JNWwrt. Speech of Son. fialuaha A. Grew. - ' tSF'IfiSRStfBV’A'HIi. ; • ' House tf'fy&eiyatM*:'' ' 3 ' " V,'March 5,.1,8&?* . i y j,< f , ' ,House beipg io Gomnaiile of the ppjthe pii&oCitbetlJaioß, end hSyhig un^Br ooinitlerotion the'President’s annual message,' ■aMr/iGROtV sßid; ■” liMr.ffiHliiKE Hi' BtuHOts mf. a prospect' of l civil'war-’in the''fertitory oT'KansSa hatfd reached 04, and filtedthe' puhlw^niirid drith" gloomy apprehension' The Presidept-ih bis’ annual ll message 'informed" its that" “lit the Territory Of Kan4a4 there haobeen 1 acta pre- ; judrciai io : good order,’’ bur neglected' to (ell what these acts were farm bt % later day’he', informed this'Home by/epecialrnhssaget(iat there had been ‘acts plainly ; agairist 4he law * which tlbw featehdf inly‘of the Tertilory of Kans/s, butof the Union. ft’ becomes the imperative' duty - of Congress, l then, to irryjoirfe/ihto 'the cauieS of this state of things, and/devise if possible some means By^rhr^f^rwVso^irira^^mTty.''’ ’ Cong?ms'-6oia'g7.(hid Udpfeitie7 legislative power fop the Territories, gfing them their organityTaw.'eireciiliye and Judicial officers, and prescribing' of the exerfcise of all their legislative /uncUpns, it is our first duty to see that the inhabitants thereof a’re secure in-the eojolyrneni'cff all ihe ’rights and privileges guarlranied'' to Arnericab freemen everywhere under the'protection of the Repbblic. • ' '•* ’ The acla which‘the President regarded as (hreatdn'ing the peaceoot only of (he Terrifo* ry of Kansas, but of (he Uhidn, areeummed Op ih a paragraph of the message : ' • >f lVraott* coifassodly not cowtUntfng tha’bodV f>ollHe of •U.the latiaUtfDta, bul,teer«iy a party of the inhabitant** •od without law, hkvo.uDdertnkcn to fummou a convention for th* phvpoM of tramformlag the Territory Into ri State, &ad have (bi-jped a cotMflmUqn* adopted it, and undvr it fleeted a (forernof and 'other officer*, and a ftcprasentatlve to. Oongw*." . 1 all of which he pronounces-iZZegal, end of revolutionary character. Sir, (he doing of any or all the acts in Ijiis enumeraiioo would' be no violation of jusi law or-constitutional right; for ibe people, or any : pan of them, oi a Slate or Terriiory have a perfect right peaceably to assemble, at any, lime, and de posit their voles |qt. any, .person they please, with such'designaliou of office as they choose to affix ; hod unless they, or The person'so Chosen', commit some'overt act against the Government under Which they live, they have violated' no law dmf are amenable fbr no offence, any more than they would be to ds gamble'and discuss their grievances, and pe tition for their redress. Tn Rhode fsinhd, where there was no question as to the regu larity 6f the existing government—for it had fex(feted for almost two centuries—a call (br a convention to form a new constitution was issued bv persons 'confessedly hot constitu ting the body politic, and without law ,i for the purpose of transforming a charter gov ernment imo a State,- They formed a con smuiion, adopted it, and under n elected a Governor and oi her officers, and a Represen tative to Congress. The members of the Legislature met, swore to support the new constitution,-and ihe oath of office was ad ministered to the Governor, and his message transmitted to ihe Legislature. None of these gels were considered as illegal by the const t tuled authorities of Rhode Island; and'no arrests were made till Dorr called out a mill, tary force to uphold his government. I he people of Kansas hsve ihus far done only what was done in .Rhode [slund previous to sn appeal of arms. Are acs that are harmless when performed in a Stale illegal and treasonable when performed under like circumstances in a Territory 1 It .was nol inougm so by ihe country, in the case of ihe admission of. Michigan into the Union, where a convention of the people, called without late, accepted certain conditions of .Congress wmch had msi been reiected bv a convention oi delegates assembled, under auibonty of an act of ihe Legislature. Bin, siy, ihe undoubt ed right of the people of a Terriiory to call a Stale convention, wiihout any act of the Territorial Legislature or of Congress, for the purpose of transforming a Terriiory inlo a State, and to elect all (he officers necessary to administer such a Slate government, has been senled not only by the practice of Ihe Government, but by the opinion of ope of its ablest legal officers and constitutional ad visers of the Presiden'. During General Jackson’s Administration the Governor of the Territory of Arkansas addressed hint a letter soliciting instructions for his guidance in case the people of Territory should elect delegates to a convention without a law of the Legislature, and organize and pul in ( operation a State government wiihout author ity of Congress. The Governor informed the President tha', unless otherwise instructed, he should feel “bound l«r consider and treat >l. such proceedings as unlawful,” , The President—for General Jackson, it seems, tad not adopted the “great principles of pop ular sovereignty,” established by the com promise measures of 1850—replied through nts Attorney General, B. F. Butler, on the 2lst of September, 1835, that I*l> nnt in th«* power of the QonerM itssomhly of Artan **• to pons any law for the purpose of electing mental? ton roiiTontiun l.» form a constitution and State government, nor uoinv other act. dlrneUy or indirectly, to create nocli now k )T . o tf Q ? unl ' tve O - >uch law. oven though it wore approved ey the Governor of tho Territory, would be null and Told.’