Minnesota weekly times. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1854-1859, 1856-08-02
Coz. Winston TO Cor. Gardner.

MONTGOMERY, Ala, June ~, 1856
SIR Believing the resolves you have forwarded
to this Department, relation the Territory of
Kansas be in conflict with the truth of history,
unconstitutional, and reasonable in design, 1 re-
turn them to you with the request that the future
resolutions Of the lie. islature of Massachusetts
on Federal affairs and the subject of Slavery he
no more forwarded to this Department.
| the obligations of the Constitution, and the
Laws of the United States passed in conformity
thereto, being disregarded and nulited by Mass
| acnusetts, we desire no further intercourse with
your State; and wish to be free in future from
| Insult from State whose citizens 90 not recog-
nlze accountability for insult and lbelOus impu-
tatlons upon the character pf Southern States and
| the citizens thereof.
| Your obcdicnt servant,
JOHN a. W. WINSTON.
| His Ex. HENRY j. GARDNER,
| Gov. of Massachusetts. {
Coz. Gardner TO GOr. Winston.
| COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS,,
ExEcUrIvE DEPARTMENT.
COUNCIL CHAMBER, Boston. July 5, 1856.
SIR: have received your letter under date Of
June 10, returning copy of the Resolves OF the
Legislature OF Massachusetts, in relation to the
Territory of Kansas, transmitted to you in accor-
dance with the request Of that tOdy.
While regret to say one word that may add to
the irrltaIion cAtStiuS oetWeen TIE NOftn anu the
| South, it becomes my imperative duty, briefly but
plainly, on behalf of Massachusetts,, to repudi.
ate the insult you attempt to cast upon her, and
to vindcate the propriesy of her conduct.
You say: believing the resolves YOU have
forwarded to this Department, in relation to the
Territory of Kansas, to be in conflict with the
truth OF history, unconst tutional and reasonable
| in design, return them to YOU"
lad your Excellency attempted to particuarize
| Nh war Sin ,r;th ho
truth of history" and not contented Yourself with
the more easy, because more general, denial of
| their accuracy, your errors could at once have
| been pointed out.
| These resolves are temperately and calmly writ
ten, referring only to a few of the more salient
points in the long catalogue Of injustice and out
RACES that mark the record of the past two years
in Kansas, declaring that these depiorable occur
rences are the result of the efforts made by the
Slavery propagandists, for the purpose of forcing
the system OF servitude over that Territory,
against the will OF majority of its actual inhab
| itanrs, and the wishes of the Unon-tnat the
suerngs Of those settlers have touched the hearts
of our citizens, and that we will use every Just
and constitutional! effort to aid them in maintain
ing their berties,- land that the President of the
United States, in reference to these transactions
has exhibited servity to a sectional interest,
and an indifference TO tile fundamental principles
of justice ard freedom, which merit the condem-
nation OF the American people. This las, declar-
alton has since been fully endorsed at Cincn-
NATL it needs no further argument TO establish its
truth.
Your Excellency may rest assured, notwith-
standing vOur denial, the exact accuracy of every
historical fact here spoken of is known to and
recognized by every reader of those resolves
whether he lives North South. The truth of
history is too stern and inexorable to warp itself
to suit your Excellency's wishes. These shame
full occurrences are written, with pen of fire,
on the broad skies for the whole world to read,
and they will exist until history itself shall be
mure-a damning disgrace to our country, our
age, our humanity, to those who dared to do them
and to those who with equal hardihood dare deny
or defend them. If you mean that the whole,
truth OF history is not expressed in those resolves,
| then agree with you. They do not give the hal
nor the worst of these nhuman outrages. They
make no reference to the riaing of the mails, of
the organized Eruption of the citizens of another
State to control the elections, of arrests without
judicial authority, of the mockery of legislation
| and inhuman laws, of the destruction of printing
presses, of theft, Of arson, and last, that great
and final crime, beyond which human dep, avity
| has no power to go, cOld-bOoded and deliberate
murder.
Should your Excellency invoke the whole truth
ct history, it must bring to your view the vision
of murdered men, of wives, driven to madness,
and to your ear the agonized cry of the orphan,
and all for the crime that their husbands and
fathers opposed, by their or voice. the intro.
duction ut human servitude into a region that
| your father and my father dedicated third of a
century ago, by solemn national c)mpact, to
| freedom forever.
But your Excellencv asserts, that these resolves
are " unconstitutional and reasonable in design"
The assertion that it is unconstitutional; for a
sovereign member of this confederacy to express
| horI cl.t,, bo,
1 OF the most momentOus questions of the age, or
upon any question, needs no refutation. II may
be that your Exceilency wishes that thus the free
expression of our opinions could be trammeled
by constitutional restriction, but fortunately it
is not probable that your Excellency will ever
witness such retrograde step in civilization and
government as will be necessary to incorporate
such u provision into the Constitution of the Uni
| ted States.
| By a strange perverson of forms as applied to
the act OF sovereign State, your Excellency fur
Their alleges that the resolves +" treasonablc''
Permit me to suggest that if the mere recital in
a dign6ed and calm way of few of the princi-
pal Outrages in Kansas be treason, then it may in
terest some of your constituents to know how the
actual participation in these shameless outrages
may he characterized in your Excellency's cata-
logue of crimes.
Your Excellencv is pleased further to saw, " l
return them (the resolves) to you, with request
| that the future resolutions of the Legislature of
Massachusetts on Federal Affairs and the subject
of Slavery, be no more forwarded to this Depart
ment." In this request your Excellency cannot
| be grati6ed. While occupy the Executive Chair
of Massachusetts, the resolves of her Legislature
on any and every subject will be transmitted to
your " Department" whenever that Legislature
requests it.
| 1t is a pregnant admission. however, that YOU
desire to stiic the voice of freedom on the sub.
ject of Slavery" You confess by this very de-
ciaration you would do it, had you the power, but
fortunately your ability is not commensurate with
| your wishes. We readily acknowledge that we
have neither the power nor the purpose to inter-
fere with Slavery, where in the confederated
States under local laws it exists, but we are de-
termined to use every honorable and constitution
al effort to prevent its extension over territory
now free from its blighting presence.
We deem it a social, political and moral evil.
| And We have full and abiding faith that at no
very distant day it will be peaceably eradicated
from every Christian community-all indications
point uLerringly to this result. Slavery has al
ready encountered the denunciations of the moral
sentiment of everv civilized country of the Old
World,-the mighty influences of literature in
every tongue are sapping its foundations. -the
nobler and more generous impulses of our COM
mon humanity abhor fright, justice, equity,
and all are antagonism with it,-it paralyzes the
arm of industry where it exists,-it corrupts the