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[From thk Washington Union.]
PRESIDENTS MESSAGE.
To the Senate and llouec of Representatita of
the United States :
I have received from J. Calhoun, Esq.. pres
ident of the late constitutional convention of,
Kansas, a copy duly certified by himself, of the
Constitution framed by that body, » ith the ex- '
pressiun <rf a hope that I would submit the same
to the consideration of Congress, with the view
of the admission of Kansas into the Union as
sin independent State.” In compliance with
this request, I herewith transmit to Congress,
for their action, the Constitution of Kansas,
with the ordinance respecting the public lands,
as well as the letter of Mr. Calhoun, dated at
Aecompton on the J4th nit., by which they
w ere accompanied. Having received but a sin
gle copy of the Constitution and ordinance. I
eend tliis to the Senate.
A greet delusion seems te pervade the public
mind in relation to the condition of partie-in
Kansas. This arises from the difficulty of in
ducing the American people to realize the fact
that any portion of them should be in a state
of rebellion against the government under
which they live. When we speak of the af
fairs of Kansas, we arc njit to refer merely to
the existence of twoviolent political parties in
that territory, divided on the question of slave
ry, jnst ns we speak of such parties in the
States. This presents no adequate idea ot’tlre
true state of the ease. The dividing line there
is not between two political parties, both ac
knowledging the lawful existence of the gov
ernment: but between those who are loyal to
this government and those who Lave endeav
ored to destroy its existence by force and by
usurpation—between those who sustain, and .
those who have done all in their power to
overthrow the territorial government establish
ed by Congress. This g, eminent they would
Jongsince have subverted had it not been pro
tected from their assaults by the troops of the
United States. Such has been the condition of
affairs since my inauguration. Ever since that
period a large portion of the people of Kansas
have been in a state of rebellion against the
government, with a military lender at their
head of a most turbulent and dangerous charac
ter. They have never acknowledged, but
have constantly renounced and detied the gov
ernment to which they owe allegiance, and
have been all the time in a state of resistance !
against its authority. They have all the time
been endeavoring to subvert it and to establish
a rOFolutionary government under the so-call
ed Topeka Constitution, in its stead. Even at
this very moment the 'Topeka Legislature are in
session. Whoever has read the correspondence
of Gov. Walker with the State Department, j
recently communicated to the Senate, will be!,
convinced that this picture is not over-drawn. ,
lie always protested against the withdrawal of ,
any portion of the military force of the United
States from the Territory,deeming its presence
absolutely necessary for the preservation of
the regular government and the execution of
the laws. In his very first dispatch to the Sec- 1
retary of State, dated dune 2d, 1857, he say -:
■“'The most alarming movement, however, pro- ;
<eeds from tla*assembling on the 9th of June
ofthe so-called Topeka Legislature with a view ;
to the enactment of an entire code of laws.—'
Os course, it will be my endeavor to prevent
such a result, as it would lead to inevitable , ,
and disastrous collision, and, in fact, renew i
the civil war in Kansas.” This was with dis- <
ficulty prevented by the efforts of Governor ;
Walker; but soon thereafter, on the l<Lth ci'
July. we find Lin requesting Gen. Harney to
furnish him a regiment of dragoons to proceed
to the city of Lawrence—and this for the rea
son that he had received authentic intelligence 1
verified by his own actual observation, that
a dangerous rebellion had occurred, ■'involving
am open defiance of the laws and the establish- I
ment of an insurgent government - in that
city.
In the Governor's dispatch of July 15th he
informs the Secretary of State that this move- ,
ment at Lawrence was the beginning of a plan,
originating in that city, to organize insurrec
tion throughout the Territory ; and e specially I
in all towns, cities, or Counties, where the He- ■
publican party have a majority. Lawrence is
the hot-bed of all the Abolition movements in ,
this Territory. It is the town established by ;
the Abolition societies of the East, and whilst
there are respectable people there, it is tilled
by a considerable number ot mercenaries who
are paid by Abolition societies to perpetuate
and diffuse agitation tliroughoitt Kansas, and
prevent a peaceful sottJemcat of this question.
Having failed in inducing their own so-called
Topeka State Legislature to organise this insur
rection, Lawrence has commenced it herself,
and if not arrested, the rebellion will extend
throughout the Territory.
And again: “In order to send this commu
nication immediately by mail, I must close by
assuring you that the spirit of rebellion |>er
vades the great mass of the Republican party I
of this Territory, instigated, as I entertain iw
doubt they are, by eastern societies, having in
view resnfts most disastrous to the Govern
ment and to the Union ; and that the contin
ued presence of Geu. Harney here is indispen
sable, as originally stipulated by me, with a
large body of dragoons and several batteries.” '
On the Sitth of July, 1857, Gen. Lane im-■
dertke authority of the Topeka Convention,!
undertook, as Governor Walker, informs us, '
“to organize the whole so-called frec-State party
into volunteers, and to take the names of all
who refuse enrollment. The professed object
is to protect the polls, at the election in Au- !
gust, of the new insurgent Topeka State Leg- I
islature.”
“The object of taking the names of all who
refuse enrollment, is to terrify the free-State '•
conservatives into submission. This is proved I
a v recent atrocities committed on such men by ;
Topekaites. The speedy location of large bod- j
ies of regular troops here, with two batteries is |
necessary. The Lawrence insurgents await i
the developcment of this new revolutionary '
military orgrnization,” &c., &c.
In the Governor's dispatch of July 27th, he !
■says that “Gen. Lane ami hi staff every where
deny the authority of the territorial Jaws, and
•counsel a total disregard of these enactments." I
Without making further quotations ot a sim- ,
■liar character from other dispatches of Gov..
Walker, it appears by a reference to -Mr Stan
ttoil's communication to Gen. Cass, of the Vth
of December last, that the “important step of
calling the Legislature itogether was taken af
ter I [lie] had become satisfied that the election
ordered by the convention on the 21st inst,
could not be conducted without collision and
bloodshed.’ So intense was the disloyal feel
ing among the enemies of the government es
taldished by Congrcw, that an election which
afforded them an opportunity, if in the ma
jority, wf making Kansas a free State, accord
ing to their own professed desire, could not be
conducted without collision and bloodshed!
