Litchfield enquirer., 1858-04-15
T9e 9dtbdtlb G'tq'rlrst. 1itchne,d, Conn, Thursday. April IS, 1858.
Lnte news from washington thus sreaks of the

Iitchfe,d Conn, Thursday. April IS, 1sss
 Late news from Washington thus speaks of the death-bed of Colonel Benton
 "Col Benton is dying. His disease, cancer of the bowels, has made such progress that he cannot sur rive much longer. He suffers extreme pain, and is exhausted to almost the last degree of physical pros- tration. But his mind is as clear and powerful as ever, and the high. resolute Roman spirit of the old statesman struggles with indomitable energy and for titude against sickness and weakness and the awful presence of the king of terrors
 " In energetic whispers. he told his visitor that the same men who had sought to destroy the Repub lie in 1850 were at the bottom of this accursed Le- compton business Among the greatest of his con xolations in dying. the consciousness that the House of Representatives had bafed these treasona ble schemers, and put the heels of the people upon the necks of the traitors Few events in our history had given him much satisfaction as the defeat, of 1ecompton. He warmly praised the intrepid and in- ccrruptible Douglas Democrats who had resisted the power and the wiles of a corrupt and deluded Ad- ininistration.
 In taking leave of his friend, Col Benton said that although there was much in his life that he regretted he could honestly feel proud on his dcah-bed of his devotion t his country, in whose service he had nev been faithless or negligent
 Such is the testimony of dying man. An indi- viduals last words, especially those of prominent citizen, are uniformly received with attention if not held as special treasure to be handed down to flu ture generations As these last testimonies of Col. Benton, whispered forth by his dying breath, de- emphatically the acts of the Administration in relation to Kansas as Unreasonable" feel that they should be received with at least the difference due the experience of statesman SO widely known as the best informed and perhaps the ablest of living American politicians And in view of them, we ask those who have so pertina ciously adhered to the course of Mr. Buchanan, to pause for moment and examine themselves if they too were standing on the verge of the grave they could bear the same testmo ny of selfdevotion to their country It is not req eonable to suppose that man like Col Benton, for the sake of political prejudice, would be willing to die with lie upon his lips yet no man in Wash iagton is better informed regarding the facts of the Kansas struggle His position as citizen of Mis- souri, and as historian of the great political events of the country, emnently qualify him to express an opinion and coupling this with the fact of his ap preaching dissolution, and the knowledge that his words will be handed from age to age his dcnounce msnt of the Lecompton outrage is of the most farcble arguments in proof of Mr. Buchanans insin- ccrity which has been produced.
 we QD uOC Dy UcdHS WISH tO OeQOunCc every man who has voted to sustain the Iecompton fraud, dishonest, GOT to place him in the category with the President and yet, considering the matter, we arc at loss what name to apply to his It seems shame to the fair reputation of New Eng ian, and to her boasts of well educated, law.abid ing population to say there is such number of in dividuals as those whose votes are recorded at r.x &l.. State who cannot read. Yet the fact stands clearly before the world that citizens either cannot rea will not read, or worse than either, having read, still suffer themselves to be made tools in the hands of wicke men for acts of oppression tending directly to the overthrow of the American government.
 President Buchanan said he would carry through his Lecompton swindle, or die in the attempt We have not yet heard of his demise, except politically which death occurred months ago one would sup pose, however, that he would wish himself more than six feet beneath his mother earth after the re- hnke he has received at the hands of those whom bribery or coeion could not force from their position as representatives of free constituency. There is no use in repeating, that Mir. Buchanan has been honest in his efforts to force the Lecompton Consti- tuition upon Kansas. Mr. Buchanan is not fool heugL he may be, in the words of Mir. Brode,ick. |" in the petulent passion and trembling dotage of an old man on the very verge of the grave.'
 If this is true, it is but poor apology for acts which countenaneed frauds of the basest description If 4here were no other reason save the simple fact that in the precinct of Shawnee there were returned as having been polled for the Lecompton Constitu- tion, 75S votesthe of the place showing only 30 houses and 115 legal votcrs-it was sufficient to establish palpable fraud. When the polllist left the town, the record of names covered four pages of paper when it reached Mir. Calhoun, it covered ff teen pages. Atstl another precinct Oxford ,266 votes are reported as having been boiled The ecn. sus shows only 47 white inhabitants It would he enough to call down upon the head of officials who sustained such frauds, the indignation of the whole country.
 but this was but small part of the work and 10 nide the true facts in the case side issues were n troduced, totally irrelevant to the question Mr. Douglas position a Senator from Illinois, MT. Walkers aspirations for the Presidency, Mir. Stan tons vexation for being recalled-these were but small rart of the issues which were brought for ward, to blind eonfding constituency 'Bleeding Kansas, Black Republicanism," " and Northern Fanatics, were, however, too feeble in themselves to override the fact that figures won't lie," or honest men forget their duty to their constituents or to generations who are to take their places Ritii cule, to be sure, is potent argument But ridicuc alone is not sufficient to meet an army of figures and the testimony of four Governors to frauds of an patalleled character The everlasting old story of " Why didn't they vote P we trust now has found resting place. The vote of New Hampshire, Con-