North Carolina declaration of Rights, Article 24. Retrospective Laws, punishing facts committed before the Existence of Such Laws, and by them only declared Criminal, are oppressive, Unjust, and incompatible with liberty, Wherefore no ex post facto Law ought to be made.

I cannot forbear remarking, That it clearly appears by these Citations, That my observations in the foregoing are plain obvious Truths, which forcibly Strike, and irresistibly Convince the human mind. What a pity it is, That the Laws and declarations of Rights in those States are diametrically opposite? How greatly it would have been to the honour of the American United States, If, in their arduous and noble Struggle for liberty, Their laws had been made conformable to the plain humane Dictates of Liberty, Truth & Justice, as they are Clearly and Nobly expressed and declared in the aforesaid declarations of Rights? I trust & sincerely hope, as Peace is now Established, Passion will Subside, the Voice of Truth and Calm reason will direct, so that all the Irregularities and Wrongs which have been committed, during a time of War and Tumult, will be rectified and redressed, & Justice will be impartially administered to Every One, who has been Injured or Oppressed.

Colo. SIMEON POTTER.

TO SIMEON POTTER.

CLAPHAM near LONDON Aug 30, 1784 DEAR SIR, - I wrote to you March 23 and April 15, but have not been favoured with a line from you in answer. Since I wrote my last, I have received a letter from my worthy friend William Ellery Esq' wherein he informs me that you have removed from Bristol to Swansey and by a late Boston Newspaper I find you are member for Swansey. In my s letters I stated my case to you, and I flatter myself, that you think that I have met with Cruel unmerited treatment. As I think I am greatly aggrieved, I have desired John Lowell Esq', who is my Counsel, to Exhibit a Petition in my name to the General Court of Massachusetts praying that I may be admitted to the rights of a Citizen, and to Exhibit a memorial, stating therein Facts, and praying that my house in Boston, which has been mortgaged to Mr. P. N. Smith by a Committee of the General Court for security for money he lent the State, may be restored to me free from Mr. Smith['s] mortgage.

I am Certain, That Reason Law & Justice dictate, That no man should be punished or suffer the least damage in his person or property, Who has not Committed Any Crime. And I am Certain, That I have not Committed any Crime against, nor have violated in any respect

Any One Either of Massachusetts Rhode Island, or Any One of the United States, nor have Ever done Any one thing in the least degree Unfriendly to Any One of the United States. Nevertheless Rhode Island State has confiscated & Sold my Farm at Bristol, which cost me £3500 Sterling, And Massachusetts State has proscribed my Person, Sequestered my property, and mortgaged my house in Boston for Security for money borrowed of Mr. P. N. Smith by the State, Which are severe punishments or to speak more properly, are shameful Acts of Injustice, whereby I have been greatly injured. I now bonâ fide declare, That on proof that I have committed any Crime against, or have violated in any respect Any One Law, either of Massachusetts Rhode Island, or Any One of the United States, or that I have Ever done any One thing in the lowest degree Unfriendly to Any One of the United States, I will relinquish all claims for relief from Rhode Island & Massachusetts States, and will acknowledge that I have no reason to Complain. But if said States cannot prove either of these things against me, I Rest my Claim intirely on the Justice of my cause, that is, that no such proof can be produced, and should [they] refuse to grant me the relief I pray for in my petitions, they will Rob me of my property in a mean dastardly manner, by Exerting the sovereign power of the State wrongfully against an Innocent Individual. I have too high an opinion of the honour and Justice of sd States to suppose, that they will refuse to give me that relief, which Justice demands that they should give. I have in my afores letters given you a full State of my Case, and beg the favour of you, when my petition Comes before Massachusetts Assembly, to support my rightful Cause And to use your Interest to procure me the relief I pray for, that is, that I may be admitted to the Rights of a Citizen, and that my house in Boston may be restored to me free from the Encumbrance of Mr. Smith's mortgage. If you will be so kind as to converse with John Lowell Esq' who is my Counsel and One of the Senate, and Nath' Gorham Esq' Member of the House and my particular friend, you may be able to adopt such a plan as may be successful. You must be sensible, Dear Sir, that when a private person has been oppressed and injured by an Act of a Democratic Legislature, and applies to that same Legislature for Redress, he stands but little chance of succeeding in his application, however just and righteous his Cause is, Unless Gentlemen of distinguished Character Weight and influence Espouse and Support his rightful claim. This, I flatter myself, will appear a reasonable apology for my freedom in soliciting your friendly Aid. I have desired Dr William Bradford & Henry Marchant Esq', who were Counsel for me in the Action brought against my bristol farm, to Exhibit to the Gen' Assembly of Rhode Island, a petition in my name praying for Restitution of my bristol farm. As you are

acquainted with all the principal Gentlemen of Rhode Island State, and know the merits of my claim, you may do me Essential service, by representing my case to the leading members of both Houses, and Engaging them to support my petition when it comes before the Gen Assembly, & for which I shall be greatly obliged to you. Mrs. Vassall & family unite in best regards to you & Mrs. Potter, and I remain with Tenders of my best Services and assure I should be happy to have an opportunity to render you any friendly offices,