The truth is, that, up to the present mo
ment. the enemies of the existing government,
still adhere to their Topeka revolutionary Con
stitution and government. The very first par
agraph of the message of Gov. Robinson, dated
on the 7th December, to the Topeka legisla- !
lure now assembled, at Lawrence, contains an ■
open defiance to the Constitution and laws of,
the United States. The Governor says : ' The
convention which framed the Constitution at
Topeka originated with the people of Kansas
Territory. They have adopted and ratified the
same twice by a direct vote, and also indirectly
through two elections of State officers and
members of the State legislature. Yet it has
pleased the administration to regard the whole I
proceeding revolutionary.”
This Topeka Government, adhered to with
such treasonable pertinacity, is a government
[n direct opposition to the existing government
prescribed and recognized by Congress. It is
an usurpation of the same character as it would
be for a portion of the people of any Sjate ot
the Union to undertake to establish a separate
government, within ita limits, for the purpose
of redressing any greivance, real or imaginary,
of which they might complain, against the le
gitimate State government. Such a principle,
if carried into execution, would destroy all
lawful authority and produce imiver.-nl an- I
ftrehy,
For this statement of facts, the reason be
comes palpable why the enemies of the govern
ment authorized by Congress have refused to
r vote tor delegates to the Kansas Constitutional
Convention, and also afterwards on the ques
tion of slavery submitted by it to the people.
It is because they have ever refused to sanction
■or recognize any other Constitution than that
framed at Topeka.
Had the whole Lecompton Constitution been
submitted to the people, the adherents of this
organization would doubtless have voted against
it, because, if successful, they would thus have
removed an obstacle out of the way ot their
own revolutionary Constitution. I hey would
have done this, not upon a consideration of the
merits of the whole or any part of the Lecomp
ton Constitution, but simply because they have
ever resisted the authority of the government
authorized by Congress, from which it ema
nated.
Such being the unfortunate condition of af
fairs in the Territory, vv lint was the right ns
well as the duty of the law-abiding peoj.le
! Were they silently and patiently to submit to
: the Topeka usurpation, or adopt the necessary
measures to establish a Constitution under the .
! authority of the organic law of Congress ?
That this law recognized the right of the
I people of the Territory, without any enabling
! act from Congress, to lorm a State Constitu
tion, is too clear for argument. For Congress
“to leave the people of the Territory perfect
ly free,” in framing their Constitution, “ to form
inf r-mlirte their domestic institutions in their
own way, siilyoct only to the Constitution of
the United States;” and then to say that they
shall not be (lerurittcd to proceed and frame a
I Constitution in their own way without an ex
press authority from Congress, appears to be
almost a contradiction in terms. It would be
much more plausible to contend that ( ongress
had no power to pa-s such mi enabling act. than
to argue that the people of a Territory might
be kept out of the Union for an indefinite pe- •
riod, and until it might please Congress to per
mit them to exercise the right of self-govern
ment. This would be to adopt not “their
own way,” but the way which Congress miglit
prescribe.
It is impossible that any people could have |
proceeded with more regularity in the forma- :
lion of a Constitution than the people of Kan
sas have done.
It was necessary, first to ascertain whither ■
it was the desire of the people to be relieved
from their Territorial dependence ami establish
aStategovernment. For this purpose the Terri
torial legislature, in 1855, passed a law for “tak
ing the sense of the people of this Territory ;
upon the expediency of calling a convention to .
frm a State Constitution” at the general elec- i
tion to lie held in October, 185(1. The " sense |
of the people"' was accordingly taken, and they
decided in favor of a convention. It is true ; 1
that at this election the enemies of the 'lerrito- J i
rial government did not vote, because they i
were then engaged ut Topeka, without the 1
slightest pretext of lawful authority, in framing
a Constitution of their own for the purpose of ■
subverting the Territorial government.
In pursuance of this decision ot the people
in favor of a convention, the territorial legis
lature, on the 27th day ot February. 1857, ■
passed an act for the election of delegates on
the third Monday of dime, 1857, to frame a
State Constitution. This law is as fair in its i
provisions as any that ever passed a legislative
body for a similar jmrpose. The right of suf
frage at this election is clearly and justly delin- i
e<L “ Every bona fide inhabitant ofthc Terri- j
tore of Kansas” on the third Monday of June, . i
the day ot the election, who was a citizen of .
the United States above the age of twenty-one,
and had resided therein for three mouths pre
vious to that date, was entitled to vote. In or- j
der to avoid all interference from neighboring
States or Territories with the freedom and
fairness of the election, provision was made
for the registry of the qualified voters; and in
! pursuance thereof, nine thousand two hundred
and fifty-one voters were registered. Govern-
I or Walker did his whole duty in urging all
the qualified citizens of Kansas to vote at this
' election. In his inaugural address, on the 27th
Mav last, he informed them that “under our
practice the preliminary act ol framing a State
Constitution is uniformly performed through
the instrumentality of a convention of delegates !
chosen by the people themselves. That con
! vention is now about to be elected by you un
der the call of the territorial legislature, treat- ■
ed and still recognised by the authority of Con
gress, and clothed by it, in the comprehensive
language of the organic law, with I'nll power
to make such an enactment The territorial ,
legislature, then, in assembling the convention,
w ere fully sustained by the acts ot Congress,
the authority of the convention is distinctly
recognized in my instructions from the Presi
dent of the United States.”
