The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1838-05-22

his head in token of his Joy and fell back and
died. Who sir, was he q? why a Northern labor
err Northern aborer And yet these are the
slaves of the North, to whom the honorable gen
teman is about to preach nsurrecton!
That the honorable gentleman does treat North
ern workmen as Southern slaves is evident from
what he had lust SAID. Ifhe had not intended
to place them in the same degraded situation of
slaves how could he threaten to preach lrsu,Tec-
ton among them? Sir, the honorable gentleman
has mistaken the tendency of Northern institu-
TONS as much as he has msconceived the worth
and spirit of Northern character Our lnstltu
tons have no such tendeucy,-no, sir, but exact
ly the reverse. They raise up the laborer. They
place every man upon an equality. They give
to all equal rights and equal chances, and hold
out to all equal Inducements to action. North
ern institutions tend TO keep down the Northern
laborers The whole history OF the North from
the landing Of the first Pilgrim on the rock OF
Plymouth to this hour contradcts this position.
appeal to the Representatives from Pennsyl
vania ask you, sirs, who is Joseph Ritner that
distinguished man, who, mt this very moment
fills the executive chair Of your great State n
man, who in all that constitutes high moral and
intellectual worth has few superiors in this coun
try,--one who has all the qualities of head and
heart necessary 10 accomplish the great states
man, and who possesses, in the most enlarged
degrees, all the elements of human greatness
Who, sir, is he a? A Northern laborer,-a Penn
syvania wagoner-who, for years, drove his team
from Pttsburg to Philadelphia, " over the noun
tain, and over the moor" not "whisng he
went,"-no sir, but preparing himself then, by
deep cogtation and earnest application for the
high destiny which the future had in store for
him. And who. let me ask the same gentlemen,
is James Todd, the present Attorney General of
Pennsy lvania, -dst;ngushe for The extent of
his legal requirements, for the comprehensive en-
ergy of his mind, for his strength OF argument ~
vigorous elocution who sir, is he?-lle too, is
Northern laborer, Pennsylvania wood chop
perrin early childhood destitute, desolate o.
phan, bound out by the overseers OF the poor as
an apprentice to aborer! These, sir, are some
of the fruits of Northern institutions of the
slaves to whom the honorable gentleman will
have to preach insurrecton!
Mr.. Chairman, call upon gentlemen of the
North TO bear witness TO the truth of what have
said | cell upon them to look back 10 the days
of their childhood and say whom they have seen
attain honor distinction, wealth and affluence'
Are they not the working the industrious parts
of society? And do not the institutions Of the
North necessarily lead 10 such results? Sir, when
| pause, for moment and behold what are now
the little destitute playmaes ofmy childhood,I am
overwhelmed with establishment. Some Of them
have gone forth from their homes, become draft
ers and signers of declarations OF independence,
founders of new Empires, breakers of the chains
of despotsm, and the EARTH even in their youth,
has drunk up their blood, shed willingly in the
cause of the rights of man. Some have minis
tered at the alter of their divine Master Some
have led the bar, adorned the Senate, illustrated
the Judiciary; and others have wandered in the
howery fields of literature, trod in cool tranquil
izing paths of philosophy, deved in the depths
of science, and comprised the world with enter
prise. In Il word, civilization has no pursuit that
they have not already honored and adorned
And yet these men are some of the fruits of those
odious institutions, against which the eloquent
gentleman has undertaken his crusade
Sir, it is the glory of the Northern institutions
that they give to every man poor and rich, high
and low, the same fair play. They place the hon
ors, emoluments and distinctions of the country
before him and say ego, run your race for the
prize, the reward shall encirce the brow OF the
most worthy" Thus it is that every one feels
and knows that he has clear field before him,
and that with industry, prudence and perscver-
ance, he can command success in any honorable
undertaking. He knows that his industry is his
oaon his efforts are his o,On, and that every blow
he strikes, whilst it rebounds to his olDn immedi
ate advantage contributes also to the good of the
community, and the glory and renown of the
country. All honorable empoyments are open
to him. The halls of legislation are open to
him the bar is open to him; the fields of science
are before him; there is no barrier between him
and the object of his ambition, but such us indus
try and perseverance may overcome.
But before conclude this branch of my sub
ject, let me make one observation that had al
most forgotten. The gentleman seems to think
that our workmen must of necessity be the pas
sive instruments of our capitalists His idea OF
the power and influence of wealth. controlling
the very desinies of the man who labors, must be
derived from the institutions of his own gener-
Gus South where he frankly avows that the cap
tast does absolutely own the laborers. His
views are, however, utterly inappcable to the
North. Who are the Northern capitalists of to-
day, but the pennyless apprentices of yesterday?
Sir, in the North there is scarcely class of men
existing exclusively as capitalists. The charac-
ter of capitalist and laborer is there united in the
same person. In ninety nine cases out of a hun
bred, he who is capitalist has become so by his
own industry and perseverance. He begins as
an humble 6 laborer'-his industry, virtue and
integrity, his only capital. He gradually accu-
mulates Every day of toll increases his means.
His means are then united to his labor and he
receives the just and homes, profits of them both.
Thus he goes on joining his accommodations with