Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1886-03-06

fact that certain fraudulent return
l. which had been forwarded from Il
e Delaware, Oxford and other precincts wei
j. con called in candle box under q wood pi
at ecompton, the seat of the territori
government. Mr.. Calhoun turned up aft(
n a mysterious passage from Kansas to Wasl
: ington along about the last days of Januar,
h 1858, and presented to President Buchanan
h copy of the Lecompton constitution, whic
y Mr.. Buchanan, by special message, date
!; on the 2nd day of February, transmitted
e congress. The message covers about twely
b pages ordinary document size, in which til
: president argued the Kansas question 9
+ great length. A portion of that message
: will read for the purpose of exposing nov
in connection with this debate, the demo
3 cratic position at that time on the questio
, Of the admission of new states into tn
union.
) 1t will be remembered that the election a
which the people of Kansas had voted, an,
the only election at which they had had
! chance to vote on the question of their desir
to be admitted into the union under the LIE
compton constitution, had been held nearl.
a month before Mr.. Buchanan presented
this message to congress, resulting in
nearly unanimous vote against admission
under the constitution. The result of tina
election was not only known to Mr.. Blu
chanan, but to every other person in the
United States who could read. Mr.. Buchanan
in arguing the question, treats of the right!
of the people OF the territory of Kansas un.
der the Kansas and Nebraska bill as follows
THAT this law recognized the right of the
people of the territory, without any en-
abling act from congress, to form a state
constitution, is too clear for argument. Fol
congress ''to leave the people of the territory
perfectly free" in framing their constitu-
ton, "the form and regulate their domestic
| Itr,f
the constitution of the United States" and
then to say that they shall not be permitted
to proceed and frame constitution in theil
own way, without an express authority
| from congress, appears to be al
most a contradiction in terms. 1t would be
much more plausible to contend that con-
gress had no power to pass such an enabling
act than to argue that the people of terri
tory might be kept out of the union for an
indefinite period, and until it might please
congress to permit them to exercise the
right of government. This would be to
| adopt not their own way" but the WY
which congress might prescribe"
! 1t will be observed that the organic act of
the territory of Kansas simply RENTED to
the people of that territory the right to
| regulate their domestic institutions in their
own way" term which was not liable at
that date to any misconstruction; that was
well understood to refer simply and only to
the question of slavery; and Mr.. Buchanan
upon that premise argued that for congress to
refuse to admit state into the union which
had exercised, as he assumed the territory
of Kansas had exercised, the right to regu-
late this domestic institution was denial of
the right OF self-government. This provision
in the organic act is no broader in terms
even as construed by Mr.. Buchanan, than the
Louisiana treaty by which we acquired what
is now the territory of Dakota from France.
That is in the following words: ''The inhabi-
tants of the coded territory shall be incor-
porated in the Union of the United States
and admitted as soon as possible, according
to the principles of the federal constitution
to the enjoyment of all the rights, advant-
ages and immunitiGs of citizens of the
United States; and in the mean time they
shall be maintained and protected in tn,
free enjoyment of theirliberty, property and
the religion which they profess"
1t will be seen, l think, that this provision
of the Louisiana treaty is a much more COM
prehensive one than the one which Mr. Bu-
chanan found in the organic act of Kansas.
He goes on to say:
SIT is impossible that any people could have
proceeded with more regularity in the forma-
ton of a constitution than the people of
Kansas have done. 1t was necessary first to
ascertain whether it was the desire of the
people to be relieved from their territorial
dependence and establish a state govern
ment. For this purpose the territorial legis-
ture in 1885 passed law ''for taking the
sense of the people of the territory upon the
expediency of calling a convention to form a
state constitution at the general election to
be held in October, 1885, The ''sense of the
people" was accordingly taken, and they de-
clded in favor of a convention. 1t is true
that at this election the enemies of the terri
torial government did not vote, because they
were then engaged at Topeka, without the
slightest pretext of lawful authority, in
framing constitution of their own for the
purpose of subverting the territorial govern
ment."
MIR. Buchanan, it will be seen, admits that
the free state men, who were in an unde-
niable majority of more than to 1, did not
vote. The returns show that but 1852 votes
were cast for constitutional convention at
this election and 454 against it. Of these
300 were cast in single county, and one
half at least were fraudulent.
1t is not necessary to recall in detail the
history of those days to show why the free
state voters did not participate in that and
subsequent elections, though in the MAORI
ty. The territorial legislature which called
the election was the creature of fraud and
violence. Many of its members were citi-
zens of Missouri, and a large majority of
both bodies were chosen by votes cast by
invaders from Missouri and other slave
states. 'They seized the ballot boxes, re-
placed the judges of elections with parti-
sans of their own, drove away their oppon-
ents. filled the boxes with as many votes as
the exigencies of the occasion demanded,
and, leaving the results to be returned by
reliable hands, they marched back again to |
their distant homes to celebrate the con-
quest and exult in the prospect of the estab-
lishment of slavery upon the soil so long
to freedom
Instead of free republican government |
in the territory such as popular sovereignty |
had promised there was then and thence.
forth hateful usurpation. This usurpation
proceeded without delay and without COM
junction to disfranchise the people. Laws
designed to reduce the white free state
settlers of the territory to a condition
Of practical slavery were passed. All judges,
sheriffs, Justice, constables, and other
county officers including officers of cleo
lions, we're appointed by the legislature or
BY agents created by it. No person could
vote without taking an oath to support the
law. Every member of sue
,eeding legislatures, every judge of election,
every voter, must swear to his faithfulness
IN the test questions of slavery. Every
officer in the territory, judicial, executive or
legislative, every attorney admitted to prac-
ice in the courts, every juryman weighing
evidence on the rights of Shareholders, must
attest his soundness in the interest of slavery
md his readiness to indorse its most repug-
lant measures.
To all this was added reign of terror in
which the life and property of free state
men were rendered insecure. The territory
vas traversed by armed bands of pro- slavery
men from Missouri and other southern
states; indictments were found against the
eading free state men, and such as did not
lee the territory were arrested and impris-
med. The whole civil and military power
If the United States government was WELD
d under the direction of the pro-slavery