The Governor also clearly and distinctly
warns them what would be the consequence if
! they should not participate in the election. —
" The people of Kansas, then, (he says.) are in- i
■ vited by the highest authority known to the
I Constitution, to participate, freely and fairly, ■
in the election of delegates to frame a Consti- '
tntion and State government. The law has
I performed its entire appropriate function when
; it extends to the people the right of suffrage, ‘
but it cannot compel the performance of that
! duty. Throughout our whole Union, however,
, and wherever free government prevails, those
who abstain from the exercise of the right ot
i suffrage, authorize those who do vote to act
| for them in that contingency ; and the absen
tees are as much bound, under the law and
Constitution, where there is no fraud or vio
lence, by the act of the majority of those who
do vote, ns if all had participated in the elec- I
tion. Otherwise, as voting must be voluntary, i
self-government would be impracticable, and |
monarchy or despotism would remain as the !
only alternative.”
It may also be observed, that at this period j
any hope, if such had existed, that the lopeka .
Constitution would ever be recognized by
Congress, must have been abandoned.
Congress had adjourned on the 3d of March
previous, having recognized the legal existence
of the Territorial legislature in a variety of ‘
forms, which I need not enumerate. Indeed,
the delegate elected to the House of Represeu- i
tatives. under a Territorial law. had been ad
mitted to his seat, and had completed his term
of service on the day previous to my inaugura
tion.
This was the propritious moment for set- ,
tling ail difficulties in Kansas. This was the ■
time for abandoning the revolutionary Topeka |
organization ami tor the enemies of the exist
ing government to conform to the Jaws, and !
to unite with its friends in framing a State
Constitution. But this they refused to do. and
the consequences ot their refusal to submit to
law ful authority and vote at the election of
delegates, may yet prove to be of a most de- j
plot-able character. Would that the respect
for the laws of the land which so eminently
distinguished the men of the past generation
could be revived! it is a disregard and viola
tion of law which have for years kept the Ter
ritory of Kansas in a state of almost open re
bellion against its government. It is the same
spirit which has produced actual rebellion in ■
Utah. Our only safety consists in obedience
and conformity to law. Should a general spir-
I itagainst its enforcement prevail, this will prove '
fatal to us as a nation. We acknowledge no
master but the law ; and should w e cut loose
from its restraints, and every one do what
seemeth good in in his own eyes, our ease will
! indeed lie hopeless.
The enemies of the Territorial government
I determined still to resist the authority of Con
i gress. They refused to vote for delegates to
, the convention, not because, from circumstances
I which I need not detail, there was an omission
to register the comparatively few voters who
| were inhabitants of certain counties of Kansas
i in the early spring of 1857, but because they
had predetermined at all hazards to adhere to
their revolutionary organization, and defeat
the establishment of any other Constitution
than that which they had framed at Topeka. :
The election was therefore, suffered to pass by
default; but of this result, the qualified elec
! tors who refiwed to vote can never justly com
plain.
Front this review, it is manifest that the Le
compton convention, according to every prin
ciple of constitutional law, was legally consti
tuted and was invested with power to frame a
Constitution.
The sacred principle of popular sovereignty
has been invoked in favor of the enemies of
law and order in Kansas. Butin what man
ner is popular sovereignty to be exercised in
tiiis country, if not through the instrumentali
tv of established law i In certain small repub
lics of ancient times the people <fid assemble
in primary meetings, passed laws, and direct
ed public afl'a'rrs. In our country this is mani
festly impossible. I’opular sovereignty can be
exercised here only through the ballot-box; <
and if the people will refuse to exercise it in '
this as they have done in Kansas nt
the election of delegates, it is not for them to
, complain that their rights have been violated. •
'Die Kansas convention, thus lawfully insti- ;
toted, proceeded to frame a Constitution, and.
having completed their work, finally adjourned 1
on the 7th day of November last. They did
not think proper to submit, the whole of this '
Constitution to a popular vote; but they did ■
submit the question w hether Kansas should be
a free or n slave State, to the people. This
wus the question which had convulsed the
Union and shaken it to its vurv centre. This
was the question which had lighted up the j
11 imes of civil war in Kansas, and had pro
duced dangerous sectional parties throughout '
the confederacy. It was a character so para
mount in respect to the condition of Kansas,
as to rivet the anxious attention ot the people
of the w hole country upon it. and it alone. .
No person thought of any other question. For
my own part, when 1 instructed Governor
Walker, in general terms, in favor of submit
ting the Constitution to the people, I had no |
object in view except the all absorbing question
of slavery. In what manner the people of!
Kansas might regulate their other concerns, i
w as not a subject w hich attracted my attention.
In fact, the general provisions of our recent
State Constitutions, after an experience of j
eighty years, are so similar and so excellent,
that it would be difficult to go far wrong at 1
the present day in framing a new Constitution. ‘
I then believed and still believe, that, under
the organic act. the Kansas convention w ere
bound to submit this all-important question of 1
slavery to the people. It was never, howev
er, my opinion that, independently of this act.
they would Imve been bound to submit any
portion of the Constitution to a popular vote. '
in order to give it validity. Had 1 entertained
such an opinion, this would have been in op- '
position to many precedents in our history,
commencing in the very best age of our Re
public. It would have been in oppo-ition to the
principle which pervades our institutions, and
which is every day carried out into practice, '
that the people have a right to delegate to rep
rcsentative-. chosen by themselves, their sov
ereign power to frame Constitutions, enact
laws, mid perform many other important acts,
without requiring that these should bo subject
ed to their subsequent approbation. It w ould
be a most inconvenient limitation of their own
power, imposed by the people upon themselves,
to exclude them from exercising their sover
eignty in any lawful manner they think proper.
It is true that the people of Kansas might, if
they had pleased, have required the conven
tion to submit the Constitution to a popular
vote; but this they have not done. The only
remedy, therefore, in this case, is that which ■
exists in all other similar cases. If the dele
gates who framed the Kansas Constitution have j
in any manner violated the will of their con
stituents, the people always possess the power i
to change their Constitution or their laws, ac
cording to their own pleasure.
