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diff --git a/old/51742-0.txt b/old/51742-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index fdcfacb..0000000 --- a/old/51742-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1237 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Wyandotte convention; an address, by -John Alexander Martin - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Wyandotte convention; an address - -Author: John Alexander Martin - -Release Date: April 12, 2016 [EBook #51742] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WYANDOTTE CONVENTION: AN ADDRESS *** - - - - -Produced by Richard Tonsing and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - - THE WYANDOTTE CONVENTION - AN ADDRESS, - - - Delivered By - - JOHN A. MARTIN, - - ——at the—— - - Re-Union of the Members and Officers - - ——of the—— - - WYANDOTTE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION. - - HELD AT - - WYANDOTTE, KANSAS, JULY 29, 1882. - - ATCHISON, KAS: - HASKELL & SON, PRINTERS. - —1882.— - - - - - THE WYANDOTTE CONVENTION. - - - MR. PRESIDENT: - -It is often charged that participants in assemblages of this character -are apt to exaggerate the importance of the occasion they commemorate, -and after the manner of one of our poets, sing in chorus: "I celebrate -myself." Perhaps I can speak of the Wyandotte Convention and its work -without being accused of this self-gratulation; for I was more of an -observer of its proceedings than a participant in them. I recorded what -was done, but I had no part or lot in the doing. If its work had been -crude or weak, I could not fairly have been held responsible for the -failure. As it was strong, efficient and enduring, I can felicitate you, -the survivors of those who wrought this great service for Kansas, -without a suspicion of self-praise. - - - KANSAS CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONS. - -Four Conventions framed Constitutions for this State. The first -assembled at Topeka, on the 23d of October, 1855, and adjourned on the -11th of November, after a session of twenty days. It was composed of -forty-seven members, of whom thirty-one signed the Constitution. On the -15th of December this instrument was submitted to the people for -ratification or rejection. Only 1,777 ballots were cast, all but 46 -being favorable. One of its sections, a provision excluding negroes and -mulattoes from the State, was submitted as an independent proposition, -and adopted by an affirmative vote of 1,287, to 453 against it. - -The second convention was that held at Lecompton, which met on the 7th -of June, 1857, and after a session of four days, adjourned until the -19th of October, a final adjournment being reached on the 3d of -November. It was composed of sixty-four members, forty-five of whom -signed the organic law it framed, and its session continued twenty days. -No direct vote on this Constitution was provided for. The Schedule -ordered two forms of ballot, one, the "Constitution with Slavery," the -other, "Constitution with no Slavery." It was the old turkey and buzzard -choice. The Free State men refused to vote at the election, held on the -21st of December, and only 6,712 ballots were cast, 6,147 being for -Slavery and 569 against Slavery. The Free State men had, however, -elected a majority of the Territorial Legislature in October, and at a -special session of that body, held in December, a law was passed -providing for a direct vote on the Constitution. This election was held -on the 14th of January, 1858, resulting: against the Constitution, -10,266; for, 164—the pro-Slavery men not voting. A third vote on the -Lecompton instrument was taken August 2d, 1858, Congress having ordered -its re-submission under the terms of the English bill. Again it was -rejected, the ballots in its favor being only 1,788, and those against -it, 11,300. - -The Leavenworth Convention met at Minneola, March 23d, 1858, and at once -adjourned to Leavenworth, where it re-assembled March 25th. It was -composed of ninety-five members, was in session only eleven days, and -the Constitution it framed was signed by eighty-three persons. This -instrument was adopted at an election held May 11th, by a very small -vote, the pro-Slavery men taking no part in the contest. It was never a -popular organic law, and many Free State men who supported it did so -under protest. An earnest effort was made, by the Republicans, to secure -the admission of Kansas under the Topeka Constitution, and by the -Democrats, with a few exceptions to bring the Territory in under the -Lecompton Constitution. But no serious or determined contest was waged, -in Congress, for admission under the Leavenworth Constitution, and in -less than eight months the movement in its behalf was formally -abandoned. - - - THE WYANDOTTE CONVENTION. - -Early in February, 1859, the Territorial Legislature passed an act -submitting to the people the question of calling a Constitutional -Convention. This vote was taken March 28th, and resulted: For, 5,306; -against, 1,425. On the 10th of May, 1859, the Republican party of Kansas -was organized, at Osawatomie, and at the election held on the 7th of -June, for delegates to the Wyandotte Convention, the Republican and -Democratic parties confronted each other in Kansas for the first time. -The Democrats carried the counties of Leavenworth, Doniphan, Jefferson -and Jackson, and elected one of the two delegates from Johnson. The -Republicans were successful in all the other Counties voting. The total -vote polled was 14,000. The Republican membership was thirty five; -Democratic, seventeen. - -The Convention then chosen assembled on the 5th day of July, 1859. In -its composition it was an unusual, not to say remarkable, Kansas -assemblage. Apparently the chiefs of the contending parties had grown -weary of Constitution making, or regarded this fourth endeavor in that -line