New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-02-05
LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE.
SLAVERY IN REPLY no STRING
FELLOW.
To as Editor If TIM. Z. Trsvn<.

SLAVERY IN kANSAS-A REPLY FO SrRlNG-
FELLOW.
To Tia Editor II IN n. T. Triss.<.
SIR; My artt ntiOn has been called 80 letter from
p. F. Sirpeelow, addressed to, and indorsed BY the
Honoratl.s Brooks, Clingmxn, Smith and VI .Qaeen.
southern members Of Congress relative to the set
Element Of Kansas Territory frst published in
The Washington Sentsnel, and copied into TAG
TRIBUNE of the 27th ut.
The source Of this letter, its an,eeedents and ia
dorsenept, conspe 20 make its statements worthy Of
particular notice. This Mr.. stringfe'low is man Of
INDEPENDENT nerve. and instead Of being rated as
"Nr. Atchisons corporal, is, in .ity, Capn OF
"tbe Watch. and has the high honor OF having got
M and led off the first public demonstration against
the northern emigration into Kansas Ii was hi,
gentleman who got up the meeting in Weston, No.
which parsed flaming resolutions prescribing tar AMI
feathers for Eli Tssyer and other agents sc,ive n
the of emigration Subsequently, the agents
of the Emigrsnt Aid Company chose another place
for the disembark alton of the emisranis, aod gave
the tar and feather resolutions As their reason for 50
doing wbereupon The citizens of Weston-Fhose in
tere-;s were damaged, their gIia cut of-osued Al
oiler meeting, which Indignantly repudiated the &C
ton Of Mr.. S.ringfellows meeting, placed it to ths
account OF handful Of pesiient fcRosrs, and ex-
tended hand Of cordial welcome to the emigrants.
Such are tie anfecedents OF Mr.. 5 at home. sim
ilsr demonstration originating without doubt IN the
same patriotic brain, was made about the sane tne
il Wesfport the last TO ~n in Missouri through when
the enigrsnts pass to Lawrence and vicinity. Ba'
to the letter in question:
And frst in reply 10 the query "Wil Kansas bs
slave holding State Mr.. SIriogfellow says, l
"aHSTcr E,ih0Bf hesitation, n rU'' tie tnen, Nser
EXPRESSING hs alarm in first iosauce, AZ the emf
srai, n movement and tee declaration OF nose on
. whoa bis southern friends we're wont to rely, that
"Kansss was not adapted TO slave labor goes On
Yet never despsed still declared that. tos1a rent
out sy could not Aey coad ao lire ia u. Prairie
erfeesos eonolssire IF the eorrscine's 81 Wy opinion
The late elections involving c0Hclasire e-iieacs
thst Ksrsas Will be a Slave S.s:e, is worthy brief
review.
cert bi. ootc1sons az le2itimse 10 his declaration
that "thc figrdhts cent out c0id R0t remain. c0ni1
not Ire ~ the pyG.~es! They had gone back to the
Eat end lef bis Slave holding " Southern friends
10 the msj0rity lie says: "Ot ths 900 transported
10 Kansss during the past summer, there were let
"on the Gay of election. bat 24s or these, an
'credibly informed. 80 LEFT the day following the
election, having complied with their contract IN vo
ting Others have since lefI, and can safely say
"ihat Of the whole batch there rW not By MIrcs.
&c nm kji "a the terri,0rBl" And this retreat OF
the emigrsnts, Mr.. 5. attributes 70 their n4oilyt
make fans in he praires. " Ihey eontd not remain
Now, whist are the factsi In the frs, place, there
has been no such wholesale returning Of those who
WEI: out prepared or expecting 10 rem4in. " those
who returned before the election, only tro to my
know edge had wives with them and they were iGst
mar7itd. One Of these, young merchsbt took Kan.
m bis bridal tour Piooeer life lSss not presidei
over BY " honey moons" With these tEo exceptions,
every who took wife or family toto the territory
with bin buil' cabin, and stays
Ii was 30; the difficulty OF making farms ia Kansas
which seut back many sic Ie men aud men without
N cir families II not that the soil anu climate OF
Kansas disappointed their expectations for among
those who returned, a large proportion hal proved
the vsue end power of their own labor aud knew
well that iLteg ence economy and industry su1b rs
pendence Il responsibility )rce upon the North
freeman can live and get rich on harder coioer
and less genial soil. They knew, too, that sayelsor
ignorant and was'elu and with no higher motive
tn 81 fssr of the lash the bsrrscoon, must hare the
mast trf and grateful SOL in orcer to snstan itself
and enrich the master They saw that Kansas WAS
equal 70 the support OF slave holders by slave labor
and they had no ground to fear that " the poor man.
who is bis own master, would fail OF ms reward as
filler of the sou. Having gone on With company OF
230 and spent some five weeks 10 the midst of some
$50 Of ih.se emigrants, besides returning " the day
after election, with goodly company Of the voters
10 whom Mr. 5 refers, having left after co npy-
"iDg with their contract to vote, l may claim TO
speak with an authority equal TO Mr. Suingieiow
touching the facts or fail sces which have determined
the return or stay Of the emigrants to Kansas Ana
low for those facte &c.:
The pie6mption law requires actual residsncc 'he
"caim," or land taken up. Men might take up
claims" eDd leave them 10 go home for their
fsmies CT in their absences Others take possession
Under the United States law they had no surety Of
ultimate purchase, but actual residence until the
land should have been surveyed, and brought into
market. True, the emig rants, among Themselves,
tPTee TO respect and protect each others claims in
,uch absence; bu, there was possibility, and in
locations spsrsely occupied probability, that such
entertainments would take place, and the msjorty
a Ak
collision OF ishts.
Thus, men who had left their families at the East,
not expecting 70 bring them out till spriog and it,
tending 10 return for them sitter loc stiDg claims ia
many Instances returned without doing Mr
SfiiDef.llow will, doubt be quite surprised 10 see
these men returning into the Territory by March,
prepared TO "rtmGtn and Ire IN tie prorriss wife
and children with them to keep possession of the 100
acres that can be tax up"
IL Mr.. :. supposes that the men who emgrate fro n
the East make farms with Ii cir hands and
axes, or are ignorant of the fact which he claims
that, IN the praute a hand can cElt,vate oDefhVd
more than IN The tmJer' and that, "a prdtrre farm
vK pay for itseif three times oper b,fore farm can
be CLEARED the timber he is himself quite ignorant
Of the character Of the emgraDts of whom he speaks
so confidently ss well as of the ea's Of their fathers
who have subdued the heavg-timoered aud rocky
lands OF New gland Probably not one Of all ths
persons who vent to Kansas from the EST has not
relatives friends who have made farms in the
praiies Of Illinois, Michigan Wisconsin, or Iowa,
ard with whom they have kept up an ntslli-
gent corresI Opderce. From sach sources they were
well informed 20 the n0dus oper0ndi Of breaking
up by Doubling teams and joining snds, where an
individual snd lis single team insufficient. Ia
other sectioDs Of prairie county there are settlers
who keep the requisite tesmpower. and break up the
soil at 60 much en- scre-a within the ability Of
the free laborer 10 pay.
But why old not the single men, who had 20 f-mi-
lies Ess', remain 10 Kansas reply it wss not be.
they could lot mske farms il the prairie; not
Of them gave this the Of their return to
The S'ses No the legal necessity Of occupying their