The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1856-07-31

slave claimant to pay the costs In advance; but
l allude to it to show the utter recklessness of
the Kansas legislators, and their disregard OF
the law of Congress. By this law, sections %
and 29, page 329, persons are prohibited from
taking fugitives from the Territory, except in
accordance with its provisions and are fined
$500 if they do so.
Fourth. The expenses of the Territory are
paid, as is well known, out of the National
Treasury; and section thirty of the Nebraska
bill enacts that the chief clerk of the Legisla-
ture shall receive four dollars per day. and the
other clerks three dollars per day. But on page
444 of the Kansas code, you will find an extra
douceur to the clerks, of fifteen and twenty
cents per hundred words for indexing and
copying journals; on page l45, another law,
declaring that, if the Secretary then acting as
Governor, after Governor Reeder's removal)
should refuse his assent to the above, the chief
and assistant clerks should receive 500 each
out of the Treasury, besides their per diem;
and on the next page, page LAG, the pay of the
enrolling and engrossing clerks is increased to
four dollars per day, on the like contingency,
, although the organic law expressly fixed it at
three dollars per day. The Legislators acted as
if they had not only conquered the people of
Kansas, but the National Treasury also.
Fifth. Section twenty two of the organic law
gives the Governor. exclusively, the right of
determining who were elected members of the
Legislature. He did so, throwing out about
one third of the members elected at the first
election, the reign of terror and of violence
preventing more contests of other equally fraud
ulent returns. But the Legislature, when as
sembled, without examination of the merits of
each case, and without authority to commit
such an act at all, threw out all the members
elected at the second election, and admitted in
their stead those whose right to seats the Gov
ernor had expressly denied.
Sirth. Section twentyfour of the organic
law enscts:
"That the legislative power of the Territory shall
tend all rghful subjects of legislation consistent with
the Constitution of the United States but a shall be
passed interfering soiih the primary disposal Of the soil"
But if you will turn to page 600, you will see
how coolly this bogus Legislature ignores both
the Nebraska bill and the presumption law; for
it declares, as if they owned the soil, that in
actions of trespass, ejectment, &C., settlers
shall be protected in their pre-emptions, not of
one hundred and sixty acres, but of three hun
dred and twenty acres; "that such claim may
be located in two different parcels, to suit the
convenience of the holder" without being
compelled to prove an actual enclosure;" and
the still more fragrant reputation of the Con-
gressional pre-emption law, that Occupancy
by tenant shall be considered equally valid as
personal residence" under which the whole
Territory may be pre-empted by Missourians.
And this law, with the others, is to be enforced
by the President
Seventh. Section thirty of the Nebraska bill
enacts that the official oath to be taken by the
Governor and Secretary, the Judges, "and all
other cion officers in said Territory" shall be
"to support the Constitution of the United
States, and faithfully to discharge the duties of
their respective Offices" No moreno less.
But the legislators of Kansas, with the same
disregard Of the Congressional law that mark
ed their other acts, enacted another kind of
official oath, on page 438 Of their code, as fol-
lows:
SEC L. All officers elected appointed under any
listing subsequently laws of this Territory,
shall take and subscribe the following oath of office: Il
-, do soemnly swear. upon the holy Evangelists OF
Almighty God that will support the CONSTITUTION OF the
visions of entitled "An act anze the Terri
tories of Nebraska and Kansas and the provisions Of ihe
law of the United States commonly known the " Fu
gce Stare Lawn and faithfully and impartiay, and TO
the best Of my ability demean myself in the discharge OF
You cannot fail to notice that in this new
oath, framed by the bogus Legislature, the Flu
gitive Slave Law is elevated to "higher law"
than the Constitution for the officer is merely
to Support" the latter but is required to
swear that he will Support AND SUSTAIN" the
other.
Besides these seven palpable, fragrant, and
unconcealed violations of the organic law, or
ganizing the Territory, point you now to Jaue
equally direct and open Uiolations of the Con.
stitution of the United States; for that instru-
ment has been trampled upon as recklessly as
the laws of Congress.
First. The very first amendment to the Con-
Stitution of the United States prohibits the pas
sage of any law "abridging the freedom of
| speech;" and it is significant fact, as can be
learned from Hickey's Constitution, page 33,
that this with number of other amendments
to the Constitution which follow it, was submit
ted by Congress to the various States in 1889,
Immediately after the adoption of the Constitu-
ton itself, with the following preamble:
"The conventions of number of States having, the
time of their adopting the Constitution expressed desire,
in prevent msconstruction abuse of power
tina, further decaratory and restrictive clauses should be
added"
Therefore the amendments that followed were
proposed.
Thus it is conclusively proven that the amend
ment prohibiting any abridgement of the free
dom of speech was adopted to prevent San
abuse of poaper," which our forefsthers feared
might be attempted by some degenerate de-
scendants at some later period of our history.
But, though they thus sought to preserve and
protect free speech, by constitutional provision,
their prophetic fears have been realized by the
enactors of the Kansas code. Its one hundred
and ffy-frst chapter, on pages GOA and 6d5, is
entitled, " An act to punish offences against
slave property" and there is no decree of Aus
trian despot or Russian Gar which is not mer-
ciful, in comparison with its provisions. Here,
sir, in the very teeth of the Constitution, is Sec
ton twelve of that chapter:
"f any person. speaking by writing,
maintain thai persons hare The right hold slares in
ss Territory, shall INTRODUCE into this Territory print
publish write, circulate or cause to De introduced INTO
Territory, published,
In this Territory book paper, magazine, pamphlet
circular containing any denial of the right Of
to hold slaves In this Territory such person shall be deem
ed FELONY, and punished by imprisonment at
hard labor for a term Of not less than two years"
How many more than two years he shall be
punished is left to the tender mercy of Judge
Lecompte, and the jury which Sheriff Jones'
will select for their trial. The Pras:ac.t of the
United States has sworn to support the Consti-
Triton; but this, with the other claws of Kan.
sas," are to be enforced by him, despite that
Constitution, with the army of the United
States; and Mr.. Buchanan is pledged by Judge
Douglas to " the firm and undivided execution
of those laws" But, sir, in few short months
the people, the free people of the United States,
will inaugurate an Administration that will do
justice to the oppressed settlers of Kansas that
will restore to them their betrayed rights, will
Yindicate the Constitution, and will place in the
Offices of trust of that Inflated Territory men
who will overthrow the "usurpation," give their
official influence to Freedom and the Right,
rather than to Slavery and the Wrong, and pro-
tect rather than Cypress the citizens whom they
are called upon to govern and to judge.
Second. The same constitutional amendment
prohibits the passage of any law abridgiDg
the freedom Of the press" and here, sir, in
fragrant violation of it, is the 1lth section of
the same law in the Kansas code, page COS:
blfsh