as a predestined failure, for they were conspicuous by their -absence. In the Topeka Convention nearly every prominent man of the Free -State party had a seat. Gen. Lane was its President, and Charles -Robinson, Martin F. Conway, Marcus J. Parrott, Wm. Y. Roberts, Geo. W. -Smith, Philip C. Schuyler, C. K. Holliday, Mark W. Delahay, and many -other recognized Free State leaders, were members. In the Leavenworth -Convention there was a similar gathering of widely-known Free State men. -Conway was its President, and Lane, Roberts, Thos. Ewing, jr., Henry J. -Adams, H. P. Johnson, S. N. Wood, T. Dwight Thacher, P. B. Plumb, Joel -K. Goodin, A. Larzalere, W. F. M. Arny, Chas. H. Branscomb, John -Ritchey, and many other influential Free State chiefs or partizans, were -among its members. - - - THE MEMBERSHIP. - -In the Wyandotte Convention all the noted Free State leaders were -conspicuously absent. Its roll-call was made up of names generally new -in Kansas affairs, and largely unknown in either the Free State or -pro-Slavery councils. Its President, James M. Winchell, his colleague, -Wm. McCullough, and John Ritchey, of Shawnee, had been members of the -Leavenworth Convention; Col. Caleb May, of Atchison, and W. R. Griffith, -of Bourbon, had been members of both the Topeka and the Leavenworth -Conventions; and Jas. M. Arthur, of Linn, had been a member of the -Topeka Convention. But their prominence was largely local. On the -Democratic side, too, appeared men before unnoted in the annals of the -stirring and tremendous conflict that had for years made the young -Territory the cynosure of a Continent's interest. None of the prominent -pro-Slavery men who sat in the Lecompton Convention or the pro-Slavery -Legislatures—Calhoun, Stringfellow, Henderson, Elmore, Wilson, Carr and -others—appeared in this body. - -Perhaps the absence of these party leaders was a fortunate thing for the -Convention and the incipient State. For in discriminating intelligence, -in considerate zeal for the welfare of the people, in catholic grasp of -principles, and in capacity for defining theories clearly and compactly, -the members of this body were not wanting. On the other hand, there were -fewer jealousies and far less wrangling than would have been possible -had the envious and aspiring party leaders been present. I think it is -certain that the work was better done, done with more sobriety, -sincerity, prudence and real ability, than would have resulted had the -recognized chiefs of the rival parties been on the floor of the -Convention. The pioneers—the John Baptists—of the Free State cause were -all at Topeka, and the Constitution they framed is disfigured by some -blotches and much useless verbiage. The leaders were all at Leavenworth, -where they schemed for precedence, and spread traps to catch one -another, and quarreled over non-essentials, and did everything but make -a popular Constitution. Lecompton was the last expression of a beaten, -desperate and wrong-headed, but intellectually vigorous faction, and was -really, barring the mean method of its submission, and its attempt to -perpetuate Slavery, an admirable organic law. - -The younger men of the Territory constituted the Convention at -Wyandotte. They came upon the field fresh, enthusiastic, and with a -place in the world of thought and action to conquer. They recognized the -fact that they must do extremely well to secure popular favor, and they -set about their task with industry, intelligence and prudence. They were -not martyrs or reformers, as many of those at Topeka were; nor jealous -politicians or factionists, as most of those at Leavenworth were. They -had no old battles to fight over again, no personal feuds to distract -them, no recollection of former defeats or victories to reverse or -maintain. They were their own prophets. They had had no experience in -Constitution making, and hence did not look backward. They were not -specialists. A few had hobbies, but the vast majority had no bees -buzzing in their bonnets. A few were dogmatic, but the many were anxious -to discuss, and willing to be convinced. A few were loquacious, but the -majority were thinkers and workers. Some were accomplished scholars, but -the majority were men of ordinary education, whose faculties had been -sharpened and trained by the hard experience of an active and earnest -life. Many were vigorous, direct, intelligent speakers; several were -really eloquent; and a few may justly be ranked with the most versatile -and brilliant men Kansas has ever numbered among her citizens. - -Very few were old men. Only fifteen of the fifty-two members were over -forty. Over one-third were under thirty, and nearly two-thirds under -thirty-five. Very few, as I have said, had previously appeared as -representatives of the people in any Territorial assemblage, and this -was especially true of the men whose talents, industry and force soon -approved them leaders. Samuel A. Kingman had been in the Territory only -about eighteen months, and was unknown, outside of Brown county, until -he appeared at Wyandotte. Solon O. Thacher was a young lawyer of -Lawrence, never before prominent in public affairs. John J. Ingalls had -served, the previous winter, as Engrossing Clerk of the Territorial -Council. Samuel A. Stinson was a young attorney, recently from Maine. -William C. McDowell had never been heard of outside of Leavenworth, -Benjamin F. Simpson was a boyish-looking lawyer from Miami county, and -John T. Burris had been practicing, for a year or two, before Justices' -courts in Johnson county. John P. Slough had been a member of the Ohio -Legislature, but was a new comer in Kansas; and E. G. Ross was the -publisher of a weekly newspaper at Topeka. - -One-half of the members had been in the Territory less than two years. -Six came in 1854, four in 1855, and twelve in 1856, while Mr. Forman, of -Doniphan, dated his residence