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Show 104 A POLITICAL TEXT-llOOK FOR 1860 to Coug rc~s was R.lso p repared , praying for lhe a dmission of 1\ allsi t~ in to the Union u nder that Const itution. 'J'he C•>nvcntion u l ~o JH'O vided tha i the que:~ti o n of the ad option or tltu Con titut.ion a nrl other q ueHtions be submitted ~o the peuple, a.n!l required the }:x ecutive Oommitlee to ta.k.e the ncce5sa.ry steps for that p ur pose. Acconllngl)·, an election wa~ h e~ t i ror that pnrpose 01 the 15th ~ay of December , I :>~. tn cun pllan co with t.h proclamat ton issue(J by t he l~xecutive ContmiHee 1'1• r eturns of t his clect..ion were tnade by the l~xccntiv~ Qo1~~ m il~ee , and an a bstract o f them i~ con ta in ed In the: tol· l oww g taule : ABSTRACT OF THE ELECTION ON 'l'IIE ADOPTION OF 'l'IIE STATE . CO~STITUTION, DEC. 15, 1855. Cons tilntion. G e n e r~t l Dank lug LtlW. E x clusivn of N c~roes anti PRECI:SCT::\. Mulatt oe~. 'a~~ Yes. I No. Ye:~. I No. - - ---- - - ---- -- -· 1 2 8 4 () 7 8 9 10 11 18 H 15 Hi 17 Lawrence . . .. . . . .. . . . . •..... Blanton . .. ...... . .. .. ... .. Pa lmyra . •.... . . . . . ... . . . ... F1·anklin .. ..... . . . . .. .. . . . llloomingt on . . . . ... . ... . . . . . ~ast Douglas .. .. . ... . ... ... . Topeka ......... .. .. . .. .... .. Wa shingt on . ... ... ...... . . . . ll rowns ville . .. . . .... ..... .. . 'l' cc u m~eh ... .. .. . . ... .... . . Prairie C1ty . . . . .. . . . . .. . . . . l.i tlic o ~a ge .. .. . . . . ... . . . .. . Uig ~uga r .. ... . . . . .. . .. .. .. . :\eoHi to . ... .. ..... . . .. . .... . . . P ll tawat a mic . ... ... ... . . . . . . Litt le ' ugar ..... ...... . .... . Slall tOil .. ... .. . .. . .. . . . •• . •. O;a w;tt omic .. . . . .. . . . .. .. . . . . 'l'i tll< .... .. .. ...... ....... . Juni:t1 11 .. . .. ...... . . ... . . . . . . Ohio City . . .... ..... .... .... . ~J il l Cr ·ck 8L M a ry'~.·.'.'." . .' .' . .':: :. :::: : : Wauhauu~c ... Pa wnee . .. . .'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.':: : : · :·: G ra~«h n ppc r Falls . . . .. . • .. . . Doniphan . . .. .. . . . .. . .... . . . Burr 0:1k . ... . . ..•.•. • .. . . .. .J c~ ~ c Padur's. Occna .. . . . ... : : : :: ·. ·. ·. '.'.'.'.' .': : 1\il; l; npon .... .. . .. . . .... .. . .. P h· a ~ a n t 11 111. lndiun·t .. · .. .... .. .. " · \Vld: f.h:l;l·... . . . . . . • . .. . ' . . . Wolf R iv ~ ~ ............ .. .. · St. J "~~ ph·~· ii~tt~~~~·.'. '.'.'. '.'.'.'.: :'Il l. Plea sant ... .. . }1j;L!'-tOt1. .. . . • • • • • • • • • • • • Mi ~o i on ....... .·. ·... .·. ·. ·. ·. .·. .· .· ·. .· .· 34:3 12 1l 4 1;37 1 135 42 2·1 85 72 21 18 12 89 42 32 56 89 3 t) 21 20 14 l !) 45 54 22 '28 12 2.S 20 47 19 7 2! ll'i 32 7l 7 1 2 1 4 7 2 3 18 1 f) 2 225 ()9 9 3l 1 ~2 13 125 41 2:l 213 39 16 5 ti 21 3~ 4 3:3 82 ~!l 16 11 115 19 6 7 1 8 7 37 8 11 4 3~ 15:3 3 8/j 14 l3 115 11 4 9 1 2 11 3S 12 16 6 19 13 3:3 20 7 6 6 20 14 1 29 (34 14 16 11 21) 113 6 18 4 12 9 1 19 lj 1i 4':l 11 :1 l.t li!) 4:.! 2:t :{:') lj!) 23 ~u 12 25 4 ~ 3=3 8 ' 25 ) II 20 ~0 14 7 40 5I) 21 22 12 28 16 415 I 1~ 18 I 14 3t) I 71 1 '!. I:, .j, G·l 2 :l 7 1:3 2 17 1:') HI l 11 5 3 1 4 1 6 1 2 2 Total - - -------- - --- ..... • ....... •• _ • •_ ._. ·-=--1_7_31 ~ 4_6 _,_1120 1')64 I tzs7 4.):3 N. n.-P oll-Dook a t l -eavenwor th was <lcs t t·oyed . ~h.e Execu tive Committee then i ssue(\ a proclamation r~catm g the re sul t of the election of the 15th of December, a nd at the Fame t un · p rovid ed for an election t be held on th<! 