The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1856-04-03
VOL. X.

what these things meant. While assembled
Jones and his party, having Branson in custody
came passing by. The assembled neighbors call
out in the darkness to know who is there, and
on being answered by Branson, they tell him to
come with them, which he quietly does and this
is the rescue of the prisoner to recapture whom
ana Tor his own protection when no man pursued
Sherlf Jones calls on Governor Shannon for three
thousand men, and the Governor responds to his
call by issuing orders to Generals Richardson
and Stricken to fly to his protection with the
militia, and calls on the President for the addi
tional assistance of United States troops.
Governor Shannon in his letter of December
18th to the President, says that not more than
three or four hundred of the militia of the Terri
tory assembled at the call of Generals Richardson
and Stricken but that their forces were soon
swelled by men from Missouri to near two thou
sand men, and that "the great danger to be an
pretended was from an unauthorized attack on
the town of Lawrence" What change wa,
wrought on Governor Shannon, when he saw
how he had been imposed upon by false rumors
and learned the real truth His great fear now
was, that the ldp and order men, whom he had
unnecessarily assembled for the protection of
Jones, would make unauthorized attack upon
the people of Lawrence! Governor Shannon re-
paired to that place. satisfied himself that no one
against whom a writ had been issued was /,
Lawrence, had no difficulty in coming to a salts
factory arrangement with its inhabitants as to
the execution of the laws, which large majority
of the people claimed they had always been will
ing to uphold, though they denied the validity Of
the acts of the bogus Legislature. treaty was
then concluded between Governor Shannon and
the people of Lawrence. They were authorized
by him to protect themselves against the army
assembled at Wakarusa under Generals Richard
ardson and Strickler, which subsequently, dis
banded, and the disturbances in the Territory
were quieted as the President tells rs in his spe-
cial message, IN a dhsfactory manner" The his
tory of this whole disturbance, from its inception
in the issuing out Of peace warrant for an in
sufficient cause, till the final disbanding of the
invading army, when the Missourans returned
grumblingly to their homes, has more the appear
ance OF q conspiracy on the part of the officials
and others in Kansas, to place the Free State
settlers in a false position that an excuse might
be found for attacking and exterminating them.
than of an honest effort to enforce the laws
Branson seems to have been quiet molten
sive man. who needed not to have been put under
bonds to keep the peace, when he was fleeing as
for his life. Sheriff Jones needed no army for
his protection, for no one seems to have been dis
posed to modest him nor was an army necessary
Tor the maintenance of law in Lawrence for the
people protested themselves willing TO submit TO
the laws save those of the assumed Legislature
which, by the treaty OF peace, which seems TO
have been satisfactory to the President they were
not required TO acknowledge 1t is manifest that
Governor Shannon acted without sufficient cause
when he assembled an army chiefly of Nilsson
rians to enforce the laws against the citizens Of
Lawrence; and this is virtually acknowledged by
the treaty of peace which he subsequently made.
The disturbances of December last, the Presi-
dent tells us, "were speedily quoted without the
ef'usion of blood, and in a satisfactory manner"
What occurred afterwards, and before the tn Of
February last, to justify the President in issuing
proclamation, placing the troops of the United
States at the service of Governor Shannon? We
have all the papers before us, and they contain
no application from Governor Shannon for United
States forces since that of December last in refer
ence to disturbance which was satisfactorily
terminated long before the proclamation was
issued. take it, then, the proclamation must
have been issued upon the information communi-
GATED to the President by Lane and Robinson
informing him that an overwhelming force Of
the citizens of Missouri were organizing upon
the borders of Kansas, for the purpose of demOl-
ishing the towns and numbering the unofendng
Free State citizens of the Territory. If it was
upon that information that the proclamation was
founded then it is cruelty unjust to the Free State
men who asked for protection for it is mainly
directed not against aggression from Missouri,
but against some fancied instruction within the
Territory, when there is no evidence of any such
contemplated insurrection in any of the docu-
ments communicated; and we have a the in
formation which was in the State Department At
the time the proclamation was issued.
But the order of the Secretary Of War TO Col
onels Sumner and Cooke is still more objection
able than the Presidents proclamation. The
material part of it is as follows:
aft, therefore the Governor of the Territory
finding the ordinary course of judicial proceed
ings and the powers vested in United States
marshals inadequate for the suppression of in
surrectionary combinations armed resistance
to the execution of the law should make requi-
sition upon you to furnish military force TO
aid him in the performance of that official duty.
you are hereby directed to employ for that pur-
pose such part of your command as may in your
judgment consistently be detached from Their
ordinary duty"
Would the officers to whom this order is direct
ed be authorized to 90 to the assistance Of the
Governor, to repel the expected invasion from
Missouri, should it be attempted If not, and
the order is only designed TO allow the United
States forces to be used to prevent the Free State
men within the Territory from organizing and
arming to protect themselves against the appre-
hended invasion, it is both cruel and unjust.
can hardly think the order could have been
intended. But the point has been made before,
and never satisfactorily answered. The order is
worded, to say the least and il IL
framed as to give color even to the idea that the
General Government was more willing 70 use it,
power to put down instruction in the Territory
than invasion from without Senators have just
flied and commended the entire action of the En-
ecutive in reference to Kansas affairs but, for
my part, can see no justification in the docu-
ments before us for such proclamation and sucb
orders as have been issued. When an invading
army marched into Kansas, and controlled its
al hv VII hal he
we were told the President had no such otiicisi
of the fact as would justify his inter
ference to protect the ballot-box. How is it thai
ne could neither see nor hear Of those invasions
n utter disregard of an act Of Congress, and yet
s so ready, without any official Information, 70
AXE notice of an opposition to the enactments OF
spurious Territorial Legislature? The fact that
Governor Reeder did not officially notify him Of
he Missouri invasions is no excuse II is the duty
If the President to see that the laws of the NJ
ed States be faithfully executed; and if Reeder
neglected his duty, he should have removed him.
{ cannot be that the President was unnformed
If the manner in which the electioes in Kansas
we're carried; the facts we're proclaimed through
,ut the land and known to everybody.
/ would not censure the President for making
Use of the army of the United States TO prevent
;iyil war in Kansas, or to put down resistance To
scts of Congress; but hope never to see the
United States soldiers engaged in forcing sub
mission to the barbarous and inhIfrnan acts oil
hat spurious Legislature which was forced upon
he people of Kansas by violence and against
heir WILL AS a remedy for existing evils
Congress will not restore the Missouri Compro-
Mise, it ought at least to annul the present Terri
oral acts, and give the actual settlers an oppoI-
unity TO elect Legislature for themseve'-S
privilege which they assert has thns far beei
lened them, and which assertion this report doe
Tot venture to deny.