from 1843; Mr. Palmer, of Pottawatomie, -from 1854, and Mr. Houston, of Riley, from 1853. Forty-one were from -Northern States, seven from the South, and four were of foreign birth, -England, Scotland, Ireland, and Germany each contributing one. It -appears singular that only one of the Western States, Indiana, was -represented in the membership, that State furnishing six delegates. -Twelve hailed from New England, Ohio contributed twelve, Pennsylvania -six, and New York four. Only eighteen belonged to the legal -profession—an unusually small number of lawyers in such a body. Sixteen -were farmers, eight merchants, three physicians, three manufacturers, -one a mechanic, one a printer, one a land agent, and one a surveyor. The -oldest member was Robert Graham, of Atchison, who was 55; the youngest, -Benj. F. Simpson, of Lykins Co., (now Miami,) who was 23. - - - A WORKING BODY. - -It was a working body, from the first hour of its session until the -last. There is a tradition that the Continental Congress which -promulgated the Declaration of Independence was materially hastened in -its deliberations over that immortal document by swarms of flies that -invaded the hall where it sat, and made the life of its members a -burden. Perhaps the intense heat of the rough-plastered room where the -Convention met, or the knowledge that Territorial scrip would be -received by importunate landlords only at a usurious discount, had -something to do with urging dispatch in business. But certainly the -Convention went to work with an energy and industry I have never seen -paralleled in a Kansas deliberative body since that time. It perfected -its organization, adopted rules for its government, discussed the best -mode of procedure in framing a Constitution, and appointed a Committee -to report upon that subject, during the first day's session; all the -standing Committees were announced on the third day; and by the close of -the fifth day it had disposed of two very troublesome contested election -cases, decided that the Ohio Constitution should be the model for that -of Kansas, perfected arrangements for reporting and printing its -debates, and instructed its Committees upon a number of disputed -questions. The vote on selecting a model for the Constitution was, on -the second ballot: for the Ohio Constitution, 25 votes; Indiana, 23; and -Kentucky, 1. So our Kansas Constitution was modeled after that of -Ohio—something, I think, as the farmer's new house was designed after -his old one; it was built upon the old site. - - - THE COMMITTEES. - -The Chairmanships of the different Committees were assigned as follows: -Preamble and Bill of Rights—Wm. Hutchinson, of Lawrence. Executive -Department—John P. Greer, of Shawnee. Legislative Department—Solon O. -Thacher, of Lawrence. Judicial Department—Samuel A. Kingman, of Brown -Co. Military—James G. Blunt, of Anderson Co. Electors and Elections—P. -H. Townsend, of Douglas. Schedule—John T. Burris, of Johnson. -Apportionment—H. D. Preston, of Shawnee. Corporations and Banking—Robert -Graham, of Atchison. Education and Public Institutions—W. R. Griffith, -of Bourbon Co. County and Township Organizations—John Ritchey, of -Topeka. Ordinance and Public Debt—James Blood, of Lawrence. Finance and -Taxation—Benj. F. Simpson, of Lykins. Amendments and Miscellaneous—S. D. -Houston, of Riley Co. Federal Relations—T. S. Wright, of Nemaha Co. -Phraseology and Arrangements—John J. Ingalls, of Atchison. - -I have studied the composition of these Committees with some interest, -reviewing the work of their members in the Convention, and recalling -their subsequent careers. And it appears to me that in making them up, -President Winchell exhibited phenomenally quick and accurate judgment of -men. He was, indeed, one of the best presiding officers I have ever -known. His imperturbable coolness, never for an instant ruffled by the -most sudden and passionate outbreaks of excitement in the Convention; -his mastery of all the niceties of parliamentary law; his uniform -courtesy and tact; his promptness and clearness in stating his -decisions; and above all, the mingled grace and kindness and firmness -with which he announced to an indignant member an adverse decision, were -really wonderful. But what shall be said of that still more wonderful -prescience with which he made up the Committees? What induced this calm, -grey-eyed, observing little man, whose brass-buttoned blue coat was -first seen by two-thirds of the Convention on the morning of the 5th of -July—what impelled him, within twenty-four hours, to select an obscure, -dull-looking, shock-headed country doctor as Chairman of the Military -Committee, and thus name in connection with military affairs, for the -first time, the only Kansas soldier who reached a full Major -Generalship? How did he happen to pass by half a dozen more widely known -lawyers, and appoint as Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, a man who, -during more than fifteen years thereafter, occupied a place on the -Supreme Bench of the State, for the greater portion of this time as the -Chief Justice? How came he to recognize so quickly, in the Engrossing -Clerk of the Territorial Legislature, the ripest scholar and the fittest -man in the body for the Chairmanship of the Committee to which every -article of the Constitution was referred for final revision and -amendment? In the youngest and most boyish-looking member he found the -man who was to form, for this State, a code of Finance and Taxation -whose clear directions and wholesome restrictions have guarded Kansas -against the wasteful extravagance of Legislatures and the curse of a -burdensome public debt, during all the tempting and perilous affairs of -its first quarter of a century. And he named, as head of the Committee -on Education, the first State Superintendent of Public Instruction. All -of his appointments were made with