The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1856-07-22

Report 81 the Investigating Conn
mitlNe.

ceedings were Of tho same general character.
were legal, the illegal votes being cast By
Missourians, who returned to that State i'm
mediately after voting.
In the 9th district, at Fort Scott, the pro-
votes being cast, not over 100 Of which were
legal.
| In the eth district, at Switzer's Creek,
armed Missourians also took the polls, and
out of 253 votes, cast all but %.
In the llth district, 1928 votes were cast,
all but by armed Missourians.
In the 18th district, as in all the others
enumerated, the Missourians elected their
own judges, and cast 900 votes. There were
only 90 legal voters of all parties,in the dis
trict, and but very few of them cast any
vote, the vote polled being almost entirely
illegal.
In the l4th district, Of 727 votes, oyer
500 were cast BY Missourians. At Burr Oak
precinct, IN Ais DISTRICT, the greater number
of the Missourians voted, under the auspices
Of B. F. 6tringfellow apn Hon. W. P. Hall, of
Missouri. -.
I In The 18th district, as at the rest of the
polls mentioned above, nearly all the settlers
we're driven away by the armed ruffian, from
Missouri, and the Missour,ans cast all bur,
less than 50 Of the ali votes.
In the 10th district, 964 votes were cast,
Sl4 being cast by Missourians.
18TH DIsrRlcr.
Previous to the election, Gen. David II.
Atchison'of Platte City, No., got up Com
pany OF Missourians, and passing through
Weston, Mo-, went over into the Territory.
lie remained all night at the house Of -,
and then exhibited his arms, Of which he h ID
an abundance. He proceeded to the Memo.
haer lSth) district. On his way, he and his
party attended nominating convention in
the l4th district, and proposed and caused
to be nominated a set Of candidates in oppo.
stion to the wishes Of the pro-slavery resi-
dents in the district. At that convention he
said that there were 100 men coming over
from Platte county, and il that wasn't enough
| they could send 1000 more--that they came
to vote, and would vote or kill every Cd
id abolitionist in the Territory.
On the day Of election, the Missourians
under Atchison, who were encamped there,
| came up to the polls in the 18th district, tn.
king tho oath that they were residents of the
district The Missourians were all armed
with pistols or bowie knives, and said there
were % in their company. But Il votes
given on that day were given by the residents
OF the district. The whole number Of votes
was c..
X. l.. Kirk, one Of the candidates came
into the district from Missouri about n week
before the election and boarded there. He
! lett after the election, and was not ut the
/ time legal resident Of the district in which
ne was elected. No protest was sent to the
Governor on account OF threats made
against any who should dare to contest the
| election.
tabular statement Of the Committee
shows that in this election. there were east.
Pro Slavery votes, 5,427
Free State votes, 729
Legal votes, l,3l0
Illegal votes, 4,9OS
And the committee add:
OF the twenty mine hundred and five
voters named in the census rolls, eight hun.
dred and thirty one are found on the poll
books. Some Of the settlers were prevented
from attending the election by the distance
OF their homes from the polls, but the great
majority were deferred by tho open avowal
that large bodies Of armed Mssour;ans would
be at the polls to vote, ani by the fact thai,
they did SO appear and control the election
/ The same causes deferred the free State set
tiers from raining candidates in several dis
tTscts, and in others induced the candidates
1 to withdraw.
Inc poll books of the second and eighth
districts were lost: but the proof il ouite
clear that in the second district there were
thirty and in the eighth district thirty eight
legal votes, making total Of eight hundred
and ninety eight legal voters Of the Terri
tory whose names are on the census returns !.
and yet I've proof, in the state we are Obliged
to present it, after excluding illegal votes.
leaves the total vote 1910, showing a dis
crerancy OF Az. The discrepancy ia ac.
counted Tor in two ways--6rst, the coming
In Of settlers before the March election and
after the census was taken, or settlers who
were omitted an the census; or, secondly, the
disturbed state OF the Territory while we
were investigating the elections in some Of
the districts, thereby preventing US from get
ting testimony IN relation to the names of
legal voters at the time Of the election.
IL tho election had been confined TO the
actual settlers, undeterred BY the presence
OF non-residents or the knowledge that they
would be present in numbers sufficient to out
vote them, the testimony indicates that the
Council would have been composed of seven
IN favor OF making Kansas free State,
elected from tho LIST, I'd, Sd. 4th, and 9Th
Council districts. The result 10 the 9Th and
10th, electing three members, would have
been doubtful, and the 5th, 9Th, and 9Th
would have elected three pro-slayery men,
bers.
Under like circumstances the House Of
Representatives would have been composed
% fourteen ineuaDsrs in favor OF making
Kansas free State, elected from the %, Sd.
4th, 9Th, 'th, 9Th, 9th, and 10th represento !.