The Cadiz Democratic sentinel. [volume] (Cadiz, Ohio) 1854-1864, 1856-06-04

udiN hut plOtSets As luiS dSSuul ulpttOl rus
tanned or justified by the history of toe
transaction? What portion OF the Territory
was reached by this influx Of voters from
Missouri? How far did they penetrated
What places Oimed the principal thesters
Of their operations? Were they not Leav-
enworth and Lawrence, and the precincts
between them and in their vicinity? Yet
at those very places, where The largest nam
Der Of illegal votes were polled. where the
scenes of violence and intimidation are chiei.
ly located, protests were fled and allegations
Of fraudulent voting made, and the elections
set aside. and new elections ordered by the
governor. upon the ground that in those Sc,
ven districts, there Was reason 10 appreheud
that the voice of the bona 6is Inhabitants
and legal voters of tie TeTritery had not
beea freely and fairly expressed at the elec
ton. If at Lawrence and Leavenworth, and
those points where ii is alleged thss tie m
vaders made their most effvctual efforts, the
people were not intimidated and, through
fear prevented frcm protesting sgainst these
lawless proceedings, and contestlng the e.
lection in Consequence Of them, what reason
is there 10 suppose that the people were SO
completely conquered and subjugated that
they dare not protest against their wrongs,
and petition for redress of their grievances,
in other districts remote from the scenes of
trouble, TO which the intruders did not pen
citrate to any considerable numbers, If at all.
and where the governor did not learn that
there had been any unfairness in the cleo
lions until he was movcd from office by
the President, more than four months after
wards? The minority repoat says that the
governor. being "uninformed in relation
thereto, issued certificates to the members
who appeared by said formal returns to have
been elected" The inference is, that if the
governor had been Informed in relation to
This pretended invasion into those eleven
districts he would not have issued the certi-
icates.
From this 1t appears that the gorCrner
did consider himself authorized to % be.
hind the 'said formal returns" and inves-
tigate the legal qualifications Of the voters
and the fairness of the proceedings; and
that he woald have done so in taoSe eleven
districts, had he known or been informed
that The alleged invasion had extended from
the other seven diatricts into those eeven.
But, unfortunately, the governor WAS "en-
informed thereto" at the time he canvassed
the votes and issued the certifcatesl Ger
tainly the communication was not cut of
between the governor and those Districts
The highways were open; people were al
bowed tc pRss and repsss; for we are irfor-
med that the returns had at that Time been
duly made to the governor by the Judges
Of the election in every one of those dis,
tricts. How and by whom were the "said
formal returns" duly made? The COVER
nor's proclamation, under which the election
was held, expressly provided that "one
copy of the oa b, list Of voters, tellyhst.
and return. shall be taken by one of the
Judges, who shall deliver the same in PER-
SON to the governor" According to the
minority report, the judges whom Governor
Reeder selected to conduct the election saw
"Iarse bodies of armed men from the State
Of Missouri" appear at the polls in most of
the districts; saw them ''overa~e the de-
fence .ess inhabitants, and by their own
votes elect large majority Of the mem.
bers ei 9TH houses of said assembly" (the
legislature;) saw the inhabitants "borne
down by said violence aud intimidstion"--
and that, after witnessing all these appall.
ing scenes, these same judges wrote out &
signed return, in which they stated that
the election had been fairly aud honorably
conducted, and that the said return contain
cd true statement of the votes "poled by
lawful voters;" and that these judges then
verified the truth Of the return by their own
oalhs, ano then delivered the same to the
governor in person, without CT tmmunicating
to him the fact that the territory had been
invaded; and that the governor, being "un
informed in relation thereto" issued the
certificates TO the men thus fraudu.enty
elected, under the supposition that the elec.
tior had been fairly and honestly conducted
in all Of those eleven districts. The Senate
and the country are asked to believe this
incredible story, on the authority Of the
minority, signed by enc member of the com.
mittee out Of six, unsupported by a single
fact, and without a particle of evidence to
sustain it or impart plausibility to it, Be
fore Gov. Reeder can believe tho story. he
must convict each one Of the judges. whom
he selected and appointed to conduct the
election, of perjury in swearing to the truth
of the returns. Were not the judges hon
est and impartial men? Did not Governor
Reeder, believe them 10 be such when he
appointed them? When did he make the
discovery that each one of them had be.
trayed his trust and violated his oath7 Is il
not amazing that in the selection Of thirty
!hree men to conduct the election in those
eleven districts, the governor should not
have been able to find one honest man,
who feared God and loved his Country
enough to refrain from committing perjury
by swearing 10 false returns, and inform the
governor that his own Territory had been
overrun and subjugated, and its elections
controlled by an invading army from for
eign State. and that the people we're go
much intimidaled and frightened that they
dare not protest against the outrage, or pc
tition for the redress Of their grievances. or
even tell their own chief magistrate how
great calamity had befallen them while he
remained wholly "uninformed in relation
thereto
Kansas conquered and subjugated. and
that too without the knowledge Of the gov.
ernori The polls siezsd elections controlled
by large bodies of armed men from Nilsson
ri. and the Judges concealed the fact fIom
the governor who appointed theml The
people "borne down BY said violence and
intimidation, !" scattered aud discouraged. !"
and 6llsd with "apprehensions Of personal
violence" to such IN extent that they did
not dare to whisper into the cara Of their
favorite but ''uninformed" governor the sad
tale of their ovetwhelmning calarnitiesi---