rare judgment, but those mentioned -appear notably discerning. - - - PROGRESS OF WORK. - -On the sixth day a resolution favoring biennial sessions of the -Legislature—adopted sixteen years afterward—was submitted and referred. -The first of a long series of resolutions or proposed sections of the -Constitution, prohibiting the settlement of negroes or mulattoes within -the limits of the State, was also introduced. This question, with others -of a kindred nature, such as propositions to prohibit colored children -attending the schools, or to exclude them from the University, or to -forbid the appropriation of any funds for their education, and last, and -meanest of all, to deny to negroes the shelter of county poor houses -when poor and helpless, was voted upon again and again, first in one -form and then in another, and to the enduring honor of the majority, -always defeated. It seems singular, in this day and generation, that -such theories found persistent and earnest advocates. But it should be -remembered that all this happened before the war, when slavery was still -an "institution" in nearly half the States of the Union. The pro-Slavery -party was, of course, solidly in favor of excluding free negroes from -the State, and less than four years prior to the meeting of the -Convention, the Free State party, in voting on the Topeka Constitution, -had given a decided majority in favor of such exclusion. It therefore -required genuine courage and principle to go upon record against each -and every proposition of this character. For very few members who so -voted felt absolutely certain of the endorsement of their constituents. - -The first Article of the Constitution reported, that on Corporations and -Banks, was submitted on the sixth day and considered. It was stated, by -the President, that many other Committees had their reports in the hands -of the printer, and during the next few days they began to come in very -rapidly. The Convention, to expedite work, adopted a resolution -requiring all Committees to report on or before Saturday, the eleventh -day of the session. - - - THE BOUNDARIES OF THE STATE. - -On the seventh day the annexation of that portion of Nebraska lying -south of the Platte river, was formally considered. The then organized -Nebraska counties included in that section of our sister State had -elected delegates to the Convention, who were present earnestly -advocating annexation. This proposition was discussed during several -days, and the debates took a wide range. The Nebraska delegates were -admitted to seats as honorary members, with the privilege of speaking on -this subject. The final determination, however, was to preserve the -original Northern line. Two influences induced this decision, one -political, the other local and material. Many Republicans feared that -the South Platte Country was, or would be likely to become, Democratic. -Lawrence and Topeka both aspired to be the State Capital, and their -influence was against annexation, because they feared it would throw the -center of population far north of the Kaw. - -The Preamble and Bill of Rights was reported on the tenth day, and -opened the whole question of the State's boundaries. The Committee -proposed the twenty-third meridian as the western line, and the fortieth -parallel as the line on the north. This would have excluded about ninety -miles of territory within the present limits of the State. The -Committee's recommendation was, however, adopted, and stood as the -determination of the Convention until the day before the final -adjournment, when Col. May, of Atchison, secured a reconsideration, and -on his motion the twenty-fifth parallel was substituted for the -twenty-third. The northern boundary question was finally settled on the -fifteenth day, when, by a vote of 19 ayes to 29 nays, the Convention -refused to memorialize Congress to include the South Platte country -within the limits of Kansas. - - - FEATURES OF THE CONSTITUTION. - -On the seventh day the Legislative and Judicial Committees reported. The -Legislative article was considered next day. The Committee proposed that -bills might originate in either House, but Mr. Winchell submitted a -novel amendment, which required all laws to originate in the House of -Representatives. This was adopted, notwithstanding the vigorous -opposition of Mr. Thacher, the Chairman of the Committee, by a vote of -37 to 13. It survived the admission of the State only three years, being -amended in 1864. - -On the eighth day the Militia article was adopted; on the ninth day the -Judicial article was perfected, and the article on Education and Public -Institutions reported and discussed; and on the tenth day the Committees -on County and Township Organizations, and Schedule, reported. The -deathless pertinacity of a "claim" is illustrated by a petition -presented that day, from one Samuel A. Lowe, a clerk of the so-called -"Bogus Legislature," who wanted pay for certain work he alleged he had -performed. Only a year ago Mr. Lowe presented the same claim to -Congress, and it was, I believe allowed by the House. But the Kansas -Senators made such determined war on it that Mr Lowe can still sing, "a -claim to keep I have." - -I have mentioned the fact that Mr Winchell was the author of the section -providing that all bills should originate in the House. It should be -stated that Mr. Ingalls was the author of the provision that "in actions -for libel, the truth may be given in evidence to the jury, and if it -shall appear that the alleged libelous matter was published for -justifiable ends, the accused shall be acquitted." Another original -provision of the Constitution is the Homestead section. This was first -proposed by Mr. Foster, of Leavenworth county, on the sixth day of the -session, and reported by the Committee on Miscellaneous and Amendments, -on the thirteenth day. No other feature of the