'ndignation of an uprisen people, 1 ask them to read this language of his, which cornea to ih as from his tomb to-day. With the ch)inge of but a single geographical word in the pla'-? of '' MexicL," how pr->plietically docs it apply to the very scenes and i-isues of this year! And vvho c m dnubt with what party he would 8tA"d in the coming campaign, if he Wi»s re- Btorea to us from the damps of the grave, wli^n they read the folUwing, which fell from his lips in 1850, and with which, thanking the House for its attention, I conclude my remarks. " nm if unhappily, we should be involved in w-tr. m civil war l)etwe.'n the two parts of thi« Coiifeileracy, in which the efTorl upon the one sidfi sho Id b^- lo m^rom the -introfluaion of Slavery into the new Terniorus and u,ion the other side to force v.s iniroiiuction there, what a spectacle sltould we present to the asioni-lnntnt ol man- kind. i:i an eliort. not lo propau'sne n-li >; but— rmnst s-ay it lioU"h I trust it wil be understood to be said with aO design to excite leeling-a wr.r -o propairate wron^^s in tlie Territori.,s thus acquired from M. xico ! It would 1)8 a war in wliieh w." should have no sympathies, no pood wishes— in w/i'cA all mankind would he nf;r,i„st tij ; for, from the comni- ncement of the Revolution down to the present lime, we have constantly r.-proached our IJritislx ancestors for the introductioti of Slavery into this coun- try." APPENDIX. Below will be found extracts from speeches made during the present session of Congress, by Democratic members, all of whom are act- ively suppoiting Mr. Buchanan's election; and four out of the five are Northern Democrats. The following is from the speech of Judg« Wakxer, of Georgia, delivered in the House of Representatives on the 1st of April, 1856 ; and not only corroborates one of the Northern argu- ments against the extension of Slavery, (that it exhausts and blights the soil,) but also proves that even if Kansas was conceded to the " pe- culiar institution," it would still need more, and would demand more : " There is not a slaveholder, in this House oi ' out of it, but who knows perfectly well that ' ivhmevcr Slavery is confined within certain cpccial ' limits, its future existence is doomed; itis only a ' question of time as to its final destruction. \ ou ' may tako any single slaveholding county in the ' aotithern Slates, in which the great staples of ' cotton and sugar are cultivated to any extent, ' and confine the present slave population within ' the limits of that county. Sucb is the rapid ' natural increase of the slaves, and the iiapid ' EXUAUsrio.N OF THE soii. iu the cultivation of ' those crops, (which add so much to the com- ' mercial wealth of the country,) that in a few ' years it would he impossible to support them ' ■within the lituits of each county. Both master ' and slave would be starved out ; and what would ' be the practical effect in any one county, the ' same result would happen to all the slavehold- ' ing States. Slavery cannot uk coNFiNiiD within ' certain specilicd limits wiTiioirT pitODUCiXQ the ' DESTUUCTtON OP BOTH MASTER AND SLAVE. It ' REQiTiRES FRKSH i,ANi)S, plenty of wood and ' water, not only for the comfort and happiness of < the slave, but' for the benefit of the owner. We ' understand perfectly well the practical effect ' of the proposed restriction upon our tights, ' and to what extent it interferes with Slavery ' in the States; and we also understand the ob- ' i>r.t and purpose of that intevf rencc. If the j ' slaveholding States should ever he =:o rcgard- < le.ss of their riglits. and tlicir honor, as co'qual States, to be willing :o submit to this proposed ' restriction, for the sake of harmony and peace, ! ' they could not do it. There is a great, over- i ' ruling, practical necessity which would prevent 15 « it They ought not to submit to it upon prin- \ jority and minority reports from the Committee « cipUiiCthey could, and could not if they would. '■ oq Territone3 were made to the Senate, Judge " [t 13 iu vievT of these thius?.^, sir, th:it the Douglas, in the couriic of a reply to n-marks by ' people of Geor>^ia have assembled in convention, ' Mr. Sumnci, spoke as follows :— (See D.iily Con- t ati'l solcmiili, nsolued that, if Cony, -ess shall pa.'is gressional Globe, March 13th, 185G, 5ih colnmn « a law excluding them from the common Territon/ . of second page.) _ ' with their duve property, they will disrupt the lies \ " The minority report advocates foreign inter- < that bind them to the Union." The following extracts are from the speech of Judge Douglas, dtlivered in the Senate, .March ' ference; we advocate self-government aiu! non- ' interference. We are ready to meet the is" of its high functions in all (hirtgs except'the ' the A.n'riran dngress on the question of Slavery, ' poiri'r to hang a /ra/'or.'" ' and by the fiict, tliat, of all Northern men, ha On the l.ath of March, the day that the ma- • he haa been among the most prominent in assei't- On the 13th of May, 185G, J. Glancy Joses, of Pennsylvania, one of the leading Democratic members of the House, and a champion of the interests of Mr. Buchanan, then a candidate be- fore the De.mocratic National Convention, about, to assemble, defended him against speeches that had been made against him. [I would add, that all the extracts in this Appendix are from edi- tions of speeches revised by their authors.