DIFFICULTIES WITH PARAGUAY. The following Resolution was adopted with reference to the adjustment of difficulties with the Republic of Paraguay. That for the purpose of adjusting the differences between the United States and the republic of Paraguay, in connection with the attack on the United States steamer Water Witch, and with other matters referred to in the annual message of the President, he be, and is hereby authorized to adopt such measures and use such force as, in his judgment, may be necessary and advisable, in the event of a refusal of just satisfaction by the government of Paraguay. 841.190 NOTE.-There were several acts passed mak408,731 ing indefinite appropriations, that is, appro9,624,210 priations of sums not specified. We cannot 1,334,493 estimate the amount required to satisfy the .$12,478,124 provisions of these acts. KANSAS. LECOMPTON AND LECOMPTON, JR. Missouri where the thirty-seventh parallel of parallel to the eastern boundary of New Mexilatitude crosses the same; thence west on said THE following record of the action of Congress on the admission of Kansas, and of the determined efforts of the Demo-co; thence north on said boundary to latitude cratic Pro-Slavery party to drag or dragoon that Territory into the Union as a Slave State, will be interesting for future reference. The original bill, as it passed the Senate under the lead of Senator Green (March 23, 1858), was as follows: THE LECOMPTON BILL. A Bill for the Admission of the State of Kansas into the Union, presented in the Senate by Mr. Green, of Missouri, from the Committee on Territories, February 17, 1858. Whereas, The people of the Territory of Kansas did, by a Convention of Delegates called and assembled at Lecompton, September 4, 1857, form for themselves a Constitution and State Government, which said Convention having asked the admission of the Territory into the Union as a State on an equal footing with the original States, Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the State of Kansas shall be, and is hereby declared to be, one of the United States of America, and admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the original States, in all respects whatever; and the said State shall consist of all the territory included within the following boundaries, to wit: Beginning at a point on the western boundary of the State of westward to the eastern boundary of the territhirty-eight; thence following said boundary tory of Utah, on the summit of the Rocky Mountains; thence northward on said summit to the fortieth parallel of latitude; thence east on said parallel to the western boundary of the State of Missouri; thence south with the western boundary of said State to the place of beginning: Provided, That nothing herein contained respecting the boundary of said State shall be construed to impair the right of person or preperty now pertaining to the Indians in said Territory so long as such right shall remain unextinguished by treaty between the United States and such Indians, or to include any territory which, by treaty with such Indian tribes, is not, without the consent of said tribe, to be included within the territorial limits or jurisdiction of any State or Territory, but all such territory shall be excepted out of the boundaries, and constitute no part in the State of Kansas, until said tribe shall signify their assent to the President of the United States to be included within said State, or to affect the authority of the Government of the United States to make any regulations respecting such Indians, their lands, property, or otherwise, which it would have been competent to make if this act had not been passed. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the State of Kansas is admitted into the Union upon the express condition that said State shall never interfere with the primary disposal of the public lands, or with any regulations 34. This substitute was lost, Yeas 24, Nays which Congress may find necessary for securing mitted to the people at once, and, if apthe title in said lands to the bona fide purchasers and grantees thereof, or impose or levy proved, the President to admit Kansas any tax, assessment, or imposition of any de- by proclamation. If rejected, the people scription whatsoever upon them, or other property of the United States, within the limits of to call a Convention and frame a Constisaid State; and that nothing in this act shall tution. The substitute made special probe construed to abridge or infringe any right vision against frauds at the election. of the people asserted in the Constitution of Kansas, at all times, to alter, reform or abolish their form of government in such manner as they may think proper, Congress hereby disclaiming any authority to intervene or declare the construction of the Constitution of any State, except to