42 KANSAS. As to the power of the Territorial legislature to confer any authority, he says: “It is not in the power of the general assembly of Arkansas to pass any law for the purpose of electing members to a convention to form a constitution and State government, nor to do any other act directly or indirectly to create such new government. Every such law, even though it w’ere approved by the governor of the Territory, would be null and void.” In 1835 the people of Michigan, after repeated failures to obtain an act of Congress authorizing a State convention, called one themselves without any such authority, elected delegates, formed and adopted a constitution, and under it elected State officers, United States senators, and a representative to Congress, and at the ensuing session of Congress presented their application for admission as a State into the Union. Congress on the 15th of June, 1836, admitted her on condition that her people, in a convention to be called for that purpose, should assent to a change of boundary, which assent, when obtained, the President was to announce by proclamation, and thereupon Michigan was to become one of the States of the Union without any further legislation. The State legislature called a convention to consider the terms fixed by Congress for her admission, and provided for the election of delegates ; but that convention so called, and represented by delegates from every county in the State, rejected the terms of admission. Their action was not satisfactory to a portion or a “party” of the people, and they, without any legislative act whatsoever, called another convention, and accepted the terms of admission proposed by Congress, though the people of large sections of the State refused to take any part in this convention, regarding it as illegal and revolutionary. The proceedings of both conventions were sent to General Jackson, who communicated them to Congress by message, in which he says the first convention “ was elected by the people of Michigan pursuant to an act of the State legislature passed on the 25th of July last, in consequence of the above-mentioned act of Congress, and that it de7 dined giving its assent to the fundamental condition prescribed by Congress, and rejected the same. * * * * * qqie second convention was not held or elected by virtue of any act of the Territorial or State legislature. It originated from the people themselves, and was chosen by them in pursuance of resolves adopted in primary assemblies held in their respective counties.” Yet in view of all these circumstances, the President declared that, if the proceedings of this last convention had reached him during the recess of Congress, he should have issued his proclamation as required by act of Congress ; but as Congress was then in session, he submitted the proceedings of both conventions for its action. Under these circumstances, Michigan was admitted into the Union by act of Congress, passed January 26, 1837, by a vote of 153 to 45 in the House, and but ten votes against it in the Senate. The people of Kansas, with far greater reasons than ever existed heretofore in any case for departure from the usual forms of proceeding, following the
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