Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1856-10-30
The Election in Kansas.

| iuAOAACu uo tudtNtticlE party Ill
territory was thoroughly organized, and that
in addition to the members of the assembly,
| for whom an election was appointed by the
| laws of the spurious legislature of 1855, a
| delegate to Congress would be chosen All
sensible men must agree with the New York
| Courier and Enquirer that the election will be
nothing but form and a fraud, possessing no
particle of legality or fairness. According to
these assumed laws, the men of no party, but
| that favorable to the establishment of slavery
| can vote. All other citizens have been prac-
| tically disfrancised. Tests and qualifications
have been imposed, which effectually shut them
out from the polls. The edicts prescribing
them have been denounced as atrocions in
| famous, and unconstitutional, by such devoted
democratic partizans as Gen. CAss aud Gov
WELLER in the Senate but Gov. GEARy has,
nevertheless, declared his intention of enforc-
ing them. and they will be enforced. But if
the new Governor had resolved not to perpe-
trate this glaring outrage upon the rights of
| the citizens, that would avail them nothing
He has effected the same object by other means
not less flagItions. He has banished from the
territory Gen. LANE, and nearly all other ac-
| tive men on the free state side. They are
hunted, without an allegation of crime, so far
as we have seen stated, by United States troops
| and border ruffian militia, like wild beasts, US
| rebels and traitors.
\ party which has lost all its leaders, whose
best men have been slain or imprisoned, or are
placed under the osttacism of power, who are
subject to the violence of an nfuriated mob
whenever they appear under any form than in
companies armed for the protection of their
lives, cannot 90 to the polls, or hope to exer-
else the American right of voting in the choice
Of their own rulers. For them no government
exists in Kansas but of an absolute military
deSpotism. The people can have no form of
organization essential to success in peaceful
struggle at the ballot-boxes with their enemies.
We presume they will make none They have
no presses, can hold no meetings, and would
undoubtedly be murdered by armed hordes
from Missouri if they appeared in sufficient
numbers, and determ inatiOn to deprive those
persons of their present control, as they were
at Leavenworth, in the very face of a large
force of Government troops
But Governor GEARY is manifeStly in tho
rough league with the Pro-Slavery bands that
infeSt Kansas. We have carefully and can
didly scrutinized oil the evidence furnished by
the Missouri press, and the letters from free
State correspondents in Kansas, and we have
been forced to this conclusion. He has arrest
ed one hundred free State men, armed and Or
ganiZed for their own defence in the neighbor-
hood of Lawrence, at the very moment when
that place was thrcated by an army of two
thousand seven hundred marauders from Mis-
souri,, under the command of ATCHIsoN, REED
and TIrUs Those free State men he has dis
armed, and caused to be bound over for trial
He held friendly conference with the ar med
traitors and rebels of the free companies of
Missourians, while they were in arms against
the authority of the Territory and of the
United States, not even pretending to be citi-
zens Of Kansas nor anything else than what
they manifestly were, armed invaders from
another State come upon an errand of robbery
and murder alone.
With an abundant regular force to eXpel
these self-confessed villains, he persuaded some
of them to pass beyond his jurisdiction and
power, and took the balance of them into the
service and pay of the United States as terri
torial militia and he adopted the recommend
alton of some of the worst and malignant of
them, REED for example, the butcher. upon his
own admission, Of Ossawattomie, to appoint
TTUS commander of the militia thus raised.
This TIrUs was not only one of the most
fore the Governor, but he was the more offcn-
sive to- all good citizens as having been ring
leader in the sack of Lawrence in May last.
In all this We recognize the acts of man
pledged to drive out the free state settlers from
Kansas, or to reduce them by force to submis-
sion to the mockery of legislation which has
excited the disgust and horror of the whole
country The simple truth is that Gov. GEARY
has shown himself an accomplice in the plan of
forcing slavery upon Kansas, and being an
abIer man than his predecessor, he has been
more successful.
What authority exists for an election for
delegate to Congress we do not know. but we
presume the House of Representatives will
treat this effort to foist any pretender upon
them until after due authority shall have been
given for an election, either by territorial
legislature or by Congress, in the manner that
they have already done.