6 KANSAS. right of the people to the elective franchise would be wrested from them by overpowering invaders. The twelfth section of an act entitled 11 An act to punish offences against slave property,” declares, that if any free person, by speaking or by writing, assert or maintain that persons have not the right to hold slaves in this Territory, or shall introduce into this Territory, print, publish, write, circulate, or cause to be introduced into this Territory, written, printed, published, or circulated in this Territory, any book, paper, magazine, pamphlet, or circular, containing any denial of the right of persons to hold slaves in this Territory, such person shall be deemed guilty of felony, and be punished by imprisonment at hard labor, for a term of not less than two years.” Your memorialists represent that this act destroys the freedom of speech, controls the liberty of the. press, and is an innovation upon those rights guarantied by the constitution. Obedience to it would be an act unworthy an American citizen. The thirteenth section of the same act reads as follows : “ No person who is conscientiously opposed to holding slaves, or who does not admit the right to hold slaves in this Territory, shall sit as a juror on the trial of any prosecution for any violation of any of the sections of this act.” It was the enactment of such laws that forced the people of Kansas to take the initiatory steps towards the formation of a State government ; believing that by such organization they might throw off an oppressive burden, and secure their safety for the future. The State organization to which your memorialists would now request the attention of your honorable bodies originated in a call, of , which the following is a copy, and which was signed by many citizens, and circulated throughout the Territory : “ MASS MEETING-. “ The squatters of Kansas Territory, without distinction of party, will assemble in mass meeting in Lawrence, on Wednesday, the 15th day of August, at 3 o’clock p. m., to take into consideration the pro-’ priety of calling a Territorial convention preliminary to the formation of a State government, and other subjects of interest.” Pursuant to this call, a large meeting from all parts of the Territory, irrespective of party distinctions, met to consult together upon the all- important subject before the people. Some of the officers of the meeting were “Free-state” men, and some were “pro-slavery,” both of the Whig and Democratic parties ; but party distinctions were lost sight of while consulting upon matters of such vital importance. Most of the leading men of this meeting were men of talent, integrity, and were decidedly conservative in their views. The following preamble and resolutions were adopted : “ Whereas the people of Kansas Territory have been, since its settlement, and are now, without any law-making power ; therefore, be it “Resolved, That we, the people of Kansas, in mass meeting assem
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