Excerpt from Kansas-Lecompton Convention: Speech of Senator Douglas, of Illinois, on the President's Message, Delivered in the Senate of the United States, December 9, 1858

But, Mr. President, it is intimated in the message, that although it was an un fortunate circumstance, much to be re gretted, that the Lecompton Convention did not submit the Constitution to the people, yet perhaps it may be treated as regular, because the Convention was called by a Territorial Legislature which had been repeatedly recognised by the Congress of the United States as a legal body. Ibeg Senators not to fall into an error as to the President's meaning on this point. He does not say, he does not mean, that this Convention had ever been recognised by the Congress of the United States as legal or valid. On the contrary, he knows, as we here know, that during last Congress I reported a bill from the Committee on Territories, to authorize the people of Kansas to as semble and form a Constitution for them selves. Subsequently, the Senator from Georgia [mr. Toomss] brought forward a substitute for my bill, which, after having been modified by him and myself in consultation, was passed by the Sen ate. It is known in the country as the Toombs bill. It authorized the people of Kansas Territory to assemble in Convention and form a Constitution, preparatory to their admission into the Union as a State. That bill, it is well known, was defeated in the House of Representatives. It matters not, for the purpose of this argument, what was the reason of its defeat. Whether the reason was a political one; whether it had reference to the then existing con test for the Presidency whether it was to keep open the Slavery question; whether it was a conviction that the bill would not be fairly carried out whether it was because there were not peopleenough in Kansas to justify the forma tion of a State - no matter what the reason was, the House Of Representa tives refused to pass that bill, and thus denied to the people of Kansas the right to form a Constitution and State Gov ernment at this time. SO far from the Congress Of the United States having sanctioned or legalized the Convention which assembled at Lecompton, it ex pressly withheld its assent. The assent has not been given, either in express terms or by implication and being with held, this Kansas Constitution has just such validity and just such authority as the Territorial Legislature 'of Kansas could impart to it without the assent and in Opposition to the known will of Congress.

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