The question of slavery w as submitted to an
election of the people of Kansas on the 21st
December last, in obedience to the mandate of
the Constitution. Here again a fair opportuni
ty was presented to the adherents of the Tope
ka ('onslitlltion, if they were the majority, to '
decide this exciting question "in their own
way." mid thus restore peace to the distract
ed Territory; but they again refused to cxer- j
cise their right of popular sovereignty, am:
again sufl'ercd the election topass by defiiiit.
I heartily rejoice that a wiser and lustier
spirit prevailed among a huge majority of tlu. se
people on the first Monday of January : mid
that they did, on that day, vote under the Le
compton Constitution lor a Governor and other
i State officers, a member of Congress, and for
1 members of the legislature. This election wi.
warmly contested by the parties, mid a larger
vote was polled than at any previous election
in the Territory. Wo may now reasonably
' hope that the revolutionary Topeka organize- ,
tion will lie speedily mid finally abandoned,
mid this will go far towards the final settlement
of the unhappy differences in Kansas. If frauds
; have been committed at this election, either
! by one or both parties, the legislature and the
people of Kansas, under their Constitution,
will know how to redress themselves and pun
ish these detestable but too common crimes
w ithout any outside interference.
The people of Kansas have, then, “ in their '
own w ay,” and in strict accordance with the
organic act, framed a Constitution and State
Government; have submitted the all-impor
tant question of slavery to the people, and have i
elected a Governor, a member to represent
them in Congress, members ofthc State legis
lature, and other State officers. They now
ask admission into the Union under this Con
stitution, which is republican in its form. It ■
is lor Congress to decide w hether they w ill ad
mit or reject the State which has thus been !
created. For my own part, lam decidedly in
favor of its admission, and thus terminating
the Kansas question. This will carry out the
| great principle of non-intervention recognized
and sanctioned by the organic act, w hich de
-1 dares in express language in favor of uon
i intervention by Congress with slavery in the
States or Territories,” leaving “the people
! thereof perfectly free to form and regulate
their domestic institutions in their ow n way,
subject only to the Constitution of the United
States.” hi this manner, by localizing the
question of slavery, and confiding it to the ■
people whom it immediately concerned, every ■
patriot anxiously expected that this question
would be banished from the balls of Congress,
where it has always exerted a baneful iniltienee ■
throughout the w hole country.
It is proper that I should briefly refer to the !
election held under an act of the territorial leg- I
islature, on the first Monday of January !a*t,
on the Lecompton Constitution. This election i
was held after the territory had been prepared
for admission into the Union as a sovereign
State, and when no authority existed in the
territorial legislature w hich could possibly des
troy its existence or change its character. The
election, which was peaceably conducted un
der my instructions, involved a strange inepn
i sisteney. A large majority of the persons who
voted against the Lecompton Constitution,
were at the very same time and place reeog
' niziug its valid existence in the most solemn j
■ and authentic manner, by voting under its pro
visions. I have yet received no official infor
mation of the result of the election.
As a question of expediency, after the right
, lias been maintained, it may be w ise to reflect
upon the benefits to Kansas and to the w hole
country, which would result from its iinmedi
' ate admission into the Union, as well as the
disasters which may follow its rejection. Do
mestic peace w ill be the happy consequence of j
Its admission, mid that fine territory which has
hitherto been torn by dissentious, will rapidly
' increase in population and wealth, and speed
ily realize the blessings and the comforts which
■ follow in the train of agricultural and mechan
ical industry. The people will then be sover-
i eign, and can regulate their own affairs in their
own way. If a majority of them desire to abol
' ish domestic slavery w ithin the State, there is
no other possible mode by which this can be ef
fected so speedily as by prompt admission. —
The will of the majority is supreme and irre
sistible when expressed in an orderly and law
ful manner. They can make and unmake Con
: stitutions V pleasure. It would be absurd to
say that they can impose fetters upon theirown
power which they cannot afterwards remove.
If they could do this they might tie their own
i hands for a hundred as well as for ten years.
These are fundamental principles of Ameri
can freedom, and are recognised, 1 believe, .in
son e form or other, by every State Constitu
tion ; and if Congress in the act of admission,
should think proper to recognise them, I can
perceive no objection to meh a course. This
has been done emphatically in the Constitution
of Kansas. It declares in the bill of right - , that
“all political power is inherent in the people,
and all free governments are founded on their
authority and instituted for their benefit, and
therefore they have at all times an inalienable
and indeieasable right to alter, reform, or abol
ish their form of government in such manner
as they may think proper.” The great State
of New York is at this moment governed under
a Constitution framed and established in direct
opposition to the mode prescribed by the pre
vious Constitution. If, therefore, the provis
; ion changing the Kansas Constitution, alter
: the year one thousand eight handled and sixty
four, could by possibility be construed into a
f prohibition to make such a change previous to
i that period, this prohibition would lie w holly
■ unavailing. The legislature already elected
j may, at its very first session, submit the ques
tion to a vote of the people whether they will
or will not have a convention to amend their
Constitution, and adopt all ncce-sary means
for giving eti'ect to the popular will.
It has been solemnly adjudged by the highest
I judicial tribunal known to our law s, that
slavery exists in Kansas by virtue vt the Con
stitution of the United States. Kansas is,
therefore, nt this moment as much a slave State
as Georgia or South Carolina. Without this,
. the equality of the sovereign States composing
! the Union would be violated, and the use and
enjoyment of a territory acquired by the com
mon treasure of all the States, w ould be closed
i against the people and the property of nearly
I half the members of the confederacy. Slavery
can therefore never be prohibited in Kansas,
I except by means of a constitutional provision,
and in no other manner can this be obtained so
promptly, if a majority ofthe people desire it,
j as by admitting it into the Union under its
present Constitution.
On the other hand, should Congress reject
the Constitution, under the idea of affording
the disaffected in Kansas a third opportunity
of prohibiting slavery in the States w hich they
1 miglit have done tw ice before if in the majori
ty, no man can tfll the consequences.