Constitution, perhaps, -elicited more animated and earnest debate. It was discussed for several -days; amended, referred, and again submitted. As originally reported, it -provided for the exemption of "a homestead of 160 acres of land, or a -house and lot not exceeding $2,000 in value, or real, personal and mixed -property not exceeding $2,000, to any family." This was adopted by a -vote of 28 ayes to 16 nays. Two days later the vote was reconsidered, -and President Winchell proposed the wording finally adopted: "A -homestead of 160 acres of farming land, or of one acre within the limits -of an incorporated town or city, occupied as a residence by the family -of the owner, together with all the improvements on the same, shall be -exempted from forced sale under any process of law, and shall not be -alienated without the joint consent of husband and wife, where the -relation exists." Thus perfected, it was adopted by a vote of 33 to 7. - -I thought at the time, however, and a review of the proceedings and -debates has confirmed my impression that favorable action on this -provision was due to the earnest and eloquent advocacy of Judge Kingman, -who was its most zealous, logical and courageous supporter. The -homestead clause of the Kansas Constitution has been severely -criticised, but I believe the people of the State generally regard it as -a most beneficent provision of their organic law. For nearly a quarter -of a century it has been maintained, and it still stands, as Judge -Kingman said it would, guarding "the home, the hearthstone, the fireside -around which a man may gather his family with the certainty of assurance -that neither the hand of the law, nor any, nor all of the uncertainties -of life, can eject them from the possession of it." - -The Finance and Taxation and the Executive articles were adopted on the -fourteenth day, and the Miscellaneous article considered. This -originally provided for the election of a Public Printer, but that -section was stricken out, after a vigorous protest by Messrs. Ross and -Ingalls. Nine years later their idea was endorsed, by the adoption of an -amendment creating the office of State Printer. - -On the seventeenth day the temporary Capital was located at Topeka, the -second ballot resulting: for Topeka, 29; for Lawrence, 14; for Atchison, -6. - - - THE FIRST "PROHIBITION AMENDMENT." - -On the same day a proposition was made, by Mr. Preston, of Shawnee Co., -to amend the Miscellaneous article by adding the following section: - -"Sec. —. The Legislature shall have power to regulate or prohibit the -sale of alcoholic liquors, except for mechanical and medicinal -purposes." - -A motion made to lay this amendment on the table, was defeated, by a -vote of 18 ayes to 31 nays. But the anxiety of the members to exclude -from the Constitution any provision that might render its adoption -doubtful, or prevent the admission of the State, finally prevailed, and -after a full interchange of views, Mr. Preston withdrew his amendment. -There is, it is said, nothing new under the sun. Those who imagine that -the prohibition amendment adopted in 1880 was a new departure in -Constitution making, have never examined the records of the Wyandotte -Convention. - - - THE LAST OF SLAVERY IN KANSAS. - -On the nineteenth day occurred the last struggle over the Slavery -question in Kansas. Sec. 6 of the Bill of Rights, prohibiting Slavery or -involuntary servitude, came up for adoption, and it was moved to add a -proviso suspending the operation of this section for the period of -twelve months after the admission of the State. This proviso received -eleven votes, and twenty-eight were recorded against it. A most exciting -discussion occurred, on the same day, over the apportionment article, -which the Democrats denounced as a "gerrymander." - - - THE LAST DAYS. - -The work of the Convention was practically completed on the twenty-first -day. The various articles had each been considered and adopted, first in -Committee of the whole, then in Convention, then referred to the -Committee on Phraseology and Arrangement, and, after report of that -Committee, again considered by sections and adopted. But so anxious were -the members that every word used should be the right word, expressing -the idea intended most clearly and directly, that when the reading of -the completed Constitution was finished, on the morning of the 21st day, -it was decided to refer it to a special committee, consisting of Messrs. -Ingalls, Winchell, Ross and Slough, for further revision and -verification. This Committee reported the same afternoon, and again the -Constitution was read by sections, for final revision, with the same -painstaking carefulness and attention to the minutest details. All that -afternoon, and all the next day, with brief interruptions for action on -other closing work, this revision went on, and it was five o'clock in -the afternoon of the 29th before the last section was perfected. Then -occurred one of the most dramatic scenes of the Convention. Mr. -Hutchinson submitted a resolution declaring that "we do now adopt and -proceed to sign the Constitution." - - - A SPIRITED DEBATE. - -At once Mr. Slough addressed the Chair, and after warmly eulogizing the -general features of the Constitution, pronouncing it "a model -instrument," he formally announced that political objections impelled -himself and his Democratic associates to decline attaching their -signatures to it. These objections he stated at length. They were, -briefly: the curtailment of the boundaries of the State; the large -Legislative body provided for; the exclusion of Indians made citizens of -the United States, from the privilege of voting; the registry of voters -at the election on the Constitution; the refusal to exclude free negroes -from the State; and the apportionment. - -This action of the Democratic members had been foreshadowed for several -days, but