see that it is republican in form and not in conflict with the Constitution of the United States; and nothing in this act shall be construed as an assent by Congress to all or to any of the propositions or claims contained in the ordinance annexed to the Constitution of the people of Kansas, nor to deprive the said State of Kansas of the same grants which were contained in said act of Congress, entitled "An act to authorize the people of the Territory of Minnesota to form a Constitution and State Government, preparatory to admission into the Union on an equal footing with the original States," approved February 26, 1853. SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That until the next general census shall be taken, and an apportionment of representation made, the State of Kansas shall be entitled to one Representative in the House of Representatives of the United States. On the first of April the bill was taken up in the House and read once, when, its second reading having been objected to by Mr. Giddings, the question recurred under the rule, Shall the bill be rejected? A vote was taken and resulted, Yeas 95, Nays 137. Mr. Montgomery, of Pa., offered as a substitute, with slight alterations, the bill which Mr. Crittenden had offered in the Senate. Mr. Quitman, of Mississippi, also offered a substitute, which was the same as the Senate bill, with the omission of the declaratory clause, "that the people shall have the right at all times to alter or amend the Constitution in such manner as they think proper," etc. Mr. Quitman's substitute was lost-Yeas ARKANSAS-72, Nays 160, the yeas being all from the Sebastian, Johnson. CALIFORNIA-Gwin. DELA- Slave States, and Mr. Montgomery's was WARE-Bayard. FLORIDA-Mallory, Yulee. GEORGIA-Iverson, Toombs. INDIANA-Fitch, adopted, 120 to 112. Bright. Iowa-Jones. KENTUCKY-THOMPSON. LOUISIANA-Benjamin, Slidell. MARYLAND The bill passed, 33 to 25, as follows: YEAS-FOR LECOMPTON. ALABAMA-Fitzpatrick, Clay. PENN The Crittenden-Montgomery substitute, Pearce, KENNEDY. MISSISSIPPI-Brown. MIS- as it passed, was in the following words: NAYS AGAINST LECOMPTON. SECTION 1. Be it enacted, etc., That the State of Kansas be, and is hereby, admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the original States in all respects whatever; but inasmuch as it is greatly disputed whether the Constitution framed at Lecompton on the 7th day of November last, and now pending CALIFORNIA-Broderick. CONNECTICUT-Fos- before Congress, was fairly made, or expressed ter, Dixon. the will of the people of Kansas, this admission ILLINOIS-Douglas, Trumbull. of her into the Union as a State is here deIOWA-Harlan. MAINE-Fessenden, Hamlin. MASSACHUSETTS clared to be upon this fundamental condition - Wilson, Sumner. MICHIGAN-Stuart, Chand- precedent, namely: That the said constituler. NEW HAMPSHIRE-Hale, Clark. NEW tional instrument shall be first submitted to a YORK-Seward, King. OHIO-Pugh, Wade. vote of the people of Kansas, and assented to RHODE ISLAND-Simmons. TENNESSEE-BELL by them, or a majority of the voters, at an VERMONT-Collamer, Foot. WISCONSIN-Dur-election to be held for the purpose; and as kee, Doolittle. Total, 25. KENTUCKY-CRITTENDEN ABSENT OR NOT VOTING-Messrs. Bates (Del.), Reid (N. C.), Davis (Mi.), Cameron (Pa.) Mr. Cameron paired off with Mr. Davis. soon as such assent shall be given, and duly made known by a majority of the Commissioners herein appointed to the President of the United States, he shall announce the same by proclamation, and thereafter, and without any further proceedings on the part of Congress, the admission of the said State of Kansas into Previous to taking this vote, Mr. Crit tenden moved a substitute for the bill, in the Union upon an equal footing with the origisubstance, that the Constitution be sub-nal States, in all respects whatever, shall be SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the said State of Kansas shall have concurrent jurisdiction on the Missouri and all other rivers and waters bordering on the said State of Kansas, so far as the same shall form a common boundary to said State and any other State or States now or hereafter to be formed or bounded by the same; and said rivers and waters, and all the navigable waters of said State, shall be common highways and forever free, as well to the inhabitants of said State as to all other citizens of the United States, without any tax, duty, impost, or toll therefor. The complete and absolute. At the said election where it may serve to equalize the representathe voting shall be by ballot, and by indorsing tion. The elections hereby authorized shall on his ballot, as each voter may please, "for continue one day only, and shall not be conthe Constitution," or 66 against the Constitu- tinued later than sundown on that day. tion." Should the said Constitution