tice and Peace, proposed by the Senator from New York, [Mr. Seward,] and embodied in his Bill for the immediate admission of Kansas as a State of this Union, now pending as a substitute for the bill of the Senator from Illinois. a doubt, that, before the assent of Congress can be per- This is sustained by the prayer of the people I footed in the ordinary course of legislation, this population * * 1 1 will swell to the large number of ninety-three thousand four of the Territory, setting forth a Constitution formed by a spontaneous, movement, in which all there bad opportunity to participate, without I extraordinary .. -1 t* i i 1 ’ . \ standard. Ihere is nothing out of which it can be derived, distinction oi party. Barely has any proposition, so simple in character, so entirely practicable, so absolutely within your power, been presented, which promised at beneficent results. In its adoption, the Crime against Kansas will be all happily absolved, the Usurpation which it established will be peacefully suppressed, and order will be permanently secured. By a joyful metamorphosis, this fair Territory may be saved from outrage. “ Oh help,” she cries, “ in this extremest need, If you who hear are Deities indeed; Gape earth, and make for this dread foe a tomb, Or change my form, whence all my sorrows coms” In offering this proposition, the Senator from New York has entitled himself to the gratitude of the country. He has, throughout a life of unsurpassed industry, and of eminent ability, done much for Freedom, which the world will not let die; but he has done nothing more opportune than this, and he has uttered no words more effective than the speech, so masterly and ingenious, by which he has vindicated it. Kansas low presents herself for admission with a Constitution republican in for necessity of the case, three And, independent of the great considerations of fact concur in commending her. First, she thus testifies her willingness to relieve the Federal Government of the considerable pecuniary responsibility to which it is now exposed, on account of the pretended Territorial Government. Secondly, she has, by her recent conduct, particularly in repelling the invasion at Wakarusa, evinced an ability to defend her Government. And, thirdly, by the pecuniary credit which she now enjoys, she shows an undoubted ability to support it. What now can stand in her way ? Tie power of Congress to admit Kansas at once is expli? «4. It is found in a single clause of the Constitution, which, standing by itself, without any qualification applicable to the present case, and without doubtful words, requires no commentary. Here it is ; “New States may be admitted by Congress into this Union, but no new State shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any other Stale, nor any State be formed by the junction of two or more States, or parts of States, without the consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned, as well as of the Congress.” New States may be admitted. Out of that little word, may, comes the power, broadly and fully—without any limitation founded on population or preliminary forms— provided the State is not within the jurisdiction of another State, nor formed by the junction of two or more States, or parts of States, without the consent of the Legislatures of the States. Kansas is not within the legal jurisdiction of another State, although the laws of Missouri have been tyrannically extended over her; nor is Kansas formed by the junction of two or more States; and, therefore, Kansas may be admitted by Congress into the Union, without regard to population or preliminary forms. You cannot deny the power without obliterating this clause of the Constitution. The Senator from New York was right in rejecting ail appeal to precedents, as entirely irrelevant; for the power invoked is clear and express in the Constitution, which is above all precedent. But, since precedent has been enlisted, let us look at precedent. It is objected that the population of Kansas is not sufficient fora State ; and this objection is sustained by under- I reckoning ths numbers there, and exaggerating the num- I hers required by precedent. In the absence of any recent j census, it is impossible to do mure than approximate to the actual population; but, from careful inquiry jf the best sources, I am led to place it now at fifty thousand, though I observe that a prudent authority, the Boston Daily Ad- . vertiser, puts it as high as sixty thousand, and, while I speak, this remarkable population, fed by fresh emigration, is outstripping even these calculations. Nor can there be hundred and twenty, required in the Bill of the Senator from Illinois. But, in making this number the, condition from the beginning to the end of the precedents. Going back to the days of the Continental Congress, you will find that, in 1784, it was declared that twenty thousand freemen in a Territory might “ establish a permanent ConstituOnce SUCll | tion and Government for themselves,” (Journals of Con gress, Vol. 4, p. 879;) and, though this number was after wards, in the Ordinance of 1787 for the Northwestern Ter ritory, raised to sixty thousand, yet the power was left in Congress, and subsequently exercised in more than one instance, to constitute a State with a smaller number. Out of all the new States, only Maine, Wisconsin, and Texas, contained, at the time of their admission into the Union, so large a population as it is proposed to require in Kansas: while no less than fourteen new States have been admitted with a smaller population ; as will appear in the following list, which is the result of research, showing the number of “ free inhabitants ” in these States at the time of the proceedings which ended in their admission : Vermont....................... 85,414 Kentucky .................... 61,103 Tennessee.................... 66,649 Ohio..............................50,000 Louisiana......................41,890 Indiana.........................60,000 Mississippi....................35,000 Alabama.......................50,000 Illinois.........................45,000 Missouri......................56,586 Arkansas.................... 41,onO Michigan.................... 92,673 Florida........................27,o9I Iowa........................... 81,921 California................... 92,597 But this is not all. At the adoption of the Federal Constitution, there were three of the old Thirteen States whose respective populations did not reach the amount now required for Kansas. These were Delaware, with a population of 59,096; Rhode Island, with a population of 64,6S9 ; and Georgia, with a population of 82,548. And even now, while I speak, there are at least two States, with Senators on this floor, which, according to the last census, do not contain the population now required of Kansas. I refer to Delaware, with a population of 91,635, and Florida, with a population of freemen amounting only to 47,203. So much for precedents of population. But in sustaining this objection, it is not uncommon to depart from the strict rule of numerical precedent, by suggesting that the population required in a new State has always been, in point of fact, above the existing ratio of representation for a member of the House of Representatives. But this is not true; for at least one State, Florida, was admitted with a population below this ratio, which at the time was 70,680. So much, again, for precedents. But even if this coincidence were complete, it would be impossible to press it into a binding precedent. The rule seems reasonable, and, in ordinary cases, would not be questioned; but it cannot be drawn or implied from the Constitution. Besides, this ratio is, in itself, a sliding scale. At first, it was 33,000, and thus continued till 1811, when it was put at 35,000. In 1822, it was 40,000; in 1882, it was 47,700 ; in 1842, it was 70,680; and now, it is 93,420. If any ratio is to be made the foundation of a binding rule, it should be that which prevailed at the adoption of the Constitution, and which still continued, when Kansas, us a part of Louisiana, was acquired from France, under solemn stipulation that it should “be incorporated into the Union of the United States as soon as may be consistent with the principles of the Federal Constitution.” But this whole objection Is met by the memorial of the people of Florida, which, if good for that State, is also good for Kansas. Here is a passage: “ But the people of Florida respectfully Insist that their right to be admitted into the Federal Union as a State is not dependent upon the fact of their having a population equal to such ratio. Their right to admission, it is conceived, is guarantied by the express pledge in the sixth article of the treaty before quoted ; and if any rule as to the number of the population is to govern, it should be that in existence at the time of the cession, which was thirty-
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTM4ODY=