} " All such accusations as these against Mr. ' Buchanan, are answered by thirty-six years of ' devotion to the Constitution of the United ' States. "They are answered by the fact, that, twenty ' years ago^ in the Senate of the United States, ' he was among the first Northern men to resist the ' inroads of Abolitioniim. " They are answered by his opjiosition to ' the circulation of insurrectionary documetits, ' through thi mails of the United States, among ' the slaves of the South. " They are answered bj- his determined sup ' port of the bill admitting Arkansas into the ' Ameiican Union. "They are aa-wered by his early support of 16 * mg and defending a strict construction of the • Federal Constitution." This speech \vas extensively circulated ; and, it is believed, did more towards eflfecting Mr. Buchanan's nomination at the Cincinnati Con- vention, three weeks afterwards, than all other efforts in his favor combined. The following extracts are from the speech of Mr. Cadwalader, of Peunsylvania, another prom- inent and influential friend of Mr. Buchanan's, delivered in the House, March 5th, 185G: " We are soon to be divided into sixty, or, more probably, seventy States, if the normal conditions of our countr3-'s progress can be fulfilled. These conditions of our progress, and of its attendant happiness and prosperity, cannot be fulfilled un- less the legislation on the subject of Slavery in the Territories is to be regulated, under the Constitu- tion, with a due regard to the rights and interests of the slaveholding States, which the Constitution purports to secure." ■jr ***** * "After the Mexican war, an attempt was un- successfullj^ made to apply again the principle of these partitions to new territorial acquisitions. This attempt failed, because, as I will presently have occasion to show, local considerations rendered the principle inapplicable. We were driven by necessity to adopt here the nominal principle of common possession with common enjoyment. But as the Mexican laws locally in force had excluded Slavery from these Territories, the application of this principle to them was illusory, so far as any possibility of participation in their further settlement by slaveholders might be concerned. Property 'm slaves was thus, «« e^ecf, excluded n-hoUy from their limits." " The principle of the former partitions having become inapplic ible, and slaveholding settlers having been altogether excluded from this territory, the slaveholding States were, of right, entitled to an INDEMNIFICATION /or their loss, if it could be afforded BY GIVING TUEM ACCESS, WITH THKIR SL.U'ES, TO OTHER TERRITORY. If such acccss could be given without any violation of existing rights of others in such territory, there could be no just cause for its denial. This was true, although their exclusion from the territory acquired from Mexi- co might have been the result of unavoidable causes, for which the I'nited States were not re- sponsible. Equal participation in the beneficial enjoyment ofTtWiterrilory having become impossible, and the whole benefit of its enjoyment having, ' from the first, enured '.o one class of its common proprietors, the othtr class ought to receive an in- ' DEMNiFiCATiON from soniB other portiotl^ of the ' common property. Thi3 principle ivas tTic morai ' basis of that praiseworthy legislation of 1854 ' which the Chairman of the Committee on Ter- ' ritories has most injudiciously denominated a ' ' conspiracy against Freedom.' " [The above argument completely overthrows the plea that the Nebraska bill of 1854 was framed in accordance with the principles of tho Compromise of 1850. Mr. C. contending that by leaving the Mexican laws in force in the Ter- ritories legislated for in 1850, Slavery was kept out of them, and that the Nebraska bill of 1854- was " AN indemnification" to the slaveholders "for their loss'' in the former Compromise ! ] But here are two more extracts from this same speech, which may throw light on "the true in- tent and meaning of the Nebraska bill : " To the northward of the latitude 40°, climate ' and other considerations made Slavery practi- ' cally out of the question. To the southward ' of 36° 30'', on this side of the Rocky moun- ' tains, except in that portion of what was taken ' from Texas and annexed to New Mexico in ' 1850, the institution of Slavery is now established. ' From all parts of our country to the westward ' of the Rocky mountains, it is excluded. This ' exclusion is probably permanent. The Terri- ' tory of Kansas, lying westward of the State ot ' Missouri, between the parallels of latitude 37° ' and 40°, is, therefore, now the only space in ' which the question of Slavery is to be regarded ' as of any practical importance." "The question is, whether the force of a nu- ' merical majority from the Northern States can ' be rightfully exercised, in order to deprive our ' Southern brethren of the privilege OF free access, ' with their slaves, to this 'Territory — a Ter- ' ritory, be it remembered, within degrees of lati- ' tilde which, to the eastward of its limits, include ' already five slaveholding States, and much more ' land of slaveholders than land from which Sla- ' very is excluded." ******* "Should Kansas become a slaveholding Terri- ' tory, AND ultimately be divided li.'T0 TWO OR ' three SLAVEHOLDING States, Nebraska and Min- ' nesota must nevertheless be divided into ten or ' eleven non-slaveholding States. [?] It should ' be our hope and prayer that these future States ' may be organized in such a manner that their ' inhabitants may retain the good-will and fclloio- ' ship of the people of the slaveholding States, and ' maintain the stability of the Union." WASHINGTON, D. C. BUBLL & BLANCHARD, PRINTERS. 1856.