be rejected said board shall appoint the day of election for at the said election by a majority of votes each of the elections hereby authorized, as the being cast against it, then, and in that event, same may become necessary. The said Govthe inhabitants of said Territory are hereby ernor shall announce, by proclamation, the authorized and empowered to form for them- day appointed for any one of said elections, selves a Constitution and State Government by and the day shall be as early a one as is corthe name of the State of Kansas, according to sistent with due notice thereof to the people of the Federal Constitution, and to that end may said Territory, subject to the provisions of this elect delegates to a convention as hereinafter act. The said Board shall have full power to provided. prescribe the time, manner and places of each of said elections, and to direct the time and manner of the returns thereof, which returns shall be made to the said Board, whose duty it shall be to announce the result by proclamation, and to appoint therein as early a day as practicable for the delegates elected (where the election has been for delegates) to assemble in convention at the seat of Government of said Territory. When so assembled, the convention shall first determine, by a vote, whether it is the wish of the proposed State to be admitted into the Union at that time; and if so, shall proceed to form a Constitution, and take all necessary steps for the establishment of a State Government in conformity with the Federal Constitution, subject to the approval and ratification of the people of the proposed State. And the said convention shall accordingly provide for its submission to the vote of the people for approval or rejection; and if the majority of votes shall be given for the Constitution so framed as aforesaid, the Governor of the Territory shall, within twenty days after the result is known, notify the President of the United States of the same. And thereupon the President shall announce the same by proclamation, and thereafter, and without any further proceedings whatever on the part of Congress, the admission of the said State of Kansas into the Union, upon an equal footing with the original States in all respects whatever, shall be complete and absolute. SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That for the purpose of insuring, as far as possible, that the elections authorized by this act may be fair and free, the Governor and the Secretary of the Territory of Kansas, and the presiding officers of the two branches of its Legislature, namely, the President of the Council and Speaker of the House of Representatives, are hereby constituted a board of commissioners to carry into effect the provisions of this act, and to use all the means necessary and proper to that end. Any three of them shall constitute a Board; and the Board shall have power and authority, in respect to each and all of the elections hereby authorized or provided for, to designate and establish precincts for voting, or to adopt those already established; to cause polls to be opened at such places as it may deem proper in the respective counties and election precincts of said Territory; to appoint, as judges of election at each of the several places of voting, three discreet and respectable persons, any two of whom shall be competent to act; to require the sheriffs of the several counties, by themselves or deputies, to attend the judges at each of the places of voting, for the purpose of preserving peace and good order, or the said Board may, instead of said sheriffs and their deputies, appoint, at their discretion and in such instances as they may choose, other fit persons for the same purpose; and when the purpose of the election is to elect delegates to a convention to form a constitution, as hereinbefore provided for, the number of delegates shall be sixty, and they shall be apportioned by said board among the several counties of said Territory, according to the number of voters; and in making this apportionment, the Board may join two or more counties together to make an election or representative district, where neither of the said counties has the requisite number of voters to entitle it to a delegate, or to join a smaller to a larger county having a surplus population, SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That in the elections hereby authorized, all white male inhabitants of said Territory over the age of twenty-one years, who are legal voters under the laws of the Territory of Kansas, and none others, shall be allowed to vote; and this shall be the only qualification required to entitle the voter to the right of suffrage in said elections. And if any person not so qualified shall vote or offer to vote, or if any person shall vote more than once at either of said