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Wished ; and not contenting itself with arguing this position once in the Legislature , or even in Congress , the party formed a separate Government to execute its own laws , as if those were the laws of the community . What was the duty of the Chief Magistrate under these circumstances ? It was , in the language of the Constitution , * to take care that the laws "be faithfully executed . ' For this purpose , and for this alone , Mr . 3 kf-CHAisrAK detached a military force to support
the local Executive in carrying out the established laws . Should he have left the Territory to be ravaged by civil war and blood * - Bhed ? Simply to abstain would have been an easy course for the Chief Magistrate ; but it would have violated his oath , and would have inflicted immeasurable suffering upon the individuals , the men and women , and the iamilies , of both parties in Kansas . If the Territory is properly described as c bleeding Kansas , ' he at least has applied the
tourniquet to stop the bleeding . A portion of the people in Kansas have set tip an independent Government : admit their right to do this , and the Government of every state in the Union , the Federation itself , would at once be dissolved . If the American citizens believe anarchy and democracy to be convertible terms , Mr . Buchanan is in the wrong . If democracy means the government of tlie whole for the interests of the whole according to the opinion of the whole , he has simply fulfilled a duty set down for him .
Some , indeed , go back to first principles , and insist that the G-overnment in Kansas should be set aside because it has ad&pted the institution of slavery ; which , say these reasoners , is incompatible with the fundamental laws of a republic . The answer that "Washhttgtost and Jefpeb-son , both reluctant to perpetuate the institution of slavery , nevertheless lacked the strength to expel it from the Republic , and consented to accept
it , is regarded as insufficient ; for , assert these ultra-advocates of the anti-slavery principle , the " institutions should at least be limited to the States iu which it originally existed . This rule is devoid of any force . In the first place , it is not the edict of the majority of the American people . Secondly , the rule comes too late , since the institution of slavery has already been extended to many Territories and many States in which it did not exist—several of the States themselves
not existing at the time when Washington and Jetfebson founded the ^ Republic . In fact , the rule is inconsistent with the very principles upon which ! States were admitted to the Union at first , and have been admitted since . Each State adopts its own laws , under the condition that those laws shall harmonizo with the laws of other federated States , and shall come within the
constitution of the Federal Republic . Much as we may regret that such an institution as slavery should exist in the Union , it does not disqualify the State from admission to the Republic It is not repugnant to the constitution ; on the contrary , it ia repugnant to the constitution for other States to dictate to a Territory , or for a Territory to determine whether an immature State snail or shall not accept the institution ,, shall or shall not modify or exclude it . 1
The law adoptedby the Territorial Legislature of . Kansas fairly and ' justly secured the vote to every bondjidc resident of the Territory ^ preventing fraud or the intrusion of citizens from other States ; and thus enabling the em bryo State to declare its real opinion on the subject of slavery .. Numbers of men within the Territory refused to acquiesce in jbhis arrangement , —they woujd neither be recognized nor vote . They put their trust in , a separate convention ; but evidently this
mode of carrying out a reform cannot be suffered by any de facto Government , whether of a Territory , of a State , or of the Federal Republic . The President of the United States has employed the military , not to sustain the institution of slavery in Kansas , not to coerce the people of that Territory , but simply to maintain the actual laws of the Federation in the spirit dictated by its earliest founders .
" I have entire confidence in Governor Walker that the troops will not be employed except to resist actual aggression . or in the execution of the laws , and then not until the power of the Civil Magistrate shall prove unavailing . Following the wise example of Mr . Madison towards the Hartford Convention , illegal and dangerous combinations such as that of the Topeka Convention , will not be disturbed unless they shall attempt to perform some act which will
bring them into actual collision with the Constitution and the laws , and , in that event , they shall be resisted and put down "by the . -whole power of the Government . In performing this duty , I shall have the approbation of my own conscience , and . as I humbly trust , of my God . I thank you for the assurance that you will not refrain from prayer that the Almighty God will make my administration an example of justice and beneficence .
" You can greatly assist me in arriving at this blessed consummation by exerting your influence in allaying the existing sectional excitement on the subject of slavery , which has been productive of much evil and no good , and which , if it could succeed ia attaining its object , would ruin the slave as well aa his master . This would be a work of genuine philanthropy . " This reply of Mr . Buchanan is remarkable for its simplicity , its moderation , and its plain speaking . He ceases to talk about ' a domestic institution , ' and directly uses the word ' slavery . ' " W * e point to the fact as an important corroboration of our statement , that the discussion on that complicated and difficult question is gradually ^ extending itself and becoming more practical . "When the attempts to put down the institution by force are abandoned , when one State ceases to maintain a crusade against another , when the citizen who has been compelled to inherit the property that he did not create is no longer menaced with death or ruin as the consequence of his position , then perchance the members even of the Southern States will be able to join , as some of them are so well inclined to do , in the greatest reform that yet awaits the Republic . "When the republicans simply consult together on the mode of improving the industry of the South , the true beginning of reform will b e in sight .