DEAR SIR,Lately I have received your Esteemed favours of July 10 and Novem 6. In which you express your abhorrence of the wicked proceedings against me assure me that I stand foremost for the restitution of my property advise me to come over immediately with my family, and that if I should come, you believe, the Gen' Court would restore my Estate to me. This would be very pleasing, were it not,

that some sullen ill natured facts stare me full in the face & tell me that your friendship for me makes you look only on the favourable side. Some of the facts I will mention. In January 1784 Mr. Tudor my Counsel Exhibited a petition in my name to the Gen' Court, Praying, that I might be relieved from the Proscription & Confiscation Acts &c. No one Person in the Court spoke in fav' of my petition, and Mr. Tudor was permitted to withdraw it. In April 1784, Dr. Lloyd Applied, in Consequence of the Act of March 29, 1784, to Governor Hancock & Council, for a licence for me to return, which was refused. In Novem' 1784 after a violent debate in the House of Representatives, Whether the Absentees who had returned since the Ratification of a definitive Treaty, should be permitted to remain, or not, till the third Wednesday of the next Session of the General Court, it was determined by One Single Vote that they might remain till then. And to mention but one fact more, Viz The infamous Wicked Act of Novem' 10, 1784, which Enacts, That all the Estates of Absentees, which had been mortgaged by order of Government, should be considered as having been Confiscated to the amount of the sum for which they were mortgaged, and if any Absentee should Sue for his Estate,

the mortgagee should plead the General Issue, and give the Act in Evidence. Now it is a notorious fact, that my Estate Real and personal has not been Confiscated in toto, or in parte. Nevertheless, though the Jury and Court knew that no part of my Real or personal Estate had been confiscated, upon a Writ of Ejectment for possession of my house in Boston, The General Issue being pleaded And the Act being given in Evidence, The Jury on their Oaths must find, and the Court on their Oaths must adjudge that my house has been confiscated to the amount of the mortgage, that is, The Jury on their Oaths must find and the Court on their Oaths must adjudge a thing or action to have been done, which they knew never had been done. This strange wicked Law Enacts, that falsehoods shall be Truth to my great Injury and heavy loss. When you consider the foregoing, and the great trouble and vast expense that attends the Removing of a large family across the Atlantic, you cannot but see the propriety of my not returning to Boston as things are situated. Notwithstanding the Barbarous, Injurious & Unjust Treatment I have met with from the Legislatures, I have [such] a great fondness for & Attachment to America, That if, by the advices I shall receive from my friends, It shall appear to me that I shall be cordially received and that I may live in the same agreeable manner there that I did formerly, I shall return to my pleasant house in Boston.

I have inquired for Mrs. Grant & am informed that She is in the Country, where I cannot learn, and I am told That she will shortly return to London: As soon as I can find where She is, I will wait on her and talk with her about the Land you mention, and will write you what she says.

I have wrote a full State of my Case in Massachusetts to Dr James Lloyd, Nath' Gorham Esq' & Wm Tudor Esq', and a full State of my Case in Rhode Island to Moses Brown Esq' of Providence, & Henry Marchant Esq. I have recd a very kind letter from Mr. Brown promising me his friendly assistance. I have desired Mr. Marchant to draw a Memorial in my [name] and therein to State the facts I have mentioned in my letter, proving that the Judgment of the Superior Court on the Special Verdict of the Jury, at the Trial at Bristol on the last Monday of Jan' 1785, Respecting me, is Absurd, Erroneous, & Contrary to Law, and pray therefore that sd Judgment may [be] nullified and set aside, and that my farm may be restored to me. If you will talk with Dr Lloyd, Mr Gorham & Mr Tudor about my affairs in Massachusetts; and with Moses Brown & Henry Marchant Esq" about my Affairs in Rhode Island, and Give them your advice & assistance you will do me essential Service, and I shall be greatly obliged to you. Mrs. Vassall and family unite in affectionate regards to you and [Mrs.] Potter, flattering ourselves, that We shall have the pleasure to Renew

our friendly and much Esteemed Acquaintance And I remain with the greatest Esteem and Respect

F. B. SANBORN communicated the following paper:

THE EARLY HISTORY OF KANSAS, 1854-1861.

During the present year important additions have been made to the manuscripts relating to the struggle in Kansas, in the six years from 1854 to 1861, between the barbarism engendered by negro slavery and the civilizing forces of free labor, free schools, and free speech. There have also been published and sent to this Society several papers by citizens of Kansas, bearing on the earlier years of this struggle, and correcting some of the errors in history naturally arising, either from the passions or the intrigues of the period in question, or from the forgetfulness or prejudice of later years, when most of the actors in the struggle have passed away. As I was in some sort an actor in the matter for most of the years which these manuscripts and printed papers cover, it seems proper that my statement should be put on record, since it contravenes much that has been spoken and written, in this Society and elsewhere, concerning this momentous period in the civil and military history of the United States. The struggle in Kansas was the prelude, even the rehearsal on a small scale, of the Civil War of 1861-1865; and the questions involved were almost exactly the same, with the exception of those matters of foreign policy which sought to play so large a part in that war.

A disposition is manifest of late, among writers who favor soft names for harsh things, to call our Civil War neither by that name nor by its official title, the "War of the Rebellion," but "The War between the States." It was never, in fact, a war between States, but between institutions, the socalled "peculiar domestic institution" of negro slavery, and the actual institution of Democracy, resting on free labor, free soil, and free speech. There was never a time during the four