The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1855-08-02
THE TERRITORY OF KANSAS.
Correspondence of the Liberty mol Tribune
II

Correspondence of the Liberty MOL Tribune.
PAwNEE, K. T., July 6, 1855.
! shall now attempt to redeem my promise
to keep you posted up +" in regard to the pro-
ceedings OF the Kansas Legislature
On Sunday, July lst, all the members, to-
gether with visiters to the number of about one
hundred, convened at the town site of Pawnee,
the place where Gov. Reeder had convoked the
Legislature.
On July I'd, the Legislature was organized,
the men who were voted for at the last election,
having certificates from the Governor, taking
their seats. An election of officers was then
gone into by both Houses, with the following
result:
In Council Speaker, Thomas johnson
Chief Clerk, John Haldeman; Assistant Clerk,
Z. ID. Grover; Sergeantatarms, c. S. White
head Doorkeeper, VIM. II. Godfrey Engross-
Waful
In House. Speaker, J. H. Stringfellow;
Chief Clerk, L. NJ. Lyle Assistant Clerk, John
Martin Sergeantat-arms, L. j. b. Cramer;
Doorkeeper, 2. B. Campbell; Engrossing Clerk,
). M. Fox; Enrolling Clerk, B. F. Simmons
Public Printer, John T. Brady.
After the officers elected were duly installed,
a Committee on Elections was appointed, who
made careful and elaborate examination of
all the evidence, and ON the 4th of July report
ed. The report declared the members first
elected to be legally entitled to theirI seats.
Thus was the 4th of July, for the first time, eel
ebrated in Kansas, by her first Legislature, in
BUSTING from their seats men whom one man,
vested with a little brief authority, had placed
there.
A bill was now offered, and passed by large
majority, to adjourn from Pawnee to the Shaw
ne from, Va
Gov. Reeder refused to sign the bill for ad-
journment; but, after two days and a half, We
toed it. 1t was then Immediately passed by
unanimous vote, and in two hours afterwards,
Legislature, visitors, and all, made their exit
from Pawnee.
Correspondence of the indianapolis State Journal.
PAwNEE, X. T., July I, 1855.
You will no doubt be astonshed at the new
light thrown upon legislation, constitutional
law, and the powers of Congress, by the Legis-
lature of Kansas, which adjourned from this
place yesterday, after a session of five days.
The first bill introduced, after the House was
organized, was to adjourn the Legislature from
this place to the Shawnee Mission,> or Manual
Labor School, located about two miles from
Missouri, near Westport.
MIR. Hutchinson, Free State member, made
a speech against it, arguing that the organic
act authorized the Governor to locate the first
Legislature, and determine the place of hold
ing its sessions that they had no power to Or
der the Governor to move his Office, and locate
permanently at the Indian school that the
Government had been at the expense of fitting
up a large two-story stone building, sixty feet
long by thirty wide, with suitable desks, &C.,
and the citizens had been at much expense in
preparing for their accommodation and the
officers at Fort Riley had generously offered
them whatever accommodations they should
lack in the town, with carriage at their SER
vice, free of expense, to take them to and from
their place of meeting. He thought it unwise,
unnecessary, and contrary to the organic act
making it Territory, &c. The Speaker, Mr.
Stringfellow said there was no use in spending
time to discuss this bill. They had determin-
ed what course to pursue two months ago.
They had told Gov. Reeder what to expect, &c.
The bill finally passed. The Governor vetoed
it. 1t was then passed by two-thirds majority.
A committee was appointed to wait on the
Governor, and tell him the result. He replied,
that by that act they had dissolved themselves !;
that he should not follow them, nor take any
further notice of their proceedings They were
no longer Legislature.
Early the first or second day of the session,
resolution was introduced appointing Com
mittee on Contested Elections, with instructions
to examine persons and papers. No seat was
contested no person was sent for. But, on the
second day after their appointment, the COM
mittee reported that they had large bundle of
papers put into their hands by the Governor,
concerning election frauds, &c. but they had
not opened them. They had also concluded
not to examine the persons elected at the May
election, and holding seats by authority Of the
Governors certificates, as they had determined
before they came here how to dispose of this
matter. They would therefore recommend that
all persons elected at the first election of March
3lst, in Kansas, whether in the opinion of the
Governor they were elected legally or illegally,
should be entitled to their seats, and that all
those elected at the second election should re-
tire. This report was adopted; and the mem
bers holding Free State principles were expelled
without trial or examination.
One of them Mr.. Jesse) said, as he had not
been heard before the committee, he would
state to the House that he was clerk of the first
election held in the third Representative district
that early on the day Of election, before many
of the settlers had come in, a body of armed
men from Missouri, numbering about three
hundred, came to the polls, and took violent
possession of the ballotbox. They drove away
the officers appointed by the Governor, and put
in some of their own number. They then pro-
ceeded to vote in Pro-Slavery delegation from
the district. The people repudiated it, and the
Governor set the election aside as illegal, and
ordered new one. The result was, that at the
next election the Free Soil ticket was elected
| by an overpowering majority; and he had no
| doubt but that three-fourths of the voters in
| Kansas were for making it free State.
Mr.. Wattles said, that as his days of legisla-
| ton were drawing to a. close, he must express
| his admiration to the House for the frankness
| and openness which had characterized all their
proceedings. He then thanked the chairman
| Of the Committee on Contested Elections for
| his frankness in disclosing to the House and
the North this new and unhcard-of method OF
dealing with persons holding contested seats.
| He also thanked the Speaker for his candor in
stating that discussion on these questions was
of no use, as they were determined on by the
| Pro-Slavery party two months ago, and they
had told Governor Reeder so. He also thank
ed the House for expelling him from it as a
member. They had fairly come out and made
the issue. He was ready to take it up as they
had laid it down, untrammelled and unembar-
raised by any other question. Shall Kansas be
| a free State or a slave State? Let the sover-
| egn squatters of Kansas determine this.
The Kansas Tribune of the llth contains
| the protest of Messrs. Ladd, Wattles, Jesse,
Baker, and Hutchinson, against the action OF
the House excluding them from their seats.
/