15Lh <lay of Janu a r y , 1SI5G, fo r State ofJl~ ce rs a nd members of t J,c n cneral Assembly or the St a te of 1K~t~.n s:~ ~. An ~ lec ti o 11 II'<L~ accon li ngly held in the seve-t rha ect a o ~ -p r ecm c ts, the returns of which wer e sent to , e xccutave Committ ee. Tl.ae result of this elect ion wns a nnounced by a 1 matJOn by t he Executive Commit t ee. proc a - t! In accordance with t he Constitution thus adopted ' le me~lb ers of the Sta te Legislatu re and most of th ' ~tai~ o~c~rs m~t o n. th~ day a nd at t h e p la ce de~ignate~ Y ~ d .tte t;ou::.tltutJOn, and took the oath tl e . p rcscn bcd. 1 r em Ane: electi ng United States Sen a tor!! nssln p relim ma ry la ws, and a JipOinting a Cod if :. p ' C g some a nd preparing a Memorial to Congres~ mrhe oGmitte~ f 8.;6.mu ly a djourned to meet on the 4th day 0/~~~;, • The la.ws passe<! wer e a ll condition al upon the ad • s a?n. of Kansas ns a tate into the Un ion 1'h miB· ceedtni-(S were r egul ar and In the o I j es e p ro- Committee, the Vonsti'tutio~ thus ad~~~~~n fa~.~~/~ur presses t ~e will of the ma j or ity of the settlers Th x n aw awatt th~ action or Congress upon th eir me~ori ey f.U~~~~!eo~\:~iiO~s, '~llether the~ were conducted in ;~r· . ' w oa no , we re n ot tllegal. \\ hether the r c.<lnlt of them ls Ranr.tio nc<l by the actlo.:l of Cong r ess, or th ey nrc regard ed 3 3 the mere cxpressloo of. po~ ul ar will, a nd . Congress should r e fu~ e to gmnl the !~r.~ye ! of tho memonal, thal cannot. a ffect their legalitv. 1 h ~ n ght of the people to ass e •tl b le and express th eir ~o hti.c l\1 op inion in l_li1Y ~o rm, wh ether IJy mea nM or tlU e l.ect i.on or a. co n v~ nt 10 n, 1!:1 s ecUJ't'll to th e lll by the Con· ~trt utt o n of the Unated State~. J<.:veu if the electi ons nre o be r~gar de .l as the act o f a party , wheth er politiclll or oth e rwt~ e, .t h ey were p roper, in accordauce " ith exam· p ies, b oth m Sta tes and 'l' e rri to ric · The eleciio.ns, h owe ver, were pr.cce1lell and followed by a cts of vtolence on the part of those who opposed th em, and th ose p ersons who a 1,proved and sustaincti t he In vasion from Missou ri ;vc re p eculiarly hostile to t~ese peaceful movemen ts prelirui nary to the orgllniza· t•?n of a State Rovernmont. I nsta n ces of this violence wtll be r efen ed to h ereafter 'l'o p rovide for the elect ion o f d cl ejia tes to Congr()ll!!, ~n d tLt the same time do it in Ruch a manner ns to outain ~e .J ~Hl gm ent of the House of ltcp rcsc u tativcs upon the v altdtty of .the all eged legit~ l ati ve assctHb ly sitting a~ Shawnee Mtss ion, a conve n t ion was h eld at Dig Sprin~ on the 15th and 6th days o f September, 1 (5:). '!'his was a party convention, an(l a p a rty callint: i t ~el f the Free· State p n ~ty was th en organized. It was in no way coo· nected wtth the State moveme n t , except t hut the elccllen or a d e l ega.t~ to Congr ess was fix ed bv it. on the same ~ay ~s th e election of memb ers of a. cons titutional con· C1ltt.>n. Instead or the d ay prescribed uy thtJ ullegcd REPORT OF KANSAS I~VESTIGATI NG COjflt lT'l'EE. legislative nssembly. Andrew H. Re eder wll!l put In · had attended t he mee ting. Your ('ommitl<'e h a ve nomln:tUon t~s 'l'errlt orial dele~ate to Congrees, and an deemed it p roper to d eta il the p :uticulnrs of tlli-1 rescue election was provid ed for under the r egulations p re- a~ it was m a de t he groundwork of what is k nown as th~ scribed for the ei(•ction o~ .Ma rch 301 1 "55, e x cepl ing as Wa~crusa Wa r. On th e same n ight of the r(;scuc, tlHi to the appointment of o llt c e rs, and the p e rso ns to whom c a btnl! of Coleman and Jlucklcy were l~ unted uut hy ~he returns of the elections !Should be made. 