The Washington union., 1857-09-29
THE WASHINGTON UNION.

President through the Secretary of State my views
this subject together with copies Of the several territorial
laws and asked the nd of the President and his cabinet
10 sustain me- by the moral force of their opinion in pre-
venting collision and civil war In this Territory by sta
ting such should be the fact their concurrence with
ME in these views. In reply to this communication in
despatch from the Secretary OF State TO under date OF
the I'd OF September 1857 after remarking most justly
as always contended that could issue authoritative
mandate 70 the judges of election on this subject or con-
ttol their decision, he says
The ienitory Of Kansas is in peculiar condition
BY your statement and possessing as you do the best
President entitled to great weight 1t is IN state OF
incpent rebellion with organized military force pre-
pared 10 resist the authority of the United States
1t may therefore, become necessary to use the troops
placed at your disposal not only to aid as posse copd
in executing the laws but also 10 suppress an nsurrec
ton Surely under these circumstances the expression
of opinion In advance of his action and 1t may be IN
stead of It, which the President honestly enertans viii
have direct effort In preventnga CIVIL war in Kansas,
he cannot be Justly censured for attempting by such an
expression of opinion, to avert the caamtous result
The danger you anticipate arises as you OBSERVE from
the apprehension of portion of the citizens of Kansas
that they will be excluded from the privileges of voting
because they have not paid territorial tax Now, the
President well every member Of his cabinet con-
in opinion with that the payment OF such TAX
not required qualification TO vote. he and they en-
tertan doubt that the 5th section OF the act OF
FEBRUARY 20 1851 Is complete in itself and prescrbes all
the qualifications required of voter and among these
the payment ofa territorial tax is not included Ihey are
also firmly convinced that no person whatever not pos
sessng these qualifications prescribed for voters by the
organic act of Congress of May 3O 1854 has any Just
claim to the elective franchise.
1t will be observed then that in view Of the depoa-
BILE condition of Kansas for the last three years. and the
civil that has long ragged in this Territory and the
imminent danger of renewal of that conflict, growing
out of conflicting views to the qualification OF voters
at the ensuing election the President and all his cabinet
have thought the occasion sufficiently solemn and inn
portant express their full unanimous and entire con-
in the views to the qualifications OF electors at
the October election those points set forth oy me IN
this address, and previously communicated by me 10 inc
Secretary of State
1t obvious that the territorial government Of Kansas
must be maintained either by superior physical FORCE or
in all other States and Territories by the majority Oh
qualified voters at the election
1t never contemplated the use of the military orca but
in aid of the execution of the laws to protect the citizens
in the exercise of their legal rights as posse oous to
arrest offenders where the civil authority might prove IN
competent without such aid and where the law author
lied military power to suppress insurrecton rebellion
Physical force and the bayonet constitute the real power
in nearly all monarchies and despotc governments but
here it is the will of the majority Of the people qualified
to vote upon the constitution and under the laws which
is to govern and the all such questions are de-
cded by full aud fair vote of the qualified electors at
the polls the better and then, and not till them shall
have peace and repose in Kansas Unless force is to
be substituted for the elective franchise unless despotc
and monarchical principles are making here invisible
progress, or later the question must thus be de-
ded and the the better not only for the interests
of this Territory but for the security of the Union and
the of self government here and throughout the
world.
The eyes of country and the world direct
ed with intense interest to the coming election in Kansas
in October next Whether the people of this Territory
are indeed capable of lfgovcrnment, whether the
which have disgraced Kansas and country for
the last three years to be renewed indefinitely whether
Violence injustice nsurrecton on one or both sides
are for the moment and for the moment only are to de-
eide the question: whether political differences
to be settled here in all other States and Territories
nder the provisions of organic law by the full free
and fair exercise of the elective franchise are the mome
tous questions to which you must all now soon answer
The test oath is expressly repealed as qualification for
voters by act of the territorial legislature of the 18th
of February, 1857. ..
The people of Kansas have now therefore, opportu
nifty, in conformity with the Constitution OF the United
States the organic of Congress- and the laws of this
Territory to decide by the elective franchise the choice
of their delegate to Congress- their territorial legislature
and all their county officers. .a.
The troops at my disposal which fully competent
to the task will at the request of citizens OF both par
ties be stationed at the points where violence has been
threatened anticipated not for the purpose of over
awing the people, of interfering in any way with the
elections, influencing them in any respect whatever
but by their presence guarding the polls against any
attempt at insurecon violence from the mere knowl
edge of the fact that it and will be suppressed but
necessary also to protect and secure by lawful means
all the Just rights of the citizen in exercising the elective
franchise under the decision of the proper authority and
act posse for the arrest of offenders should
have greatly preferred expressed in my letter of
cepance of of this Territory never to have been
required to call the troops precautionary meas
ure. As it is not drop of blood has been shed and
nsurrecon has been suppressed until it recently reap
peared in compulsory taxlaw by the nsurgent govern
ment at Lawrence and in conagraton of dwellings, and
expulsion of peaceabc citizens in its vcnage after it was
falsely supposed that they would not be replaced by others
Indeed if the revolutionary government of Lawrence had
not been encountered by troops
there it is clear that similar insurrectionay gov
ernments, based my presumed acquiescence, which
would have been organized throughout Kansas in open
defiance of the laws of Congress and of this Territory
and rendered peaceful settlement impossible 1t will
be remembered that in open defiance of the laws of Con-
gess and of this Territory and after the refusal of the
socaed Topeka State legislature to grant them char
ter they nevertheless organized city government,
clothed with all the usual poweTsegsative, executive
and judicial 1t will be recollected, also, that after my
proclamation of the 10Th of July last and the smulta
neous movement of the troops there precautionary
measure to maintain the authority of the government
and arrest the spread Of this nsuecton throughout the
Territory they then prossed through their organs that
what they had called government and to which they had
given all the powers of government, was mere VOL
uNTARY for the removal of nuisances from the
Streets &c. But now, when it was enormously be-
lieved by them that the troops would all be re-
moved to Utah. and not replaced by Others, they
have thrown off the mask, and carried out their
original insurrectionary purpose, by passing compul
sorry tax law both poll and property tax, requiring its
and collection by the seizure and sale of
property and exactng by their charter from executive
officers who to carry out these acts AN OATH to per-
form all these duties the violation of which oath if
these duties not performed would be perjury At the
time they seemed to have believed that this precau