it was, nevertheless, something of a surprise. The Republicans -understood that several of the Democrats had earnestly opposed such a -course, and hoped that some of them would be governed by their own -convictions, rather than by the mandate of their caucus. For a few -moments after Mr. Slough concluded, the Convention sat, hushed and -expectant. But no other Democratic member rose. It was evident that the -caucus ruled. Then Judge Thacher, the President _pro tem._, addressed -the Chair, and in a speech of remarkable vigor and eloquence, accepted -the gauge of battle thrown down. "Upon this Constitution," he declared, -"we will meet our opponents in the popular arena. It is a better, a -nobler issue than even the old Free State issue. They have thrown down -the gauntlet; we joyfully take it up." He then proceeded to defend, with -great earnestness and power, the features of the Constitution objected -to by Mr. Slough. "The members of the Convention," he asserted, "have -perfected a work that will be enduring." The Constitution, he affirmed, -would "commend itself to the true and good everywhere, because through -every line and syllable there glows the generous sunshine of liberty." -It was and should be, he declared: - - "Like some tall cliff, that lifts its awful form, - Swells from the vale, and midway leaves the storm; - Though round its breast the rolling clouds shall spread, - Eternal sunshine settles on its head." - -Read in the light of subsequent history, these declarations appear -almost prophetic. - - - SIGNING THE CONSTITUTION. - -The twilight shadows were gathering about Wyandotte when this debate -closed, and the Convention proceeded to vote on Mr. Hutchinson's -resolution, which was adopted by 34 ayes to 13 nays—one Republican and -four Democrats being absent. The roll was then called, and the -Constitution was signed by all the Republican members except one, Mr. -Wright, of Nemaha, who was absent, sick. The work of the Convention was -completed, and after voting thanks to its officers, it adjourned without -date. - - - TWO MISTAKES. - -Each party, I think, was guilty of one blunder it afterwards seriously -regretted—the Republicans in refusing to include the South Platte -country within the boundaries of Kansas; the Democrats in refusing to -sign the Constitution they had labored diligently to perfect. I speak of -what I consider the great mistake of the Republicans with all the more -frankness because I was, at the time, in hearty sympathy with their -action; but I feel confident that no Republican member is living to-day -who does not deplore that decision. And I am equally confident that -within a brief time after the Convention adjourned, there were few -Democratic members who did not seriously regret their refusal to sign -the Constitution. - - - "ADDED TO THE STARS." - -On the 4th of October, 1859, the Constitution was submitted to the -people for ratification or rejection, and, for the first time in the -history of Kansas, all parties cast a full, free and unintimidated vote. -The Republicans favored, and the Democrats generally opposed its -adoption. Nearly 16,000 ballots were polled, of which 10,421 were for, -and 5,530 against the Constitution. The Homestead clause, submitted as -an independent proposition, was ratified by a vote of 8,788 for, to -4,772 against it. Every county in the territory except two, Johnson and -Morris, gave a majority for the Constitution. - -Two months later, December 6th, State and County officers and members of -the Legislature were elected, and the people of Kansas, having exhausted -their authority in State building, patiently awaited the action of -Congress. On the 11th of April, 1860, the House of Representatives -voted, 134 to 73, to admit Kansas as a State, under the Wyandotte -Constitution. Twice, during the next eight months, the Senate defeated -motions to consider the Kansas bill, but on the 21st of January, 1861, -several Southern Senators having seceded, Mr. Seward "took a pinch of -snuff" and called it up again. It passed by a vote of 36 to 16, and on -the 29th of the same month President Buchanan approved it. Thus young -Kansas, through many difficulties and turmoils, was "added to the -Stars." - - - AN ENDURING CONSTITUTION. - -During nearly twenty-two of the most eventful and exciting years of -American history, the Constitution thus framed and ratified has defined -the powers and regulated the duties of the government of Kansas. Three -Legislatures have voted down propositions to call a new Constitutional -Convention. Twelve or fifteen amendments have been submitted, but only -eight have been approved by the people. Finally, in 1880, the -Legislature voted to submit a proposal for a new Convention, and at the -regular election held in November of that year, this ballot was taken. -The result was an endorsement of the old Wyandotte Constitution by a -majority far more emphatic and overwhelming than that by which it was -originally adopted, the vote standing 22,870 for, and 146,279 against -the proposed Convention, or nearly seven to one. - -It is doubtful whether the organic law of any other State in the Union -has more successfully survived the mutations of time and inconstant -public sentiment, and the no less fluctuating necessities of a swiftly -developing Commonwealth. Of its seventeen articles, only four, and of -its one hundred and seventy-eight sections, only eight, have ever been -amended. And of the eight amendments adopted, only five have revoked or -modified the principles or policy originally formulated, the others -being changes demanded by the growth of the State, or by the events of -the civil war. The first amendment, ratified in 1861, provides that no -banking institution shall issue circulating notes of a less denomination -than $1—the original limitation being $5. In 1864 the provision -requiring all bills to originate in the House of