The Kansas herald of freedom., 1856-03-08

us with favor, we had right to antici
pate aspeedy termination of our present
thralldom. However, owing to an ap.
parent misunderstanding of the Consti-
tutional movement in Kansas, the Presi
dent intimates in a special message thai
Congress must interfere and make the
people undo what, with great care and
expense, they have so well done. This
message, as it refers exclusively to Kan
sas, should receive some attention from
the General Assembly. Kansas men,
"SquatteF Sovereignty" men, cannot
fail to be somewhat surprised at its pur-
port. 1t is somewhat belligerent in its
tone, threatening to bring against the
people of Kansas the army and navy Of
the United States, and should this force
be inadequate to the task, the militia oi
the several States is to be brought into
requisiGion to compel the people to sub.
init to what they donot recognize as laws,
and to laws, according to his own show
ing, the people of Missouri, with the aid Of
the Executive which he appointed, have
enacted. But tits to be hoped that by the
time his forces are raised and marched into
the Territory he will find, like his Excel.
leney Governor Shannon, that the peo-
pie are not SO deserving of annihilation
as he had supposed.
The President gives the details of the
invasions of Kansas and the Gov
ernor's connection herewith, and
does not deny that the so-called Terrific
rial Legislature was elected by the people
of Missouri; but because the Governor,
his appointee. chose to grant certificates
of election to majority of persons elect
ed by the people of a neighboring State,
therefore their laws are binding upon the
people. To strengthen his argument, he
might have accused the Governor oi
still further completely with the invaders,
and have said that although this Terrific
ry is hundreds of miles in extent, and the
people were politically unorganized, yet
he gave them but four days in which to
contest the election, and would not ex-
tend the time one hour; for it is said that
a protest arrived at one o'clock on the
morning of the fifth day, which, had it
been regarded, would have changed five
seats in the Legislature but it was too
late by one hour and could not be re-
ceived.
The argument of the President may be
good against any objection to the acts
of the Legislature on his part, as in the
first place, he refused to protect the ballot
box from fraud, and in the second place,
so far as lay in his power, his appointee
legalized it, but is it good against the
people?
The organic act provides for a legisla-
ture to be elected from, and by, the voters;
and voter is to be "an actual resident
of said Territory" and ifany otherset OF
men either with or without the sanction
of the Executive, claim to be the Legis-
lature, are the people bound to regard
them as such? Also, this act says, sit
is the true intent and meaning of this act
to leave the people of the Territory per-
fectly free to form and regulate their do
meStic institutions in their own way, sub
ject only to the Constitution of the Uni
ted States, not subject to the people of
Missouri, or the Executive, or both of
them together. How can the true intent
of this law be carried out by a Legislature
elected, as was that on the 30th March
last? Yet that Legislature, elected from
and by the people of a neighboring State,
have assumed to pass laws for the peo-
pie of Kansas, and also to "legislate
Slavery into the Territory" which Con-
gress itself professed not to have the
right to do, and these are the so-called
laws that the President says must be en-
forced, even though it require all the
army and navy ofthe United States and
the militia of the several States
Undoubtedly one half of this force
will be all sufficient to enable him
to enforce any process, or to chop, shoot
and hang all the inhabitants. But all
the armies and navies in the world could
not make the people believe he had a
right to do it, or that the enactments of
that border legislature were binding up
on the people of Kansas. If Squatter
Sovereignty means simply that Congress
has no right to interfere with the affairs
of Territory, bat that the Executive
and the people of another State have,
then most certainly that doctrine will be
very unpopular in Kansas.
Other reasons might be given to show
that no legal Legislature have ever passed
laws in Kansas besides the above, or the
removal of the sittings from Pawnee to
the Shawnee Mission, which is on the
Shawnee Reserve, as it is understood.
and can, consequently. constitute no
part of the Territory of Kansas" The
organic act provides that "the persons
having the highest number of legal votes
in each district for members ofthe Coun-
Gil, for House of Representatives, shall
be declared by the Governor 70 be duly
elected" From his decision there is no
appeal, according to the act, yet nine
persons declared to be duly elected by
the Governor, were elected by the Leg
islature and others admitted. But one
person. It is believed. was duly elected
l., A., o<s.1 vofar, <,F <ba Tav.;tesxz arI he