Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1858-04-07

know the Senator from South Car.
DINA, and a good many other Senators,
!, b ave been willing to divide the cdium
Of this transaction with US. He thought
there were disgraceful frauds on both
t sides-''disgraceful," said he. "to the
country" and he has not sought TO in
vestigate them He says it is a disa-
greeable subject aud he has no doubt
both sides are guilty. Sir. it was not on
both gidss. 1t was only on one side
You took possession of those polls. You
elected your owH men. members of a for
eign State. who came in there 10 control
the destinies of this T-rritory, which it
was especially said should be ruled as its
own citizens pleased.
| do mt want to detain the Senate by
reading the pages which | have turned
down in this document, unless some gen.
;leman wishes TO heal them. They are
long, but they are all pertinent. All go
10 show the facts | have slated, and there
is nobody ID deny or contradict them
Now, you say we do not prove ihem.-
Did not we ask you for a commission 10
examine them during the last Congress?
We made charges; we said they were
true; we had letters and communications
impIoring us 10 investigate the state of
things that was prevailing there; but as
often as we asked you to give US COM
mission YOU refused il. Standing on that
refusal, you turn around and deny the
weight of the authorities we produce. Sir,
tina, will not 90 down. Now, at a later
day, when your candle-box frauds, your
fHrgeries most disgraceful are coming to
li9ht-when they are known of all men
we ask you for a commission to inves.
tigate this matter; and as often as we ask
ii YOU turn around coolly and vote us
down, and thin deny that there is any
such thing! Sir, the country will take
cognizance of that.
The fraud by which the election of
March 81, 1854, was carried. is estab.
Iished. l know you undertake TO stop
us by saving that Governor Reeder gave
cer'iiicl,es to a majority of the members.
So he did; but that did not cure the
usurpaiion. | think The Governor allow
I'd but four days to receive protests con.
testing the seats of the members elect
The people, scattered as they were, could
not prepare their memorials TO the Gov
ernor and get them there in time. In
every instance where ii was done, The
election was set aside for most palpable
frauds; but the setting them aside awaited
nothing. There were your blue lodges,
your usurpers, in power. They were
taking their seas by a usurpalion; they
were not to be turned aside by anything
like this. New elections were ordered
in several of the districts, and in every
instance the free-Stale men were return
cd; but, on The very first day of the meet
ing Of the Legislature. without ~invesli-
CATION, without referring 10 Il committee,
they Just turned every free S'atc man
right out of the Legislature. What good
would it do to give certificates? But
is a man TO be %estopped on a gross usur-
patton like this? Is All American citizen
10 be cheated out of his rights under
forms of law2 | ask any honorable gen
on the other side, would you sub
nit TO liz No, sir, you would nol.-
Would you submit TO be governed by
a gang of usurpers who, without right
and in d, iance of right, had taken pos
session of your baliot-boxeS, defeated
your election, turned your coun'rymen
olt, and foreigners usurped your places?
Would iechnicaliiies avail2 No, sir; |
have too high an opinion of you to be-
that.
Il would be idle, mere miserable petit
To come in and say, oh, you
have certificates from the Governor and
that cures every thing, and we caunot b.
to prove that it was a %usurpalion.
Sir, there was mol a man who received
MS certificate as having been elected on
hat day, who had any more title 10 a
seat in the Legislature han he had 10 the ;
of heaven; and can a certificate
give a man the right 10 rule in This coun- :
ry? Sir, American liberty rests on no
basis like that; and shame 10 the I
nan who will say that he would sue $
to a fraud like this. .
Such was The original ~usurpatiou. 1t
the result of fraud. 1t was worse !
han void. 1t was a result brought about
~ The commission of the highest crimes
American liberty that man can /,
}: gully of. Ii was a Legislature elected
n this manner, that took the iniiaiorv
towards the convention which fran {
ID this constitution. say a body elect S
ID in such n manner could DO no legal q
lets. They got together, however, aud ,
hot haste passed all the laws of Mis-
in a body, as The Senator from
Michigan stated yesterday. They did .
lot alier their titles, but they took short
-oad, we will take the whole code, and |
wherever it says State it shall be con- +,
to mean Territory" | have
ooked through that code somewhat, ani {
| find the provisions for patrols 10
Keep the slaves in order at night, as they T.
ave in Missouri. Those laws were +
transferred into the Territory of Kansas r
before there was, perhaps, a single slave
here. Laws were passed ordering The u
10 patrol the districts to see that '
he slaves kept in order. The fact is, o
hat they swallowed the Missouri statute. a
book whole, and did not know what was
n it, and 10 them il made no diff renee
What was in it. They went further, and !
passed laws which would have been dis I
graceful 10 any king or country, from
Nero 10 Nicholas. You can find no such f,
avs on any statute book. They were
unconstitutional; and even General Clss. !
N this floor, was compelled TO say that
hey were infamous aud disgraceful 10 !
he age; but yet the Senate of the United '
States would not repeal them !
The Senator from Louisiana did not
ouch on this subject. He passed it by I
Is easily and as lightly as he could. He I
iweIt on the beau,ies of old Judge fancy {
more than he did on the frauds and vio-
ence in Kansas. He talked about the
roombs bull, and said we would not vote !,
or it. He said the people Of the Terri n
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