If Congress, for the sake of those men who
refused to vote for delegates to the convention
when they might have excluded slavery from
the Constitution, and who afterwards refused
to vote on tlie'Jlst Dec.last, when they might,
as they claim, have stricken slavery from the
Constitution, should now reject the State be
cause slavery remains in the Constitution, it is
manifest that tlio agitation upon this danger
ous subject will be renewed in a more alarming
form than it has ever yet assumed.
Every patriot in the country bad indulged
the hope that the Kansas ami Nebraska act
would put a final end to the slavery agitation,
! at least in Congress, w liieli had for more than
twenty years, convulsed the country and en
dangered the Union. Thisact involved great
and fundamental principles, and if fairly car
ried into effect will settle the question. Should
the agitation be again revived, should the peo
ple ol the sister States be again estranged from
each other with more than their former bitter
ness, this will arise from a cause, so far as the
interests of Kansas are concerned, more trifling
and insignificant than has ever stirred the cle- j
ments of a great people into commotion.
To the people of Kansas, the only practical '
difference between admission or rejection, de- :
pends simply on the fact whether they can
themselves more speedily change the present j
Constitution if it docs not accord with the j
1 majority, or frame a second Constitution to be !
submitted to Congress hereafter. Even it this
w ere a question of mere expediency, and not ;
of right, the small difference- of time, one way
or the other is of not the least, importance, i
1 when cimtiA'ted with the evils wliieh may
necessarily result to the- w hole country from a ■
revival of the shivery agitation.
In con -ide ring this question, it should never
!>■ forgotten that, in proportion to its insig
nifieim e. k-t the des isirni be what it ni.-.y, so
llir as it r uiy affect the Lw thousand inhabit-!
auts of Kansas, who have fiom the beginning;
resisted the Con.-GHltka «;i 1 the laws. f„r this i
very real-on the re ;ect.on of t!:e t oi:-t'.t;;G<>n
w ill be so much the mme keenly felt by the
people offourtei n ofthe StatesW this Union,
where sbiverj is reeognise-l under the Con
stitution o! the I lilted Mate-.
Ag:.::i: The speedy admie-ion of Kansas in
to the Union would reetoie peace ami quiet to
the whoie country. Already the allairs of this
Territory have engrossed nn 'indue proportion
of public attention. They have sadly affected
the friendly rehitionsol the people of the States
with each other, and alarmed the fears of pa
triots for the safety of the Union. Kansas
once admitted into the Union, the excitement
becomes localized, and will *o.m die aw ay for
want of outside aliment. Then every difficulty
; will be settled at the ballot box.
Besides —and this is no trilling considera
tion —I shall then be enabled to withdraw the
troops of the United States from Kansas, and
employ them on branches of service where
j they are needed. They have been kept there
on the earnest importunity of Gov. Walk
er to maintain the existence of the territorial
government and secure the execution of the
laws. He considered that at least tw o thou
sand regular troops under the command ofGen.
Harney, w ere necessary for this purpose. Act
ing upon his reliable information, 1 have been
obliged, in some degree, to interfere with the
expedition to Utah, in order to keep down re
bellion in Kansas. This has involved a very
heavy expense to the government. Kansas
once admitted, it is believed there will no
longer beany occasion therefor troops ofthe
United States.
I have thus performed my duty on this im
portant question, under a deep sense of respon
sibility to God and my country. My public
life will terminate w ithin a brief period; and
I have no other object of earthly ambition than
! to leave my country in a peaceful and prosper
ous condition, and to live in the affections and
respect of my countrymen. The dark audom
! inotts clouds which now appear to be impend
ing over the Union, 1 conscientiously believe
! may be dissipated with honor to every portion
■ of it, by the admission of Kansas during the
present session of Congress ; whereas, it she
should be rejected, I greatly fear these clouds
will become darker and more ominous, than
any w hieli have ever yet threatened the Con
stitution and the Union.
James Bcchanas.
Washington, February 2d, 1858.
Washington Item. —The Tariff Investigating
Committee had a protracted session on Satur
day. Mr. Stone has now been before them tor
four days, and they have not got through with
him yet. He testified that O. B. Matteson,
during the pendency pf the Tariff bill, stated
j that it would take at least twenty-live thou
sand dollars to get the bill through Congress;
that Matteson proceeded from Washington to
■ New York for the purpose ot making the ar
rangement ; but be does not state whether Mat-
i teson received the money. When asked by a
member of the committee w hether he. had ever
' loaned any money to members ot Congress, he
: hesitated and quibbled, but finally said that he
i did not think they had a right to ask such a
i question. The committee insisted upon an
answer. He then stated that there had been
' some money loaned—how much he did not
know . Mt. Banks borrowed seven thousand
I dollars; another member had borrowed some,
which the books of the company showed had
. never been paid. The committee yesterday
I applied to the House for power to arrest ah
i unwilling witness.
THE STATE FAIR.
We had the pleasure of seeing on yesterday
Dr. J. Camak, the energetic Secretary of the
Southern Central Agricultural Society, who
paid a visit to our city for the purpose ot ma
king arrangements for the next State Fair,
which, wc are advised, will be held at this
place the same time this, as it was last year,—
] We ure pleased too to state that even thus ear
ly in the year, prospects are promising, more
; so than usual, of a large and increased compe
; tition for the handsome premiums that the So
! ciety have determined to bestow upon the suc
| cessl'nl. We trust that our cotton growers in
Middle and South-Western Georgia, will not
. neglect to bear away rhe prizes offered by the
j Society, as they did last, and in previous
: years.— Atlanta Intelligencer.
MACON, (JA.
Thursday, February 11,1858.
J-tf"JiT>GE James Jackson lias placed us
under obligations for valuable Congressional
documents.
The length of the President's Message
and the pressure of Communications, compel j
us to present to-day a very limited allowance j
of Editorial. This, however, is no loss to the ;
reader as the selected and contributed matter
with w hich our columns are tilled is no doubt
more interesting than anything we could have
written.
PUBLIC AMUSEMENTS.
