Weekly Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1853-1861, 1856-02-07
|EORNING, FEBRUARY z, 1855.

turhed the reposc of our country and excited
individuals, otherwise patriotic and law-abi-
ding to toll with misdirected zeal in the at
tempt to propagate their social theories by
the peryersion and abuse of tho power of
Congress.
The persons and parties whom the .enor OF
tho act 10 organize the Territories of Nebras-
ka ard Kansas thwarted in the endeavor to
impose, through the agency of Congress, |
their particular views of social organization
on the people of the future new States, now
perceiving that the policy Of leaving the in
habitants of each State to judge for them
selves in this respect, was ineradicably rooted |
in the convictions of the people of the Union,
then had recourse, in the pursuit of their gen. |
eral Object, 10 the extraordinary measure of
propagandist colonization of the Territory Of
Kansas, to prevent the free and natural &c.
ton of its inhabitants in its internal organi-
cation, and thus to anticipate or to force the
determination Of that question in this in
With such views associations were organ
lied in some of the States, and their purpose
was proclaimed through the press in language
extremely irritating and offensive to those of
whom the colonists were to become the
neighbors. Those designs and acts had the
necessary consequence to awaken emotions
of intense Indignation in States near to the
Territory of Kansas, and especially in the
adjoining State of Missouri, whose domestic
peace was thus the most directly endangered;
but they are far from justifying the illegal
and reprchensive counter r-movements which
ensued.
Under these inauspicious circumstances the
g fha
lative Assembly were held in most if not all
Of the precincts at the time and the places
and by the persons designated and appointed
by the Governor, according to law.
Angry accusations that illegal votes had
been polled, abounded on all sides, and i'm
putations were made both of fraud and vio
lence. But the Governor, in the exercise Of
the power and the discharge of the duty con-
fered and imposed by law on him alone, Of
fcially received and considered the returns;
declared a large majority of the members of
the Council and the House of Representa-
hves duly elected :" withheld certificates
from others because of alleged illegality of
votes; appointed new election to supply
the place of the persons not certified; and
thus, at length, in all forms of statute, and
with his own official authorization, complete
legality was given to the first Legislative As
sembly of the Territory.
Those decisions of the returning officers
and of the Governor are final, except that,
by the parliamentary usage of the country
applied to the organic law, it may be conce-
ded that each House Of the Assembly must
have been competent to determine, in the last
resort, the qualifications and the elections of
its members The subject was, by its nature,
one appertaining exclusively to the jurisdic-
ton Of the local authorities of the Territory.
Whatever irregularities may have occurred in
the elections, it seems too late now to raise
that question as to which, neither now nor at
any previous time, has the least possible le
gal authority been possessed by the President
of the United States. For all present purpo-
ses the Legislative body, thus constituted and
elected was the legitimate Assembly of the
Territory.
Accordingly, the Governor. by proclama-
tion, convened the Assembly thus elected TO
meet at place called Pawnee City. : The
two Houses met and were duly organized in
the ordinary parliamentary form each sent
to and received from the Govemos the Ofi-
cial communications usual on such occasions;
an elaborate Message opening the session was
communicated by the Governor, and the gem
eral business of legislation was cntcred upon
by the Legislative Assembly.
But, after few days, the Assembly re-
solved TO adjourn TO another place in the
Territory. A law was accordingly passed
against the consent of the Governor, but IN
due form otherwise, to remove the seat OF
government temporarily to the "Shawnee
Manual Labor School, (or mission) and thith-
Al LII A
ceiving a bill for the establishments of a ferry
at the town Of kickapoo, the Governor refu'
sed to sign il, and by special message, assign
ID for'reasop of refusal, not anything obIec-
+. 'aia The bill ITSELF nor any pretense oI
,;ono, "tv or incompetency Of the As
tba 1I. ;Ii.no. "t only the fact that the As
s".,tua cue transferred the sea-
ssmpIy ssy ~ h,S S"Gh, n, u, -. %. from Pawpec
of government temporarily
City 10 Shawnee Mission. For the So. -
son he continued TO refuse to sign other bus,
until, in the course Of few days, he, by Off
cial message, communicated to tho Assembly
the fact that he had received notification of
the termination of his functions as Governor,
and that the duties of the office were legally
devolved on the Secretary of the Territory;
thus, to the last, recognizing the body as n
duly elected and constituted Legislative As
sembly.
IL will be perceived that if any constitu-
tional defects attached to the legislative acts
of the Assembly, it is not pretended to con-
sist in irregularity of election or want of qual.
ihcalion of the members, but only in the
change Of its place of session. However tri-
vial the objection may seem to be, it requires
ta Lan
all the supcrstructure of acts, plainly against
law, which now threatens the peace not only
of the Territory of Kansas but of the Union.
Such an objection to the proceedings of
the Legislative Assembly was Of exception
able origin, for the reason that, by the ex-
pressed terms of the organic law, the seat of
Government of the Territory was "located
temporarily at Fort Lcavcnworth - and yet
the Governor himself remained there less
than two months, and of his own discretion
transferred the scat of Government to the
Shawnee Mission, where it in fact was at the
time the Assembly was called to meet at
Pawnce City. If the Governor had any such
right to change temporarily the seat of Go
vernment, still more had the Legislative As
sembly. The objection is of exceptional orr
gin for the further reason that the place in
dlcated by the Governor, without having an
exclusive claim of preference in itself, was
proposed town cite only, which he and Others
were attempting to locate unlawfully upon
land within a military reservation, and for
participation in which illegal act, the CON-
mandant of a post, superior officer of the
army, has been dismissed by sentence of court
martial.
Nor is it easy TO see why the Legislative
Assembly might not with propriety pass the
Territorial act transferring its sittings to the
Shawnee Mission. If it could not, that must
be on account of some prohibitory or incom-
patible provision of act of Congress. But no
such provision exists. The organic act. as
already quoted, says "the seat of Govern
ment is hereby located temporarily at Fort
Leavenworth; and it then provides that
certain OF the public buildings there "may be
occupied and used under the direction of the
Governor and Legislative Assembly" These
expressions might possibly be construed to
imply that when, in a previous section of the |
act it was enacted that "the first Legislative
AgCA Atsala alxru uhc1l