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.)