The Davenport daily gazette. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1856-1869, 1856-01-31

fR XAuoAS H4esAo1.
A few days ago the telegraph flashed
shrosgh the couauy . part Of the Special
Message On Kansas Affairs which has been
seat = Congress By the President, and GER
taialy, never aimee the wires were 6rst used
for ~conmuaicatiag intelligence. have they
conveyed matter 90 calculated to cause
feelaGs Of humiliation and apprshsnsion in
the ninds Of oil who have any regard for
the honor or prosperity Of the republic.
We have now before us the Message in
full. and The 6rst thought that strikes US
aftsr reading il. 10, for what purpose was 1t
written. Scarcely more than = month has
elapsed aimee the President refused to CON-
ply with the insane request Of Shannon
aad since he % hippantly told u in HE an.
nual message that though some acts Preju-
dicial to COED order had occurred in Ksnsas.
there had besa none Of q character to iasti-
fly the interference Of the Executive. Now
We shosid like to know what has happened
in Kansss during the past month, to cause
the present solicitade in the anxious heart
Of the President. The truth 10, it is not
What has happened in Kansas, that has
moved the President to this sudden interest
in the affairs Of that Territory. He has
used Kansas merely ~ . John Doe or Rich
ard Roe for the purpose OF enabling him to
present smother electioneering pamphlet to
his southern supporters, and on that by
potAssis. the appearance Of the message i
suficisntly explained.
The message naturally divides itself into
tive parts, q most bitter, and considering the
position Of Mr.. Pierce, . most ~undisnifed
attack upon Governor Reeder. and an out
sad-out defence Of ell the proceedings Of
the pseudo legislature elected BY the Mis-
ssuri mob. The President attributes ex-
elusivsly to Governor Rssder ell the di6-
caltes which have delayed the organizs-
ton of Kansas. Our limited space pre-
Yeats ~ from making many extracts. but
the following paragraph gives an idea of
the nsuner in which he argues the case in
respect to Rssder:-
~Ia other respects. the Governor, instead
Of exercising constant vigilance and putting
forth Ill his energies to prevent or counter
act the tendencies TO Illegally. which are
prone 70 exist in all imperfectly organised
and newly associated communities, aliowed
his attention to be diverted from o6eial OBJ
legation BY other objects and himself set an
example Of the violation Of law IN the per-
fsrmance Of sets which rendered It my duty,
in the sequel, TO remove him from the once
Of Chief Executive Magistrate Of the Terri
tory"
But the personal feelings Of the President
in regard to Rssasr are not Of much conse-
quencs, aAd it 10 only fair to await the
promised exposition Of the Ex-Governor.-
The important fact, and the one which most
nearly concerns the American people, Is
that the President plainly and without any
reservation takes the pro-slavery side Of
the question, and avows that the members
Of the legislature elected BY the hirelings
Of Atchissn and Suingiellow, legally initia-
ted the organization Of the Territory, and
that Ill the acts which they passed are
binding and in full fores. Stripped of the
vssbiaRs by which it is obscured, that is
ths msasing the message was intended to
convey to those for whose particular benefit
il VS. written.
In accordance with this doctrine, while
the prssident s~ustains all the consequences
Of the Missouri msb, he utterly condemns
Ill the proceedings of the Free State men.
No one contends that the acts Of the sham
legislature Of Kansas were illegal solely on
account of the removal OF its place of SEES
sion-thsy we're illega! because the cut
threats who overpowersd the actual settlers
Of Kansas, could not possibly constitute =
legal legislature, and the shameful evasion
b which the President shrinks from this
killing fact, 10 the worst feature Of this most
diaeracsful message. We make room for
the following
Nevertheless, the allegation that the
acts Of the legislative Assembly were lille
eal By reason OF this removal of its place OF
session va brought forward to justify the
Arst great movement in disregard Of law
within the Territory. One of the scts of
the legislative Asseub y provided for the
election Of . Delegate to the present Con-
gress, and q Delegate was elected under the
h~. But, subsequently to this. { portion Of
the pso pie Of the Territory proceeded with
out authority Of law to elect another Dele
gate.
Following upon this movement was an
othsr and more important one of the same
general character. Persons professedly
not constituting the body polite, or all the
Inhabitants, but mereiya party of the inhsb-
itants, and without law, have undertaken to
summon . convention for the purpose of
Transforming the Territory into . State, and
have framed Q Constitution, adopted il, and
under il elected q Governor sad other on
Gers. and . representative to Congress"
The President purposely classes together
those suigrants from the Free States who
he'd made . permanent residence, and the
''bosdsr ru&ans" who were hired to do q
dsy's voting. and who returned to Missouri
Immediately after tina, job was done. Nay,
he rather gives the preference to the "ruf6
H -.