Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1856-08-02

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/ settle their own domestic affairs you gave
| this pedge-the slave power gave this pledge.
! How have these pledges been kepts On the
| 29th of Now, 1854 six brief months after
! these pledges were given. the people of Kanzas
assembled to elect Delegate 10 represent
| them in the national House of Representa-
! lives On that day the slave power, unmind-
! tul OF is pghted faith, in mockery of popu-
Ian rights. stole over into that Territory, and
stuffed the balot.boxes with hundreds ofille-
gal votes for the pro- slavery candidate. All
the redress you gave to the outraged people OF
hanzas was fippant denial of the deed of
mlamy.
On the 3Oth of March. ten months after
| your pledge of perfect freedom to settle their
own domestic affairs was given, the people of
hahzas again Went to the ballot boxes to
| choose Legislature to frame laws for their
own government. To their amazement thev
found the ballot. boxes in the hands of tour
thousand nine hundred armed men from Mis-
SCUM OVerawed by superior numbers-in
ulI'dated oy mehacing threats-robbed of
their legal rights by awless violence-hun-
| dfeds OF the actual settlers of the Territory
retired, without voting, 10 their homes-a snb.
! dued and conquered people. Others, who
chose to peril lite i'll the exercise OF their local
! nights, were OVERCOME by overwhelming num-
! bers, and they, too retired to their homes
subdued and conquered people. Back to Mis-
| sour staggered the marauding hordes of Dor
| der ruthans, drunk with victory and bad
! whlskey. hanzas was conquered by this law
less ioray fom Missouri the slave power
| gloated over It's dlshonorable victory. Gov
ernor Reeder announced to the people of his
| native Pennsylvania, that Kanzas Ind been
conquered-subdued by armed men from Mis-
| souri, Your Administration was INDIGNANT
at this honest admission: silence was enioined
upon the faithful The protesting voices of
| the people OF hanzas We're sileneed by the
| canor OF the partlznnS and presses in the in
terests OF the administration and its MASTER
| the slave power. The appeals and protests of
! the wronged and outraged people of Kanzas
! We're UNDECIDED by your Administration YOU
had no ear to listen to the story of their wrongs
you had no voice TO rebuke their oppressors;
| you had no arm 10 protect them, OF to redress
| Their great wrongs. Sir, when that damning
| deed OF the Both Of March, 1865, was per-
formed-when that people were overbcrne
| robbed OF their rghts-where were the Sene-
tors from Illinois, Pennsylvania, Georgia
| Connecticut, and Ohio? You were silent,
! dumb! Where was your President and his
constitutional advisers The President was
sllent-dumb! Where slept the thundeys OF
| the Democracy? Phe Democracy, obe,lent
to the nod of the slave power. put its hand
upon its lip, and laid its forehead low in the
| dust, at the feet of that power that had sent
| four thousand nine hundred armed rufiians 10
the conquest of Kanzas.
This great crime against popular rights
this entire abrogation of the doctrine of
"squatter sovereignty" found no voice of
| condemnation among the retainers of the ad-
mihistraton in the ranks of the Democracy
| Apologists were found ready to excuse the
| crime. defend the criminals, and Islander and
rebuke an outraged people The slave pow
| er, with unabashed brow, has continued to
deny the fact of the armed in yasion of the
| 30th of March, 1866, but that voice of denial
grows faint before the damning record brought
back from that Territory by the Committee of
| the House.
The Legislature, border rufhanism had i'm
| posed upon conquered Kanzas, with reyolv-
ers, bowie knives, and cannon, came together
at the appointed time and place. Without
even the tormalities of an examination, the
members holding the Governors certificates
were hustled out, and the persons to whom
the Governor had refused certificates were
hurried into their places, and the work of
border rutianism was secured in all its COM
pleteness. This assembly imposed on Kan
zas by the lawless conquest of Missouri inva-
ders, having l>epi1cted ies Organization, i'm
posed upon the free people of the conquered
territory the laws of their comprehensive
laws of Missouri. Your Governor. sent ont
by the Administration, undertook to arrest
the career Of this Legislature imposed upon
his people by armed hordes of border bandits.
hut he received no aid at the hands OF the ad-
ministrauon. At the critical moment, when
| his arm was raised to shield the people com
mltted to his protection, he was smitten down,
to the great relief of the Legislature. and to
the gratlht alton OF the eXultant slave power,
l Your acting Governor, Woodson, hastened
to give his sanction TO the Draconian code
formed for the government OF the people of
| Kanzas\ by these instruments of the slave
power, under the direction of Atchison and
Strlngtellow. The invesion, conquest, and
subjugation OF kanzas was complete Laws
were imposed upon the people that robbed
them Of their rights, and degraded them into
a condition of abject humiliation. Freedom
of speech and freedom of the press were clov-
en- down. Trial by jury was made a mockery.
| Test oaths, against which reason and human
lty revolt, were imposed upon men who were
| to be left "pertectly free" TO settle their own
domestic affairs. The people of Kanzas were
bound hand and foot-reduced 10 the pitiable
condition of cong hered menials OF the slave
power.
In this gloomy hour, did your Administra
, ton interpose to arrest the eonuuerors Did
democratic Senators raise their protesting
voices against these crowning acts of lawless
| powers Did Democratic presses utter the
language Of public indignation and rebuke?
Did your official menials in the Territory en-
deayor to moderate the action of the nstru-
ments OF Missouri invaders? No, sir, no J.
Your Democratic Executive was dumb pas-
sve, motionless your Democratic statesmen
| uttered no protest against the impendIuo
wrongs; your Democratic presses uttered no
words OF rebuke; and your government Of
hcials went over to the camp of the conquer.
ors, struck hands with Atchison. Strinafeilow
Jones, and other chiefs of border ru6ianism.
Invaded by armed hosts, overcome by over
whelming numbers, conquered, but not dis.
heartened, the freemen Of Kanzas. conscious
of their rights and their powers, appealed
from the legislation of their conquerors TO the
judgment Of the people of the Territory. Low.
al to the Constitutiou-to the Union-to the
Federal Government-planting themselves
upon the organic law OF the Territory. thew
resolved to cast aside the inhuman, unehris.
tan, and deyilish enactnents of their Nilsson.
II conquerors, to take the sense of the people
upon the organization of State government
Tor the security Of their property, their liber
ty, and their lives. The slave power scented
treason in the resolution of the people il de-
nounced the popular movement. The Adj
mlnlstratlon, which had no voice to rebuke
the deeds OF lawless nvasion-no arm to orrest
the oppressive acts Of usurped power. reeov.
cred It's lost voice. Democratic politicians and
| Han f,alsotf tn. IL.