The weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1852-1858, 1855-06-09

From the Washington Union.
The Kansas Question.

attention has not been giUen to the prorOcatiOn
under schica the Historians acted and to the
peculiar manner in which they are Interested
in the social and political condition Of the Ter
ritory. When viewed in its true light. with all
the allowances properly to be made for the
course adopted 10y the Missourans. the qnes
| ton involved is tul of danger to the peace OF
| the country, and, therefore. TO be noticed sale
| ~ or proftably must be correctly understood:
In the first place. it should be borne in mind
that Missouri is q slave holding State, ana
hence, that her citizens have IA deep stake i'll
all that concerns the institution of Slavery
| On two sides she is already bordered by Free
States and ia those as III most Oi the other
Free States. the spirit OF Aholition!sm has re-
Gently seemed to he predominant Thus situa
ted, ii is not surprising that the people of Mis-
souri, should feel kecny sensitive as TO the cree
! ton of another Free State on another one Of
| her Enthusiastically drawing around her on
three sides a Gordon of Free States. filled with
hostility to her Institutions. and controlled by
men who avow their purpose to adopt every
means to effect the ultimate abolition of slave
ry. Bordcrc1 on two sides already with open
enemies to their institutions. it is natural that
Mssourians should look with absorbing inter-
est 10 the future political condition OF Kansas,
which border her on third side.
| III the next place. it is important to observe
| that Congress had adopted the principle OF pop
ular sovereignty az the rule by which the flu
! ture political condition o. Kansas was to be
determined. The legitimate meaning of that
rule was that the inhabitants Of the Territory.
attracted to it as their future homes, in the vol
untary and ordinary pursuit of their happiness
ard for the permanent prosecution OF their IN
dustrial occupations. should determine wheth-
er Slavery shonld or shonld not exist in the
Territory. Merit to the inhabitants Of Kansas
Themselves. the people Of Missouri had the
deepest interest IN the settlement Of this qnes-
tan. To them il WAS only second in imp TT
ance to the question whether Slavery should
continue to exist in their own State. They
felt that if they should be surrounded on three
sides with Ant-Siavery States. it would be al
most :antanount to the abolition Of Slayery in
their own. Yet the principle of the kalrras bill
was so fair that its adoption was chcerfuly ac-
quiesced in 10y her people.
! In the third place. it cannot be too carefully
remembered that the AbOliionists Of the Free
States at 10 time acquicsced in the principle Of
popular sovereignty ON which Kansas was to
be organized. When this principle was first
adopted in the Compromise measures Of 1850.
| the AboIitionis!s arraycd themselves against
| it, and alter its adoption pcrsistcntly rcpudia-
ted it as a rule obligatory upon them. When
| the bill to organize Nebraska and KAMA was
! introduced, it contained the principle of popu-
lar sovereignty, as adopted in the Compromise
of 1850. So soon a,s it vas introduced. the
! Abolition leaders in Congrss appealed to the
Anti-Slavery men everywhere to resist it pas
sage; they opposed it rs IerCely and fanatical-
| ~ before the clause for the repeal at the Mis-
| souri, T, s:rict:oa was inserted as afterwards,
| sho win : in lispatably. that it was the rrnople
of popul,r sovereignty which provoked their
hostility then. as it did when the Compromise
of 1850 Was passed.
This settled and inco:Iucrable hostility OF
the Abolitionists TO the principle Of the Kansas
bill was known to the Missourians, and hence
they had every reason to expect that they
would spare no effort to defeat its practical
application in the organization Of the Territory,
The kansas bill hid hardly become law be-
fore this spirit of hostility to its provisions was
NANTES ted in manner that could not fail to
inhame the popular mind of Missouri. In Mass
achuseits, situated more than thousan nd miles
from Kansas, an act Of incorporation was OBJ
tanned for the organization of the Emigrant
Aid COMPANY the avowed object Of which
was TO operate upon and control the future pc
| litical condition of Kansas. The objects of
| this association are no longer involved in I'M
ce: tanty. One of the missionaries of the
Company, writing to tho New York Tribune,
on the 6th of May. throws the responsibility OF
| the failure of the abolition scheme on the Mass
achusetts Aid Company, saying: - This in.
| stftuiion, whose really grand conception fear
| fully mcDaccd the very eXistance of slavery.
soon became, through its gross mismanage
ment, real godsend to the nascent conspiracy.
From the moment that its first sonorous cha-
lenge rung through the nation, Atchinson felt
that he had gained point whereon to rest his
lever. That defiance to Slavery. SO unwisely
hurled, was 10 the South call to arms. and
Missouri must be. from her position. the first to
respond. Had the challenge been boldly and
ably followed up. the lesions of darkness
light at once have been ovcrpowered and put
4 10 icrt,t Thn rit u,hp 10 iu1o0 h,,t
Tribune proceeds TO say The first step
taken (by the Missourians) was to circulate
through Missouri the programme Of the Emf
grant Aid Company. and thus prepare the ig
norant and jealous masses for what was to
| follow
Here, then, is tho origin of the Kansas diff
Guilty fully and authorati, ely confirmed
Massachusetts Abolitionists >ombincd. with
their money and their influence, to defeat the
honest purpose of the kal sas law. and 'by
their grand conception .fearfuliy mendced the
uery existence Of Slavery" in Missouri The
citizens of Missouri saw the danger and set to
work to arouse the people TO a sense OF their
danger by circulating throughout the State
the programme Of tie .MaSsochuSetts Hid So
cieiy. The result is before the country. The
writer whnes over the discontinue of the Alb.
olitionists. and rebukes them for the failure of
their scheme. whilst he seaks TO east odium on
the Missourans for rcsorting to measures tor
defence.
la ing failed to defeat the Kansas bill in
! Congress, the Abolitionists resolved to defeat
its principle, and, by the aid of incorporated
wealth. to locate in the western border of Mis-
souri, a community of AbolitiOnists who would
forever sympaihizc in their fanatical senti-
ments with the AbolutiOnisls Of Massachusetts.
1t was Il bold aud daring scheme, by the lcgs-
latiOn. the money and the men of Massachu-
sets, to defeat all act OF Congress which Sc
cured the bona fde and voluntary settlers in
Kansas the right to cEo use and establish their
own institutions. If the Abolitonists OF Mass
achusetts had organized an armed expedition
! to move into Kansas for the avowed purpose
of making it Freesoil State. they would not
| have been guilty of more palpable violation
of the true intent aud spirit of the law than
they actually were in their effort by the use OF
incorporated wealth. to import into the Terri
! tory such .Ab0litiOnists as wOald dedicate Kan
sas to perpetual Freesolism
1t was this open attempt to plant colony
Of Massachusetts, Abolitionsis on .be western
| border of Missouri that aroused the Indignation
| of the Mis- curtains and impelcd them to adopt
the measures for cOuntcracting the schemes
which have given rise to the prevailing excite
mcnt. But for the NOV ement of the Abolition
lists. there is no good reason to believe that
the Missour!ans would have interfered with the
legitimate execution of the Kansas law. They
were provoked to measures OF counteraction by
| a movement which threatened their interest as
we'll as the organic law of the Territory. We
do not maintain that the measures rcsorted to
by the Mlssourians We're legal or iusti(iablc-
we deprecate them dceply--but at the same
| time we are UroDared To mako ,n,oL :, llo,.on.o