The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1856-07-23
The New Kansas Bill and the objec-
f1ay,a fr IL

The New Kansas Bill and the objec-
tons to it.
The Fremonters have at last'hunted up
and proclaimed their objections to the
New Kansas bill. The Journal after wait
ing couple of weeks to get the.cue from
the Times and 7ribuns comes out against
it. The objections contained in the Jour-
nal are the same that all the Fremont pa
per are publishing, each one changing the
language sufficiently to claim it as edito-
rial. and interspersing it with their favorite
slang phrases and epithets.
The Journal, in this instance follows
in the wake of the New York Times, q
paper which is endeavoring to crowd it.
self into notoriety by the hopeless task of
outlieing the Tribune.
When the rubbish of vile and abusive
language is removed so that these objec-
tions, can be seen they appear to be these
two:
First. The time fixed from which to
date the residence which shall entitle a
man to vote, (Which is the 4th of July,)
is a time when many of the Free State
men were driven from the territory.
Second. It is inconsistent with the
original Nebraska act, in abolishing some
of the laws of Kansas.
We have no reason for being in the
least unfair or uncandid in the discussion
of this subject; and we will not follow the
example of the Journal in repeating, every
time we have occasion to say q word on
the subject of Kansas all the worn out,
untrue, stereotyped slang that has been
made use of since the question first came
| mp. Neither shall we initiate that paper
in attempting to make up by abuse what
we lack in argument.
The Journal states that on the 4th of
July four .fttls of the Free State men
were driven out of Kansas. This state
ment is made without any attempt at proof,
or show of authority 1t is statement
which we have seen in no other paper, and
we doubt whether there is any other pa
tper reckless enough to makeit. We deny
it most emphatically, and ask the Journal
to show that four 6fths or one fifth of the
Free State men were driven out of the
territory at that time.
With this gross miss-statement as his
premises, he draws the conclusion that
this time was seized upon to make Kan
sas slave State.
Now look at the gross injustice, not to
say dishonesty of this statement. That
bill provides, (and the editor Of the Jour
nal knows it, or if he don't he should not
undertake to write about it, that all per-
sons sodo haze at any time been residents OF
the Territory and haze been compelled to
leove By the violence there, can return and
pote Just the same as # they had ,nerer been
out of the Territory. Yet the Journal,
knowing this, states that the commission
ers are to "record the names of those re-
naasnig IN the Territory NOW. and to con-
fer upon them, aud upon them a!ene the
right to vote"
We did not suppose that there was a
man living who would attempt to impose
on people such shameless fa,schood, and
at the same time expect them to believe
his loud professions of being strictly hon.
lest and fearless
! The Free State men who were driven
out, whether lheyar many or few, viii
have precisely the same rights as if they
had remained there, and the editor Of the
Journal knows it. sse5ea an
When this bill was under discussion in
the Senate, Mr.. Crittenden Of Kentucky,
after showing the opposition that their po.
sitions were wholly untenable, and exhor-
ting them to join with the advocates oi
| the bill in restoring quiet in Kansas says;
L aIt sought to gain no sectional adyan.
ltage. No such thing can be imputed. AL
such purposes are disavowed; and those
who are not satisfied with 1t are called
upon, if there he any such feature in it
or if, in the nature of things, it may tend
to produce any such result, to change
those features, to change those provisions,
and make them what you please. If the
time proposed for this convention is ar
unsuitable one; if it be too soon or toe
Hate. say SO, gentlemen, amend it, make il
acceptable to yourselves, and it will be SC
i to us, for all our objects is the restoratioI
of law, order, peace and justice in Kan.
sas.n tsssz 81
Yet those Fremonters, who were deter,
| mined TO oppose the bill right or wrong