Freeman's champion., 1857-07-16

q.
thsirauthority will lie bronght nee,
essarially in conflict and collision
with the so.calIed officers claiming
to act under different authority
The Territory viii thus bc involved
in. inextricable confusion and litiga-
tion; the value Of your property be
greatly deprecated; your titles, trans
fers, transactions Will be subjected
to disputes and all suffer from this
insurrection, except the lawyers who
have stimulated this movement. A
government founded on insurrection
and, usurpation will be substituted for
that established by the authority Of
Congress, and civil war will be re-
newed throughout our limits, Ifyour
authority to act in this manner for
the city Of Lawrence is permitted, a
similar authority must be acknowl-
edged in every other town, city or
county, result in inevitable and most
disastrous conflict !, and if success
full, the Territorial government be
overthrown in detail, as 10 your pres
ent purpose. .~
You were distinctly informed in
my inaugural address Of May last,
that the validity of the Territorial
laws was acknowledged by the gov
ernment Of the United States, and
that they must and would be carried
into execution under my oath of Office
and the instructions of the President
of the United States. The same in
formation was repeated in various
addresses made by me throughout
the Territory, At the same time,
every assurance was given you that
the right of the people Of this Terri
tory, under the forms prescribed by
the government Of your country, to
establish their own State govern
ment and frame their own social in
stitutions, would be acknowledged
and protected. If laws have been
enacted by the Territorial Legislature,
which are disapproved of by major
ity Of the people of the Territory,
the mode in which they could elect q
new Treitorial Legislature and repeal
those laws, was also designated. If
there are any grievances of which
you have any Just right to complain,
the lawful, peaceful manner in which
you could remove them, in subordi;-
nation to the government of your
country, was also pointed out.
You have, however, chosen to dis
regard the laws of Congress and Of
the Territorial Government created
by it, and whilst protesting to ac-
knowledge a State Government re-
jected by Congress, and which can
therefore now exist only by success
full rebellion, and exacting from all
your officers tho perilous and sacrile-
gious oath to support the so-called
State Constitution, yet you have,
oven in defiance of the so-called State
Legislature which refused to grant
you charter, proceeded to create a
local government Of your own, based
only upon insurreotion and revolu.
ton. The very oath which you re-
quiIe from all your offices to support
your so-called Topeka State Consti'
tuition, is violated in the very act Of
putting in operation charter reject.
ed even by them.
A rebellion SO iniquitous and nee
essarily involving such awful conse'
quences, has never before disgracet
any age or country.
Permit me to call yonr attention
as still claiming to be citizens OF tn,
United States, to the results Of you,
revolutionary proceedings, You ar'
inaugurating rebellion; you are dis
regarding the laws Of Congress ant
Of the Territorial Government, ant
J dofying all authority; you are con
spring to overthrow the Governmen
Of the United States in this Terrific
ry. Your purpose, if carried intt
effect in the mode designated by 20,
by putting yourlaws forcibly into ex
ecution, would involve you in the
) guilt Of crime and treason. Yol
stand now, citizens, upon thu
brink of an awful precipice, and il
becomes my duty to warn you ere yor
{ take the fatal leap into the gulf be
+ low, If your proceedings are no
arrested you will necessarily deStro,
tho peace of the Territory and in
volve it in all the horrors Of civi
, war. | warn you, then, before it j
, too late, to recedc from the perilou
position in which you now stand.
! appeal once more to your reason
: and patriotism, l ask you in tn,
: name Of our common country, in tn,
= name Of the Constitution and Of th
I'll TTn;on N daeist FROM fh,p raha11;on