Nebraska palladium. [volume] (Bellevieu City, Neb.) 1854-1855, 1855-04-11

arrested, iadCed or punished for any Of these crimes While such
offences were committed with impunityi the laws were used as means
ofindicing men for holding elections preliminary to framing con
Kansas. Charges ofbigh treason were made against prominent cit
liens upon grounds which seemed to your Committee absurd and
are refused the privilege of bail In several cases men were arrested
in the State Of Missouri, while passing on their Law ml business
through that State, and detained until indictments could be found in
These proceedings were followed by an offence ofstHl greater mag
men,, a great body of whom your committee are satisfied were not ci-
shall Donaldson and S. j. Jones, officers claimingto act under the law,
and bomborded and then burned TO the ground a valuable hotel and
one private house destroyed two printing presses ana materials and
then, being released by the officers, whose posse they cloimed Ito be,
proceeded to sack, plage and rob houses, stores, trunks, &c, even to
nG coIhs oil women ana cmlurcn' some OIL me eieisu u umoM1
fully taken, were private ones, written by the conesung delegate, and
persons holding them had any ~rghtthus to use them, and refused to be
made Te the instruments to report private eile,s mus Obtained pee ...h.
under he forms Of law. But this act of borbauty, unexampledi in the
history of our government, was folowedby its natural consequences.
All the restraints which American citizens are accustomed topay
even to The appearance oflaw were thrown Off one act Of VIOLENCE led
composed chiefly Of citizens Of Missouri, were taken prisoners by a
party Of settlers .EsSi era while your Co MIMI /, Were nn , al "t &cd a
went to relieve Pate and his party, and a collision was preyeniedby
the United States troops Civil War has seemed impending inthe
euce Off large force of United States troops under a commander who
parties, and expel with force the armed bands ofawless men, coming
from Missouri and elsewhere, who with criminal Pertinacny miestth the
In some cases, and as to one entire election district, the condition of
the country prevented the attendance OF Witnesses, who were enhr ar
rested or detained while obeying our process, or deferred from so doing.
The sergeant-at-orms who srved the process upon them was himself
arrested, and detained for a short time by an armed force, claiming to
be- part ofthe posse ofthe Marshal, but was olowedto proceed upon
an examination of his papers, and was furnished with a pass signed
by " Warren d. Wilkes, of South Carolina" John Upton, another
officer ofthe committee, was subsequently stopped by a lawless force
on The borders of The Territory, and after being detained and treated
with great indignty, was released. He, also, was furnished with a
pass, signed by two citizens of Missouri, and addressed to "Pro-Slav-
cry men," By reason Of these disturbances we were delayed IN West.
I port so that while in session there our time was but partially occupied.
But the obstruction which created the most serious embarrassment
TO your committee was the attempted arrest Of Gov. Reederi the con-
testing delegate, upon a writ of attachment issued against him by
Judge Lecompte, to compel his attendance as a witness before the
Grand Jury of Douglass County. William Fame, recently from the
State of Georgia and claiming to be the Deputy Marshal, came into
the room of the Committee while Gov. Reoder was examining a wit
ness before us, and producing the writ, required Governor Reederto
your COMMITTEE that this was a wanton and unlawful interference by
the Judge who ISSUED the writ, tending greatly to obstuct a full and
fair investigation. Governor Reeder and General Whitfield alone were
fully possessed OF that local information winch would enable us to
elicit the whole truth, and it was obvious to every one that any event
which would separate either of them from the Committee would neces-
sanly hinder, delay and embarrsss il. Governor Reeder claimed that
from arrest except for treason, felony, or breach o! the peace, As
this waso question Of privilege, proper for the courts, or lor the priv
LEGGED person alone 10 determine on his peril we declined TO give him
any protection or take any action in the matter He refused TO obey
the writ belevingit to be a mere preence TO get the custody Of his per-
son, and fearing, as he alleged, that he would be assassinated by law
less bands of men when gathering in and near Lecompon. Hethen
left the Territory.
Subsequently, II. Miles Moore, an attorney in Leavenworth City,
but for several years citizen OF Weston, Mo-, kindly furnished the
Committee information as to the residence of persons voting ut the
elections and in some cases examined witnesses before us He was
arrested on the streets OF hat town by an armed band of about thirty
fined with other citizens, under a military guard iortweny-lour hours,
and then notified to leave the Territory. His testimony was regarded
as important, and upon his sworn statement thatit would endanger his
person to give il openly, the majority of your Committee deemed it
proper TO examine him eX patc, and did so.
BY reason Of these occurrences, the contestant and The party with
and for whom he acted were unrpresented before us during a greater
portion of the time, and your Committee were required TO ascertain
the TRUTH IN the best manner they could.
Your Committee report the following facts and conclusions as es-
tabjshed by the testimony.
Il FirN-Ihat each election in the Territory held underline organic or
alleged territorial la@, has been carried by organized invasons from
the State Of Missouri, by which the people of The Territory have been
prevented from exercising the rights secured to them by The organic