The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1855-01-03

crossed the river inseeperate detachmeEts
at different places along:the border
They seemed TO be erganizedfnsep6r
ticdlar leaders each party designed to
operate at specific localities. Thus, the
polls in every district, except at law
renee and farstowards Fort Riley, were
sarroupded aud taken possession Of the
moment they were opened BY. thesein-
solent invaders. They threatenedand
inundated the judges; crowded out
and violently drove off ali those Wh0sWere
suspected of being. In, favor Of anyaother
candidate Than their own, and put their
own votes into The ballot}box at the
point of the revolver. 1 was myself
present all day at the E~eayenworth polls,
and can, therefore, speak of the proceed,
ings at that point from personal knowl-
edge. They were perfectly outrageous.
The crowd of Missourians assembled,
early IN the morning, and commented
operations by insisting on filing a tenn
porary vacancy which had occurred In
the board of judges by. eleeting a man
named Burgess, a resident of Platte
county, Missouri. The other judges pro-
tested against the proposition, but yield
ed Immediately to the storm which their
resistanee IN amoment provoked. They
felt themselves in danger. of being ruth
lessly murdered BY. the crowd. This
man from Missouri accordingly served,
from beginning to end, as one ofthe judges
of thezAlection In Kansas Territory
During the entire day, persons were
seen coming over in boats from the Mis-
souri, side of the river to put in their
votes; while persons, actual residents of
the Territory seeking, in the most peace
ceable manner, to deposit their ballots,
were set on, charged with being abo-
~litionists,n aud driven from the ground.
They left, in many cases, to avoid the
necessity of shooting down their assault
ants. When I went up .to vote was
approached by d fellow who demanded
to see my ticket. I refused, Of course,
to heed him whereupon 4 was imme.
,diately crowded out by some dozen per-
sons, all working In cocert. They
openly declared that none should ap-
the ballot box except those who
intended to vote for Whitfield. To-.
wards the. close of the day, the violence
among the drunken rabble became SO
great that the judges grow alarmed for
their personal---very., and closed the polls.
Thus ended the first election in. this dis
trict for a, delegate to Congress from
the Territory Of. Kapsas.
"No pretext whatever is offered by
these people to, excuse or Justify their
conduct. On the contrary, they made
60 secret of their being residents of Mis-
souri,, and not residents of Kansas
They declare their. intention to do the
same thing over again at every election.
Gen. SpringfeIow, a prominent politi-
clan of Missouri residing at Weston, who
commanded the Leavenworth division of
this grand invading army, openly declar-
ed that if it should become necessary,
whole. of Western Missouri would be
emptied into Kansas, in order. to. make
it a slave State.
/" What will be the=result of this bus
mess, / do not know. ! cannot think
Gen Whitfield will be admitted to
4 seat in the House. The matter should,
1t least, be thoroughly investigated
We have every reason to believe that an
extensive scheme is on foot to make
Kansas q slave State b-ysviolentaand Il
legal a Ithas.b been asserted that
Senator Atchison, of Missouri, was, not
ignoranto of this project and that alarge
fund has beeu raised by subscription in
the Southern States to carry it through.
If this be really so, andI cannot doubt
it, it ought to awaken the indignation
Of the whole country The Missouri
eompromise was not repealed to give to |
. handful of the worst specimens of the
of Missouri the power to con-
troll the destinies of Kansas, but to es-
the right of the people of the
Territories to govern themselves, If
ibis be not accomplished what has been
by the repeal ofthe Missouri conn
promise? Nay, if the repeal has but
transferred the gorerpanee of Kansas
Territory from Congress to Senator
Atchison and this band of secret conspi-
rators, what has not beenlost thereby
to the people of Kansas, as well as the
at large I stood by the Kan
as-Nebraska bill in an unpretending
way, from first to last because Iregar-
led it as establishing in the Territories a
great principle of free government but
If it cannot be, made to accomplish that
object, II amin for q speedy restoration
Of the Missouri compromise: and this
s the sentiment of every Administrator
Democrat in Kansas who is against the
introduction of slavery. / came to
Kansas under the preffered guarantees
Of the Kansas-Nebraska act. relying on
she integrity of that act to have my]
voice and vote, as one of itsscitizens, felt
the establishment gifts local i~nstitu-
lions. But I find my lust expectations
shwarted-my rights overslaughed and
srampled under foot at the very outset
-by hordes of u~nprincipled INVADERS
This certainly ,cannot.be allowed. The
Federal Government must uphold the
The provisions of the Kansas-Ne-
act must be maintained in good
The honest masses Of the Demo-
cratic party, and of all other parties
throughout the country, expect lido
mand it-and I cannot believe that
those in authority have anyadisposition
to cisappoint them an N. T.. @.
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