... Should I receive assurance
that no troops will be sent to this State prior to the 4th of
March next, then all will be peace and quiet here, and the
property of the United States will be fully protected, as
heretofore. If, however, I am unable to get such assurances, I
will not undertake to answer for the consequences.
"The forts in this State have long been unoccupied, and their
being garrisoned at this time will unquestionably be looked upon
as a hostile demonstration, and will in my opinion certainly be
resisted."
The plea so constantly made by the succeeding Administration, as an
excuse for its warlike acts, that the duty to protect the public
property required such action, is shown by this letter of Governor Ellis
to have been a plea created by their usurpations, but for which there
might have been peace, as well as safety to property, and, what was of
greater worth, the lives, the liberties, and the republican institutions
of the country.
There was great similarity in the condition of Missouri to that of
Kentucky. They were both border States, and, by their institutions and
the origin of a large portion of their citizens, were identified with
the South. Both sought to occupy a neutral position in the impending
war, and offered guarantees of peace and order throughout their
territory if left free to control their own affairs. Both refused to
furnish troops to the United States Government for the unconstitutional
purpose of coercing the Southern States.
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