The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1858-02-18
To the People of the United States.

Having been recently removed from
the Office of Secretary Of Kansas Terri
tory, under circumstances which imply
severe censure on the part of the Presi
dent, and having had DO official iuforma
ton of my removal, nor any opportunity
for explanation or defence, | have deem.
ed it necessary to present to the People
Of the United States brief statement ol
facts in vindication of my motives and in
explanation of the results of the act for
which have been condemned.
The Office in question was not given at
my solicitation. My acceptance oft, un-
der all the circumstances, was proof of
strong friendship for the President, and
of unbounded confidence in the 6rmness
and faithfulness with which he would ad-
here to the line of policy deliberately a
greed upon between him, his whole Cab.
met, and Governor Walker.
On my arrival in the Territory in A
pril last, in advance of Governor Walker,
| confess that | had an imperfect knowl.
edge of the real condition of affairs.
supposed the question of slavery to be the
only cause Of dissension and difficulty a.
mong the people; and in my brief inaug-
ural address of the 18th April, treated
this as the chief subject of difference
upon which a submission to the people
would be likely to be demanded. l soon
found however, that this view VI as altogeth-
er too limited, and did not reach the true
ground of controversy. The great m ass
of the inhabitants of the Territory we're
dissati6ed with the local government, md
earnestly denied the validity of the exis-
ting laws. Asserting that the previous
Legislatures had been forced upon them
by the fraud and violence Of neighbor-
ing people, they proclaimed their deter
mination never to submit to tho enact.
meuts Of legislatives bodies thus relieved
to be the i!legitimate and not entitled to
obedience.
This was the condition Of things when
Gov. Walker came into the Territory in
the latter part of May. 1t was evident
that thu just policy Of permitting the peo-
pie to regulate their own affairs could
not be successfully carried out, unless
they could be inspired with confidence in
the agent of Government through whom
this result was to be effected. If a mere
minority Of the people bad been thus dis
satisfied and contum acious, they might
possibly have been pronounced factious
and treated az disturbers of the peace !;
but when the dissatisfaction was general,
comprising almost the whole people, a
more respectful consideration was indis-
pensablc to a peaceable adjustment. 1t
was evident that the policy of repression
"a rigid attempt to enforce submission
without an effort at conciliation-would
inevitably result in renewal of the civil
war. With coumendable anxiety to a.
void this contingency, Gov. Walker re-
solved to 60 among the people to listen to
their compliant, to give them assurance
of fair and just administration of the
Territorial Government, and to induce
them if possible, to abandon their ho>tili-
ty, and to enter upon the peaceful but
decisive struggle of the ballot box. Twas
ofteu With the Governor when be address
ed the people, and gave my best efforts in
aid of the great purpose of conciliation.
1t was too late to induce the people to
60 into the June election for delegate to
the Convention. The registration requi-
red by law had been imperfect iu all the
counties, and had been wholly omitted
in one half of them; Dor could the people
Of these disfranchi>ed counties vote in a.
ny adjacent county, as has been falsely
suggested. 1n such Of them as subse-
quently took a census or registry Of their
own, the delegates chosen were not ad-
mitted to seats 10 the Convention. New
ertheless, it is not to be denied that the
great central fact, which controlled the
whole case, was the utter want of conf
dcnce by the people OF the Territorial
Government They alleged that the To-
cal officers, 10 all instances, were unscru-
pulous partizans, who bad previously de-
frauded them in the elections, and who
were ready to repeat the same outrages
again; that, even if intruders from abroad
should not be permitted to overpower
them, they would be cheated by false re-
turns, which it would not be possible for
the Governor and Secretary to defeat
Although at that time these apprehen-
sious seemed to me to be preposterous
and unfounded, it was impossible to deny
the earnestness and sincerity with which
they were urged, or to doubt that they
were the result of deep convictions, hav-
log their origin in some previous expert
ence of that nature.
The worst portion of small minority
in Kansas, who had possession of the
Territorial organization, loudly and bit
terly complained of Gov. Walkers poll
cy of conciiation, and demanded the op-
posite policy of repression. And when,
under the solemn assurances given that
the elections should be fairly conducted,
and no frauds which we could reach be
or tolerated, it bad become
apparent that the mass of the people were
prepared and determined to participate in
the October elections, the minority en-
1cavored to defeat the result by revivfng
he tax qualification for electors, which
A