Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 20.pdf/402

 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE

384

was very wealthy or the population had increased very rapidly any rate there was no question that it was at least some 90,000 or the ratio for a Representative. It was the solemn



at

obligation of Congress to admit the State since the territorial act of 1848 had included the guarantees of the Ordinance of 1787, among which was the provision for admission whenever a population of 60,000 should have been attained. This appeal to the Ordinance of 1787 brought Grow to his feet with a protest that a rule

of

Kansas requiring

it

had been

laid

down

in the case

to double its population before

it

could

furthermore, the Ordinance had imposed no obligation to admit a State, no matter what its population. He then

be a State



presented a report from a minority of the Committee, signed by himself, Amos P. Granger of New York and Chancey L.

Knapp

of Massachusetts,

all

Up

Republicans.

to that time,

ran the report, Congress had followed no uniform rule for the admission of States, but Kansas, with a population large

must wait

had 93,420 people President had declared in his Message that any attempt on the part of that territory to form a constitution before it had secured that population would be a distinct violation of the law, and should In it be attempted he would use Federal power to prevent it. 1855 the population of Oregon was 43,473, and the largest vote ever cast there was 10,121, while Kansas had polled

enough to be a

before

it

could

slave State,

come

in as

until

a free State.

it

The

13,089 in rejecting the Lecompton constitution. The minority were unable to perceive any fairness in one rule for Kansas and another for Oregon; both were alike in having no enabling act, and the only real difference was that Oregon had a territorial government which was disliked, while Kansas had an organization in which political power was wielded by Therefore without expressing an usurpers and despots. opinion as to the propriety of a numerical ratio, the minority recommended a repeal of that portion of the act for the ad-

mission of Kansas which provides "Whenever, and not before, it is ascertained by a census duly and legally taken, that the population of said territory exceeds or equals the ratio of rep-