New-York daily tribune., 1858-03-16


The monster Misrepresentation in the Kansas
case, on which the President urges the admission
Of the Territory under the LecOmpton ConstiIu'
ton, aid which forms the ground work oi la'e
London Times leader on the same side, ls, mat
when Kansas shal have become q State, the ma
ority Of ito people can readily get rid Of the Le'
compton fraud by substituting such Constitution
as they wish. According to thi. notion, when once
State every thing will be in their own hands anu
then they can regulate their institutions 10 their
Owl way, and destroy their tOrmentor. Along
with this plausible statement, we have an apollo
getic defense Of the Lecompton Constitution, on
the gro und that the majority had the ability 10 de-
feat il in its incipient stages if they had chosen 70
do sO they wiilfully refused and now It 10 ou'
right that they should reap the consequences OF their
folly. Now il s perfectly well known by every man
familiar with the proceedings in Kansas siace me
frat Border-Ruftan invasion, that the msJonY
of the people in that Territory have at no time
under the Pro-Slavery rule there been able to re-
:st by pesceable means the imposition OF any
wrtng determined upon by the usurpers. Inc
whole ef the difficulties in the Territory have arisen
from tie very fact that the majority of the people
have never been allowed chance under the Ssurp-
ers Government to vote down anything whstever
TheT have either been prevented from voting, CT
their votes have been outnumbered BY records OF
spurious votes never cast The usurpers have 81
ways held the ballOt-bCxes and counted the vCtes,
and they have never heiitated TO make majority
for their ride IN the returns, whatever the relative
proportion Of anti SLAYER! md Pro Slavery yOtesac-
tualy thrown. By this shameless violation OF rglt
and Justice the Free-State men ksye been just az
completely dsfranchsed through all the election
proceedings under the Territorial Legislature, as
though they had been forcibiy prevented from vot-
lug. Cast al tbs votes t1ey wosld they could
never get nsiory on the record OF The usurpers,
who alone had The power I, count the votes and
declare the result. This fact so notorious all
over Kansas tina. it regarded at last as no bet
ter than inIalt TO offer the people chance to
vote. The men who cOntro.sed the ballot boxes
ard counted the gotes, and declared the result,
proved themselves determined and INSCRIPTIONS
vlaips, who would not permit tie majority to rule,
but uniformly counted them into minority.
What wonder that the people looked upon the
ballot.box as a delusOn and a snare Fhey felt
and declared il was of 10 use to HEM They had
their labor for their pains. Their votes did not
avail anything-and why cast them In hct, the
wonder rather is that the people ever attempted to
vote at all after their first experiences. There
was enough in these ard their circumstance. 90 dis
gust them utterly with the idea of rigbtirg their
wrongs in that way. What monstrous injustice is
it, then to charge the majority of Kansas with
having refused to control the Lecompton Conyen-
ton in its inciplent stages They never had the
power to do it, and the only exception to this uniform
state of things is in the election Of tho present
Territorial Legislature. This exception arose not
in consequence of any act, or omission to act, of
the Border Ruffans themselves. They were only
defeated in their attempt to consummate the
swndle which they had begun at Oxford by which
that body would have been retained in their hands,
by the act of Gov Walker, who repudated that
yillainy In fact the result of that election Is not
strictly exceptional; il is simply accidental. This
simple statement annihilates the only apology
which has the pretense of decency, for saddhng
the Lecompton Constitution upon the people OF
Kansas against their known will.
now lei US IOOh NJ Tue power Ol Lnc Lud-
iority there to d themselves of this Constitution,
as The London Times and President Buchanan
alege they may after the Territory becomes
State. The legal process of doing this, of course
is by voting. Suppose for a moment, though
it is net suppOsable case, that elections are held
to decide the question whether the LecOm 2ton
Constitution shall be altered. The votes must be
returned TO the same nest Of usurpers who have
had control of the Territorial government from the
beginning Suppose an overwhelming majority
.iall be given in favor Of new Constitution.
Will not the same men who have swindled the ma.
jorty over and over again up TO this moment by
false records and false returns, have tie counting
and the declaring of the votes still What will be
their action Why, they will sgail practice the
Shawnee frauds, the Oxford frauds, she Delaware
Crossing frauds; again copy out Lists of voters
from Cincinnati Directories, and 20 declare that
the vote is against ary change of the Constitution.
So long as the party o: fraud hold the Government
in their hands, and so long as they choose to con-
tiuue their practices, so long the majority viii con-
tinue to be, as it has been from the beginning en-.
tirely powerless Thus il is that no change Of the
LecomptOn Constitution is possible, so long as the
usurpers who first framed it, who have siucs
crowded il upon Congress, and who now expect to
mount into power under it, shall continue the game
by which they have thus far, under the shelter of
FEEDERS. authority, AID the prestige of Federal ap.
proyal, nsulted every instinct and suggestion Of
popular rule.
The admission of Kansas under the Lecompton
Cnnstitntinn will be thus cOntnn ,tinn of the