Marshall County Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1855-1859, 1856-02-07

officers to be appointed by the Federal Ex-
ecutiye had been commissioned, it was
without a complete Government, without
any Legislative authority, without local
law, and of course, without the ordinary
guarantees Of peace and public order.
In other respects the Governor, instead
of exercising the constant vigilance and
putting forth all his energies to prevent or
countcract the tendencies to illegality which
are prone to exist in all impcrfectly organ
lied and newlv-associated communities, al
lowed his attention to be diverted from Of
fetal obligation by other objects and him
self set an example of the violation of law
III the performance Of acts which rendered
it my duty in the sequel. to remove him
from the office of chief executive magis-
trate of tie Territory.
Before the requisite preparation was ac-
complishcd for the election of the Terrific
rial Legislature, an election of Delegate to
Congress had been held in the Territory
on the Goth day of November. 1854, and
the Delegate took his seat in the House OF
Representatives without challenge. If ar
rangemcnts had been perfected by the Gov
ernor So that the election for members OF
the Legislative Assembly mi sht be held
in the sveral precincts at the same time as
for Delegate to Congress, any question APP
pertaining to the qualification of the per-
sons voting as the people of the Territory
would have passed necessarily and at once
under the supervision of Congress, as the
Judge of the validity of the return of the
Delegate, and would have been determined
before conflicting passions had become in
famed by time, and before opportunity
could be afforded for systematic interference
of individual States.
This interference, in SO far as concerns
lis primary causes and It's immediate com
mencemcnt, WAS one of the incidents OF
that pcrnicious agitation on the subject OF
the condition of the coored persons held
to service in some Of the States which has
50 long disturbed the repose of our coun-
try and excited Individuals, otherwise pat
rio.ic and law abiding. to toll with misdi-
rected zeal in the attempt to propagate thei
social theories by the perversion and abuse
of the power of Congress.
The persons and parties whom the ten
or of the act 10 organize The Territories OF
Nebraska and Kansas thwartcd in the en-
deavor 10 impose, through the agency of
Congress, their particular views of social
organization on the people of the future
new States, now perceiving that the policy
of leaving the Inhabitants of each State to
Judge for themselves in this respect, was
ineradi cablv rooted in the convictions Of
the people # the Union, then had recourse,
in the pursuit of their general object, to
the extraordinary measures of propagan-
dist colonization of the Territory of Kan
sas, to prevent the free and natural action
of its inhabitants in lis internal organize
ton, and thus to anticipate or to force the
determination of that question in this in
choatc State.
With such views associations were organ
lied in some of the States and their pur-
pose was proclaimed through the press in
language extremely irrit ,ting and offensive
come the ncighbors. Those designs and
acts had the necessary consequence to AVA
ken emotions of intense indignation in
States near to the Territory of Kansas, and
especially in the adjoining State of Mis-
souri,, whose domestic peace was thus the
most directly endangcrcd but they are far
from justifying the illegal and rcprehcn-
sive countermovemcnts which cnsucd.
Under these inauspicious circumstances
the primary elections for members Of the
Legislative Assembly were held in most if
not all of the precincts at the time and the
places and by the persons designated and
appointed by the Governor, according to
law.
Angry accrs ,;ions that Illegal woes had
been polled, aboundcd on all sides, and
imputations were made both of fraud and
violence. But the Governor, in the excr-
els, of the power and the discharge of the
duty conferred and imposed BY law oil him
alone, officially received and considered the
returns; declared a large majority of the
members of the Council and the House of
Representatives duly elected withheld
certificates from others because of alleged
illegality of votes; appointed 4 new cleo
ton to supply the place Of the persons not
certified; and thus, at length, in Ill forms
of statute, and with his own official anthem
tication, complete l.sality was given to the
frs: Legislative Assembly of the Terrific
~.
Those decisions of the returning officers
and Of the Governor are final, except that,
by the parliamentary usage Of the country
applied to the organic law, it may be con
ccded that each House of the Assembly
must have been competent to determine,
in the last resort, the qualifications and the
elections of its members. The subject was.
by its nature, one appertaning exclusively
to the jurisdiction Of the local authorities
of the Territory Whatever irregularities
may have occurred in the elections, it seems
too late now to raise that question as to
which, neither now nor at any previous
time, has the least possible legal authority
been possessed by the President Of the
United States. For all present purposes
the Legislative body thus constituted and
elected. was the Legitimate Assembly of the
Territory.
Accordingly, the Governor, by procla-
nation, convened the Assembly thus elect
ed to meet at a place called Pawnee City.