The Kansas herald of freedom., 1858-03-13


Consistency.
The position taken by few indiyidu-
ais in regard to the future course OF the
Free State party il relation to the Le-
compton Constitution, is so inconsistent
with their former professions that we are
naturally led to the belief that they are
not guided by the puress motives IN their
political conduct.
These persons are portion Of that part
of the Free State party who opposed vot-
ing in January. We do not pretend 70
say that even respectable number of
those who differed with us on that ones
ton, differ with US now in regard to the
manner of settling our difficulties. We
believe that large number of those who
stayed away from the polls, did so hon
estly and in good faith, and thought they
were advancing the Free State cause by
sodoing. But there were some who took
the lead in opposition to voting at the fa-
mous Lawrence Convention. whose poll
tical honesty we very much doubted at
the time, and subsequent events have
confirmed those doubts. It is these per-
sons to whom we refer at present.
Il will be reeolleeted by all who were
present at the convention before adverted
to. that the main argument used by those
who favored the majority report of the
commistee-which was the non-voting
poliey-was the utter impossibility, as
they claimed, of carrying the election.
The shortness of time intervening be-
tween the convention and the election,
and the fact that the returns would be in
the hands of the notorious Calhoun, who
would alter them to suit his purpose, were
the strongest and the main arguments
used On that occasion; and the most of
them even went SO far as to say that if
they thought there was tho least possible
chance of carrying the election, and of
getting the offices into the hands of good
and true Free State men, they would by
all means say vote. This was all fair
enough, and we would not say a word
had they subsequently practiced what
they then preached. Bnt no sooner has
sPortioar of the Free State party gone in
to the election, and overcome all these
objections, and done that which it was
proclaimed in the convention impossible
for the achole partyto do, than these men
who declared in the convention that they
would have no objections to voting, if they
thought they could succeed, have turned
their backs OF what they then professed,
and have gone to work for the purpose Of
defeating the very objects which those who
voted had in view in taking part in the
election. 0, consistency
This ground and lofty tunblingp GER
tainly places the "aetors" in very awk-
ward position before a scrutinizing pub
lie. They either did not mean what they
said in the convention, or else they are
not in earnest in their present position.
q Men do not often work unles they work
for something-they always have some
object in view, whether good, bad, or in
different. Some will undoubtedly be led
to inquire what object the men, of whom
we have been speaking, can expect to ac-
complish by their course. In our opinion
their object is more infamous, if possible,
than that which guided the Border Ruff
fans in their unprovoked assault upon
Free State men in the early settlement of
Kansas. The whole of their influence
seems to centre in the infamous design of
bringing the people in conflict with the
Federal Government-which, if accom-
plished, no man who has the use of his
powers, can doubt would be a
at Freedom than it has ever
yet received. Ambitious demagogues
who scruple at nothing to gain their ends,
have their tools among US, planning the
destruction of freedom in the mighty
West, in hopes that they may use its ruins
as stepping stone to some high and inn
portant position.