The late Concert of Tn alberg and Vievxtemfß
has suggested to ns some reflections on Public
Amusements in general, and Circuses and “Ne- !
gro Shows” in particular. At intervals during
the winter our little City has been enlivened
by various exhibitions —some bad, some indif
ferent, and none of them good. To take them
up seriatim.
First we have had the Circus and Menagerie, !
highly to the delight and edification of the
“niggers” and small boys. They had with
them, of course, the usual complement of sick
lions, mangy monkeys, spavined horses, and
superannuated jokes—not forgetting that pe
culiar odor of saw -dust and stables, mingled
with the exhalations from the elephant and
other noble beasts, which is as much a part of
one of these institutions as the canvas or the
clown. Os course there was no want of Y’an
keeswith French names, w ho pass their livesin ■
turning somersets and standing on their heads
—as good a use perhaps as such heads can be 1
put to—nor did the ever recurring Angel in
tights and short petticoats fail to make her ap
pearance in the usual role. These —together
with a'dwarfed mule, and the Clown, whoindus
triously paraded a veteran Company of Jokes, !
which were organized in the times of George i
the Third, and been in activeservice ever since !
—were the main features of the Horse Opera. !
Following close upon the Circns, the “Camp- :
bells” (Negro imitation Minstrels) came to town
playing to very full and respectable houses. !
This Establishment is, perhaps, as good as any •
of its kind, but what a kind ! White men black
ing their faces, and endeavoring to make “nig- !
gers" of themselves, und with very poor sue- !
cess at that—perpetrating jokes worn thread- ;
bare with constant use, and in general perform- ■
ing such antics as ought to amuse nobody but
children.
Finally Thalbekg and Y’ieuxtemps appear
upon the Stage—the elite of the town assem
ble to hear them —the lovely Kemp sings a
song, and Viei xti'Ml's plays the fiddle —snobs
encore and flunkeys applaud—all profess to be !
er.riipturcd w ith w hat few i nderstaml und none i
enjoy- and Mr. Raiston's Hal! is inaugurated
w ith a blaze of success'.
As hmg as the people must be amused, let us
have a good Theatre, wlikii relines the taste,
cultivates the understanding, ami combines in
struction w ith amusement, if the legitimate
Drama is encouraged, the people will soon ac
quire a distai-te IGr the wdgarities ot the Cir
cus and the nonsense ofthc “negro shows.
Nevertheless a Circus or a “ Nigger Show"
is always sure of a crowded house in Macon—
while a well-appointed Ballet or a good Theat
rical Company, w ould no d mbt be pronounced
indellicate and immoral by many refined and
pious people of both sexes who flock to see one
man imitate the dancing of a negro and to hear
another say “ dis ” and “ dat.”
ACADEMY FOR THE BLIND.
In our advertising columns appears a notice
to Contractors for sealed proposals for building
the new Academy for the Blind, for which a
liberal appropriation was made by the late Leg
islature. The plan adopted by the Board of
Trustees wassubmitted by Mr. Voi.xey Fierce,
a skillful architect of this city. It is a most
excellent design, beautiful in all its proportions
and admirably adapted for such an Institution.
If completed according to Mr. Pierce’s draw
ing, this building will be the chief ornament of
Macon.
FREE FIGHT IN CONGRESS.
The Abolition members would be kept in
better order, if the South w ould send to Con
gress more of her true sons like Brooks and
Keitt, and not so many on the national order
of Mr. Speaker Our. The Philadelphia BuZZc
tin hits off the late muss in the House in the
following capital stile:
Washington, Feb. 6.—The city is all excite
ment to-day in regard to the affray in the
House of Representatives tliis morning. The
accounts of the scene differ only slightly, and
the true state ol the case seems to be as fol
lows:
About a quarter before two o’clock, while
various motions to kill time and prevent defin
i ite action were put, and while many members,
I knowing that there was no special business on
hand and no likelihood of a vote, were loung
ing ami dosing in their seats and moving pro
miscuously about the Hall, Mr. Grow, of Penn
sylvania, whose seat is about the centre ofthe
w estern side of the House, where the Republi
can members nearly all sit, found himself on
I - the opposite side, whose inlgibitants are chiefly
I Democrats.
There is a passage or aisle between the seats,
leading from the North-east corner ofthe Hall
1 to the speaker's chair, making a radius of the
1 circle of members' desks. Mr. Grow was qui
; etlv w alking down the aisle, when Mr. Keitt.
j of South Carolina, and Mr. Reuben Davis, of
Mississippi, approached him. Mr. Quitman
had risen, and Mr. Grow hod objected to his
speaking.
Said Mr. Keitt, “if yon want to object, you
had better go to your own side ofthe House.”
“ This is a free hall,” said Mr. Grow, “and
every man has a right to go where he pleases.”
| “ What do you mean by such an answer as
| that I” said Mr. Keitt.
' “ 1 mean w hat I said,” replied Mr. Grow and
repeated the remark.
Mr. Keitt then seized him by the collar, ex
claiming. “ 1 w ill let yon know that jou are a
d—d Black Republican puppy.”
Mr, Grow thrust his hand aside with vio- |
1 lenee, saying : “I shall occupy such a place as
I 1 please, and no nigger driver shall crack his I
! whip over me.”
Again Mr, Keitt seized him by the throat,
and w as again driven off by Mr. Grow, and on
, the attempt being repeated. Mr. Grow deliver
ed a well-aimed blow ami knocked Mr. Keitt
; down.
There was a rush of members from the oppo
site side of the Hall, and from all quarters.—
I Mr. Barksdale, of Mississippi, rushed in tosep
aratc the combatants. Mr. M'ashburne, of Il-
linois, who has a front seat on the Republican !
side, thinking that be was going to help Keitt,
hurried into the melee and knocked Mr. Barks
dale’s wig off.
Reinforcements arrived from all quarters,
and for a couple of minutes there was a furious
contest, but fortunately no one was hurt, and
by the aid of the Seargent at Arms, the prin
cipal combatants were parted and order was
restored.
