Meigs County telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy [Ohio]) 1848-1859, 1856-02-12

assembly did not take place until the
! S0.h Of March, 1855, nor its meeting!
| until the second fully, 1855. So that
for year after the Tshisory was consli.
tuted BY the. act o( Congress, and the Of.
fcels 10 be appointed BY the federal
Executive had been commissioned. it
was without complete government,
without any Legislative authority. with.
out local law, and of ofeourse without the
ordinary guarantees IF peace and public
order.
ii, other respects lhs g,veruor. M Or in
stead Of. exerciaing constant vigilance.
and putting iol u his energies to
| preypnt q copnlefet The tendencies to
iIIegalily, which 40 prone 10 exist in all
in1psI'ss''y oFgepi md newly ASSOC
ci8le,i cotnmuuil h j ii0Ned kis aiten.
ton 10 be diverted from official obliga-
tion BY other objects. and himself set an
example Of the violation Of law, in The
performance ofacts which rendered it my
/ duty, in the sequel. TO remove him from
the Office Of chief executive magistrate. of
the Territory. g, sa@ ass,3. Al a,, /
Before the requisite prepprationswas
accomplished for election Of a territorial
legislature, an slectionof delegates to.
Congress had been held in the Territory
on the 29th day Of November, 1854, and
the delegate took his seat in the House
OF Representatives without challenge
II arrangements had been perfected by
the governor, so that the election for
members OF the legislative assembly
might be held in the several precincts at
the same time as for delegate 10 Congress,
any question appertaining to the qualif--
cation Of persons voting as people ofthe
| 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 inhamed by time,
and before opportunity could have been
afforded for systematic interference ofthe
people ofindividual States.
/ This interference, in SO far as concerns
its primary causes and its immediate
commencement. was one Of The incidents
OF that pernicious agitation on the sub.
| ject OF the condition Of the colored per.
sons heldtp seryicein some Of the States,
which has SO long disturbed the repose Of
our country. and excited individuals,
otherwise patriotic and law-abiding. 10
toll NTH unsolicited zeal In the attempt
to propagate their social theories by the
peryersion and abuse Of the powers Of
Congress. The persons and the parties
whom the tenor olihe act 70 organize the
Territories OF Nebraska and Kansas
thwarted in the endeayor 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 ineradic-
ably rooted in the convictions Of the peo.
pie of the Union, then had recourse, in
the pursuit Of their general object, to the
extraordinary measure Of propasandist
colonization Of the Territory Of, Kansas,
TO prevent the free and natural action Of
its inhabitants in its internal organiza.
lion, and thus TO anticipate or 10 force
the determination Of that question in
this inchoate State.
With such views, associations were
organized in come Of the States, and
their purposes were proclaimed through
the press in language extremely irrita.
ting and offensive to those of whom the
colonists were to become the neighbors.
Those designs and acts had the necessary
consequence TO awaken emotions Of in.
tense indignation in States near TO the
Territ Try Of Kansas, and especially in
the adjoining State Of Missouri, whose
domestic peace was thus the most direct.
ly endangered but they are far from
justiiying the Illegal and reprehensible
counter-movement which ensued.
Under these inauspicious circumstances
the primary elections Ior members Of the
legislative assembly were held in most.
ifnot all, Of the precincts al the time
and the places, and by the persons des-
ignated and appointed by the governor
according TO law. sya a'' I
Angry accuqations that illegal votes
had been polled sbounded on all sides,
and,imputations were made both OF fraud
and violence. But the governor, in The
exercise Of the power and the discharge
OF the duty conferred and imposed by
law on him alone, officially received
and considered the returns; declared
large majority Of the members Of the
coun-il and the house Of representatives
"duly elected" withheld certificates
from others because Of alleged illegality
Of votes; appointed a new cleo.
ton to supply the place Of the
persons not certified and thus at length,
in all the forms Of statue, and with his
own official au,hentication, complete le-
gality was given to the first legislative
assembly ofthe Territory.
Those decisions of the returning OF.
fcers and OF the Governor are final. ex.
cept, that, by the parliamentary usage Of
the country applied to the organic law,
it may be conceded that each house Of
the assembly must have been competent
to determine, in tho last resort, the quail
6cations and the election its members.
The subject was, by its nature, one ap-
pertaining exclusively to the Jurisdiction
OF the local authorities OF the Territory,