New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1856-03-24
]. the plausible Dces any one beisvo tina. A.ch-


lop, Stringfen0R g. Co. are such bunslers at their
busiDess Sc tat. when they attempted to carry
Territory BY coup d6tat they never even fr<a
msiority Of me districts Is it credible that men
Of sense 20 to work in THE wayi Does no' inc
fact tbat the result in seven Of the eighteen districts
was confessedly affected BY Border Ruf'an in'ason'
raise avery strong presumption that the returns
from COED part, at least, of the remaining Dis
,r;cts were tainted by similar corruption
"Tben why didn't Gov. Reeder reject the other
returns ?" Douglas asks, and iniers that be never
heard or suspected that frauds were committed
outs;de of the seven districts. But canyasslng
iudge must proceed upon legal evidence; he
NAV be morally certain that wrong has been DONE
and yet he may lack evidence upon which TO re-
dress that wrongs nor is it his business TO tish up
testimony to invalidate returns before him. lie Is
not police officer, but judge.
"Well: why didn't the aggrieved People con-
test % asks Douglas triumphantly. If Kansas
we're full of railroads and telegraphs, and men OF
leisure, this question would have force. But when
il ia considered that she has scarcely even roads;
that staQe-coaches were there rarity last Spring;
that her settlements were practically further from
each other, and from their seat Of government than
ia Bangor from Buffalo, while her people were
nearly all busy in getting houses over their heads
and food for their children such cayils are really
Of no weight
Then why did MT they contest when the Legs
latnre met Just consider that the new Mem
hers chosen in place of those refused certificates
nv Gov. Reeder az frauduleptly returned, were all
elected from their seats at the very opening OF the
Legislative sessOn-ejected without scrutiny,
without inquiry, on the naked allegation of the
majority that their course was predetermined,
their minds made up-and you can guess why
more seats were not contested. 1t were as sena-
bic and as promising to sue the Evil One and
bring the action before Beelzebub, az for Free
State men to contest seats before that Border
Ruffian Legislature.
And here is the answer to the query-"Ho~ do
you know that there were more Members fraudu-
lently returned than those Gov. Reeder rejected !"
answer, we know it by the conduct ofthe residue in
eiecting the Free-State men Chosen at the second
or special eection) who had the legal returns, and
admitting their rivals who had not. This conduct
proves the majority and the unreturned Border
Rufian candidates all Of the same stripe. The
former knew that the latter elected just like
themselves-the only difference being that one set
had already been detected by Gov. Reeder and the
other not. But though he did not yet understand
them all, itisplan that they understood each other.
But time and space fail me, and must close.
Mr.. Douglass speech was aimed directly at the
Cincinnati Convention and the Slave Oligarchy
who will control it, many Of whom were his most
delighted auditors. If he had already been NOM
mated or defeated there, he would not have made
such speech From first to last, he aimed to
exhibit the Kansas Free-State movement as rebel
lious and intent on reasonable resistance to the
laws, when he knows right well that it is only
Slavery and the vllanous frauds employed to fasten
it upon Kansas, which that movement proposes to
resist Judge Collamer was reused by the gross
and persistent Interpretations OF MS Mlnori'y
Report, which he will expose and rebuke next
Thursday, when this discussion is to be re-
sumed. H.. &.