Speaker Orr, who is a colleague and friend
of Keitt, was pale as a sheet, but composed and
collected in manner. The moment the com
batants were separated, there was a quiet that
was startling in its efl'ect. The Speaker direct
ed the roll to be called on a motion to excuse
a member from voting, and the business of Ilic
session went on.
A QUESTION OF VERACITY.
“CHEIL” VS "QUILP."
Messrs. Editors: Permit me to correct a
mistake made by your correspondent ‘Quilp”
in reference to the ‘hole* he says he fell in. It
was no hole made by the workmen, and for
which he blames the -‘CITY FATHERS" (as
he calls them.) It was the naked ditch itself,
only that it was clothed in Egyptian darkness,
for it was the darkest night, perhaps, that ever
was. If I was a member of Conned, I would
prosecute him for slander, and have the ditch
for a witness ; for it is just where it has been
for lo these many years, and the water gliding
quietly nt the Irottom. And if he did not feel
his foot in it, he did net miss it far, and if yew
had been within hearing you would have
thought he had lost his temper as well as his
footing. If he trys it again, he will break his
leg or neck, or both, for it is worse now ; and
then the nine little Q s w ould be a poor
fatherless little crowd. CIIIEL.
MACON COUNTY RESOLUTIONS.
At a late public meeting held in the town of
Oglethorpe, the following Resolutions were re
ported by Samiki. Hai.i., Esq., and the meet
ing adjourned to the 3d Tuesday in March next:
Resolved, That while we accord to the mem
bers of the present General Assembly of the
State of Georgia, feelings of patriotism, and a
sincere desire to advance the interests of their
constituents and promote the prosperity of the
State, we can but regard their action in the
passage of an act entitled “an act to provide
against the forfeiture of the several bank char
ters in this State, on account of non specie
payment for a given time, and for other purpo
ses therein named ”as a grave error; and
subsequent experience and developements have
convinced us that the provisions ofthe act are
unwise and oppressive.
Resolted, That, in the opinion ot this meet
ing, the said act should have enjoined it us a
duty on the 1 auks to afford indemnity to the
people for the indulgence thus granted them. I
and in omitting so to do the Legislature has .
enabled them, by removing all apprehension 1
of the loss of their valuable privileges and fran
chises, to speculate upon those unfortunately j
dependent upon them for a circulating medi
um ; for we cannot consider a release from
their obligations a remedy for the evils that
now atleet the country, and regard an exten
sion of their inflated circulation, without secu
rity, as a sure precursor of their lilial insolven
cy and inability to redeem their liabilities.
Reside: d, I'hat the great desideratum of the
people is a stable and unitorm currency of e
qual value, not only in this but every other
civilized mid commercial coimtry mid in the
worl I. But while banks of cirenhition are not
only chartered but encouraged by law, we have
slight hope of securing :.n olject so desirable,
or of relieving the community from the disas
trous consequences mscperabie- from sudden
mid violent convulsion i in the monetary affairs
ofthe country, whieli reverse all the laws of
trade, and especially the great law of supply
and demand, causing prices to ! e regulated by
the expansions and contractions of lank is
sues.
Rewired, That direct trade with foreign na
tions is greatly to the intere ' ofthe Southern
people, and that the greatest obstacle in the
way of their commercial independence is the
paper currency, and consequently the first and
most efficient step towards securing this object
would be the establishment of a currency not
liable to sudden and violent fluctuations. The
supply of our great staple does not exceed
the demand ami it being improbable, as expe
rience demonstrates, to grow it to advantage
and profit in the other quarters of the globe,
European markets are dependent upon us for
their supplies, and if they could not use the a
gency of those who manufacture and issue an
inferior currency, they would seek our ports,
purchase our products and pay for them in
siiecie, ami by this means would save to the
planter the profits now made by the Banks
and Northern factors and commission mer
chants.
Resolted, That exchange is the cost of trans
porting specie from one point to another, and
any arrangement by which a bank exacts a
larger premium under that name is extortion,
not warranted even by. the spirit and intent of
the act as the last General Assembly of this
State legalizing suspension.
Resolted, That the teachings of our fore
fathers, who had seen the evils of mi inflated
paper currency, and who have embodied in
the Constitution of the U. S. their objections
thereto, lead us to believe that they designed
nothing but coin as a circulating medium, as is
apparent from the power given to Congress
to coin ihoney and regulate the value
thereof and the prohibition to the States to
“coin money,” “emit bills of credit” or “make
any thing but gold mid silver coin a tender in
payment of debts.”
Rewired, That our thanks are eminently
due and arc hereby tendered to the President
of the U. S. mid the Hon. Secretary of the
Treasury for tlieirexertions to procure the pas
sage of a general compulsory bankrupt law, to
enable those who suffer by bank and rail road
corporation suspensions, to put such suspended
bank and railroad corporations into immediate
liquidation, mid we hereby request our Sena
tors and Representatives in Congress to use
their best endeavors to procure the passage of
such 1} law,
Resulted, That the influence of the banks
over every interest of the country has increased
so such an alarming extent, that each and all
of them arc subject to their power, and that
such power should be gradually diminished by
wise and cautions Legislation until it is entirely
destroyed, and to this end, and as a preparation
for this change, wa recommend to the next
session of our General Assembly the passage
first of an act dissolving all connexion be
tween, and rendering the State Treasury inde
pendent of, the banks. 2d. An act altering
the Constitution of the State in such manner
as to prohibit the renewal of any existing char
ter for a bank of issue, and prohibiting in fu
ture the incorporation of any such bank of is
sue. Bd. An aot requiring the banks, within
a given period after the pasage thereof, to call
in all their bills now in circulation under the
denomination of twenty dollars, and to issue
no more bills under that denomination.
Resolved, That the thanks of this meeting
are due and are hereby tendered to His Excel
lency Joseph E. Brown, for the firm and fear
less discharge of his duty in vetoing the act
passed at the last General Assembly of the
State, for legalizing the suspension of specie
payment by the banks thereof, and also to
those members of the General Assembly wh«
sustained IlisExcellency in vetoing said act.
