Friday, March 07, 2014

"the rights of the people to keep and bear arms have been infringed...."

Condemned Out of their Own Mouths.

   The New York World revives the following resolution adopted by the Republican Convention when Fremont was nominated. Out of their own mouths the Radical criminals are condemned. Their acts for the past two years in the Southern States have been precisely those which in the following resolution they describe as "high crimes against the Constitution, the Union and humanity" and "atrocious outrages." The Radicals have committed these crimes and outraged not against a Territory, but against sovereign and coequal States in the Union. Wrongs of this kind they pronounced worthy of "condign punishment." Yet knowing and condemning the wrong, they chose it for their course, and now tsk the people to reward them for their crimes by continuing them in power. Here is the resolution:

   Resolved, That while the Constitution of the United States was ordained and established by the people in order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence and secure the blessings of liberty, and contains ample provisions for the protection of the life, liberty and property of every citizen, the dearest constitutional rights of the people of Kansas have been fraudulently and violently taken from them--their territory has been invaded by an armed force--spurious and pretended legislative, judicial, and executive officers have been set over them, by whose usurped authority, sustained by the power of the Government, tyrannical and unconstitutional laws have been enacted and enforced--the rights of the people to keep and bear arms have been infringed--test oaths of an extraordinary and entangling nature have been imposed, as a condition of exercising the right of suffrage and holding office--the right of an accused person to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury has been denied--the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures has been violated--they have been deprived of life, liberty and property without due process of law--that the freedom of speech and of the press has been abridged--the right to choose their representatives has been made of no effect-- murders, robberies and arsons have been instigated and encouraged, and the offenders have been allowed to go unpunished--that all these things have been done with the knowledge, sanction and procurement of the present Administration, and that for this high crime against the Constitution, the Union and humanity, we arraign the Administration, the President, his advisers, agents, supporters, apologists and accessories, either before or after the facts, before the country and before the world, and that it is our fixed purpose to bring the actual perpetrators of these atrocious outrages, and their accomplices to a sure and condign punishment hereafter.

[The Ottawa Free Trader, Ottawa, Ill., Saturday, July 4, 1868. Volume 28. Number 47. Pg. 2]

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