Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1852-1859, 1857-12-21
Speech of Secretary Stanton upon the
Kansas Election.

from the Leeomptnn Squatter SoTeTeionl
Mr.. Stanton being called for, said came
here from the South, with the hope that Kansas
would be n Slave State. 1t would be very a
greeable to me to find the pro-slavery party, 1t
there be such a party here, in the majority. But
irhether I round It so or not, 1 determined to
~,,,s,ain the yRGioritu. The troubles in Kansas
we're a~gitating the whole country, and the Gov
ernor determined to settle them by q fair election.
said if the thing could be fairly done would
rejoice, for then our troubles would be at an end
But while we were determined that the minority
should rule, it became q perplexing question to
decide which party had that majority. ObSta-
cIes were thrown in the way of a fair vote; the
tax qualification was brought up and Insisted
on by Judge Cato, of the Supreme Court and by
Mr.. Wier, the Attorney General. We set that
tax and their opinions aside, and they can never
be brought mp again. The country has approx
ed of our action; Presidents, Go srnors, Judges,
People and all approve it The few, the fac
ton, those who seek to accomplish mischief, a
lone oppose US. Those who expected to get
office by their tricks, condemn US; bit they arc
la miserable minority, not one to twenty of the
whole people, and of course they cannot rule.
The next thing that came up for our decision
was the election frauds of Oxford, and those
from MCGEE county. We Travelled to Oxford
with our own ears; and, gentlemen, what did we
find? For miles in johnson county, found no
cabins, and when found they were not inhabit-
ed; there are not as many Inhabitants in the
whole country as there are names on that one
poll list. The inhabitants of Oxford told us
that there was not 300 persons in town during
the whole two days of the election. We reject
ed the returns, and the public have approved of
course; the objection made to it by the mischief
makers is simply technical. They say we have
no right to go behind the returns and decide
whether they were tictions or real. 1t is admit
ted that no such votes were given, but that we
had no right to ascertain that fact, nor act i'll ire
ference to it, If it were aScertained. But we did
go behind the records and act in reference to
the facts, and the people are here to-day to sus-
tain us, and they have sustained US all over the
country.
When / first came to Kansas / declared it my
intention to secure n fair vote, aud here, to-day,
1 claim that l have fulfilled my pledge, and l
have fulfilled it without violating the law. In
fact it would have been a great misfortune had
[ not done so. l considered the laws as valid
while a great majority thought otherwise.
thought the people ought to pay taxes, but they
would not. ! thought they ought to submit to
the law of the Territorial Legislature, but they
wolld not. And there was no way to settle
this question but by a fair and full vote of the
people, and that you have had; and as | regret
that my party should be defeated, yet gentle
men l must confess that you have the majority
of ut least twenty to one. But if the 0ppoSi-
ton are not satisfied that they have a remedy
let them go to Congress and have a Committee
of Investigation appointed. The next Congress
will be Democratic, the Speaker will be Demo.
cratic, and the Committee will be Democratic.
Democrats will do justice their own party, and
to that tribunal l appeal
..