Marshall County Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1855-1859, 1857-04-02
Farewell Address of Gov Geary to the
People of Kansas.

tive office, and retire again 10 tue qu'el
Scenes of private life and the enjoyment of
those domestic comforts, of which ! have
been SO long deprived, i deem it tproper 70
address you on the occasion Of my depart
ure.
= The Office from which | now voluntarily
withdraw, was unsought by me, and at the
time ofits acceptance, was by no means de-
sirable This was quite evident. from the
dcplorable moral, civil, and political con-
tfition of the Territory-the discord, con-
leniion and deadly strife, which then aud
there pretailed--and the painful anxiety
with which twas regarded by patriotic
citizens in every portion of the American
Union. To attempt to govern Kansas at
such period and under such circumstan-
ces, was 20 assume no ordinary responsible
Ges. Few men could have desired to un-
ldertake the task and none would have been
so presumptuous, without serious forebod-
ings as to the result. That / should have
hesitated, is no matter of astonishments TO
those acquainted with the fact; but that 1
accepted the appointmnt, was well found
&c. source of re eret to many of my we'll
tried friends, who looked upon the enter
p,ise as one that could terminate in nothing
but disaster to myself. 1t was not sup
posed possible that order could be brought
IN any reasonable space of time. with the
means at my command, from the then ex-
isting chaos. q E ~
Without descauting upon the feelings,
principles. and. motives which prompted
me, suffice it 10 say, thai accepted the
Presidents tender of the Office of Governor
In doing so, sacrificed the comforts of
home, endeared by the strongest earthly
ties and most sacred associations, to en-
bark in an undertaking. which presented at
the best but dark and unsatisfactory pros
pect. l reached Kansas and entered upon
the discharge of my official duties in the
mos, gloomy hour Of her history Desola-
Jion aud ruin refsned on every hand
Homes and fresides were deserted. The
smoke of burning dwellings darkeued the
atmosphere. Women and children, driven
from their habitations, wandered over the
prairies and among the woodlands. or
sought refuge and protection even among
the Indian tribes. The highways were in
tested with numerous predatory bands. and
The towns were fortified and garrisoned BY
armies OF conflicting partizans, each excl
ted almost to frenzy, anu determined upon
mutual determination. Such was, without
exaggerration, the condition of the Terrific
ry, a; the period of my arrival Her treas
ury was bankrupt. There were no pecu-
mary resources within herself to meet the
exigencies of the time. The Congression-
al appropriations, intended 10 defray the
expenses of year. were insufficient 20 meet
the demands of fortnight. The laws
were null. the courts virtually suspe nded,
AID the civil arm of the Government almost
en- n.irely powerless. Ac;ion-prompt, de-
sivc, energetic ac;ion-was necessary
| at once saw what was needed, and with
out hesitation gave myself to the work.
! Fer six months have labored with un.
ceasing industry The accustomed and
needed hours for sleep have been employ
ed in the public service. Night and day
have Official duties demanded unremittinr
attention. have had no proper leisure
moments forrest or recreation Ny health
has failed under the pressure. Nor is this
all; 10 my own private purse. without as
surance ofreimbursement. have / resorted
IN every emergency, for .lo required funds.
Whether these arduous services and will
ing sacrifices have been beneficial to Kan
sas and my country, you are abundantly
qualified to determine.
That. have met with Opposition. and
even bitter vituperation, and ivindictive
malice, Is no matter for astonishment. No
man, has ever yet held, an important or re-
sponsIblc post in our own or any her
country, and escaped censure should
have been weak and foolish indeed, had |
expected to pass through the fiery ordeal
entirely unscathed, especially as / was re-
cured, if not to come in conflict with, at
least to thwart evil Vaccinations, and hold
in restraint wicked pas sion, or rid the Ter
ritory of many lawless, reckless and des-
perate men. Beside, it were impossible to
come in contact with the conflicting inter
ests which governed the conduct of many
well disposed persons, without becoming
an object OF mistrust and abuse. While
from others, whose sole object was no!ori-
ously personal advancement at any saari
fice OF the general good, and at every haz-
ard. it would have been ridiculous to
anticipate the need of praise for disinteres-
ted action: and hence. however palpable
might have been my patriotism, however
just my official conduct, or however bene-
fetal It's results. do not marvel that, INV
motives have been impugned and nv In
tegrity maligned. 1t is, however, so well
known that l need scarcely record the
iact. that those who have attributed nv
labors to desire for gubernatorial or SEN
atorial honers. were and are aspirants for
those high trusts and powers. and foolishly
imagined that stood between them and
the consummation. of their ambitious de-
signs and high-towering hopes. -
But whatever may be thought or said of
my motives or desires. / have the proud
consciousness Of leaving this scene Of nv
severe and anxious toll with clean hands
and the satisfactory conviction that He who
can penetrate the inmost recesses of The
heart, and can read its secret thoughts. viii
approve ny purposes and acts. In the
discharge sof my executive functious,r
have invariably sought to do equal and exl
act justice to all men, however humble or
exalted. have eschewed all sectional dis