The Kansas herald of freedom., 1857-08-15
The psmoer..ss r.s.y Of x..n....

and see whether IL Is q aPT0-siavefy party
In disguise. Hitis the latter, and the end
sought by it is to make slave State of
Kansas, then, we apprehend, very few
Free State Democrats will feel at liberty
to give it their support; indeed they can
not do so without stultifying themselves,
and proving false to their Free State
principles.
We can best judge of the character of
that party, by tracing its history briefly,
from its inception down to the present.
And yet it is difficult to show by docu-
mentary evidence its rise; as a history of
the various invasions and outrages COM
mitted in Kansas and along the border,
from the spring of 1854 down to February
last, is history of it. It's first public
meeting in the Territory was probably
held at Salt Creek Valley, where it was
resolved to give no protection to other
than pro-slayery settlers, though meet
ings of a similar import had been repeat
edly held in Missouri, forsome time pre-
vious. These meetings, and the resolu-
tions adopted at them, with the influence
of their secret Lodge, which was also a
part of their machinery, resulted in pro-
ducing the invasion of Nov. %, "a, and
the election of Whitfield as Delegate to
Congress.
That invasion was followed by the in
vasion of the Both of March, 1855, when
the ballot boxes were wrested from the
people, and an armed mob from Missouri
imposed majority of their own number
upon us, to make laws for the government
of Kansas. That body convened on the
ID of July, and adjourned to the Shawnee
Mission, where they re-convened on the
10th of July.
At night session cf the Territorial
Legislature of Aug. 80, 1856, Mr.. Ander-
son, of the House, offered the following
preambles and resolution, which passed
their several readings, under suspension
of the rules, and was unanimously agreed
to. 1t was also adopted by the Council,
and thus became the la,o of the Territory,
having passed through all the legal forms:
WHEREAS, The signs of the times in
dicate that a measure is now on foot,
fraught with more danger to the interest
of the pro-slayery party and to the Union,
than any which has been agitated, to wit:
The proposition TO organize National
Democratic party; and
''WHEREAs, Some of our friends have
already been misled by it; and
WHEREAS, The result will be to divide
pro-slavery Wings from Democrats, thus
weakening our party one-half; and
"WHEREAs, We believe that on the
success of our party depends the perpetu-
ity of the Union; therefore
Be it ReSolrei, By the House of Repre-
sentativcs, the Council concurring therein,
that it is the duty of the pro-slavery par
ty, the UniOn-lOving men of Kansas Ter
ritory, to know but one issue, slavery, and
that any party making or attempting to
make any other. is and should be held as
an ally of AbolitioniSm and disunion-
ISM"
1t is well to observe that the above pre-
amble and resolution was not adopted in
caucus of the members of the Legisla-
ture, but was the official action of that
body, and is found spread upon the House
Records for 1856, page $50.
We next find the pro-slavery party in
session in the fall of 1856, at Lcaven-
worth. In that convention they took ul-
ira pro-slavery ground; but as the name
began to have bad odor, they changed it
to the @Law and Order Party" Under
that cognoman they committed the out
RACES of December. 1856. and the whole
of 1856, upon the Free State party, sack
ed Lawrence, and murdered and pillaged
without stint.
The Law and Order party was conven-
ed at Lecompton, OH the first of January
of 1857. In that convention their Pro-
Slavery and Law and Order names were
esehewed, and the party placed themselves
upon the Cincinnati platform, and assum-
ed the names of National Democrats, the
name which they legally opposed, as is +
seen above, in 1856. That body of men
we're the same as those who led on the
various invasions of Kansas from Missouri.
There was s. j. Jones, and DR.. Stringfel-
ow, and Col. Mclean; also Calhoun. and
and Isacks, and numberless
others OF the same stamp. And there
Vas Anderson, and Fred. Emory and
zen. Clark, all in convention, and all were
aboring to get rid of the stencil which
lung around their former naiiies. They
howed their extreme pro-slavery procliy-
ties by refusing seats to those who were
'ot known to be sound pro-slavery men.
This action, We believe, was somewhat [
modified during the session of the con- ;
entlon, not from conviction, but policy.
$ they had become conscious of their own
and felt the necessity of gath i
ring as much strength as possible from t
ne opposing elements, by conciliating the &
ceilings of the more conservative of the |
party, or the members of that +
arty in Kansas. II
Those who figured in the various coun- q
conventions to nominate delegates to /
le Constitutional Convention, in nearly c
'ery county, though they professed to b
Democrats, put in nomination none or !,
1T few other than pro-slavery men. We q
collect that in Douglas county Mr.. u
HRIsTEAs, of this place, offered resolu- Il
IN that half the candidates from this Il
unity be Free State Democrats and the m
lance pro-slavery; but the National
pulf.rFgrfs.. r,.rrfV x.,rss,l1 ,.-a -.