New-York daily tribune., 1858-02-02
KANSAS.
THE TERRITORIAL LEGISLATURE.


LAWRENCE, X. T., Jan. % 1858.
For two weeks past Lawrence has been blessed
nth ,be outward or visible signs Of Government It
le,st Two Governors and two Legslat1res.
Acting Gov. Denver has removed 10 Lawrence,
and has rooms at one OF the hotels. Lecompson, IN
fac, would be vacated but for Federal patronage.
The Land Office is kept there and judge CATO
.;u 7 suppose. persist in holding Court there IN
,n;,e Of the law Of the present Territorial Legss-
g. Ru. Lawrence is, 10 all ntents and purposes,
.Sa .sr,s as IL has always been the scene oil gsa-
al interest from the days of the Wakerusa war
down 10 the scsveDger rebellion.
S;nce the State Legislature has taken recess,
The Territorial had il all its own way. IL Was oel-
,er indeed that the former should have adjourned,
as steps we're taken by the designing enemies
s,sedom 10 fomebt ealouses between the two
hoS;sS than which nothing is more natural. The
one body had all the elements of legal power; INC
otbsr was supposed TO be more popular. The ony
oh;ac,on IN an immediate adjournment oi tbe oIalo
Iecslatnre AZ the fret, was fear that It's enemfs
~ conoress or elsehwere, might think II was dead
Tbe determination was 10 have II ready, ana put 10
in immediate operation the moment the Lecomgsou
Constitution might be accepted by Congress. tIo
recess taken is simply 10 compete tDeH WIN ~
furtherance Of that policy. x
The Terr;torial LEGISLATURE is al work. Number
less bills, mostly of private nature, are nod.lnf
through that legal channel. The eyes OF expec'sns
speculators turn 10 this law-givng BODY as o"soiy
ss the wounded Hebrews To the brazen serpent.
Schemes nnumerable take the shape oil t"@n and
railroad charters and these bubbles OF legislation
foet through the brain of the modern Alnaschars.
whose basket of crockery is the map or chafteF q
r. would be perfectly useless TO cnticise this
srscuIst;nc spirit which seems inevitably TO 6oot
the yates of Territorial legislation. In al new Ter
ritories there is the basis OF legitimate speculation
10 begin with wilderness, with no coinmercia
value ia in one or two years converted lnto INC nc
live scene Of busy labor and commerce by emgra-
tion which brings its footsteps gold duss r,cnei
than could be washed from the guches oi tanior'
mia. Towns spring up where the paroque1 snattsr'
ed one or two years ago among tno rive, eeeee,
and where the prairie gopher, out it'e wnio ago,
looked from ts little mound over wiioeiness VI
tating himself on his possession o rch corner io''
man does not make town. Neither does SUI
ner;or galvanized puff. Both OF these, together
wth a Legdt charter, may dupe many an
unwary adventurer, unsophisticated IN the
arts ofs Western town speculation. Dn', "
would never do TO sce at the real because there -
bogus. All of these town speculations are not
counterfeit. Where there is good natural point,
and emigration tends thither, there we hnd legI-
timate speculation as surely as the needle points 10
the MOLE Cents will grow TO dollars and dollars to
hundreds in a few years where men III actlSe iaoor
throw their money and their toll freely on the wa
ters. There are the real speculatons, and there'
are comterfeits, many cOunteIieits. A paper to"h
is chartered, with apaper railroad running past H.
and fine map is Autographed, on the modest mar
gin of which is very faithful picture OF the de-
sired locality All the thoroughfares In the universe
seem 10 be tending thither. Ii is In fact, hke the
center of great wheel the spoke or radii OF which
points everywhere through the universe.
1t is in tbis way that legislation is (pecuniarily)
valuable. The bogus Legislature Missouri thrust
on us entered into such speculatiOns IN the most
wholesale way, until their special privileges were q
drug in the market. Precedents are dangerous. II
was hardly TO be expected that representatives Of
the people would initiate them; but then these
bogus county seats must be changed, and the temp
taton to follow SO illustriOus example is very
strong. From several parts of each county are
parties who hope 10 lobby through bill to mako
their town the county seat, or to make apaper town
| expressly for such purpose. They are willing TO
bleed few shares for the talsmanic virtue Of such
legislation. The time will come when true apostle
of the people will rise up against all such legsls-
iion, and assert the right of the people Of each
county to make their county seats matter Of their
own convenience, and when this forced legislation
will 60 to the moles and to the bats. But time is
livery thing. Possession is nine points Of the
aw." Give us, and we will hold, say the spec
lators. Money, money, money! Oh, that talent
and honorable position should bow down and wor-
ship the arch ruler Of civilization
Some few general laws have been passed, and o
number more have been introduced. A resolution
was adopted making the statutes Of Ohio the basis
Of legislation. bill has just passed legahzng tho
city charter OF Lawrence and its past acts II is
before Denver, and l learn he will veto il. The
scavenger rebellion has neither been forgotten nor
forgiven. 1t will pass over bis veto. The Conven-
ton bill will, l think, pass to-day. The election
will be next month. A hundred delegates viii be
elected. The Convention will meet soon, and ts
submission to the people and presentation to Con-
gress Will take place as soon as possible. There is
act under consideration for the repeal of many Of
the statutes of Kansas Territory Several acts have
passed locating county seats permanently, and host
Of others under consideration; an act 10 repeal
the law Furnishing Ofenses against slave property;
an act abolishiDg Slavery in the Territory and an
act sending Cato and Lecompte to Arspahoe and
the CheyenDes.
IJENnEDCnN lpITNyrn