elections, or shall make, or cause to be made, any false, fictitious or fraudulent returns, or shall alter or change any returns of either of said elections, such person shall, upon conviction thereof before any court of competent jurisdiction, be kept at hard labor not less than six months, and not more than three years. SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That the members of the aforesaid Board of Commissioners, and all persons appointed by them to carry into effect the provisions of this act, shall, before entering upon their duties, take an oath to perform faithfully the duties of their respective offices; and on failure thereof, they shall SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That the officers mentioned in the preceding section shall receive for their services the same compensation as is given for like services under the Territorial laws. be liable and subject to the same charges and of the soil within the same, by the United penalties as are provided in like cases under States, or with any regulations Congress may the Territorial laws. find necessary for securing the title in said soil to bona fide purchasers thereof, and that no tax shall be imposed on lands belonging to the United States, and that in no case shall nonresident proprietors be taxed higher than residents. Sixth: And that the said State shall never tax the lands or the property of the United States in that State: Provided however, That nothing in this act of admission shall be so construed as to ratify or accept the ordinance attached to said Constitution; but said ordinance is hereby rejected by the Government of the United States. SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That the said State of Kansas, when her admission as a State becomes complete and absolute, shall be entitled to one member in the House of Representatives, in the Congress of the United States, till the next census be taken by the Federal Government. SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That the following propositions be, and the same are hereby, offered to the said people of Kansas for their free acceptance or rejection, which, if accepted, shall be obligatory on the United States and upon the said State of Kansas, to wit: First, That sections numbered sixteen and thirty-six in every township of public lands in said State, and where either of said sections, or any part thereof, has been sold or otherwise been disposed of, other lands equivalent thereto, and as contiguous as may be, shall be granted to said State for the use of schools. Second, That seventy-two sections of land shall be set apart and reserved for the use and support of a State University, to be selected by the Governor of said State, subject to the approval of the Commissioner of the General Land Office, and to be appropriated and applied in such manner as the Legislature of said State may prescribe for the purpose aforesaid, but for no other purposes. Third: That ten entire sections of land, to be selected by the Governor of said State, in legal subdivisions, shall be granted to said State for the purpose of completing the public buildings, or for the erection of others at the seat of govern ment, under the direction of the Legislature thereof. Fourth, That all salt springs within said State, not exceeding twelve in number, with six sections of land adjoining, or as contiguous as may be to each, shall be granted to said State for its use; the same to be selected by the Governor thereof within one year after the admission of said State, and when so selected, to be used or disposed of on such terms, conditions and regulations as the Legislature shall direct: Provided, That no salt springs or land the right whereof is now vested in any individual or individuals, or which may be hereafter confirmed or adjudged to any individual or individuals, shall by this article be granted to said State. Fifth, That five per centum of the net proceeds of sales of all public lands lying within said States, which shall be sold by Congress after the admission of said State into the Union, after deducting all the expenses incident to the same shall be paid to said State, for the purpose of making public roads and internal improvements, as the Legislature shall direct: Provided, The foregoing propositions hereinbefore offered are on the condition that the people of Kansas shall provide, by an ordinance, irrevocable without the consent of the United States, that said State The following are the Yeas and Nays: YEAS TO AMEND. SHALL-2. MAINE-Wood, Gilman, Abbott, Morse, I. Washburne, Foster-6. MARYLAND-RICAUD, J. M. HARRIS, H. WIN- MASSACHUSETTS-Hall, Buffinton, Damrell, Leach-4. MISSOURI-Blair-1. NEW HAMPSHIRE-Pike, Tappan, Cragin―3 NEW YORK-Haskin, H. F. Clark, Murray, OHIO-Рendleton, Groesbeck, Campbell, Nichols, Mott, Cockerill, Harlan, Stanton, Hall, Horton, Cox, Sherman, Bliss, Tompkins, Lawrence, Leiter, Wade, Giddings, Bingham-19. PENNSYLVANIA-E. J. Morris, Owen Jones, Hickman, Roberts, Kunkel, Grow, Edie, Covode, Montgomery, Ritchie, Purviance, Stewart, Dick, Chapman-14. RHODE ISLAND-Durfee, Brayton-2. VERMONT-Walton, Morrill, Royce-3. WISCONSIN-Potter, C. C. Washburne, Billinghurst-8.