Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1886-02-18
The Territorial Government.
BY HON. JOHN SPEER.

feel truly grateful for the compliment
paid me by the committee In the place as
signed me on the programme. have Just got
out of a snow drift in western Kansas, after
six days spent in reaching the capital, which
otherwise would have taken but about half a
day, and q snow bank is not a propitious
place for preparing an address OF this kind.
The American government was originally
based upon the principle of the universally
offreedom, and the declaration of lndepend-
ence was an emphatic, succinct declaration
that "all men were created equal, and emil
tied to certain inalenable rights" life and
liberty being the most essential of all the
rights of man. The Saviour of all declared
that upon the commandment "Whatsoever
re would that men should do unto you, do ye
even so unto them" hang all the law and the
prophets. The fathers of the republic rec
ognized the principle. and It was embraced
by Jefferson in the original draft of AIneri-
can Independence: but upon 40 tender a
thread hung the hopes of victory in the des=
perate struggle for free government, that it
was stricken out without inserting a single
sentence which could he construed against
the sentiment. After more than half a CEN
tury of liberation of system accursed of
God and condemned by the advanced civiIi-
cation of man. a struggle commenced which
only reached its climax in the discussion of
the congressional enactment which was des-
tined to break the letters of tyranny, and to
make us in fact, as well as in theory, ma
ton of freemen. That was the organic act
which declared that the people of Kansas
territory should be perfectly free to regulate
their own institutions in their own way.
Upon this essential principle the great
struggle. not only for Kansas rights, but
that for universal freedom, was inaugurated
and the territorial government" became
the instrument in precipitating the country
into war which has no parallel in the his
of whit ha
ever saw. Inaugurated by fraud and in
justice. the very acts intended for our op-
preston became the instruments in arous-
ing the people, the source of all Just govern
ments, to throw off yoke which had borne
down the American nation, and made its
pretentions to justice the mock and scott of
the advanced civilization of the world
Whom the gods will to destroy they first
make mad" and in the light of the present
age. We look back at an attempt at tyranny
so giaring, SO damnable, that at the close of
the lapse of Il quarter of a century it is hard
TO realize that any respectable portion of the
people could possibly have contemplated
measures SO aggressive and tyraunical.
The infant territorial government was
seized by usurpation and fraud. Such was
the aroused public sentiment that after the
1Surpation of the relnS of government by a
traudulently elected legislature the people
arose spontaneously, even before a single
eDdCtineul WIS lTdiCeu. ana DS SItcSc1 ana
by resolution, publicly declared, they would
uot have these usurpers and tyrants TO rule
aver them. The ''irrepresSibe conflict" ut
this epoch became defined as a fixed fact.
From theory of statesmen it becams q
struggle of arms.
This sentiment was voiced by the advanced
craftsmanship of franklin, Jefferson and
other bold spirits. even in the days OF the
revolution: but slavery grew into such an
oligarchy as to silence or drive to private
life every statesman of an earlier period.
Even good men feared the results of such
conflict as calculated TO so weaken the
government rs to endanger its existence
against an Internal commotion and possible
foreign war. Finally, however, its aggreS-
sions brought out the laundering denuncia-
tons of Garrison. Thaddeus Stevens. Sum-
aer, GiddingS, Greeley and Others whose
voices were never silenced until the whole
uation had been aroused against n system
40 longer tolerable. and which threatened
alike the freedom of the white as well us
the black. But in the history of the early
struggle, but single governor broke out in
EXPLANATIONS against it, Governor Rtner, of
PennSylvG~ Ia, who strongly advocated the
abolition of slavery in all territory over
which congress had jurisdiction, and de-
nounced northern submission az ''baseiy
bowling the knee to the dark spirit of slav-
cry. a sentiment, the utterancs Of which
has done more to immortalize his name than
all the other acts of his life, by the memora-
bic poem of freedoms poet, Whittier:
Thank God for the tokeu-one lip is still free
One spirit ntranell'd-unbending one knee:
Like the oak of the mountain, deep-rooted and
firm,
EJECT. when the multitude bends to the storm:
When traitors Ia freedom and honor and God,
Are bowed To an idol polluted with blood;
When the recreant north has forgotten her trust,
And the lip of her honor is low in the dust"
The organization of Kansas and Nebraska
renewed the excitementS which had been
time and again suppressed by various
compromise measures. " from the admission
of Missouri in lS20till the era of the Kansas
imbroglio. The lovers of freedom in the
east and the north rallied by organizations
and emigrated in companies as well as by
individuals. The new territory attracted
men of enterprise and adventure as no
country in American history, except the
gold fields. had ever attracted them. The |
free state men had distances of 800 to go |
miles travel before them while the borders |
of the pro-slavery host were but divided |
from the fields of conflict by a mere imagin- |
AIRY line. Unequal as were their advantages, |
the free state men. though greatly i'll the |
minority at first, stood manfully for the |
cause of the oppressed, and in defence of the |
freedom of speech and the rights of man.
The first struggle for ascendency was in |
the election of delegate TO congress, in |
which the rro-slavery faction were in the !
ascendant. and a most ultra partisan was |
elected. But the frauds perpetrated even at |
this election, the beginning of the struggle, |!
inspired the vanquished with such courage as |
10 make the first election of members of the |
legislature, March 30. lS:i5 one of great in |
tereSt- Full tickets were nominated on both |
sides. and the free state men entered into the !
canvass inspired with the strongest hopes OF |
victory. This victory could only be averted |
by an invasion from Missouri. the parallel !
to which has never been witnessed at any |
election in the history of the republic. The |
district of which Lawrence was a prominent |
part, containing a clear free state majority, |
was invaded by nearly 1000 Missourians, |
portions of whom went to and overran |
other districts: and thus by fraud and vio- |
lence succeeded in securing the legislature, |
and afterwards overrode the honest decision |
of the brave-hearted. incompatible Governor |
Reeder. who set aside the fraudulent cleo. |
lions and gave certificates to number Ct !
fcoe state men.