Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1886-02-18

SPRING. and cribed tn Governor Reeder.
Rrsofred. That the body of mel who
ior The past two months have been maxi
ing laws for the PEOPLE of our territory,
moved, counseled and dictated to w the
aemayogues OF Missouri, are to US for
elgn BODY, representing only the lawless
invaders who elected them, and not the
people OF the territory; that we
eve no allegiance or obedience to the
tyranlcal enactments of this spurious leg
lslature; that we will resist
them primarily by every peacable and le-
gal means In our power and will resist
them to bloody issue as soon as we ascer-
tam that peacable remedies shall fail and
torcible resistance shall furnish any reason
able prospect of success"
But there were grave practical Difficult.
ties In the way Of carrying out the policy
OF repudlating the bogus legislature. In
famous as was its origin it was still recog-
nlzed as valid by the government at
Washington. 1t was de facto exercising
the powers and functions Ct legislature.
The necessities of civil government Of
some sort were imminent and increasing
daily, and unless some more positive pol
icy than that of mere negation were
adopted there was great danger that the
people would finally succumb from the
very inertia of the situation and &C
cept the pro-slavery government on
the theory that any government
is better than none. The leaders Of the
free state people saw this danger and at
once lnaugurated the movement for a con-
stltutionai convention. Undoubtedly this
scheme originated in the fertile and sagac-
Ious brain of Charles Robinson, who at
that time was by common consent the
chief leader of the free state party. He
mad but recently returned from California
where an independent constitutional move.
ment, without the sanction of an enabling
act of congress. had been successfully car
RED through to the admission of the state.
He was firm and enthusiastic in the con.
yiction that an independent movement in
Kansas would meet with similar success.
The situation at Washington was not with
out encouragement The political revolu-
ton of 1854 had sent to
the lower house of congress a
majority of anti Nebraska" members
thoroughly arrayed against the Pierce al.
ministrdtlon. 1t would undoubtedly give
to free state constitution from Kansas a
hearty reception. There were those, too,
who INDUCED in the delusive hope that
there still fingered in the bosom of the
northern democracy serSe enough to make
them welcome any mea re that promised
an honorable and safe exit from the polite
al quagmire into which they had been
plunged by the fateful and ilI-starred
repeal OF the Missouri compromise. The
movement had in it, therefore, sufficient
probabilities Of success to make it much
more than a forlorn hope in the struggle
And it was at once adopted VITA great un-
animity by the free state party. A
convention was called to meet at
Topeka on the 10Th of September, 1855, to
take measures to form a state constitu-
ton. At this convention an election was
ordered to be held on the 9th of October
following, for the choice of delegates to a
constitutional convention. At the election
forty-seven members were chosen, and the
number Of votes cast was 2.7l0. The con-
yention met at Topeka October o. The
list of members included many of the
prominent free state men in the territory:
Robinson, Lane. Conway, Parrott, C. X.
Holiday, w. Y. Roberts. G. w. Smith,
Judge Schuyler, Judge Wakefield, j. S.
Emery, J. X. Goodin and others: while
among the clerks, reporters, ETC., were
Redpath, Phileps. the,two Speers, C. A.
Foster, and s. F. Tappan, all of whom
were then or afterward more or less pro-
minent in Kansas affairs James H. Lane
was chosen president of the convention
his opponents being w. T. Roberts and j.
A. Wakefield. Lane had made his APP
pearance in Kansas only few months be-
fore, but had already gone to the front as
free state leader He had at first en-
deavored to organize national democratic
party in the territory, but, speedily recog-
,zing tina there was but the single issue
of freedom or slavery involved in Kansas
politics, accepted the logic of the situa-
ton. heartily embraced the free state cause,
and never to the end of the struggle failed
in his devotion to it. By the llth of No
yember the committee had finished its
iabors and submitted constitution to the
people to be voted upon December
is following. There was nothing
remarkable about the constitution
which they had framed. 1t followed in its
main provisions the precedentS of other
state constitutions at that time. The
boundaries of the state as defined in it
we're those Of the territory, the western
limit being the eastern boundary of the
territory of Utah. The bill of rights sim.
DIV provided that there should be no
slavery, nor involuntary servitude in the
state except as a punishment for crime.
The elective franchise was confiued to
white males and civilized Indians who had
adopted the habits of white men. A mo.
ton was made in the convention to strike
out the word ''white," but it received onlv
serea votes. The times were not yet ripe
for SO great forward step, but the educat-
ing process had begun. The names of the
seven men who thus anticipated the final
fruits OF great movement and had even
then reached moral and political altitude
which the country at large was to reach,
only after great war and the destruction
of slavery were Charles Robinson, r. H.
Crosby. e. s. HilIyer, Amory Hunting, O.
c. Brown, Richard Knight and Phillip c,
Schuyler.
Another subject which caused some dis.
cusslon, was the QUESTION of excluding
free negroes from the state. This was final
iy settled by its submission to the people,
with the constitution as separate ques'
ton. Later day critics have professed to
End in this action cause for aDimadversion
1t is easy after lapse of thirty years
.f,a. tl,o ,holi tinp nf slavery and the on.