“ONE OF THEM OUT”
Ma. Eoitou:—A friend has called my atten
tion to the following challenge, in the last
Journal & Messenger. Is this sort of insolence
and presumption never to end ? Are the peo
ple of the up country, who have for the last
half century been familiar with Banks and
Banking, and have suffered from them often,
to be told by young Blockheads and old Fo
gies, that they know nothing about the matter?
Up country Editors and orators know nothing
about the things w hereof they affirm, but only
utter “ gross and unfounded assumptions,” “to
sustain and bolster up an ignorant and dema
gogue Governor.” So we must come together
and take lessons of them, like Hottentots a
rotmd a Missionary.
Well, we shall see how long the people will
stand it. lam willing to wait and see.
Flease give my reply to this young one.
S. T. BAILEY.
FOB THE JOURNAL AND MESSENGER.
To S. T. Bailey, Esq., Bibb County:
Sm : —As you are the reputed author of ths
Preamble mid Resolutions passed by the (so
called) “Public Meeting in Bibb,"on Saturday,
the 23d day ol January last—which said
Preamble and Resolutions ere believed to be a
t ssue ot gross and unfounded assumptions a
gainst the Legislature and the Banks, it is de
sired to know whether you are willing to de
fend your assumptions in public discussion be
fore the people of Bibb county ? If yea—you
have only to designate the time, and you may
rest ,‘is-tired that you ‘•hall be confronted in the
discussion by a gentleman who is in all res]>ects
woithv of your steel.
What say vou, Mr. Bailey? Will you come
to tbc defence or not ? The terms of discus
simi can be easily arranged, if you say th©
word. ’ LEGISLATURE.
To “ Legislature,’’ofthe hist 64 •Messenger.’*
Sih:—l understand you to invite me to dis
cuss with you a “ tissue of gross and unfound
ed assumptions.” Now it I were not perfectly
familiar with the multeity of Bank advocates,
1 should feel surprise, if not offence, at this
assault, at the start, not upon my honor
alone, but upon as respectable and intelligent
a meeting of citizens as ever assembled any
where off of Bluffs and who unani-
mously ado|>tcd those Resolutions. And I
miglit reply, that is not a debateable question.
No gentleman, knowing that assembly, would
charge them with adopting a “tissue of gioss
and unfounded assumptions,” upon any subject,
more es|>ecially the Banking system, with
which they have become acquainted to their
sorrow. But let that pass; I feel pretty sure
that we all would care very little for any as
sault the Bankites may make upon our charac
i tors, provided wc could keep them out of our
1 pockets. lud< I. their commendation isdeem
led by m-.u. as rather damaging to their cliar
! actor, among honest men.
’ But perhaps yon will say, you desire to en
li/litenthe l»enigk:.<l pe«>; leof Bibb npnn Bank
ing; ;• people who began to learn their lessons
in 1“ 32, and have repented them ever since to
their sorrow. Why. man, you don’t know of
whom y»»n :»re talking- try the experiment—
(’.ill the people together and tell them they are
fools. f u r looking upon Banks as their enemies,
and s bow long you could continue your en
lightenment.
But oh no; you doubtless wish to bo enlight
ened yoiisclf by the discussion, (thu*» we are
to understand sour modesty,) so that you can
vote un i rshindingl., at the next meeting of
the Legislature; that yon are after knowledge
under dillicult'a‘. Well, I confess that does
appeal to my charity. But, my dear fellow,
if you arc not joking, excuse me, for in early
life 1 taught school a spell, and found, where
theit was a crowd of stupid boys in the school,
it cost me infinite labor and vexation, to beat
any sense into their dull pates. Yet. I confess
ton foolish ambition, then, for the experiment
of awakening through the epidermis. I
need hardly ad I, the experiment generally
tailed. But now, in the sere and yellow leaf
of life, all such ambition has died out, so that I
cannot consent again to undertake that sadly
discouraging busim .-s, in addition to the many
cares and troubles that have gathered around
; waning years.
No, no, my dear boy, I must turn you over
to the teachings of my friend “ Joe Brown.”
No better, hornster schoolmaster ever lived
than he; depend upon it, he is your friend —
he will teach you no “ tissue of gross and un
founded assumptions.” When your vacation
is up, return to school at once, with an honest
determination to learn the truth, and listen to
his honest and sensible discourses, and ndy
upon it, you will die a better and a wiser man.
S. T. BAILEY.
[communicated.]
TWIGGS COUNTY MEETING.
Pursuant to agreement of several citizens at
a preliminary meeting held this day it is agreed
and requested that a Convention of the citi
zens be held at this place, irrespective of party
distinction on Wednesday 17th inst., for the
I purpose of sustaining the Governor in his Veto
Message on the Bank Suspension Bill, and for
other purposes. EQUAL RIGHTS,
Marion, Feb. 3d, 1858,
INFAMOUS
If there is anything mean, vile and contempt,
ible, it is the circulation of such infamous hoax
es as the following, which we clip from a late
number of the “N. Y. Mercury.” They con
tain nothing which should entitle them to a
place in the columns of any respectable South
ern Journal; on the contrary, the London
Punch or Paris or even the London
Time*) which seems to have such an aptitude
for swallowing Arrowsmith fables, would be
the proper and Legitimate places for all such
parodies upon the hospitalities us our Southern
Homes :
Horrid Affaib —A Real Georgia Fight.—
A terrible encounter lately occurred at a hotel
in Augusta, Ga., by which two gentlemen ot
that place lost their lives, andtliree more were
severely, if not fatally wounded. Gem Las well,
a wealthy and influential, though somewhat
dissipated planter, residing near Apaloosa, has
for some time been in the habit ot going to the
village every Saturday night with his overseer
—a refined and cultivated Cuban named Gar
geda—-and having a convivial supper with bu
acquaintances, and extending an invitation to
any respectable stranger who happened to be
stoppirffe at the hotel ftt Hine,