'l'h e e lcc- whom, is left in ~ubt hJ the ~e~timony. ' t ion w1~ hdd in ncconlance with the~e r egulations , u n <l On t h t! morning of the r escue of llranson , .Tones w:\5 A. II. l( pcdet· receh·cu 2, :l7 vo tes. at the village or F ranklin, n enr L awrence. 'l'he rescue l 'he rc~o tn t i o ns pa~<s ed by th is conve n tion indicate the was spokon of In the p resence or J one~ nncl more con· state of feeling wltlch e x isted in the Terr itory in cons t.:- v ersation p assed bet ween two olhers in 1 h is presence as oucr: ~e or the in vas ion from M i~souri, a nd the enact- to wheth e r it was most proper to send for n~sistanc~ to ments of the allegctl legislativc a ssembly. 'fhc language Vol. 13oon e, in J\ lissouri or to Gov. ltnn non. J ones of some of the resolut io ns is vio lent, nntl can on ly be wrote a dl patch and lau;detl it to a messenger. As soon ju tlfird either in cou:>cq uence of the a ttempt t o en for t e as he sta rt er!, J ones said: " 'l'hrtt man is tak ing my :h~: gro~sest ac~s ~f ty ran n.y, o•: for the purpose of guard- dispatch to J\lis~ouri, .a nd by G-d I'll h tt vc 1 even!;O in!( u:arnst a suntlnr in va siOn 111 future. be fo re I see Masso u n ." A person p resen t who wal:l In ilte fall of 1856, th ere ~prang o ut of the exi sting cxamin c rl as a. witn ess, complain ed publicly that the d H~<" ~~~ un(l e xciteme n t in the T er ritory , two secret dispfltch was n ot sen t to the Governor· and within h alf Ft<-c·.'tate societ iell .• Th ey we re d e fens ive i~ t heir ch:.L- a n hour one ~~·a!> s ent to the Governor by J ones, throu~h ractct', ancl were de~• ~•H•tl to form a p rotcctton to thctr II n.rgous. " a thin a few d ays hLrge numuers of men members against u nlawful a cts o f violence a nd ass a u lt. from t he State of Missou ri gatl1ered a11d encamped on One of lhc ~ocieti es was purely o f a loca l ch am c ter, and the Wakcrusa. They brought with them all the equlp\ 7as confi ned to the town o f Lawre nce. Ycry tlh or tly men ts of war. 'l'o obtain t hem a party of men under after it~ orga niza t ion, it produced it::! desi red ell'cct, and the d irection of J u dge '1'. V. 'l'h~mpson broke into the then went out of usc and cen11ed to e x ist. Jloth societies Un it ed Sta tes arsenal an1l armory at Liberty, i\li ouri, were cumbersot~lC, and of no u t ilit y e x cept to give con - ~n d after a forcible detenlion of 'aptain Leonard (then fillenc~ to the .Jo ree-;:ota te men, a.nd enab le lh em to know tn c h a rge) they took the cannon, muskets, r ifles, powder, and aad ea ch ot her In co nt emplated danger. ~o far as harn c~::~ . and iudccd all the materials and naunitions of ~he cvitlcnce shows, they led to no a ct of violence in wa r they desi red, some o f which have never been rt sistance to eith er re:tl or ~LII egc d laws. r etnrneu or accounted for. Ou thc 21st rlay of November, 1 155, F. M. Coleman , a 'J'ho chief hos ti lity of thi~ milita ry foray was against Pro·~lavcry ma n, and Vl1aries 'V. ])ow, a J<'rcc- ' ta te the town of J.~awrence, a nd th is was e:~pecially the caso man, htLd a d iHpute auout the divl::~ion line h etween th eir with the o tncers of the law. respective claims. 