Representatives, was -repealed; and a section intended to prevent U. S. soldiers from voting, -but which was so worded that it deprived our volunteers of that right, -was also repealed. In 1867 an amendment was adopted disfranchising all -persons who aided the "Lost Cause," or who were dishonorably discharged -from the army of the United States, or who had defrauded the United -States or any State during the war. In 1868 the State Printer amendment -was ratified. In 1873 the number of Senators and Representatives, -originally limited to 33 and 100, respectively, was increased to 40 and -125. In 1875 three propositions, each having in view biennial instead of -annual sessions of the Legislature, were adopted. And in 1880 the -Prohibition amendment was ratified. These are all the changes that have -been made in our organic law during nearly a quarter of a century. - - - PARTING AT WYANDOTTE. - -It would violate the proprieties of such an occasion to comment on the -personal feuds or partisan broils which once or twice marred the general -harmony and orderly progress of the proceedings. These were very few, -indeed, and none of them, I think, outlasted the Convention. The members -parted, when the final adjournment came, with mutual respect and good -will, and the friendships formed during the session have been unusually -warm and enduring. - - - SUBSEQUENT HISTORY. - -It seems fitting that, in concluding this sketch of the Convention and -its labors, I should briefly narrate the subsequent history of its -members. It was a small company, that which parted here twenty-three -years ago to-day, and it was made up, as I have said, largely of young -and vigorous men. But when this reunion was first suggested, and I came -to look over the familiar names I had so often called during the long, -hot days of that far away July, it was painful to note the havoc death -had made. It impressed me something as did a roll-call I once witnessed, -in the red glare of bivouac fires after one of the great battles of the -war, when surviving comrades answered "killed," or "wounded," to -one-half the names of a regiment. Ten of the fifty-two members composing -the Convention I have not heard of for many years. Of the remaining -forty-two, twenty rest quietly in - - —"The reconciling grave, - Where all alike lie down in peace together." - -The largest delegation was that from Leavenworth county, and only one of -the ten gentlemen comprising it, R. C. Foster, certainly survives. Rare -Sam Stinson, whose genial wit and brilliant accomplishments won all -hearts, was elected Attorney General in 1861, by a unanimous vote, and -died in his old Maine home, in February, 1866. William C. McDowell was -chosen Judge of the First Judicial District at the first election under -the Constitution; served four years; and was killed by a fall from an -omnibus in St. Louis, July 16, 1866. John P. Slough removed to Colorado, -was Colonel of a regiment raised in that State, and later a Brigadier -General; was appointed, after the war, Chief Justice of New Mexico, and -was killed at Santa Fe. Samuel Hipple removed to Atchison county; served -as a Quartermaster during the war; was elected State Senator in 1867; -and died in January, 1876. William Perry removed to Colorado, where he -died. P. S. Parks returned to Indiana, and engaged in journalism and the -law until his death, three years ago. Fred. Brown died in St. Joseph, -Mo., and John Wright at his home in Leavenworth county. Robert Graham, -of Atchison county, the oldest member, died in 1868. Three of the five -members from Doniphan county, Robert J. Porter, Benjamin Wrigley and -John Stairwalt, are dead. The members from Linn, James M. Arthur and -Josiah Lamb, are both dead, as are also N. C. Blood, of Douglas, and T. -S. Wright, of Nemaha. W. R. Griffith, of Bourbon, was elected the first -State Superintendent of Public Instruction, and died, February 12th, -1862, before the completion of his term. James G. Blunt, of Anderson, -who became a Major General during the war, and won renown as a brave and -skillful soldier, died, in Washington, a year or more ago. James Hanway, -of Franklin, after a long life of usefulness, died at his old home, only -a brief while ago. President James M. Winchell returned to New York -shortly after the outbreak of the rebellion, and resumed his connection -with the _Times_, first as war correspondent and afterwards as an -editorial writer. Until his death, a few years since, he was employed -upon that great journal. - - - SURVIVING MEMBERS. - -Of the surviving members, many have attained the highest distinctions of -the State, and all, I believe are useful and honored citizens. At the -first election under the Constitution, Samuel A. Kingman was chosen as -Associate Justice of the Supreme Court; in 1866 he was elected Chief -Justice, and re-elected in 1872. Benj. F. Simpson was elected the first -Attorney General of the State, but resigned the position to enter the -army, in which he served throughout the war. He has since been Speaker -of the House of Representatives, several times a State Senator, and is -now serving his second term as U. S. Marshal. Solon O. Thacher was -chosen District Judge at the first election under the Constitution, has -since occupied many positions of honor and responsibility, and is a -member of the present State Senate. J. C. Burnett, S. D. Houston and S. -E. Hoffman were members of the first State Senate, and Geo. H. Lillie -was a member of the first House of Representatives. E. G. Ross was -appointed United States Senator in 1866, and elected in 1867, serving -until 1871. John J. Ingalls was chosen as State Senator in 1861; was -elected United States Senator in 1873, and re-elected in 1879, and is -still occupying that distinguished place. John T. Burris was Lieut. Col. -of the 10th Kansas, and subsequently District Judge. Wm. P. Dutton, -James Blood, L. R. Palmer, John