-Total, 120. NAYS. ALABAMA-Stallworth, Shorter, Dowdell, CONNECTICUT-Arnold, Bishop-2. DELAWARE -Whiteley-1. FLORIDA-Hawkins-1. GEORGIA-Seward, Crawford, TRIPPE, Gar shall never interfere with the primary disposal trell, Wright, Jackson, HILL, Stephens-8. tion to disagree, with the addition of Messrs. Bell and Sumner. On the follow INDIANA-Niblack, Hughes, Gregg-8. KENTUCKY-Burnett, Peyton, Talbott, Jewett, Elliott, Clay, Mason, Stevenson-8. LOUISIANA-EUSTIS, Taylor, Davidson, San- ing day, the House received a message didge-4. MARYLAND-Stewart, Kunkel, Bowie-3. Phelps-5. from the Senate insisting on its disagreement and asking a committee of confer MISSISSIPPI-Lamar, Davis, Barksdale, Sin-ence, when Mr. Montgomery, of Pa., gleton, Quitman-5. NEW JERSEY-Huyler, Wortendyke-2. NORTH CAROLINA-Shaw, Ruffin, Winslow, Branch, Scales, Craige, Clingman-7. NEW YORK-Searing, Taylor, Sickles, Kelly, Maclay, John Cochrane, Ward, Russell, Corning, Hatch-10. ОнIо-Miller, Burns-2. PENNSYLVANIA-Florence, Landy, Phillips, Glancy Jones, Leidy, Dimmick, White, Ahl, Gillis, Reilly, Dewart-11. SOUTH CAROLINA-McQueen, Miles, Keitt, Bonham, Boyce-5. TENNESSEE-Watkins, MAYNARD, S. A. Smith, Savage, READY, Jones, Wright, ZOLLICOFFER, Atkins, Avery-10. TEXAS-Bryan, Reagan-2. VIRGINIA-Garnett, Millson, Caskie, Goode, Bocock, Powell, Smith, Faulkner, Letcher, Cle mens, Jenkins, Edmundson, Hopkins-13.' To tal, 112. Absent-Caruthers (Mo.) RECAPITULATION. Yeas. moved that the House insist on its adherence on which he demanded the previous question. The call for the previous question was lost by the casting vote of the Speaker. 108 to 108. Very much to the surprise of the House, Mr. English, of Indiana, who had acted with the AntiLecompton party up to this time, moved that the House agree to a Conference Committee, and that a Committee of three be appointed by the Speaker to meet a similar committee of the Senate, and on this he called for the previous question, which was ordered. The Yeas and Nays were called, and the vote stood 108 to 108: the Speaker voting in the affirmative, Mr. English's proposition was agreed to. Republicans, 92; Democrats, 22; Americans, The Yeas and Nays were as follows: 6. Total, 120. Nays. The following are the Nays: Messrs. Broderick, Cameron, Chandler, Clark, Collamer, Crittenden, Dixon, Doolittle, Douglas, Fessenden, Foot, Foster, Hale, Hamlin, Harlan, King, Seward, Simmons, Stuart, Trumbull, Wade, Wilson. YEAS-Messrs. Ahl, Anderson, Atkins, Avery, Barksdale, Bishop, Bocock, Bonham, Bowie, Boyce, Branch, Bryan, Burnett, Burns, Caruthers, Caskie, Clark (Mo.), Clay, Clemens, Clingman, Cobb, John Cochrane, Craig (Mo.), Craige (N. C.), Crawford, Curry, Davidson, Davis (Miss.), Dewart, Dowdell, Edmundson, Elliott, English, Eustis, Faulkner, Florence, Garnet, Gartrell, Goode, Greenwood, Gregg, Hall (Ohio), Hatch, Hawkins, Hill, Hopkins, Houston, Hughes, Jackson, Jenkins, Jewett, Jones (Tenn.), J. Glancy Jones, Owen Jones, Keitt, Kelly, Kunkel (Md.), Lamar, Landy, Leidy, Letcher, Maclay, McQueen, Mason, Maynard, Miles, Miller, Millson, Moore, Niblack, Orr, Pendleton, Peyton, Phelps, Phillips, Powell, Quitman, Ready, Reagan, Ruffin, Russell, Sandidge, Savage, Scales, Scott, Searing, Seward, Shaw (N. C.), Shorter, Singleton, Smith (Tenn.), Smith (Va.), Stallworth, Stephens, Stevenson, Stewart (Md.), Talbott, Taylor (N. Y.), Trippe, Ward, Warren, Watkins, White, Winslow, Woodson, Wortendyke, Wright (Ga.), Wright (Tenn.), Zollicoffer-109. NAYS-Messrs. Abbott, Andrews, Bennett, Billinghurst, Bingham, Blair, Bliss, Brayton, Buffinton, Burlingame, Burroughs, Campbell, Case, Chaffee, Chapman, Clark (Conn.), Clark (N. Y.), Clawson, Cockerill, Colfax, Comins, Covode, Cox, Cragin, Curtis, Damrell, Davis On the 13th of April, the Senate voted (Md.), Davis (Ind.), Davis (Mass.), Davis (Iowa), Dawes, Dean, Dick, Dodd, Durfee, to insist and ask for a conference commit- Edie, Farnsworth, Fenton, Foley, Foster, Gidtee, Yeas 30, Nays 24-the Nays peing Groesbeck, Grow, Hall (Mass.). Harlan, Harris dings, Gilman, Gooch, Goodwin, Granger, the same as the Nays on Mr. Green's mo-(Md.), Harris (IL), Haskin, Hickman, Hoard, In the House of Representatives, on the 7th of April, Mr. Montgomery, of Pennsylvania, moved that the House adhere to its amendment, which motion was carried, Yeas 119, Nays 111-the vote being the same as on the adoption of the amendment, with the exception of Messrs. Marshall and Bowie, who paired off and did not vote. |