The Carolina Spartan. [volume] (Spartanburg, S.C.) 1852-1896, 1856-08-07
The Elections in Kansas


Mr.. Oliver, in his minority report kom
the Kansas Investigating Committee, ana
lyzes the election returns which have been
SO bitterly assailed as fraudulent. The
tables exhibiting this result are compiled
lrcm the facts gathered by the majority,
and therefore cannot be disputed. The
free State ticket, in all the election districts,
only received 500 votes, while tho census
shows there were 2,9o5 legal voters in
Kansas.
Mr.. Oliver then takes up the Districts
separately. In the first, it is in proof {be.
fore the Committee, be /, rememberedD that
for the 200 free State men there were 800
or zoo pro slavery voters. No Intimidation
was used, and all voted who wished. On
the 9th of March, 1856, to which the above
facts refer, one witness says, sin the after.
noon some one hundred men, who had
come in with DIR. Charles Robinson from
the East, marched over to the polls and
voted the free State ticket. They were
said TO have come into the Territory that
very day."
MIR. Oliver comments on this:
! "from the testimony, it is difficult FOR
the undersigned 10 see how the majority OF
the committee could come To the conclusion
10 which they arrived, that even in the
Lawrence district there was a majority of
the legal voters for the free State ticket"
"ln the second district (says Mr, olver:)
The testimony is conflctipg aud contra
dictoryi but the weight OF t4e evidence, in
the opinion of the undersigned, shows, that
there were many settlers came into this
| district after the census was taken, and he.
fore the March election. On the morning
OF election the free State Judges took arms
! with them into the juG .es' room. The free
I State men, under the lead Of Judge Wake
! field, took possession of The polls, and re-
| qulred all the pro-slnvcry men 10 be sworn
! without discrimination; and did not swear
any free State men. The pro slavery resi-
dents objected to this, and declared that
both parties ought TO bc sworn alike. After
some time the free State Judges resigned
and other judges were selected by the
crowd. No intimidation was used to pre-
vent the free State men from voting, but
all were asked TO como mp aud vote. The
proslavcry ticket had a majority in the
district, as the free State party were not
united on their ticket
In refel cuce to this district. the testino.
ny Of Paris Ellison, one of the judges OF
election appointed by Goy. Recder himself,
is adduced, who concludes a long deposi
tion rs follows:
In my neighbyrhool WAS well nc
( quainted with the settlers there, and At the
/ time Of The election and before the residents
were almost all pro slavery. From wha, /
know myself, aud tho information received
from the census takcr and others, am sat
isiied that the pro-sIavery party had de
cided majority in the second district"
All the allegations about the unfair IN
reference Of Sheriff Jones in ;his district
are disproyed 10y Mr.. Ellison and other wit
nesses. Ia the Sd and 4th districts the
pro slavery party were in the majority. Tie
5,h was free State. The 9th and 7,h were
pIosIavery. rs 10 tue S;h no testimony
was taken. The 9th pro.slayery. The 10th
shows a fair election, aud the rejection Of
alleged illegal votes on both sides would
not have changed the result. No evidence
was adduced to impeach The returns in the
llth and 18th districts. In the ] 3lh, l4th.
18th, 10th, 17th and 18th districts all was
quiet and orderly, and the pro-slavery par
/ ~ largely in majority in all of them.
/ Mr. Oliver concludes:
Upon an examination Of the testimony
taken before the committee, what the un.
/ dersigued has affirmed in relation 10 these
several districts will be found 10 be sustain
cd by the proof Aud from all the ,es,i.
mony collected, when compared aud weigh
ed properly, the undersigned feels confident
that 1t will appear to evory unprejudieed
mind, not only that General Whitfield was