The Kansas herald of freedom. [volume] (Wakarusa, Kan. Territory) 1854-1860, 1859-05-28
From oar Special Reporter.
Republican Convention.
OsAwArox1K. Nav ls. 1853.

vention is just over, and the ''party Of
progress" out of its swaddliag clothes, and
Justify claiming the prestige of success
for itself
Tuesday morning the delegations came
in slowly, and the delegates present
grouped together in knots to discuss the
various planks of the platform, and the
details of organization, Sc. A little
before noon a temporary organization was
effected. Mr.. Fox, of Shawnee county,
in the chair. and T. D. Thacher, Secre-
tary. A committee on credentials was
appointed, when the Convention ad-
journed.
Ate P. III. the Convention again met,
and the committee reported the names of
delegates who were present. Wyandott
county claimed that it was entitled to six
delegates. The Leavenworth delegation
took exceptions to the Lawrence multi
plication rule, as squirting unfairly so far
as Leavenworth and Douglas counties
were concerned. Before this disputed
appointment could be acted upon, it was
insisted upon that it be ascertained
whether a majority of all the delegates
were present. Arrapahoe, Riley, Leaven-
worth, AtchisoD, Doniphan, Anderson,
Bourbon, johnson, Linn, Douglas, Wyau-
dott, Lykins and Coffey counties were
found to be represented, and the actual
number of delegates present, SO. The
committee reported in favor Of admitting
the six delegates from Wyandott county,
allowing them to cast but two votes.-
The remainder of the afternoon session
was spent in discussion of the report
Parrolt Delahay and others could not
tamely submit to have such an unjust
apportionment adopted by the Conven-
ton. They evidently feared the voting
strength of Douglas county would be too
strong for the success of the popular
sovereignty platform they wished adopted.
Members were excited, earnest, eloquent.
The chairman made up Cor his lack of
parliamentary knowledge by arbitrary
promptness, deciding all motions not SUBJ
mitted in writing to be out of ORDER ORDER
ing members to their seats and driving
through the motion to accept the report.
A committee of thirteen, on permanent
organization, was appointed.
The question of re-apportionment of
the counties was then raised and agitated
till the announcement that Greeley would
address the masses out of doors, caused an
adjournment.
Greeley had an audience of about 600
He reviewed the history of the old Wing
party, denounced squatter sovereignty as
humbug, sham and fraud. 1t was
useless for any set of men, or any party
to kuecl to the slave interest of the coun-
try, for however low a northern Wing
might go. a Democrat would beat him at
his own game. If the opposition of the
North were to have fried negroes for
breakfast, the Democracy would order
fried negroes for breakfast, dinner and
supper. He considered it useless to take
up the fraudulent pretence of squatter
sovereignty as a means of success, and
advocated the right aud propriety of Con-
gressional intervention. Slavery, in his
view, could not exist in the Territories
but by positive law, and while Territory
the people had no sovereign power to
establish such despotism. The South
erner had no constitutional right to carry
his slaves into new Territory which be-
longed in common to all the States, for as
slavery kept out free labor, its introduce
ton interfered with the right Of himself
and Others to the enjoyment of that por-
ton of the national domain. In his
review of the legality of slavery, he con-
tended that according TO strict legal prin-
ciples, slavery could have no legal ex-
1 istence.
SO far from advising his hearers to come
down to diluted platform, the tendency
Of his address was to stronger and more
distinctly anti-slavery platform than be-
fore.
At the close, his audience gave three
hearty cheers.
ATT O'Clock, the Convention again met,
and was permanently organized, o. E.
LEARNARD in the chair.
A platform committee of one from each
council district was appointed to draft
resolutions. A motion to add Mr.. Phillips
to the committee caused another warm
discussion, and, after close vote, resulted
in his election, soon after which the session
ended.
The platform committee, composed o.
Thos. Ewing, Jr., T. D. Thacher, H. D
Martin, w. Y. Roberts, Phillips, &c, rep.
resenting the extremes of the Free State
men, went into session. The battlefield
was transferred to the committee room
Parrott & Co. demanded moderate plat
form, for they had peculiar elements to
deal with, and If strong Congressional
sovereignty platform was adopted they
had no hope of carrying any of the coun-
ties bordering on the Missouri river. They
made with the Douglas delegation, the
issue of popular sovereignty and victory
or Congressional sovereignty and defeat
Thacher and Phillips could not consent
to adopt the cast-off garments Of Democ-
racy for the sake Of present success.
The Convention met at Q o'clock on
Wednesday, when the report from the
platform committee was that they were
making progress, but would probably
| r-as.ot two aeoarata raports Tha vnsru