Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1856-08-22
Position OF THE ADMINISTRATION.

tinct guaranty to the people of Kansas
that they should decide the question OF
slavery for themselves ;yet when a boly
of men who were notoriously usurpers-
assumed to decide the question for it, the
administration utterly regardless of this
guaranty, has employed all its power,
direct and indirect to compel us to sub
nit to, and abide by that decision.
2. To this end the President has up
held the bogus legislature in their usur-
pation-has caused tho State officers elec
ted by the people 20 be arrested and i'm :
prisoned on a charge of high treaso n,
and has appropriately crowned his tyran-
ny by sending military force on the
fourth of July to disperse the peoples
representatives when they had assembled
at Topeka according to adjournment.
3. To be compelled to submit to even
just code, dictated by foreign pow
or and imposed without our consent, is
sufficiently dcgraiing-but to have the
most odious of institutions and the most
barbarous of codes, forced upon us by a
mob of our enemies, backed by the very
Executive whose sworn duty it is to pro-
tect us, is thing unprccedent in Ameri-
can his tory, and appears to us intolerable.
4. The code, to which the Admins
tration is pledged to compel us to sub
nit establishes Slavery -aboishes Free
dom ofSpeech and Freedom of the press
-atfixcs the penalty Of DEATH to sun
dry offences against the possibility ofrc-
pealing any of these enartments, by an
act which disfranchiscs all who will not
swear to support the Fugitive State Law,
and at the same time enables nonresi
dents to vote, on the payment ofone dol
lar.
5. The President has placed over us,
and sustains as Governor, a man who has
never manifested the slightest sympathy
with the people of Kansas, nor cultivated
their acquaintance, but when intoxicated
Is the facile tool of the rutiilns of the boz
der, and their cordial accomplice when
sober.
6. The much talked of enforcement
of the laws. has not consisted in The
impartial punishment Of murder, robbery,
arson, theft, etc, by whomsoever COM
mitted, but solely and exclusively in en-
d .avoring to compel citizens to acknowl-
edge the authority of the bogus officers,
and particularly of the Sherilt's whom the
usnrprcs have np1oin'ed over us. As
for lministration of Justice -thcre is
none here. There is no crime which a
pro-slavery man may not commit with
impunity, so FAX as Territorial authorities
are concerned, and no injury for which a
free state man can obtain any legal re-
dress. Dow was murdered in cold blood,
and his murderer Is still at large. Bar
Der was murdered on the highway, more
tha six months ago. The murderer, as
we are cradibly informed, was an Indian
agent, holding his office by appointment
Of the President, yet ne is still at large
and still in office The murdcrers ofthe
Brown, Jones, Stewart and many others,
are still at large and unquostion.-A
Ggaaa Jury. packed by a terfitrial officer
AZ charg d by territorial judge, have
inli4tel hotels and printing presses as
mus nces, but have taken no notice OF
such crimes as murder, robbery and
arson.
The Free State men, though largely
in the majority, have never tried to in
teriarc with TIE rights of those Of con-
trary sentiments.
Whom Major Buford and his followers
arrived, there WAS nothing to hinder their
settling quietly among US attending to
their own business and enjoying their
own opinions. But it was very soon
manifest that this was no part of the
purpos, for which they We're brought
here About the middle of May, they in
connection with two or three hundred
Missourans commenced series Of dep
relations in this Territory. For weeks
we were subjected to reign Of terror.
Men We're barbarously murdered as well
in cold blood as in the heat of passion.
Towns were sacked, houses burned, prop
crty stolen or wtntonly destroyed, the
oduStitS VI titS Ao1i~ottN iGoiNu ii'"tSt
and women subjected to tiendish outrage.
Our highways have been beset with
banditti at whose caprice our citizens
going peacably about their business, have
been arrested and detained, or plundercd
abused aud insulted. When asked by
what right they did these things, the
ruthans were wont to show their revol-
vers, as their sole and sufficient authori-
ty. Citizens have been reduced to the
humiliation of travelling the highways
under protection of a pass from some bor-
der ruffian magnatc. Many of these
passes arc extant, signed by Wilson
Shannon.
A few only of the outrages committed
can be mentioned here. At slaEdon
bridge, four miles from Lawrence, a
young man named Jones, quiet inof-
fensive settler was beset by an armed
band, who demanded his arms. and after
taking them, deliberately shot him dead.
Two days afterward a young man named
Stewart was murdered in similar man
ner near the same place.
A man named Cantrell, Missourian
of Free State sentiments, residing at
PALMYRA, was seized few weeks since
I