Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1855-04-14
The Present State of the Doctrine of
Squatter Sovereignty.

Not very long since we published some OK
hortations addressed by southern journals to
the shareholders, instigating them to spent!
money freely in carrying the elections in the
territory of Kansas The advice seems to have
been taken An army of voters went over the
frontier of Kansas, distributed itself in detach-
ments among the different districts, obtained
the victory elected the pro-siaycry candidates
to the legislature, and came home again in
triumph.
A paragraph in another part Of this sheet
describes the return Of portion cf the mcrcc-
naricS in this service to their own state. They
come back like a conquering army to old Rome
their return to the town of Independence was
a triumphal entry.
There are two things to be inferred from the
result of the Kansas election achieved by such
means One is the profound respect which the
friends Of the Nebraska act entertain for the
doctrine of popular sovereignty. While it was
yet under discussion, the doctrine of its friends
was that the inhabitants of the territory ought,
even while the settlement was yet in its most
incomplete and rudimental state, to determine
for themselves what institutions they would
tolerate and whether they would allow the
existence of slavery or not. Not even Con-
gress, it was contended, ought to Interfere IN
any question of legislation for the territory
This doctrine it was asserted in speeches on
the floor of Congress, presented by the news
papers in every form of argument, proclaimed
at public meetings and embodied IN resolutions
adopted by committees The instant the bill
was passed, these very men resolved that the
inhabitants of the territory should not settle
the question of slavery for themselves, nor even
elect their own territorial officers. They
swarmed over the boundary Of Kansas, elected
a delegate to congress from the territory, and
then returned to Missouri. \ second election
took place a few days since the friends OF
slavery made second inctrSion into the terri
tory, won another triumph, and returned 10
celebrate it in Missouri. Never did any party
make more scandaous haste to convict itself Of
hypocrisy and given the lie to pretcnceS which
it had Just uttered and the echo of which had
scarcely yet died away Thcpretext of popular
sovereignty was only used to get rid of the pro-
hibition of slavery in the territory as soon as
it has served its purpose, it is discarded and
sent after the prohibition.
The second inference from these proceedings
is that the friends of the Nebraska bill, even
while supporting it by the argument that it
could never possibly carry slavery into any part
Of the territories, cherished the design of
making Kansas perforce a slave state. The
passage of the bill was the signal for an orga
nized attempt to seize upon the territory for
slavery. TheirpioneerS were first on the ground;
the first public meetings held in Kansas passed
pro-Slavery resolutions The execution of their
scheme has never been allowed a moments
pause. They have their journals established in
the territory their mercenaries, recruited i'll
Missouri, went over and carried the first elec
ton in their favor, and have now carried the
second against the wishes and feelings of the
actual and permanent inhabitants. Every
circumstance in the history Of Kansas, since it
became territory, points clearly TO an original
intention, on the part of those who brought
forward and supported the Nebraska bill, to
make it eventually slave state. Kansas New
Mexico and the new state which they designed
to erect out of south California, were to form
n barrier of slave states, completing the belt
across our continent, to the south of which
slavery was to propagate itself in security to-
wards the isthmus of Central America.-Ercn-
ing Post.