* The people of a Territory have an un doubted right at any time to call a convention,' frame amfedopt a Stale convention, frame and adopt a State constitution, and elect all officen necessary to its action as an indepen dent State, though it might’ be a Whether they could perform any official* act as Stale officers until the aciu, n of Congress, though Michigan enacted laws abd voted for President before she was admitted as a State into The Union. But the State must be formed before her admission ; Tor'll is States that are admitted, under the third section of' the fonrth'arlicle of the Constitution, and not Territories. Upon this pbim, 1 read from the opinion bC the Attorney General, in the Ark ansns case : j l ®pUe« that Ih* now State shell betatron b / Hie settlement of a coustUutlpn dr frame of »hil!h n,ni, ? l, . am * hy the appointment of those official agent* tn i,. *.? inuinponsablo to it* action 40 a Stele, and especially ' ,£ c ,? n f ** » member of tho to it* admission rI«Lt! v* Io , q : Ir l accordanca vllfa this implication, every ni ln, ° Union since the Adoption of tho Fetle* %%»**** hi* tach actoally organised prior to each ad- N“ w » 1 desire to call particular attention to impart of this opinion,which applies direct ly fo the people ol Kansas; and had li l been written expressly for tfieirjcase, it ,could„pol ave been more applicable, in defining the rights of the citizens of Arkapsssj t)e says; ,• J 1 . .. '■ ■ 4 i r. \Mk It I I /I '.’ill—.n<v>;:./.'C jt*\ *. . tsi&ili .V. 1.,.**? r-;l< ,V‘ -;,l I' f & C 0.,. ■. V; iv'-r.-T- « ,ii,':) If vl» in e.'l idij c !j .iu,.!-! !■’ '••’l'lV'i .<> I’.'il -ii/Mn !-■■■>; r.;. : -I I [/.Vwttvl ~; a- rlfl . ' . • , #J . i ‘ 1 ' ■ v*‘ • * .r AGITATION OE THODOItT IS THB BEGINNIN# Of tVISDOI?.” r ‘VOL '%}'>■' iiit ' I u V ■it iT .t.» ,*» ■/. iil'i.jC. pdbL^Ers' ’ WEI;KBOROirGU; TIOGA (WKTT. PA., THITISDAT JIOKKISG, AfBIL 10,1«56. “Th£y undonbtodly domm* the ordinary privileges ud Im inanities of citizens of tho United .States, iiipQng.tbeee ip the government for the redress of grievances.” In tSe^efCjTCiM of this right tho people of Arkansas may peaceably m«t» gptjwf to assemblies, for the purpose of petitioning Congress to gbro gate tho territorial government, and to admit them Into~ttte Union as an independent State. ,The particular farm, .which they may give to their petltldn cannot bo faatcriaTsd fahk as they oqu fine them selves to the piece right of peddoning'and conduct aj| their proceedings Ip a manner.—And as the power of Congress over the whole subject 1a plenary apd unlimited, they, may accept My constitution* however framed, Which In their Judgment meets the sense of the poo* plow b«'*3bcted by it If‘therefore, (he Citizens of'ArkaaJ sas thintproper their petition .by p coDstltatiou, framed-and agreed on by. their pnnmir asaem biles, <jr by a convention of delegates chosefaoy each nwiun' blics, i no, legal objection, to thoir powy fo do so.” Bui it play !be Said that this duci/ine vvilj qoL apply ;o, Kansas,,fo; jhere is “merely a pari o£ the mtahjtynjr' w|Myi9l(ad the; oo ti yeption. jn.all capes the,call, in' theft/slip. Stance, roust lie by a part of.ihe people ; for i’t.wpuld be almost an impossibility to get the signatures of all,the, inhabitants of a Terri tory.' ifie call issued,(or aStatacoaventiun in. Kansas was. ip this form: promise. Without-inquiring into (ho validity of ihat Legislature onaccount of ihemqde ■of its'olection, or-'by reasnrl of its changing {the seafof goverorilenltbShawnee Mission, the jegialal,ioo,(iself iapaufficiqny usuficatipn Ijjn. thfl free State men> of Kqqsaa ip appeal, in the mode (hey have adopted,. to Congress, ,10 secure to them their rights end privileges. ' imposedupbn Kaadas by non-reaidepts, has, disfranchised a of its.citizens, and deprived (hemof the right, of holding office, or of practicing as attor ney s-ert-lawin the courts; by imposing', ns a condition, unwarranted oaths to afjpporl par* uculqr laws of Congress,or of the Legisla ture, it hereby destroying freedom of opinion arid ihe right of p'Hvate 1 judgment as'to the constitutionality of the the' country,' which, is the birthright, of an American citi zen. L , ontf U It ttfoDtable goto Kuisaa; but po* ‘ v'Nbi comehi .with enacting laws more effi cient In.protect 'slave property than any Slate in the Union, they attempt to atifla freedom of Speech end of the press by enacting lhair *»ie« pirtoff, t)y : ipoalriik wrlHn(;,'i»«ett or’ maintain that persons have ijotthe right to hold, slaves in: this Territory, or shall introduce Into this Territory, print, published,' write, circulate, or‘cause -to be introduced into •written, Printed, published, or circulated ip this •Tetritoryv 1 any boor, 1 paper; magazine, pamphlet, or rirttuar, containing any, denial ,ot-thb right,of persons to hold slaves in this such person, shall be deemed gdllty or fulony', and punished by iraprfeoh&cnt atliard la-' , .j ~ , , “ No person who is’ conscientiously .opposed to holding .slaves, or who does not admit the right tO HoW slaves In this Territory, shall ritaa.a jnrpi on _the trial- of Any ,pn>s .ecution for any Violation‘of any of the 1 BOClloQi'of tnu act/’ “lb the Legal Voter* of Kantat; ■ “JT>oreia,tha territorial-government a* now constituted for Kansashai sovereignty unde# its working* a, miserable delusion, tn proof o t which it it only necessary to refer to out l past history ami our present doplw* ablo condition: our ballol-bdtfes have bead taxon possession of hr 4 bhnd of hrpied men from fospign States; our, popple forcibly driven therefrom; httbmptctf to be foisted upon us as motebdrs of a so-called Legislature* Unacquainted with.our grants and hostile to our best interests —some, of them never residents of onrTerritory; misnamed fairs passed, and now attempted to bb enforced by the aid of citizens.of foreign States, of the most oppressive, tyrannical,,and insult* trig character; the righfof suffrage taken tVomn*; debarred from the privilege of a voice m tyejcloction of even the most insignificant.'oficertf; the right of free speech stifled; the mualtegcof the-press attempted: 4nd .whereas longer for bearance jfith such oppression and tyranny has ceased to be a virtue: and Wlrtreis (he people oTthis country hare hereto fore exhreiped the right of olmngiuff their form of govern* ment when- It became oppressive, ana have, at all times, con* coded tills right to- the people in this anfl all other govtgft* men is: and whereas a territorial form of government is. np* khown to the CohstUntlon, and is the mere creature of neces* shy awaiting the action of the people:-and whereas the de basing character of the slavery which now involves us impels to action, mid learesus a* the only legal and peaceful altoraa* tivo*,tho immediate -establishment of a.£tete government and whereas the organic act fails in pointing out the course obe adopted in an emergency Ilka offn: Therefore you oro requested to meet at roor several predate in said Territory hereinafter mentioned, oh' the second Tuesday of October nexMiibeing.the* ninth slay of'said, month, and then and there cast your ballots for members of a convention, to meet at TOpeka on (he fourth Tuesday Iri Otfbbor next. M form a constitution, adopt a bill of right* for the people pf Kansas, and take an heedful measures fur organirlhg a State Govern ment preparatory to Vt/e adftiurio* of Kawvt into the Union at a &aU. . . Under it all the legalvoters of the Terri tory could participate; and who shall say that a majority ol them did not;-! . The fact tjjiat it. >vas necessary for the pro-slavery parly at a later, day to summon armed men Irom-Missouri, is almost cooulusive evidence that a majority ofjhe people of the Territory are in favor of the free Slate movement. But to give validity to the action of (be peo. pie of a Territory in any act which -they have a right to do, it is not necessary that they should be unanimous, any more than it is necessary, jn order to give.validity to a law of a Slatp, that every voter, should be in fa vor of it. Majorities, under our system of government, constitute Ihe people, and their action is the action of the people. . The members of (he conversion were elec ted at the same lime and by about the same vole aa the free State Delegate to Congress, and he received almost three thousand votes at a time when there was no occasion for il legal voles. Judging by the census, and the other flections held in, the Territory, that would be a majority of the legal voters, (f the proceedings for. a Stale convention parlicipaied-in by a parly only, how. did it happen that the delegates did not all hold one sentiment on the all-absorbing question .be fore l hem—that of slavery 1 .Many of,the delegates io that convention were never sus pected of being Aboliiiuoisis or Free-Soilers Imfore they'wenl io the Territory, and some of them were weM known to the country as earnest advocates of the Ivmsas-Nebraslta bill and of all the measures of this adminis tration/ , Mr. Smith, of 'Virginia. Quote the acts. . JVfr. Grow.' Thai is What I propose lo do. The yofet.'if required, mustaivear, in addilioft 10 other things, to sustain'the fugitive'Slave law belbr&hecan vple-i-an unheard-of requi sition, lo'Veqiiire a voter anywhere under pur form of goverttmenf 16 ‘swear to support any particular law as a condition to 'vole; for in most cases the very object of his going to thd polls is to secure the repeal, or. modification of such>lawa as he considers unconstitutional or unjust. And.every person elected or ap pointed to office' in the Territory must take the same oath. To be admitted to. practice as attorney in the courts the applicant must I swear to ‘'support and sustain the provisions of an act.emitled an act lo organize the Ter rilonea of Nebraska and Kansas, and the pro visions of an act commonly known as the fu gitiveslave law,?’ and to whjch l tmdereiand (he court has added all the laws of the Ter ritorial Legislature. . 'The Legislature has appointed or provided' for-lhe appointment of alt officers nor already appointed by the General Government, for; terms of from two to five years, including sheriffs,! constables, justices of the .peace, county'commissioners, and election-boards. So that i here is not an officer in the Territo. ry of Kansas to day, of any kind or'deacrip lion, civil, military, or judicial, except the thirteen members of the council, who hold their for two years, in the selection of. which, the people of the Territory have had any voice, nor can (hey have under present regulations till the full of 1857. The Legis* Uture has prolonged its own existence by leg islative act till the Islilsf. January, 1858,’ so there can be no change in the laws till after that time. This,is the-popular sovereignly that leaves the peoole “nerfectlv Iron in form 1 »mi' regulate their domestic institutions .in their own way." 1 1 And under these circum stances the people of Kansas are assured by the President that “the constitutional means ol relieving the people of unjust administra tion and laws by a change of public agents and by repeal are ample;" . But, in addition to invading the right of private judgment, and of depriving the peo ple of all-voice in the selection of their rul ers, the Legislature has-struck down freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and the in alienable rights of men, and enacted into law a despotism as galling, if not as odious, as that of (he House The rights of freemen are 'trampled under foot, while the right lo slave properly is shielded and protected bv the highest sanctions ol the law. Thn penalty for advising or-assisting an ap prentice lo run away from lira master is a fine of not -less Shan 820, nor more than €5OO *, but for enticing or carrying away a slntte, death , or ten years’ imprisonment. For harboring or concealing an apprentice, one dollar for each day's concealment; but for harboring or concealing a slave, not less than five years’ imprisonment at hard labor. For advising or persuading an apprentice to rebel against or assault his master, not less than #2O, nor more than #5OO ; but for advising or persuading a slave lo rebel, DEATH. -Su'qh'ate some of the laws of the Territory of Kansas which has .annoup ced must be enTorcedat the point of'tlie bay-, qnel, if, pfcessary. The first gun fired by the armies of the. Republic in such a cause, would be but the echo of the British musket ry in the streets of Bpston on the 1 Qth of April, 1775, and its,flash, would light a flame, that the.fioofls of the father pf waters could, not extinguish. Should a despot of the Old World issue an edict that any of his subjects who should declare that he had not a divine right to rule’,, to imprison and to kill, should be incarcera ted in the dungeons, and (hat any ode should be incompetent to try the accused unless he r believed in (he divine rights of kings,' would’ not an execratjon go up from the heart of civilization deep and bitter as the wailings of the damned; and his name infamous roll of the tyorld’s Nerps, Gesslers, andHayoaus; yet in the heart of the Re public American citizens are to-day required to submit to,an enactment in jbe form of law not less odious. , .. Il ls tp free themselves from such, wrongs, and that they may enjoy the commas lights of ,American freemen, that the. peopleof Kapsus ha ye ,peaceably assembled and lotme.d a institution, in order to petition Congress funs redress of grievances. The President informed us, in his special message, that .associations were formed in some of the States to promote emigration to Kansas, which *• awakened emotions of in tense- indignation in-States near to the Ter ritory of Kansas, and especially in the ad joining Slate of Missouri.” Why this in dignation at any effort to furnish settlers of the Territory, and thus to people the wilder ness ? For the first lime in (he history of the epuotry has any effort, to facilitate the settlement of new. Slates excited indignation anywhere. But the prayer of the patriot and the philanthropist has ever followed ihe hardy pioneer, as ha. went forth to subdue ipe forest , and convert . the lair, ol me who beast into a .hnroe for civilized man. But the reason assigned for the special in dignation of 1 he people of Missouri, is, that their “domestic peace was the most directly endangered.” • Sir, how could the domestic peace of any section of this Union be endan gered by building Up new States in the wil derness, and cohering its desert waste with the homes of civilized men? » Though- the President failed to give us that information, General Atchison has, in a letter to the At lanta (Georgia) Examiner, dated Platte City, December 15, 1865: 11 Kansas and Missouri hare the satne latitude, climate, and soil, and Should havcitho umt institutions. Tho peace and prosperity of both depend upon it. /fansas miat An re stare institutOmi, or Missouri must have free institutions— heuco the Interest the border ruffians ” take in Kansas affiirs. “ If the Settlement of Kansas had been left to tho lavs which govern emigration, it would-have been a slave Terri* toty as certainly as Missouri is a slave Stale ; but inasmuch as those laws have been violated and perverted by the fowe of money, and a powerful organization in the North and East, It becomes the South “lobe npand doing,** and to send in a imputation to counteract the North. .