The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1856-01-28
'isna.ed and appointed by the Governor according

the duty conferred and imposed on him alone, OF
fcially received and considered tho returns; de
| clared A large majority of the members of the
Council and the House of Representatives duly
elected withheld certificates from others because
of alleged illegalty Of votes; appointed new eec
ton to supply the place of persons not certified
and thus at length, in all the forms Of statute, ant
with his official authentication, complete le
gality was given to the first Legislative Assembly
Of the Territory.
Those decisions of the returning officers and Of
the Government are final except that, by the par
liamentary usage of the country applied to the or
ganic law, 1t may be conceded that each House Of
the Assembly must have been competent to deter
mine in the last resort the qualifications and the
| election of its members The subject was, by it,
nature, one appertainng exclusively to the juris
diction of the local authorities of the Territory
Whatever irregularities may have occurred in the
elections It seems too late now to raise that ques
ton. At all events, 1t is q question as to which
neither now nor at any previous time has least
possible legal authority been possessed by the
President of the United States For all present
purposes the legislative body, thus constituted and
elected, was the legitimate assembly OF the Ter,
ritory.
Accordingly, the Governor, by proclamation,
convened the Assembly thus elected to meet at q
place called Pawnee City The two Houses met,
and were duly organized in the ordinary parliamen
tary form; each sent to and received from the Gov
ernor the official communications; usual on such
occasions; an elaborate message opening the ses-
sion was communicated by the Governor; and
the general business Of legislation was entered
upon by the Legislative Assembly.
But after few days, the Assembly resolved to
adjourn to another place in the Territory. A law
accordingly passed, against the consent OF the
Governor, but in duo form otherwise, to remove the
scat of government temporarily to the Shawnee
manual-labor school," (or mssion) and thither the
Assembly proceeded. After this, receiving a bill
for tho establishment of ferry at the town of
Eickapoo, the Governor refused to sign it. and by
special assigned for reason of REFUSAL not
any thing Objectionable in the bill Itself, nor any
prctence of the illesality or incompetency of the
Assembly as such, but only the fact that the AS
sembly had by its act transferred tho scat of 60
ment temporarily from Pawnee City to Shawnee
Mission. For the same reason lie continued to re-
fuse to sign other bills, until i'll the course OF few
days. he, by official message, communicated to the
Assembly the fact that he had received notification
of the termination OF his functions as Governor,
and that tho duties of the office legally devolv
ed on the Secretary OF tho Territory; thus to the
last recognising the body y-elected and con-
stituted Legislative Assembly
1t will be perceived that if any constitutional de-
feet attached to tho legislative acts of the Assem-
bly, it is not pretended TO consist in rregularty of
election or want of qualification of the members,
but only in the change of its place of session.
However trivial the objection may seem to be, it
requires to DO considered because upon it is
founded all that superstructure of acts, plainly
against law, which now threatens the peace, not
only of the Territory of Kansas, but of the Union
Such an objection to the proceedings of the Le-
gislative Assembly, was of exceptionable origin,
for the reason that by the express terms of the or
eanie law. the seat of government of the Terrific
Yy was 'focated temporarily at Fort Leaven-
WORTH" and yet the Governor himself remained
there less than two months, and of his own discre
ton transferred the seat Of government to the
Shawnee Mission, where it in fact was at the time
the Assembly were called to meet at Pawnee City.
If the Governor had any such right to change tenn.
porarily the scat of government, still more had
the Legislative Assembly. The objection is of ex.
cepton able origin for the further reason that the
place indicated by the Governor, without having
any exclusive claim of preference in ITSELF was
proposed town site only, which he and others were
attempting to locate unlawfully upon land within
. military reservation, and for participation in
which illegal act the commandant of the post q
superior officer of the army, has been dismissed by
sentence of court-martisl.
Nor is it easy to see why the Legislative Assem-
bly, might not with propriety pass the Territorial
act transferring Its sittings to the Shawnee Mis-
sion. fit could not, that must be on account of
some prohibitory or Incompatible provision of act
Of Congress. But no such provision exists. The
organic act, as already quoted says "the seat of
government is hereby located temporarily at Fort
Leayenworth;" and it then provides that certain
Of the public buildings there "may be occupied
and used under the direction of the Governor and
Legislative Assembly. These expressions might
possibly be construed to imply that when in pre-.
vious section Of the act 1t was enacted that the
first Legislative Assembly shall meet at such
place and on such DAYS as the Governor shall ap-
point" the word place means place at Fort
Leavenworth, not place any where in the Terri
tory If 80, the Governor would have been the
hrst to err in this matter not only in himself hay
ing removed the seat OF govern nent to the Shaw
nee Mission, but in again removing it to Pawnee
City. If there was any departure from the letter
of the law. therefore, 1t his in both instances
But, however this may be- it is most unreasona
BILE TO suppose that by the terms of the organic act
Ea,rr f,xtn, .Ao1N a.. III
done expresslythat is to forbid to the Legislative
Assembly the power to choose any place it might
see fit as the temporary seat of its deliberations
That is proved by the significant language of one
OF the subsequent acts of Congress on the subject
that of March 3, 1855 which in making appropria.
ton for public buildings of the Territory enacts
that the same shall not be expended until the Le
gisature Of said Territory shall have fixed by law
| the permanent seat of government" Congress in
these expressions does not profess to be granting
the power to fix the permanent seat of govern.
ment, but recognizes the power as one already
granted. But howi Undoubtedly by the cempre
hensive provision of the organic act itself which
declares that 1.-THE legislative power of the Terri
tory shall extend to all rghtfu subjects of eeisIa
ton consistent with the Constitution of the United
States and the provisions of this act" IT, in view
of this act the Legislative Assembly had the large
power to fix the permanent seat OF government at
any place in its discretion, of course by the same
enactment it had the less and the included power
to fix it temporarily.
Nevertheless the allegation that the acts of the
Legislative Assembly were illegal by reason of this
removal of its 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
delegate to the present Congress, and delegate
was elected under that law. But, subsequently to
this portion of the people of the Territory pro
ceeded without authority of law to elect another
delegate.
Following upon this movement was another
and more important one of the same general char.
acter. Persons confessedy not constituting the
body polite, or all the inhabitants, but merely q
party of the inhabitants, and without law, have
undertaken to summon convention for the pur-
pose of Transforming the Territory into State,
and have framed constitution, adopted 1t, and
nnder it elected Governor and other officers and
Representative to Congress-
In extenuation Of these Illegal acts, 1t Is alleged
that the States of California Michigan, and others
were self organized, and as such. were admitted
into the Union without previous enabling act OF
Congress. 1t Is true that, while In q majority Of
cases previous act of Congress has been passed
to authorize the Territory to present itself as q
State, and that this Is deemed the most regular
course, yet such an act has not been held to be in
dispensable, and. In some cases. the Territory has
proceeded without IT, and has nevertheless been
admitted into the Union as q State. It lios with
Congress to authorize beforehand or to CONFIRM
afterwards In its discretion; but In no instance