The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1858-02-04


the minority endeavosed to defeat the result by
reviyng the tax quail ication for electors, which
had been repealed blythe previous Legislature.
Opinions we're obtained from high legal sources,
the effect of which, had they prevailed, would
have been to exclude the mass of the people
from voting, to retain Che control in the hands
of the minority, and, iis q consequence, to keep
up agitation, and to nsnder civil war inevitable
Bat the intrepid resolution of Gov. Walker. in
spite of fierce opposition and denunciation. far
and near, carried hins through this dangerous
crisis, and he had the proud satisfaction Of hav.
ing achieved peaceful triumph, by inducing
the people to submit 70 the arbitrament of Il p
ballot box. ~
But the minority were determined not to SUBJ
NIT to defeat. The populous county of Doug.
las had been attached. to the border county Of
johnson, with . large and controlling repre-.
sentation in the Legislature The celebrated
Oxford fraud was pirpetrated with a view to
obtain msjorities in 10th Houses of the Assem-.
bly,. When these reSnrns were received at nv
Office, in Gov Walksr,s absence, had fully
determined not to gin certificates based upon
them. 1t they had zen so formal and correct
as to have made it ny duty to certify them, !
would have resigned my Office in order to tes.
tify my sense of the enormity of the wrong,
Gov. Walker, at Lea,'elvorth, had formed the
same resolution, as hs stated to me and to seq.
eral others, and we were both gratiied that W.
found the papers so isaperfect as to make it our
duty to reject them. sareat excitement followed
In the Territory. The minority thus righteoux
~ defeated in the effort to proong their power
became fierce in opposition, and resorted to
every means Of intim;dption. But am led to
believe they found their most effectual means
of operation by undermining us with the Ad-
ministration at Washington.
The Constitutions Convention, which had
adjourned over until otter the October election,
met again in LecomEon, to resume its labors.
Many of the members of that body were bit
terly hostile to the Governor and Secretary, on
account of their rejection of the Oxford and
MCGEE frauds, in whfchs some of the members
and officers Of the Co ,vsntion had direct par
ticipation. In fact, His body, with some hon.
orable exceptions, we'll represented the minor.
ity party in the Territory, and were fully
imbued with the saude spirit and designs 1t
was obviously not their 1esire to secure to the
real people of Kansak the control of their own
affairs. In the Constitution soon afterwards
adopted they endeavored to supersede the Leg.
islature which had BEEN elected by the people,
by providing, in the second section of the
schedule, that " all kwy now of force in the
Territory shall continue to be of force until
altered, amended, or repealed, by Legislature
under the provisions of this Constitution :"
They provided still more effectually, as they
supposed, for the peApetuation of their minor
ity Government, by adopting the Oxford fraud
as the basis of their appointment, giving q
great preponderance of representation to the
counties on the Missouri border, and sffording,
at the same time, every possible facility for
the introduction of spurious votes. The Pres
ident of the Convention was clothed with
unlimited power in cond ncting the elections and
receiving the returns, while the officers are
not required to take the usual oath to secure
fair and honest dealing. The elections were
hurried on in mid win er-the 2lst of December
and the 4th of Janua y--when emigrants could
come only from the i'm mediate borders, under
the qualification which invited to the ballot-box
every wh {, male inhabitant I" in the Territory
on that day." The ssme men who did this
had previously densucced Governor Walker
for the suggestion N his inaugural address,
and in his Topeka speech, that the Constitution
should be submitted to all the bona fde inhab-
itants, although he invariably stated, when
asked for explanation, that some reasonable
length of residence ought 10 be required, as
evidence Of the bona fde character Of inhab-
fancy. !rt.
1t was apparent that all the machinery had
been artfully prepar.d Cor repetition of gross
frauds, similar to Siole which had been at
tempted in October , and it was il, view of all
these facts, after the adjournment of the Con-
vention, that the peopls of the Territory, by an
almost unanimous dsm,nd, called upon me, as
the acting Governor 70 convene an extra ses-
sion of the Legislature, sn order to enable them
peaceably to protect themselves against she
wrongs evidently Contemplated by the adop-
ton of this Constitution. There was no law to
oh de, ala L. n.
were intensely excited; and it was the opinion
of the coolest men IL the Territory, that, with
out call ofthe Legislature, the elections under
the Constitution COLD not have taken place
without collision ant, bioodshed. The meeting
of the Legislature diverted the attention of the
people from the schemes of violence upon
which they were brooding, substituted the ex-
element of debate s5no investigation for that
of fierce and warlikc hatred, and enabled their
representatives to devise means for counterfeit
ing the wrongs which they justly apprehended.
Recent events have shown that their appre-
tensions were we'll founded. Enormous frauds
have been perpetratl,d at the precincts of Ok.
ford, Shawnee, and Kickapoo; and it may we'll
be believed that 5his result was actually
designed by the artfll leaders who devised the
plan and framework of the Lecompton Consti-
tuition. have lately been at Shawnee, and
have seen and coLxersed with persons who
were at Oxford on She day of election. The
frauds committed sre notorious and though
dishonest persons may deny them, and may
fill the channels of public Information with
shameless representations to the contrary, they
can be easily established beyond all contro-
versy.
1t was to enable She people to shield them
selves from these frauds, and to give legal ex-
preston to their hatred and rejection of the
instrument which permitted them, and was to
be carried by them, that l called the Legisla-
ture together.
In my judgment, th1 people had fair claim
to be heard on this SUSPECT through their Leg
islature. The organis act con6ded to me the
discretion of converting that body in extra ses.
sion. The President Of the United States had
no rightful authority to exercise that discretion
for me. He had the power of removal, and
such control as that sower gives him. But
would chserfally hav9 submitted to removal,
and consequent loss Of favor with the Presi.
dent, rather than occusy the position Of Govern.
or, and refuse to the people an opportunity to
assert their most essential rights, and to pro-
tect themselves agsinst the basest frauds and
wrongs ever attempteS upon an outraged COM
munity. \
Not having been informed of the grounds of
my removal, / know them only through the
newspaper reports, 70 the effect that, in calling
the Legislature, disobeyed the instructions Of
the President. ! had no instructions bearing
on the subject, and there was 70 time to obtain
them, even if haa felt bound to substitute
the Presidents will for that discretion which
the organic act con6ded to me. The converting
of the Legislature undoubtedly prevented diff.
Guilty and secured peace. Were it important,
am confident could establish this position by
the most indubitabae facts; but it is sufficient