“Let your young men come forth to Missouri and Kan* gas! Let them come t cell armed} with money enough to Jjport them for twelve months, and determined to see this ug out I One hundred true men will be on acquisition.-* b more the better. I do nol’ioe how we are to avoid civil r: come it will. Twelve months will not elapse before —civil war of the fiercest kind—will bo upon us. We are arming and preparing fer it Indeed, we of the border counties are prepared. Wo must have tho support of tho South. Wc are fighting Ihe baUUs of the South. Our instill* tions art ni stake* Yon far southern teen are now out of the naive of tho war, but, if wo tail, It ail! reach your own doors, perhaps your hearths. Wo want men, armed men. We want money—-not for ourselves, but to support oar friends who nay come from a distance. ” Is ihe domeslje peace of Missouri endan gered, I lien, by an effort (o make Kansas a free Stale ? Are the institutions of Missou ri and ihe South staked on the issue whether o free Slate shall join a slave Stale on Ihe west? Then the only vital question in Ihe politics of the day is freedom or slavery lo Kansas ; for its destiny is lo shape and con. trol lhal of all the territory west of it to the Pacific. For, with slavery established in Kansas, its institutions, ns well as-those of the- South, will be just as insecure with a free State on its western border as would be Missouri with Kansas freb; The moving cause, it seems, then, for abrogating the res triction on slavery in this vast territory, once consecrated to freedom, was to plant upon its virgin soil the institutions ot human bon dage, so that the domestic peace of the south ern Stales might not be endangered. The repeal of the Missouri compromise was, from its inceptiotP, a conspiracy against freedom. The moving cause that abrogated (bis lime-honored restriction was to secure the introduction and establishment of slave ry, so as to prevent, if possible, a free State bordering, a slave State on the west.- For but one Territory was -needed for all pur poses of fair settlement; and such was the form of the bill first-introduced. Yet it was aflerwards divided wilhtmt any apparent rea son, unless it was to enable slavery the more easily to.make its conquest. Why was Kansas intrenched and hemmed' in entirely by (be State'of -Missouri, and re strioledto a small area "compared’ with'Ne braska, witlj an imaginary line for its north ern boundary, when' ihe Platte river, a few miles further honl), Was the great natural boundary that should have 'divided the (wo, ifa division Wa9' to be mode? Was it .be cause that’ would bring a part 6f Kansas op posite lowoj so that could reach the But why was it necessary -for the people of Kansas at ibis early.day after their organi zation as e„Terriiory, to.call a convention to frame a State consiiio'ion 1 VVhat are the grievances that they seek in this way to re dress? They claim ihai under the act of Congress organizing the fferrilory they were to.have the right io form and regulate their domestic institutions in their own way ; but, instead of that, a Legislature was elected by non-residents, the ballot-box seized by armed bands of men from Missouri, and peaceable citizens of the Territory were driven by vio lence from the polls or shot down in cold blood. The President has failed, though devoting an entire message to Kansas,’ to give us any .information as- to (ho mode or manner in which 1 hat election was conducted, bat;seemed more anxious to discuss qucslions involved in the contested seat of a Delegate on (his floor, and 10 show, if possible, inconsistencies of conduct in one of the officials whom be herd appointed to .office in that Teri'iiory. We are, therefore, left tardy on the history of those transactions as they have readhed us through the press ond by private correspond ence. But that eleciion'was a fraud andMhe Legislature a usurpation imposed upon the ac tual settlers of’ Kansas, is as well established aS‘ that lhere was an election - held ;Tor we have no different or better means'of informa tion of. the one than of the other. Kidnapping a free man and selling him into slavery, an offense that should receive the severest punishment known to the crimi nal-calendar, unless it be for taking life— and I know not as that should be excepted ; for what graver offense against the laws of a civilized -community could •bo- committed, ihan to seize a peaceable citizen reposing oftbti Its protection, and .place upon him the chain and the manacle, and then consign him to hopeless bondage—yet the penalty for'such an offense under the laws of Kansas is -fiof-to exceed ten years’ imprisonment; while death is the penalty for aiding or as sisting in persuading a 'slave to abtain his frefedom. For' 