The weekly Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1861, 1856-01-31

mencement, was one of the incidents OF tha
pernicious agitation on the subject Of ih'
condition Of the coIored persons held TO ser
vice in some OF the States which has 81
long disturbed the repose Of our country
and excited individuals otherwise patriot,
and law abiding, to misdirected zeal in
the attempt to propagate their social theor
! les by the perversion and abuse Of the pow
of Congress.
The persons and parties whom the tenor o
the act 10 organize the Territories of Ne
braska and Kansas thwalted in the endea
vor to impose, through the agency of Con
gress, their particular views OF social organ
ization ON the people of the future new States
perceiving that the policy of leaving the
inhabitants Of each State, TO Judge for them
selves in this respect was mersdicably root
ed for themselves in the convictions OF the
people of the Union, then had a recourse, in
the pursuit of their general object, to the ex
traordinary measure of propugandist cOloni
cation of the Territory of Kansas, to pre-
vent the free and natural action of its inhab'
itants in its internal organization, and thu:
to anticipate or force the determination O
that question in this inchoate State.
With such views associations were organ
lied in some of the States, and their pur.
pose was proclaimed through the press in
language extremely irritating and offensive
to those ofwhom the colonists were to be.
come the neighbor. Those designs and actt
had the necessary consequence to awak en-
emotions Of intense Indignation in States
near tho Territory of Kansas, and especially
in the adjoining State OF Missouri, whose do
mestic peace was thus the most directly en-
dangered; but they are far from justifying
the illegal and represensible counter move
ment which ensued.
Under these inauspicious circumstance
the primary elections for Members OF the
Legislative Assembly were held in the mos
if not in all the precnts at the time and tht
places and by the persons designated ant
appointed by the Governor, according t.
law.
Angry accusations that illegal votes hal
been polled abounded on all sides, and i'm
putations were made both of fraud and vic
lence. But the Governor, in the exercis,
of the power and the discharge of the dut,
conferred and imposed by the law on hin
alone, officially received and considered th'
returns; declared large majority of tn,
members of the Council and House Of Rep
rese natives "duly elected" withheld certi
fcates from others because of the llegalit,
of votes, appointed new election to suppl,
the place of the persons not certified; an
thus at length, in all the forms of stat
ute, and with his own official authentication
complete legality was given TO the frs
Legislative Assembly in the Territory.
Those decisions of the returning officers
and Of the Governor are final, and excep
that, by the parliamentary usage of the coun
try applied to the organic law, it may b
conceded that each House of the Assembl,
must have been competent to determine, il
the last resort, the qualifications and tn
election Of its members. The subject was
by its nature, one appertaining exclusively
j to the jurisdiction of the local authorities Q
the Territoy. Whatever irregularities ma
have occurred in the elections, it seems to-
late to raise that question as to which, nei
ther now nor at any previous time has thu
least possible legal authority been possesse
by the President of the United States. Fo
all present purposes the Legislative bod
thus constituted and elected, was the legiti
mate assembly of the Territory.
Accordingly, the Governor, by roclama
ton, convened the Assembly thus elected t
meet at place called Pawnee City. TIL
two Houses met and were duly organize
in the ordinary parliamentary form; eac
sent to and received from the Governor tn
official communications usual on such oc
casions; an elaborate message opening tn:
session was communicated by the Governor
and the general business of legislation wa
entered upon by the Legislative Assembly
But, after few days, the Assembly re
solved to adjourn to another place in ,h'
Territory. A law was accordingly passed
against the consent of the Governor, but il
due form otherwise, to remove the seat o
govn't temporarily the to "Shawnee Man
Labor SCHOOL," Cor mlssion,) and thther ths
Assembly proceeded. After this, receivin!
a bill eor the establishment of ferry at thu
town of Kicapoo, the Governor re fused Il
sign it, and, by special message, assigned 70
reason Of refusal, not anything objectionabl
in the bill itself, nor any pretence of the ill
egaity or incompetency of the Assembl
as such, but only the fact that the Assem-
bly, had by its act transferred the seat 0
government temporarily from Pawnee Cit.
to Shawnee Mission. For the same reason
he continued to refuse to sign othe
bills, until, in the course of u few days, he
by official Message, communicated to thu
! Assembly the fact that he had received no
| tificatioD of the termination of his functions
as Governor, and that the duties of the ofic,
were legally devolvcd on the Secretary o
the Territory; thus to the last recognizin!
the body us duly elected and constitutes
Legislative Assembly.
1t will be preceived that if any consttu
| tional defect attached to the legislative act
of the Assembly. it is not pretended to con
sist in irregularity of election or want o
qualification OF the members, but only in tn
change of its place of session. Howeye
trivial the objection may seem to be, it re
onires to be considered, because upon il ]
founded oil that superstructure of acts. plain
" against law which threatens the Territor
OF Kansas but Of the Union.
Such an objection of the proceedings Q
the Legislative Assembly was of exceE
tionable origin, for the reason that, by tn
express terms of the organic law, the sea
, of Government Of the Territory was "loca
ed temporarily at Fort Leavenworth;" an
, vet the Governor himself remained ther
e less than two months, and oFhis own discrt
: cretion transferred the seat of Govcrnmel
t to Shawnee Mission, where it in fact WI
C at the time the Assembly were called to me-
at Pawnee City. If the Governor had ar
f such right to change temporarily the Sc
o of Government, still more had the Legisl
: tive Assembly. The objection is of exec
e tional origin for the further reason that IL
d place indicated by the Governor, witho
d making an exclusive claim of preferen'
j. lin itself, was proposed town site onl