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1 Schuyler Colfax, The Laws of Kansas: Speech of Hon. Schuyler Colfax, of Indiana 1 (1856)

handle is hein.slavery/lwksshs0001 and id is 1 raw text is: THE LAWS OF KANSAS. SPEECH OF THE HON. SCHUYLER COLFAX, OF INDIANA. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, JUNE 21, 185to. MR. CHAIRMAN : I desire to give notice that I shall move, when we reach the third clause of the pending Army bill, the following amend- ment; and I read it now, because the remarks I shall make to-day are designed to show its necessity ; But Congress, hereby disapproving of the code of alleg- ed laws officially communicuted to them by the President, and which are represented to have been enacted by a body claiming to be the Territorial Legislature of Kansas; and also disapproving of the manner in which said alleged laws ,have been enforced by the authorities of said Territory, ex- pressly declare that, until these alleged laws shall have been affirmed by the Senate and House of Representatives as having been enacted by a legal Legislature, chosen in con- formity with the organic law by the people of Kansas, no part of the military force of the United States shall be em- ployed in aid of their enforcement; nor shall any citizen of Kansas be required, under their provisions, to act as a part of the posse eomitatmitu of any officer acting as marshal or sheriff in said Territory. My especial object to-day is to speak relative to this code of laws, now in my hand, which lia emanated from a so-called Legilative Assembly of Kansas; and for the making of which your constitutents, in common with mine, have paid their proportion-the whole having been paid fr out of the Treasury of United States. In speaking of the provisions embodied in this voluminous document, and of the manner in which these laws have been enforced, I may feel it my duty to use plain. and direct language; and I find my exemplar, as well as my justification for it, in the unlim- ited freedom of debate which, from the first day of the session, has been claimed and exer- cised by gentlemen of the other side of the House. And, recognizing that freedom of de- bate as we have, to the fullest extent, subject only to the rules of the House, we intend to exercise it on this side, when we may see fit to do so, in the same ample manner. Hence, when we have been so frequently called fa- natics, and other epithets of denunciation, no one, on these seats, has even called gentle- men of the other side to order. When it has pleased them to denounce us as Black Repub- licans or colored Republicans, we have taken no exception to the attack, for we regard free- dom of speech as one of the pillars of our free institutions. When, not content with this, they have charged us with implied perju- ry, in being hostile to the Constitution, and unfaithful to the Union, we have been content to leave the world to judge between us and our accusers-a scrutiny in which principles will have more weight than denunciation. In spite of all these attacks we have not been moved to any attempt to restrict the perfect and most unlimited freedom of speech on the part of our denouncers ; for we acknowledged the truth of Jefferson's sentiment, that Error LIFE OF COLONEL FREMONT-Nearly Beady. An original and authentic Biography of the People's Candidate for President is now in course of preparation, and will be issued at THE TRIBUN. office early in July. It will be condensed into a pamphlet of 32 large octavo pages, on good type, with spirited illustrations. Price per dozen, ('rice per hundred, Price per thousand, • . $ 0 40 2 50 S . 20 00 HON. CHARLES SUMNER'S SPEECH in the Senate, on Kansas Affairs-32 pages. Price per dozen .. . .... $ 0 40 Price per hundred, 2 50 Price per thousand, .... 20 00 GOVERNOR SEWARD'S SPEECH on the Immediate Admission of Kansas, is now ready-16 large octavo pages. Price per dozen, . Price per hundred, Price per thousand, flR Orders enclosing the cash are respectfully solicited. GREELEY & McELRATH, TRIBUNE OFFIOE, NEW YoRL- Reproduced with permission from the University of Illinois at Chicago . . . . $020 . . . . 125 . . . 10 00

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