1 decoying and carrying away a child under twelve years of age, in order td'detain or conceal it from its parents, imprisonment not to exceed five years, or six months ! ifl county jijil',' or fin? of $5OO, at Ihh discretion Of the Court. TJven the innocence'and help lesSneSs*lor childhood finds leas promotion under Ihh'Sanciion'of these laws than is giv en to the rtglii of’property claimed in the soulknnd bodies of men. The census .of (he Territory was to ken in February, and the election was in the follow, ing. March. By (be census there were but about three thousand legal voters. • Yet, at the election about] six thousand voids .were, polled, while s largo numberof rosidenhrdid not vote, owing to the threatened violence of the election; and every member .elected to the. Legislature at that time, save one, be longed to, the pro-slavery party. -Is it lo.be supposed, that, at a fiSr election in that .Ter, ritory, but one free-State man would be elect ed to the Legislature out of thirty.nine mem bers, gnd that he should he in the district fur thest removed .froip Missouri? But passing by the election for members of the Legislature,. I desire to call attention to their official acts, for theaenro the first fruits of popular sovereignly, established by (ho repeal of the Missouri con): A.' Member. They do not stall (he souls. Mr. GjROW. Can it be separated at the auction'block 7 Does it not go'withlhe bqdy in this world’s pilgrimage,-'till it passes (he.dark valley? Mr. Chairman, I have contrasted some of these law,s fur the purpose of showing what kind of protection is thrown around the rights of freemen, compared with that given to a particular species of properly. General Stringfeljow, in a letter to the Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser, useslhip lan guage as to the character of. the laws.of the territory in reference to slavery : <i They here new' !nw» moro effloMnl to protect tlftvc prop- 1 erty thou nay Stole In tte Union; tow. h»yojMl t*. kou effect, end bare elroady etlenccd AboUHonhto; for, in t r !tn or tliolr heretofore Mesllnp. they know they will ho eiporcol to the tery letter with U)» utmost rijor, pot rr y 'a rji ■:*, u 1 i >'.i 1 .V/ t-tif, .. .-v, . •..■{[ ... '.-v r. t. tii„< y .:,- t-'.*!:-./! .3* ufos*. KO. 87. \ i,- r . ■'Z.tfal -, ir Territory without the necessity, of passing .through aslaveStaie? Whywastheclalise always'before idtierled in every territorial bill since ihe' formation of the Government, re quiringthe Javy* of (he Territory. |pJw the supervision of Congress, omitted Jo tbia?- Then, when, the ‘time comes for electing the Legislature^'which is, of course, (o '-give shape, by I ,jbj action, to .(he' irislii’uiipps of The 'infant State,, it. is .secured, to. slavery, by an Invasion, of non-residents, and then follows the legislation id; which I have referred ,* f ! a series of desalt pointing, from the first, to the consuniatioh of one object—the fulfill ment of the prophecy of. General ..Atchison, made in the Senate of the United States,thftt if the" RJ/sspiiri .compromise wflsjrepealed Kansaa-wduld be a slave Stale. , Andhe Nm insisted upon that opinion from that day to this. In additldti'fa'&fi ihis.'the secretary of the Territory,-;,who is required by act of' Con gress to transmit “ one copy of the laws and journals of the Legislative Assembly within thirty, days after the end of each session, and one copy of the executive proceedings aud official correspondence semi-annually,” to the President, and copies of the laws to the Senate and House of Representatives, to be deposited in the-libraries of Congress, has neglected entirely .to send the laws to Con-, gross, or to furnish the President with the executive proceedings. If so, (he President has not transmitted them to the Senate, to answer to their call for them, and has not answered a call made by this House more than three weeks since. So I take it for granted that they have not been furnished by the secretary of the Territory, as required by law: So, no information of the, doings .of-the Territory reaches ua officially till a' late day,.and .then, we are furqjahed only such put as the officials choose to give.— But hia neglect on the part pf one of tho offi cials of the Territory is passed by unnoticed by the- President, while he removes other officers for alleged dereliction of duty. Now, if the gentleman from Virginia [Mri-Samr] wishes it, 1 will yield lo him, Mr. SMITH, of Virginia. Ido not desire to interrupt the gentleman at this point; I merely made the remark—rather subrosa than otherwise—that I did not understand why the gentleman should complain of the secretary of the Territory for failing to pul ,the House and ihe country in possession of the territorial laws when 1 found him using those laws and arguing upon them. I thought it was rather unnecessary fault-finding. Mr. GROW. 1 suppose, then, Mr. Chair man, that it would not be necessary for the officials of the Government to do their offi. cisl duty because the information they might communicate could obtain in some other way, I take it for gramed that, when the organic law requires an officer