Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1856-02-02
THE KANSAS MESSAGE.

President Pierce, who in his annual message
was nearly silent in regard to Kansas and the civil
war then raging there, has finally sent in a special
message on the subject. Ind his speech, now that
he has spoken, is worse than his silence. The
message is too long to be printed this week and
its arguments are not worth the paper and ink
The conclusions however which it announces are
of the utmost Importance to the people of Kansas
and if the spirit OF the North was aroused
would be truly alarming as threatenening the peace
of the whole country.
The message justi6es anG e~ulogizes the Kansas
Nebraska bill. 1t CONDEMNS Gov. Reeder as guilty
of maladministration Iand violation !of public
law. 1t grossly misrepresents the Kansas emf.
grafton movement from the North. This portion
of the message would have done credit to the au-
thorship of otringfellow. 1t insists that the Leg
~islatnre elected by the Missourians was n legal one
and its acts are to be respected and enforced. 1t
takes sides with Whitfield against Reeder, as a
congressional delegate-denounces the Free State
movement as the action Of a party and not of the
people--and declares that if it proceeds with con-
tinued defiance and actual resistance to the enact
ments Of the Missouri Legislature, its supporters
will be guilty of treason and must lie suppressed
by force of arms; and finally calls upon Congress
to furnish money to do this in case of necessity.
In short the whole message recognizes the validity
of the claim set up by the Atchison and S~tringfel.
low party in Kansas andMissouri; afirms that they
are the law and order party, while the Free State
men, if they organize or move at all are but a
mob to be shot down and dispersed by United
States troops and the border rufian militia from
Missouri and Arkansas, In other words Slavery
is to be introduced and maintained in Kansas at
the point of the bayonet, and by troops comman'
ded by the President and his subalterns and paid
from the national treasury by vote of Congress.
That is the Democratic Presidents plan for main.
tanning order and establishing liberty for ourselves
and our posterity."
The closing part of the message is worthy to be
put upon record and we give it below. After con.
Guiding his reasons for esteeming the mob Legisla,
ture, a constitutional assembly and its acts the
laws of the Territory, the message proceeds:
Nevertheless, thesallega.ion that the acts of the
Legislative Assembly were illegal by reason of this
removal of it's place of session was brought forward
to Justify the first great movement in disregard OF
law within the Territory. One of the acts of the
Legislative Assembly provided for the election Of
a Delegate to the present Congress, and a Delegate
was elected under that law. But, subsequently to
this, a portion of the people of the Territory pro.
ceeded, without authority of law, to elect anothei
Delegate.
Following upon this movement was another and
more Important one Of the same general character
Persons conlessodly not constituting the body no
litic, or all the inhabitants, but merely a party Of
the inhabitants, and without law, have underta,
ken TO summon \ convention for the purpose Of