Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1858-03-19

| province of Louisiana north of SO 80 whit
| had been reserved in lS20, and dedicated
| Tree Labor and free States. The old OucstiC
was revived in regard to that Territory, M
| took the narrow name of the Kansas ulc
ton, Just as the stream which Lake Superb
discharges now contracting itself into rive
and rrcciritating itself down rapids and ca
aracts, and now spreading ont its waters il
| to broad s'as, assumes anew name with ever
| change Of FORM but continues. nevertheless
tho same majestic and irresistible flood und,
every changr, increasing in depth and
| volume until it loses itself in tho all-absorl
| ing ocean.
No ono had ever said or even thought tina
| the law of Freedom in this region could l.
repealed, impaired or invaded Its constitr
tiunalitv had, indeed, been questioned at tn
time Of its enactment. hut this. with all 9th
cr objections had been surrendered as Il par
of the compromise. twas regarded as bca,
ng the sanction Of public faith, as it certain
" had those of time and acQuin~conc'. Blu
the slaycholdiug people Of Missouri lookc
across the border. into Kansas, and covctc
the land. The slave States could not fail t.
symrathiz, with them
1t seemed as if no organization Of Govern
mont could be effected in the Tcrritorv TIN
senator from Illinois. (Nlr. Douglas.) pro
i"rtod n schomn. | ndnr his vigorous lcalinr
Congress rrolt'd tw, 'rrrrit ,r's-Nchras'
and Kansas. The former (thc more northern
onc) might it was supposed, be settled with
out Slavery, and become free state. scvcra
free States. The lattnr (thc southern one,
was accessible to the slave States, bordcrcd on
one of them, and was regarded as a rcgior
inviting to Shareholders. 50 it might br set.
tied hv them, and become one or more slave
States. Thus Indirectly a further comprom.
iSc might be effected. the Missouri prlhibi.
ton of lS20 should be abrogatcd Congress
abrogatcd it, with the special effective cu-op-
Grafton of the President, and thus the Ma
tional Government directly intervencd
in favor of slave labor. Loud rcmonstrances
against the measure ON the ground of its
violation of the national faith were silonccd
by clamorous avowals of discovery that
Congress had never had any right to in
tcrvcnc in the Territories for or against
Slavery, hut that the citizens of the United
States residing in the Territory had. like
the people of every State. exclusive authuri-
tv and jurisdiction over Slavery, as one of
the domestic relations. The Kansas Nchras-
ka act only recognized and affirmed this
right, as it was said. The theory was not
indeed new, but vagrant one which had
Tor some time CONC about seeking among NO.
litical parties the charity Of adoption. under
the name of Squattrr Soycrcigntv 1t was
now brought to the font, and baptized with
the more attractive aprcllation Of Popular
Sovereignty. 1t was idle for time to say
that. under the Missouri prohibition, free
men in the Territory had all the rights
which lrcrmcn could dcsre-pcrftct freedom
to do everything but establish Slavery. Pop
ular Sovereignty offered the indulgence of a
taste of the fruit of the tree of the knowl-
edge of evil as well as of good-a more per
feet freedom. lnsomuch as the proposition
seemed to come from free State, the Slave
States could not resist its Scductons, although
men saw that they wcrc delusivc.
a small and Intellectual stream
OF slave labor WAS at once forced into Kansas.
engineered by larr' number of politicians,
advocates at once of Slavery and the Federal
who proceeded with great
haste to prepare the means 50 to carry the
the first elections a~ to obtain the laws nee
cssary for the protection of slavery 1t is
one thing, however to oXpungo statutes from
i iiitti6nal Institution. even though it hc only
a monument Of Freedom, located in the drs-
rrt Nebraska was r'Si -ncd to free labor
without IA struggle. and Kansas became
theatre of the first actual national conflict be
tween slaye-holding and frce-lahor mmi-
grants, met face To- face, to organic, through
the machinery of republican action, civil
community.
The parties differed a. widely in their ap-
conduct. and bearing. a> their
mincipos The free lanorcrs came into the
, ia ,,,nn,- iun,.l,-
mrnt,. and engines. with energies cpnccn-
tratcd by associations and strengthened by
the recognition Of some of the States They
marked ont farms. and sites for mills, towns
and cities. and proceeded at once to build. to
plow. and to sow. They proposed to debate
to discuss, to organize peacefully, and to
vote. aud to abide the canvass The slayc-la-
por party entered the Territory irr'gularly.
stakcd out possessions, marked them, and
then in most instances, withdrew to the Stat, ;
from which they had come, to sell their new
acquisitions, or to return and RESUME them
as circumstances should render one course or
the other expcdicHt. They left armed men
in the Territory to watch and guard, and to
summon external and, either to vote or to
fight. as should be found necessary. They
were fortified by the favor of the Admins
tration. and assumed to act with its author
itv. Intolcrant of debate, and defiant. they
hurried ON the elections which were to he 50
perverted, that an usurpation should be cstab-
lishcd. They rang out their summons when the
appointcd time came. and armed bands of
partisans, from States near and remote, in
vadcd and entered the Territory, with ban
ncrs, ammunition, provisions and forage,
and encamped around the polls. They seized
the ballOt-boxrs, replaced the Judges of elec-
tons with aItisans of their own, drove away
their opponents, filled the boxes with as many
votes as the exgencies demanded, and, leaving
the results to be returned by reliable hands
they marched back again to their distant
homes to celebrate the conquest, and exult in
the prospect Of the establishment Of Slavery
upon the soil So long consrcratcd to Freedom
Thus, in n single day, they became parents o
a State without affection for it, and childlcs'
again without b rcavem"nt. In this first houl
Of trial the now system of popular sovereignty
signallv milcd-iailcd because it is impossible
to organize, by one single act, in one day,
community perfectly free, perfectly sovereign
and u rfrrtiy constituted, ont Of elements
unassimilatcd, unarriuged and uucpmpos'd
Free labor rightfully won the dav. Slave la
hur wrestcd the victory Ia itself 10y fraud an'
violence. Instead of free republican tpy
crnmcnt in the Territory, such As pppula
sovereignty had promised, there was thcr
and thcncelorth a hateful usurration Thi
usurpatiOn proceeded without delay and with
out compunction to disiranchise the people
transferred the slave code of Missouri to Kan
.as, without stopping in all eases to substi
tutc the name of the new Territory for tina
of the old State 1t practically -uspcnde
popular elections for three years, the uSurpin
Legislature assigning that term for its ow
members, while it committed all >uhordinnt
trusts to agent appointed by itself 1t barre
the courts aud the iuricN t. its adycr,lrics b.
test oaths, and made it Il crime to thin
what one pleased, and to writond print villa
one thought. II borrowed all the cngincr
Of tyranny, but the torture, from the rractc
Of the Stuarts. The party of free labor az
pcaled to the Governor (Rccdor) to CORE,
| the false election returns, lie mtcronro
| but Intellectually, and yet, even for that il
| tcrycntiuu was denounced by the Admiui,tr
tion organs, aud, after long and unacccrtihl