of the Territory to do a certain duty, you have a right lo complain if he.fails to perforin that duly, even through you may obtain the information by some other means. But to return from the digression iqto whfoh I have been drawn by the gentleman’s re mark. . i It seems, that but one object has .actuated this whole movement, from the inception of the repeal of ihe Missouri compromise, and that has been lo supplant free labor and free institutions, in order to establish slavery on (he soil of Kansas. ■ Whv are men brought there face to face with the bayonet in their hands and deadly hostility in theirshearts ? Governor Shan non, in his dispalch to the President, giving an account of (he troubles at Lawrence, says: “The (•xcllomwit incrwUM and aproad, not onlr through oat this whole Territory, but was worked ap to &e utmost f>oiatof Intensity in the whole of the upper portion of Mis souri Armed men were seen rushing from nil quarters towards tawrencc, some to defend the place and others to demolish it. ” “ Men rush with arms (o demolish it!”— From where? The State of,Missouri.— What interest has Missouri in-enforcing the laws of Kansas more than the .State of Ohio, or Virginia I General Atchison tells us Slave institutions for Kansas or free institu tions for Missouri. Slavery in Kansas se cures slavery forever in Missouri. This is the motive which brings from Missouri men to preserve law and order in Kansas. From the description in another part of this letter, the “law and'order” that such men would preserve is like ihe protection ihe wolf would give the lamb. In another part of the des patch he says: “ I found In the camp at TTakaruna a deop and Rattled fueling of hostility against the opposing forces in Lawrence, and apparently a fixed determination to’ attack this place and demolish it and the presses, and toko possession of their arms. “ To Issue an order to tbo Sheriff to disband his poue, and lo Generals Richardson and Strickler to disband their forces, would,bare been to lot loose this largo body of men, who would have boon left without control to follow the impure (f their feeling*, which evidently was to a«adb and disarm the people <lf Lawrence, ” . Those are the men who go forth to enforce law and order, and to preserve peace and quiet in one of the Territories of the Union. They come for what ? To demolish a town, (o born its houses, and drive out its citizens from their homes at the point of'the bayonet. Why is Missouri fghling the battle of the South ; and how are her institutions ot stake irt the issue of'slavery or freedom iti Kan sas? The capital invested in any one kind of property has always a common interest, and is moved by a common motive. The three million slaves in the South, an avern*ge price of $9OO each, makes a. capital of $l,- 500,000,000. But, in addition, ft is the same interesl ihat owns the' landed and personal property; so that the moneyed interest of the South that acts together by a common sympathy probably exceeds'B4,ooo,ooo,ooo. Whatever, 'then, ‘lends to enhance the mar ket value of the slave moves (his mighty ,in ' teresf with a common impulse, A moneyed interest in any country always struggles to seize upon its Government, and to wield it for its own advantage.?. Hence the infldva- : t lions on the early and well-established policy of the Government in restricting slavery .where it had not,an actual , ;; j ff?nbelKdllfbrts.how trtafihg (o oyeHura the to ha., tionalize the. institution of slavery under tjie new l doctrine] that the Corislitulion* oarties it wherever its extends’ unless there jbo loosl 1 la# WpreVebt it. 1 The Democracy'of the Country, in the jdays of its glory and triumph, resisted the' atfempibrihemotteyedinteresioflheconn*. itry,invested in'bankings to aieiae dpoh this Government* ib use It for Us own purposes. They also resisted the attempt of ihempney. ed interest engaged in rtiantiftcturing io use this Government Tor its'purposes, And yet herd Is a united’,’concentrated moneyed inter. l6 which , either ol those wts' but a drop io the : bucket to the oceata—ert. deavnring to USe this Gbvernfnctit for the promotion of itS‘ Interests and (he advance, meat of its edds. Nose, sir, it is to resist any such attempt, on the part of the money, ed interest'invested In slaves, that the. people whom I represent resist all attempts to plant slavery in Kansas. Regarding it, as did the lathers of the Re. public, as a social'and political evil, that re. tards the growth and development of a conn, try bydegrading its labor, they believe it to be the duty of Congress to do in reference' to the territories What. Madison 1 desired’ it to 'do mote than half a teniury ago in refer-' ence to the 1 foreign slavO trade. In urging its abolition he'says : ' - - ~ ‘The dictates of humanity, the principles of the people, the national safety and happlhoea, and prudent policy require it of us **JI U V>ho hoped that, hy ipcpreefing n national dltopprth ballon of this undo, vro may destroy it and save ourselves from reproaches and our posterity the imbecility over attend* ing a country filled with slavea," And here, ijir, 1 desire to read