The Kansas herald of freedom., 1858-05-29

you are opposed, and you must VOtt
against a favorable offer in order to get rio
of an obnoxious constitution. You mus
vote against what you desire, in order tha
you may get rid of greater evil. If yor
vote for these grants which are acceptable
to you, and liberal in their character, yor
do it at the peril of taking upon you I
constitution that you detest" 1t is the
very manner in which the question is pu
to the people which is Objectionable. Il
Is artificial in its character; it is calculated
to mislead.
We have complained great deal thai
the Lecompton constitution was submitted
to the people in regard to the question oI
slavery, in a certain manner, which was
unfair, deceptive, and dealing in duplicity.
That submission was this: You may vote
for the constitution with slavery, or for
the constitution without slavery; but you
have to vote for the constitution, at any
rate, which has slavery in it in either case. "
Now, how is it here? We will put to you
the question. "Will you vote for these
land grants ? But now remember, if you
vote for the land grants, you are to have
this slave constitution, and if you vote
against the land grants, you are to have
slavery in your Territory without con-
stitution." That is, you are to have a
constitution with slavery, or slavery with
out constitution, but slavery at any rate.
That seems to me to be the way in which
the question is put to them ; because you
hold that, under the Dred Scott decision,
it is slaveholding Territory, and there
fore if the people vote for these land
grants, they are to take a slaveholding
State constitution, and if they vote against
them, they are to endure slavery under a
territorial form of government. That is
the after-alternatiye.
The next objection I have to the man.
ner in which this new bill presents the
question, is to the provision in regard to
population. 1t seemed to be agreed on
all hands, and it was provided in the bill
passed by the Senate, that the numbers OF
the people of Kansas were sufficient to
justify their admission. They had num-
bers enough to admit them two years ago,
if they would make a constitution to suit
you. You thought they had numbers
enough to admit them under the Lecomp-
ton constitution. There are numbers
enough of them now to justify their admis-
sion as a State, if they vote for this
constitution but you give them to
understand that there are not numbers
enough, if they vote against this eonstitu-
ton, to make free one. We have here
a proposition that Kansas shall be admit
ted if she will have slave constitution,
and shall not be admitted if she will not
have slave constitution. There are peo-
pie enough to hold slaves, but not people
enough to enjoy freedom! This, it seems
to US, is palpable musician entirely
different affair from the House amend
ment.
In the next place, the proposition which
is now before us produces no finality it
makes no settlement. It only makes a
settlement provided they adopt the Le-
compton constitution, by voting in favof
of these grants of land. That will make
a finality; and that is the only fnality
under this proposition-a fnality in one
result. Ii the people do not vote to accept
these grants, it provides for no fnalisy,
no settlement, but leaves things in Statu
quo by declaring that the people of Kan
sas shall remain under territorial form OF
government for an indefinite and unlim-
tied period of time I do not know that
that part of the proposition will really
have much practical effect. 1t seems to
me to be rather br1ltuns fulnaeH, because l
suppose Congress can at any time admit
them, notwithstanding this declaration ;
but, after all, that is the effect it is intended
to have on the minds of the people of
Kansas. 1t is intended, if this bill passes,
that they shall understand that if they do
not accept this proposition. this shall be a
bar to their coming in until they have a
certain population.
Another objection, and one to which
have alluded before, is that we are not
content with this newly constituted board
to supervise the elections we are not
willing to take results produced under
such supervision, so as to say that
the President, upon the returns being
made to him, shall issue his proclamation,
and Kansas become State, without those
returns being submitted to our examina-
ton. IF board were constituted in the
manner provided in the House amend
ment, we had so much confidence in that
manner of constituting the board that we
were willing to pass it; but we are not
willing to have board constituted in the
manner provided in this bill, and trust in
the result. The history of affairs in Kan
sas is such as leads us to be cautious on
that subject. We all cannot but know. at
any rate a large portion of US are convinced.
that the elections in Kansas have been
either by violence at the polls, or by fraud
aud false returns afterwards, so conducted
that small minority of the people have
been kept in power. / need not go over
the evidences of this. The history of the
transaction is full of them at every step.
There is another thing that we cannot
but remember. Whatever officers, espe-
cially leading officers, who have been
appointed in that Territory by the Exec
utive of this Government, the President
of the United States, have favored any
degree of fairness to the majority of the
people, have desired to secnre them at all
against the influence of violence and fraud,
have incurred the executive displeasure.
This remark will apply, ] think, to all
the Government officers there who have
evinced any fairness, whether we refer to
Governor Reeder, Governor Gesry, acting
Secretary Stanton, or Governor Walker.
In all cases where there has been mani
Tested disposition to do fairness, and to
get rid of frauds, the officers who have
manifested such disposition have cer-
tainly incurred executive displeasure and
its consequences and therefore, we sup
pose that whatever officers are appointed
by the Executive, viii read the history ol
their own fate in that of those who have
preceded them, aud viii consult their owr
security in what they are doing. We
believe we cannot find any safety in this
proposition when the majority of the super
vising board who have charge of the
election, is given into the control of officer.
created by the Government of the United
States, superseding and overriding the