The Kansas herald of freedom., 1855-07-14
apnoua
Resiguation Of b. p conway, Esa.

Resignation of M 2. Conway, Esq.
Below win be found valuable letter
from Mr. CoNwAF, resigning his seat as
Councilman from the Sixth Council Dis
trict. The letter tears the impress of
manhood, and IS worthy the head and
heart of It's author. The voice of this
letter is the voice of the masses in Kan
sas to-day.
PAwNEE, K. T., June 80, 1856.
To has EreeNeney e. II. Reeder, Gover-
nor ef Kansas -
SIR:-I was officially declared BIZ your
Excellency, on the 9th of April last, to
have teen duly elected member of the
Council of Kansas Territory, from the
9Th Council district of said Territory. 1
was also furnished with certificate to
that effect, authenticated by your sigma
ture and,the impress of the public seal.
| beg leave now most respectfully to re-
sign the position thus assigned me, and
to return you the certificate / then re-
ceived.
am impelled to this course by what
/ believe to be due to myself, to the sane
| tity of law, and to the rights and dignity
| of the people of Kansas. In holding and
exercising the trust reposed in me by the
qualified voters of the 9th Council dis
trict, | would be required to unise with
the body of men who are to assemble at
this place, on Monday next, as the Legis-
Iature of Kansas, and to engage with them
in making laws to govern the people of
this Territory. This | cannot do with
out lending countenanee to the authority
they assume to exercise. ] was elected
to represent the people of the 9th Coun-
ell district in the Legislature of Kansas.
Should l offer, in pursuance of that cleo
ton, to enter this forthcoming assem-
blage. would thereby give, by direct
implication, my own sanction, and the
sanction Of those whom | should repre-
sent, to the validity of its pretensions l
would acknowledge it to be the Legisla-
ture to which l had aspired, and to which
the people had intended to elect me,
when they cast their suffrages in my fa-
vor. This am far from being prepared
to do. It is a fact which has travelled
the circuit of the whole civilized world,
that this Legislature has been imposed
upon the people of Kansas by force OF
arms. Those no compose it, and those
whom they represent, and for whom they
act, are alien enemies, who have violently
seized the legislative powers of this Ter
risory, and now seek to disguise their ty-
ranny under the form of constitutional
enaetments. Their Legislature is sub
stautially provincial council, instituted
and ordained by daring and unscrupu-
Ious league in the State OF Missouri and
other parts of the South, to govern peo-
pie whose liberties they have ruthles>ly
stricken down. This fact has been placed
beyond controversy by authentic details
of concerted operations, looking to this
end, and of overwhelming violence, at
the recent elections, unparalleled i'll all
our political history.
The straight forward integrity ,exhib-
tied by your Exeellency from the COM
mencement of your official career, and
the unfinching disposition to maintain
the rights of the people eyinced by you
in setting aside, without hesitancy, the
elections in all the districts where con-
tests were made in the requisite legal
form, have been such as compel me to
believe that, had the evidence of the en-
tire outrage perpetrated upon the people
in the election of this Legislature been
put before you in the shape of legal tes-
timony, your Excellency would not have.
hesi,ated moment in taking the same
action with reference to the remaining
election districts; and thus setting the
authority of your Office, as you have al
ready done, your personal and private
influence, against this audacious usurpa-
| ton.
Under these circumstances, it would
be either fraudulent or pusillanimous in
me to respect this as the Legislature of
Kansas. l am not willing to do it,
Whatever the iimorous OF the time-serV-
ing may suggest or advise, ] shall do
nothing of the kind. Instead of reeog-
nizing this as the Legislature of Kansas,
and participating in its proceedings as
such, | utterly repudiate and reprobate
| it, as derogatory to the responsibility Of
popular government, and insulting to the
virtue and intelligence of the age.
AS an individual citizen of Kansas. /
am furthermore free to say to your Ex-
celleney, representing, as you do. the i'm
perial authority of the Federal Govern
ment, in this land, that, while | am en-
tirely disposed to pay all respect to the
lawfully constituted Authorities, / am
yet not willing, whatever power may
command it, to lend my neck, like sat
isfed and gentle slave, to the yoke OF
foreign tyrants. To do SO, would prove
me recreant to all the lessons of heroism
or of duty l ever learned. Iamso uRfor-
tnuate as to have been trained to some
crude notions of human rights-some
such notions as those for which. in ages
past. our foolish ancestry periled their
lives, on revolutionary fields. And, how
4
ever widespread may be the disrepute
into which those puerile falfacies have
fallen in these sterling and enlightened
times, / am sill bold TO Withstand their
violation, in my own person, to the last
extremity of Just resistance. Simply as
a citizen and man, shall. therefore,
yield no Submission to this alien Legisla-
ture. On the contrary, / am ready to
set its assumed authority at defiance ;
and shall be prompt to spurn and trample
under my feet its insolent enactments,
whenever they conflict with my rights or
inclinations.
Very respectfully yours,
Ii. F. CONWAY.
Pascsass. Z. T., June 80, 1856.
Il