an extract from a speech of mine in the last Congress op the Nebraska bill : “But it is said that Ibeas Territories are common property and that all the citiiena of the United States have common rights in them ; and that, there. Tore, no citizen can be excluded from emigrating to them without injustice end degradation. No one proposes to exclude any person from emigrating and settling on the public domain. The territory, it is true, is the properly of the whole people, but by the Federal Ccnslitulion they agreed to put it under s supervisory power. That power is Congress; Con. greae is made a board of direction over this trust fund, to use it in such way as, in their sound discre tion will be most advantageous to the trust, end will best accomplish the object of its creation, the pro. motion pf the real and permanent interests of the country." If, then, this Government should see that the lorntolies are used such way as best to promote the para mount interest of the coon, try, to develop its 'physical strength and the mental resources of its people, free labor can accomplish it better than slave. For slave* ry, wherever it goes, bears a sirocco before it, and leaves a waste io its track. Under slave labor, the soil, which is the means of supporting the human race, and was given by the Creator fqr that purpose, is impoverished and made worthless. It is then abandoned, and virgin soil mken up again to. be in the same way impoverished. And thus is the ba* sis of national greatness and glory destroyed and ihe energies of a people palsied by da* grading its labor. Mr. Jefferson in his Notes on Virginia, has given to the world its influ. ence on society; “With the morals of u people their industry is al ia deitroyed; forin a warm climate no man will ta bor tor himself who can make another labor for him. Tlita la ao true that of the proprietors of slaves a very imal) proportion indeed are ever seen to tsbor. “With what execration should the statesman'!)* loaded, who, permitting one half the citizens thus la trample on the rights pf the other hslf Irsns. forms those into despots, sod these into enemies, de stroys the morals of the one part, and the amor po int of the other. I trust, sir, that Jefferson, born and reared amid the influence of slavery, will not be re garded as a fanatic for his views on the insti tution. As for myself, I have no sentiment alities, other than those which man should ever feel - for the woes and miseries of hi* race, on the subject of slavery as it exists in the Stales, If nbe a good, (hose who have it are entitled to all its blessings ; if an evil, they alone have to answer for it to their own consciences and to the public opinion of the world, and to their God. .I would ieave it then to the people among whom it exists to devise, in their own lime and in their own way, the mode and manner of its removal. That ji a problem with the solution of which I tax not my brain. It has (axed in vain tbs wisdom and ingenuity of some of our wisest and ablest statesmen. When, therefore, we find an institution (hat once planted among, a people .they are unable to devise means to get rid of, even tho' they desire to do so, should we not hesitate in doing any act by which it would be fasten ed upon a people who have it not, and who would be much better without it I Would the people of Kansas, left to their own free choice, to-day choose the institution of slave ry instead of free institutions 1 It is said that the bill organizing the terri iory was to leave the people to do as they please, : SJThe people of Kansas to do as they please, when there is not an officer in the ter ritory in whoso election they have had a voice, and cannot have for two years to come! The people of Kansas to do as they please, when by force you trample down their ballot-boxes nod deprive thern,of the full benefit of the elective franchise! You have imposed on them a Legislature which has en acted laws striking down the dearest rights of freemen! and you call it law and order to sustain the invasion, and enforce the enact-, menls I And after the people of Kansas have been disfranchised at the ballot-box, and have been deprived of their rights because they undertake to demand a redress of their ' grievances at (he hands of Ihp only body that can give it—the Congress of the United States—armed men are to be caller) into shoot them down ? Are the citizens of Kan sas competent to take care of themselves T If so, »hy import men from olher'States to enforce the laws? The fact that men are imported to execute the laws of the Legisla lure is conclusive that those laws do not meet with the approbation of a majority of the people. Under these circumstances, what is the du ty of Congress?. Is it their duly to sit qui etly by and behold these .altercations in the territory without devising means to avoid them ? la it the duty of Congress, which embodies ins sentiments of thji whole Re public, to sit quietly by and allow the institu tion of Slavery to extend itself into territory under its exclusive jurisdiction, and which (CONCLUDED on FOURTH IAOB.)
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