The weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1852-1858, 1855-12-22

utSA AscAison ana dis cnque-A play IN whlC
Shannon has acted the part Of puppet an
fool.l The Intelligsncer announces the, fur
to belthe last card Of Atchison, played thrt
/. Shannon, to move the Missouri Legislator
in his behSlf-.-or. the dying effort e u
Q borderers to " subjugate the people of Kan
Q sas, got up for it's excitement and abandone
9 for it's absurdity:
Q We quote from it: ..
Review the history of the late panic, an
see if there are not glazing evidences of hum
bug in the whole affair. First it was an
nounced that the Free State men of Kansa
: were in rebellion against the laws of tn,
Territory. There had been an affray-on,
man killed--a riot ensued-and the people O
Kansas refused to recognize the Sheriff, (pu
t over them for six years by the Legislature
against their will, } as the proper custodian O
the alleged offenders. s.t
Here is the basis of the rebellion. Hero
is the head and front of the civil war so hys
terically proclaimed. Shannon calls out the
militia secret letters are written rife com.
panies summoned (from Missouri); artillery
rolled out, and other extraordinary and war
like demonstrations made: The whole nation
is excited to believe that war is raging and
blood flowing in Kansas, in consequence OF
this rebellion just broke out.
What are the facts? Simply, as the truth
now appears, that the Free State men have
raised no sudden flag of rebellion at all:
They have only appealed unto Caesar" They
refuse to acknowledge sheriff put over them
arbitrarily by the Territorial Legislature.
They have, all along, done the same thing.
They long ago proclaimed to the world that
they did not recognize those Territorial Off
Gals at all; but, by virtue of popular soyer-
eighty, which has been disregarded by that
Legislature, they meant to choose their own
officers. They were as much In rebellion
Six months ago against those Legislative
sherifs as they are now, or have beefi: Even
in lately reasserting theit opposition to the
officers and laws of that Territorial Legisla-
ture, the Free State men expressed their
readiness to submit themselves to the officers
of the U. S. Government. They "appealed
unto Caesar"
For this reason for this appealing to true
law-and seeking to avoid, lawfully and
peacefully, the operation of laws that they
regard tyrannical and unjust, fire and slaugh-
ter have been invoked, and cohorts of ex-
cited Missourians assembled on the border
| to be led in bloody foray against them. We
do not utter one palliating word in regard to
the Free State outrages on pro-slavery citi-
zens, that brought on the late disturbance.
We will grant that members Of that party
may have behaved very badly: We know
not. Yet we assert that their position as
reported, is now a law-abiding one and that
Gov. Shannon, in calling out the militia, and
by his secretary (Woodson) rallying citizens
of an adjoining State to his assistance, has
acted most indiscreetly and unlawfully, and
has threatened Kansas with terrible Gala
nifty, as the result of his passion or his in
discretion.
Did not Gov. Shannon know that with
the party lines, drawn so strictly between
Free State men and Pro-Slavery men in
Kansas, it was utter madness to summon
one party to put down the other? Was not
his act like bringing powder to fight fire q?
How could q man be so simple and so reck-
less? Why didn't Gov. Shannon appeal, at
first, to the President for aid of the Govern
ment troops to enforce the laws? Simply
because that would be appealing to the same
power that the Free State men appealed to !;
and to do so would be at once to confess that
the Free State men had been in the right,
in first proposing the "appeal unto Cesar"
But Gov Shannon lacked good sense or a
good purpose; and so he appealed to the mi
litia of Kansas (alias the Pro-Slavery men
of Kansas) to help him "subjugate," or en-
force odious laws on the Free State people !!
The Free State men prepared to resist to the
death, and then came the cry of rebellion, y
revolution" and "civil war;" and the most
desperate efforts were made, by secret ap-
peals, by agitating rumors, by exaggerated
stories, and by hurried dispatches, to throw
over into Kansas an impromptu Missouri ar
my, to subiugate or exterminate portion OF
the American people, appealing to the Uni
ted States laws and officers for protection.
Either good sense, or that discretion
which is the "better part of valor," prevail
ed among the Missourians--even those who
were the most agitated by the Kansas ere
bellion''-and they have stopped short OF
the melancholy and fraticidal work that the
passionate and senseless Shannon Invited
them to.
But we have other facts which settle, be-
yond all doubt, the nature of this so called
outbreak, (part we publish in another arti-
cle) and which prove the villainy of the Dor
der invaders and the imbecility of Shannon
The St. Louis Republican says, "the militia
did not respond very readily to his sum-
MONS" Second-the Missourians propose q
compromise. ga meeting is now being held
here" at Independence, says the correspond.
: cnt of the Republican under date Of Decem
Der Sd; but what he says on this point is toe
important to omit-so we give it entire:
: 4 meeting is being held now, to see if some
: measures cannot be adopted to terminate tn
y matter peaceably if possible, forcibly if they
: must On Saturday, the Governor, by tel
n egraph, asked the President for the assist
a ance of troops from Fort Leavenworth. HI
e is said is have represented that one thousant
: men were under arms at Lawrence; tina
e they have rescued a prisoner from the custo
r dy of sheriff or marshal of Douglas coun
: ty; that they defied the Government to re
: take him; and that unless United State
# troops were furnished, the laws of the terri
tory could not be executed; and that he de
O manded the aid of the United States troops
4 Until this is granted nothing will be done
s unless the excitement of parties concerne
: shall bring it on before, and, if so, man
~ valuable lives will be lost. OF what trans
IS pires further will try to keep you advised
= No fight is intended by the bloody horde,
Is ers after all. Indeed, the St. Louis INTEL
:, gencer sums up its information thus:
Is /. The extreme excitement is in Nilsson
NOT in Kansas-the truth being M "