'everal ho u rs afterward, as Dow wus Your Vommitteo can seo in the testimony no r eason, passing from a. ulack~tn ith sh op toward h is c laim, a nd e xcuse, or palliat ion for this feeling. Up to thill tinu>, no by the cabin of Volema n, the la tter sh ot Dow with a 'I.Vll r nmt or p!'O('lam a lion of cL?I y kind had lJcen in the t.loubic·barreled gun loaded with slugs. Dow was un- hand ll of cw !J <?1/ie<H' O(JII i 1111t any citizen of La wren co. ann cu. II e fell across the r oad and d ied immed iat e ly. No arrest had been attcmpte<l, a nd no wril re is tell in This wa ttllout 1 o'clock, P AI. H is d ead body was al- tl1at town. The rc~cue of JlriLIIROn sprang out of a lowe1l to lie whe re it fell until aft er su ndown, 11 hen it was rn ul'(ler committed t liirtt:en miles from Lawrence, in a conveye(J by Jacob Jl ranson to h is ho use, at which Oow d etnch •d sc t tleml.' llt, ll.l!ll n either the town nor its boarded. 'l'he testimo ny in r egard to t his houtidtle is citizens e xt ended uny protection to }~ranson 's rescuers. rolurninouH, nntl shows c le a r ly that it was n d eliberate On the con trary, two or tlaree days after the rescue, S. murder lJy Cole ruan, a n ti that Harrison Uulk lcy a n <l a N. Wood, who cla i111ed puhlicly t.o ue one of the rescuing Mr. Il argous were a ccessories to it. 'l'he e x citement party, wish ed to be a rrcstt·d fot· the JHtrpm;e of testing caused uy it w:\S ve ry great among nil c l,\sses of the the Terril orial laws, and " alkcd up to .'he riff Jones and settl ers. On the 2Gth, n large meeting of citizens wns shook h a nds with him, and ex clmnged other courtesies. held at the place wh e re the murder was committed and H e cou ld have been arrested without tlitlicult.y, and it : esolutiona passed that Coleman sh ou ld be b ro ught to was h is design, when he went to 1\fr. J ooc::;, 1to be a rJustice. ln the mea ntime, Co leman had gone to i\l isso u r i, rested; but no atlcnrpt wa!:i lll:ule to do so. anrl then to Gov. ~hannon, at Shawnee Mission, in lt is obvious th:tt the only cause of thi~ hostility is the J ohn~on County. He was th e re taken in to custo<ly by k nown d esire of the citizens of Lawrence to twtkc 1\ ansas S .• J. .Iones, then a c t ing as ' h er ill'. No warrant w a~ issued a Free Sta te, a nd their r epugnance to !a11'S iruposed upon or ~xam:nation bad. Ou the day of the meeting a t Hic kory them by non-resiuents. Pon~t, Ha rrison Bradloy procu red a peace wa rrant Your Committee do not propo~e to deta il the incidents agamst J acob Branson, which was p la ced in t he hands connected with th is foray. l•'orlunatcly fot· the peace ot or J ones. 'l'hnt same evening, after llranson had gone the count ry, a direct con flict uctween tl1e oppoRing t~ bed, J ones came to his cabin with a party of a hout for ces was a voided by an amicable anangcment. 'l'hc 20 persons, fLmong whom we re I l argous and Duck ley- losses susta in ed by t he settlers in property taken and bursl open t,lae door, and saw Branson in b ed. H e the n t ime and money expen (le<l In their owu defense, ;uidcll drew has piKtol, cocked it, and prese n ted it to llrnnson's much to the trials inciucnt to a new scttlemeul. l\lany breasl, and said, " You a rc my prlsonca· and if you persons we re unlawfully taken and <lelaincd- in some move I will blow you through." 'J'he oth e r; cockcrllheir c ases, under ci rc umstances of gross cruelty. 