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ENGLISHMEN AT ARKS . Aiiii sorts of small suggestions are floating about , launched by all sorts of gentlemen , who are either blind to the real point at issue , or eager to evade it . We want a large military force for India , and cannot get it . liaise a few Calabrian regiments ; recruit among the Christians of Abyssinia , tlie Jews of Western India , and the negroes of Africa , seek anywhere but in England for an English army . By a judicious mixture of castes and tribes
we may restore what the Sepoya have demolished . This is theorizing at full cry . But avoid putting a Smith where he might meet a Howaud , a Rodiwson where he might jostle against the tenth cousin of a Percy , merit where it may offend pedigree , the talents where they may distancp the classics . There is a charmed circle for graduates ; it would be painful to see them shouldering in the
arms same rank with the young , . gentleman who had volunteered from the City . The gentx-y who declaim in this fashion are in danger of forgetting that a university education does not necessarily nmlie a man a puppy and a fool ; he may bo ' of Oxford , ' and yet retain the masculino virtues of the English character ; ho may be of a college , and yet of no clique ; ho may d | aim academic remiuiacpnces and public sympathies at the
same time . The gentlemen of Eneland the cultivated , the liberal , the polite whom learned senates have honoured , sometime ;? lea * to popular ideas and refuse to be represented by a set of fellows who could be named more freely by Mr . Thackehay than by ourse lves Many of these gentlemen , the brain and heart of the country , are of opinion that to raise a national army , it is not merely neces sary to ^ offer higher wages ; armies formed on that principle are by no means national . By such are constitutions overthrown . As We
are sending men to India , where they ^\\\ be accustomed to a fearful prodigality of hum ™ blood , it will be wise to obtain , if possible something better than a host of brave , raw ruffians , fit for nothing else than bayoneting Sepoys or digging potatoes . If , then , you want superior men , you must offer superior inducements . Once for all , it must "be understood that something more than a petty bounty , a few daily pence , rough rations , and
no prospect beyond the rank of a noncommissioned officer , must be offered before any large numbers will present themselves who could find employment as clerks , shop-assistants , messengers —ay , or eve n wearers of plush and powder . And as for the militia , what does the peasant say ? " You coaxed me into the militia when you were fighting the Russians ; you thought there would l ) e no more fighting , and you turned me adrift without any trousers . " No one who has been at the pains to inquire why the recruiting sergeant has been so unsuccessful will have failed to understand why militiamen , at least , are * backward in coming forward . ' Kecurring to the army , the preachers of the metropolis , on Wednesday last , cast their thunders to -the Horse Guards , and sought to make the hearts of Englishmen leap at the call of duty and glory . Now , it seems easy for a beneficed clergyman to say shame on the craven that will not fight its country ' s battles—he himself is safe from all appeals j and it is pleasant to hear Sir Bultvjjk Lyttok , in his vivacious style , saying he would lead a battalion himself—if he Avere ten years younger ; and Major BjsitEsroiti ) declaring he would enlist—if he were ten years younger ; there is an if in all these cases ; and the young English bachelor also says , ' I will enlist' &c . If what ? If in return for risking
his life , for leaving his home , for undergoing all the fatigues and privations of the ranks in our Asiatic campaign , we give him a chance of making his way by merit . Is that unpatriotic ? Is that graduating his noble rage ? Horse Guard apologists tells us that a murderer 13 at large in India , and our young men want to be re warded for flying to the rescue of their English sisters . If it be a murderer who has to be arrested , seize hold of him yourselves , you who feel the full weight of the responsibility , and leave these young men at their quiet employments . But it is a long campaign , a terrible hazard , an entire change of pursuits ; the man who might retire upon a competency in trade is asked to take two or three sovereigns in advance , thirteen-pence a day for ten years , and the probability , by good conduct , of becoming a corporal or a sergeant , and dying on an infinitesimal pension . Ho naturally inquires *
why is Prince Albeut a Field-Marshal ? That is not his business , you say . True , but why is Sir William Williams oh Kars a Major - General ? On account of hia distinguished services . An admirable reason . Bub it * the aspirant ' s services are also / distinguished ; if he display a talent lor command ; if ho be aa superior i : o his comrades aa l «\\ . itAj > A . Y is to an ordinary chemist s assi stant ; if ho have in him tho stuil" ot ft general , why is he never to ho more than ft colour-sergeant ? No ono can tell him . why *
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m& flE ElADBIt , 'U ^ -8 Mi OmMmm . i * K * i
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Oct. 10, 1857, page 974, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2213/page/14/
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