P. Greer and John Ritchey have filled -many positions of local trust and prominence, with credit and -usefulness. R. C. Foster and John W. Forman are residing in Texas; -William Hutchinson lives in Washington; and C. B. McClellan, E. Moore -and E. M. Hubbard are still prominent and honored citizens of the -counties they represented. My old friend, Col. Caleb May, sole surviving -member of the three Free State Constitutional Conventions, lives in -Montgomery Co. If Dean Swift was right in saying that "whoever could -make two ears of corn, or two blades of grass, to grow on a spot of -ground where one grew before, would deserve better of mankind, and do -more essential service to his country, than the whole race of -politicians," what honor is due this sturdy Kansas farmer, who, during a -residence of twenty-eight years in the State, has never—not even in the -disastrous seasons of 1860 and 1874—failed to raise a good crop. Even -the heroic service he rendered the cause of Freedom during the darkest -days of the struggle in Kansas, was less valuable to the State than this -practical and triumphant vindication of its soil and climate. - - - "LOST TO SIGHT." - -Stalwart, quiet Wm. McCullough I have not heard of for many years. John -A. Middleton, of Marshall Co., was a soldier in the 7th Kansas, removed -to Montana in 1864, and I have learned nothing of him since. H. D. -Preston, of Shawnee; R. L. Williams, P. H. Townsend and Ed. Stokes, of -Douglas; Allen Crocker, of Woodson; A. D. McCune, of Leavenworth; J. H. -Signor, of Allen, and J. T. Barton, of Johnson, have all disappeared and -left no sign. I know not whether they are living or dead. - - - THE OFFICERS. - -Of the officers of the Convention, queer old George Warren, -Sergeant-at-arms of nearly all the early Kansas Legislatures and -Conventions, died many years ago. Ed. S. Nash, the Journal Clerk, was -Adjutant of the 1st Kansas, and died, some years since, in Chicago. -Robt. St. Clair Graham, one of the Enrolling Clerks, was elected Judge -of the Second Judicial District in 1866, and died in 1880. Richard J. -Hinton, also an Enrolling Clerk, is the editor of the Washington (D. C.) -_Gazette_, and a widely known journalist. Werter R. Davis, the Chaplain, -was a member of the first State Legislature; was Chaplain of the 12th -and Colonel of the 16th Kansas regiments during the war; and is one of -the most prominent clergymen of his denomination in the State. S. D. -McDonald, printer to the Convention, is still engaged in journalism. J. -M. Funk, the door-keeper, and J. L. Blanchard, the Assistant Secretary, -I have not heard from or of for many years. - - - CONCLUSION. - -I wish I could sketch more in detail the work and history of the members -of the Convention. But this paper is, I know, already too long. I have -tried to tell how our Constitution was made. I could not narrate, within -reasonable limits, - - "What workman wrought its ribs of steel, - Who made each mast, and sail, and rope, - What anvils rang, what hammers beat, - In what a forge and what a heat - Were shaped the anchors of its hope." - -It is enough to say that the work has proved strong and enduring. -Through the groping inexperience of our State's childhood and the still -more perilous ambitions of its youth, through the storm of civil war and -the calm of prosperous peace, the Wyandotte Convention has justified the -confident hopes of its early friends. The most marvelous changes have -been wrought in this country since it was framed. The huge brick -building in which the Convention held its sessions, long ago crumbled -and fell. The distracted, dependent and turbulent Territory has grown to -be a peaceful, powerful and prosperous State. Its hundred thousand -people have multiplied to a million. Upon its vast and solitary -prairies, where then bloomed a wild and unprofitable vegetation, -"wherewith the mower filleth not his hand, nor he that bindeth sheaves -his bosom," miles of green meadows now glisten with morning dew, and -thousands of golden wheat fields shimmer in the noonday sun, and -millions of acres of tasseling corn, rustling in the sweet twilight air, -tell of harvests so bountiful that they would feed a continent. Every -quiet valley and prairie swell is dotted with pleasant homes, where -happy children laugh and play and men and women go their busy ways in -prosperous content. Eager learners throng eight thousand school houses. -Church bells ring in nearly every county from the Missouri to the -Colorado line. More than four thousand miles of railway bind town and -country, factory and farm and store, into one community. And over all -the institutions and activities of this great, intelligent and orderly -Commonwealth, broods the genius and spirit of the Wyandotte Convention. -Under its ample authority and direction, just and generous laws have -maintained the rights of citizenship, given protection to labor and -property, stimulated enterprise, multiplied industries, opened to every -child and youth the door of school and college, encouraged morality, -fostered temperance, protected the weak, restrained the strong, and -sternly punished outbreaking crime. And still the sunshine of popular -confidence and favor falls upon the Constitution. It has outlived half -of its framers, and when, a quarter of a century hence, the last -surviving member of the Convention awaits the inevitable hour, the -Wyandotte Constitution may yet be the chart and compass ordering and -guiding the destinies of a State whose imperial manhood is foreshadowed -by its stalwart and stately youth. - -[Illustration] - - - - - TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES - - - 1. Changed 1855 to 1854 on p. 4. - 2. Silently corrected simple spelling, grammar, and typographical - errors. - 3. Retained anachronistic and non-standard spellings as printed. - 4. 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