Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1856-08-04

honorable fact there is no denying it. Sem
ators do not deny these things now, quite so
readily as they did last February, when they
pitched into me, in open session and in secret
session, for what l said here concerning af.
fairs in Kanzas; every word of which was
true in letter and in spirit,
The Senator from Georgia, Mr.. President,
has paid glowing tribute to the noble attrl-
butes and chivalric character OF many of these
border rufiian gentlemen of Western Mlssou-
n. am quite as ready, trust, as the Sena-
tor from Georgia can be, to acknowledge NOR
al or intellectual worth, or to do justice even
to mere physical courage; but have Jailed
to see anything to admire in the conduct or
bearing of men who, armed to the teeth, stole
into Kanzas, and, with the bowie knife aud
revolver, forced their illegal ballots into the
electoral urns. | have failed, sir, to see any
thing noble, manly, chivarie, in the actions
Of the men who skulk over the border of
Missouri, fire the lowly cabins OF poor settlers,
steal their horses and cattle, and commit per-
sonal violence upon defenseless people, whose
only offence is love of equal and impartial
liberty. Ay, sir, l have failed altogether even
to see anything worthy of commentator IN
these gentry whose border and nver exploits
in arresting, disarmlng, and turning back
peaceful emigrants, are borne to us upon
every breeze that comes from beyond the Mis-
sissippi. l see in the conduct OF these men
nothing to Commencement to condemn.--
Marg of them may be deluded, but their law
less ehiefs deserve to die felon deaths, and to
leave feloa names. lie Senator from Geor-
gia threw out the taunt that we Of the minor
ity would not dare-not dare-denounce these
chivalric heroes before their faces. Tell the
honorable Senator from Georgia, that his taunt
falls harmless at my feet. dare denounce the
conduct Of these towering heroes of border TO
rays, uninhuenced by their presence or their
absence; l dare denounce their laWless vio-
lence here, anywhere, at any time, in public or
private; and what | say will not be qualified.
modified, or withdrawn, to please them or
Their friends here. l am accustomed to utter
my public opinions concerning measures and
men, with entire freedom, and l have never
accustomed myself to retract what L have
said, to accommodate any man or set Of men.
Border ruffianism and its supporters, in or
out of the Capitol, will find that some of us
dare utter our opinions with freedom, and
maintain them with firmness.
lu February, Mr.. President, General Atch-
iSon-the guilty author OF the acts of lawless-
ness, violence, and fraud that have marked
the history Of Kanzas-was defended here by
the seudCOIS lTOA hlSSOuEIl MI OtgeE,
South Carolina, Mr.. Butler, and Tennessee,
Mr.. Jones. He was Landed as the prince of
good fellows-the soul of honor and chivalry.
Shannon then found willing defenders here.
But times change the people have been heard
and these champions OF border rufhanism are
now defended, if at all, with less alacricty and
in more qualified phrases. To the senator
from Georgia, who has borne his willing tri-
Into of nj to tbp nj nf tha
followers of Atchison and shannon, com.
mend the consideration of the words of DIR. J.
V. G. Smith, late Mayor of Boston. DR.. Smith
is no Abolitionist. The indignant thousands
who saw, during his administration, the
court house in CHAINS, and Anthony Burns
escorted through the streets Of Boston by two
thousand soldiers, and surrounded by three
hundred armed special guards, will bear wit
ness to the fact that he is no "Abolitionist,"
no Black Republican"
DR.. Smith gives the following not very fat
tering description of these chivalrlc heroes Of
western Missouri:
''Since the United States troops have begun
to show themselves at different points, the
bandits scud before them into Missouri, but
make frequent incursions to rob, steal, and
murde. Those saw at Westport, whose
camp was in the woods only few rods out of
the Territory, where young men, rough,
coarse, sneering, staggering, dare deVil Look
FF TS raseals as ever swung upon 6allows.-
~ rney nau not a reueeming trait Of character.
On The contrary, tho CT" - horribly pro-
fos.e, whisky thinking collection of rutnieS IS
desperadoes. whose depredatons upon the
peaeeaoie, industrious occupants OF the little
log huts, which stand like admiration points
In every direction over the far. distant waving
prairles, demand the EARNEST and immediate
interposition of the government.
"Ihe marauders were mounted on horses.
and mules, armed to the teeth with pistols
long knives, and carbines. They rob travel
lers, surprise the humble resident of prairie
cabins, whom they strip of their valuables, and
In repeated instances, murder the owner
They drive off cattle, the property in most re-
quest, and steal horses. They oblige man
to dismonnt, and take his horse, and should
he demonstrate or resist, blow his brains out
without apology.
Occasionally the Williams make mistake
and kill one of their own number. Vehicles
are stopped, pocket books owe. hauled. and
they order persons to quit the Territory with
as much nonchalance as though they were the
proprietors of the soil, and the reign of des
potism has fairly commenced. These mount
ed robbers assume all the remorseless charac-
teristics Of Italian brigands."
These men, thus characterized, and their
leader, Atchison, are held mp on the floor of
the American Senate as men of noble natures
-men-ofmanly qualities men of honor and
chivalry. Chlvalry chivalry have lately
heard that word so often associated with mean
men and vile deeds, that it seems to be but
another name for baseness, meanness, and
cowardice.
The Senator from Georgia refers, in no COM
plimentary tone, to the committee sent by the
House of Representatives to Kanzas He saws
we all knew what it went for, ard what it
has abrought back. Dir, it went out to
ascertain the facts, and it has brought back
a damning record that neither 1.-The sena-
tor from Georgia, nor any other senator
will ever blot out. That record goes to the
country; and the people are intelligent
enough to make up their judgment on the
facts. We are assured by the senator that
there is to be another report There may be
another report manufactured, but the facts can
not be changed. You may reason upon them,
report upon them, argue upon them but the
facts can never be disputed The fact stands
out that four thousand nine hundred men
from Missouri voted in that Territory in March,
1860, and only one Thousand one hundred or
one thousand two hundred of the people who
resided there. This great fact stands proved
-admltted-confessed. Upon this point the
whole controversy hinges. The senator from
Mississippi Mr.. Brown] declared to us the
other day that, if the Kanzas Legislature was
elected By Missouuans; we Ight to abrogate
all It's laws. That was the only honest course
for Congress to take. So though the senator
from Mlssissippi-so l thought made the
motion to abrogate those laws, but il was not