'J'hi~ "as ~.u ns and gathered round h im, and took him p rh10n er. especially so in the arrcsl an<l treatment of Dr. G. A. Ita7y a ll moun ted and went to llu ck ley's h o use. After Cutter and G. Jo'. Wa rren. '!'hey were taken, without a tun e, Lhcy we nt on a circuitous route t oward lllnn ton s c a use or wanant , sixty •niles from J.awrencc, a nd whcu llridge, stopping to " drink" 0 11 the way . AI:! they np- Dr. Cut ler was quite sick. 'l'hcy were compelled to go pro ached the brid,:;e, t here were thirteen in the p a rty, to t,hc camp a t Lawr ence, wero put into the custody of several having stopped. J on es r ode up to the pri~o ner "She riff J o n c~, " who h:\d no p rocess to a rrest themand, among ot her thin gs, t old him that he had " h eard th ey were taken into a small room k<>pl all 11. liquor shop, ~h ere were one hun1lred men at your h ouse to-day" a nd which was open and ve ry cold. 'l'hat n i!ihl, Jone::~ cauac 'that he r egr etted they were n ot t h e re, and tlu;t th ey in with oth ers , and wc u t to ''pl aying pol\Cr ut twcut rwere chcalcd o ut of thcit· s por t ." In the meantime, th e five cents a n t e." 'l'he p risoners were obliged to sit up alarm had been given in the n cighllorhood of llranson'!:! all n ight, as there was no room to lie d011n, when lite arresl, a nd sevem l of the seltlers a mong whom were men were play ing. J ones insultctl them fre q uently, and some who had a ltcndefl the m ect~vr a t H ick ory Point t old one of lh em he musl either "tell or swing." Thu that rl:ty, ga~h~re~ togeth er. 'l'h ey w:r·e gr eatly ex cited ; guard th en ohje ctctl to this trea tment of prisoners, and the alleged tnJuRt ace o f such an a rrest of a quiet settler, J ones rlesis ted. . . • under nyeace warrant by" Sh erin· J on es," a id ed uy two \\'hlle we r emained in the 'l'errilory, repea~cd .nets .o,f men believed t o be acces::tory to a murder and who were outrage were committed upon the quiet, urwlkudmg crttallowc< l to lie at large, exn!lpe rated then1: anti they pro- zcns, of which we r eceived a u thentic in telligence. 1\t<>tt eeedcd as rapi dly us p'ossible by a near er rou te than were n lta ckcd on the highway, rohued, 1Wd oubsequcutly thn.t taken by J ones, nnd s topped n car the ho use of ,J. ~. Imprison ed. l\l en werr~ sci1.cd nnd s •urclirll, a nt.l their Aboott, one of them. 'J'h ey were on foot as .J ones's weapons of defense taken from them without comJ>en~oaparty approached on a. canter. The rescu er!:! sudlie uly tiou. llorscs we re frequent.ly tnkcn lll1(i. app ropriu.ted. formed aca·oss the road In fron t of J o n e::1 and his p a rty. Oxen we re taken from the yoke wlt1ie plow111g, a n cl h utchJ ones halt.e<l, :\u ti a sk ed " What' li U}l ?" 'J'he re11Jy was er ed in l he 1)resence of their owners. One young man " 'l. 'h·'L,v. ~ .w 11 at we want t 'o kn ow. ·w h a t's up ?" Brunson' was seized in the streets of the town o r Atcl11· son , and, uH-saad,. lhcy have p;ot me a prisoner." orne one in the <ler ci rcumsta nces of grol!S barbarity, was tarred nnd cot.r~ scumg Jl:\l'ty t oltl him to come over to their sill C. 11 e ton ed and in th at condition was seut to his f:unily. An atd ~o, :tnd lli~mounted, and the mule he rode was d riven the p;ovl.sions of lhc Oonslilutlon of the n lled ~talc11, ~cove~ ~o .J un ~s ~ party : J ones then left. Of the persons c uring pe:-s.ons and property, nrc u ttc;ly ((iJ;n•g:lrlled. 'I he eng,tgell In tins rc~cuc, tbrt:e were Crom Lawrence, and officurs of Lhe law, instead of p rotcclmg the p eop le, wero |
