The Rodney telegraph. (Rodney, Miss.) 1838-1840, 1840-08-28
Gen HarrisOn's Vincennes Speech

|Gen. HdrTlEOnE NmcenneS ppeecn.|
Extracts from thespeech Of Cen. Harrison. dsliv-
cred at vincennes, Indiana, on the 4th day Of
July, 1885.
81 have now, feIlow.c citizens, few words
more to say on another subject, and which
lis, IN my opinion, Of more Importance than
ANY other that is now in the course Of dis
|cussion in any part of the Union. ALLUDED
Ito the societies which have been formed, and
the movements of certain individuals in someI
|oi the States in relation to portion Of theI
population in others The conduct ofthesel
persons are the more dangerous, because
their object is masked under the garb of
Observation-Disclosures and benevolence land their
course INDICATED by arguments and PROPOSE i
|tions which in the abstract no one can deny
but however fascinating may be the dress
with which their schemes are presented to
their felow-citizens; with whatever purity
LOT intention they may have been formed and
Sustained, they will be found to carry in their
train mischief to the whole Union, and hor-
ror to large portion of it, which, it is prob
able, some of the projectors and many of their
supporters have never thought Of. The first
/ in the series of evils which are spring from
their source are such as you have read Of
to have been perpetrated on the fair plains
of Italy and Gaul, by the Scythian hordes of
Alfalfa and Alaric ;and such as mostofyou ap-
pretended upon that memorable night when
the tomahawks and war clubs of the follow.
ers of Tecumseh were rafting in your sub
urbs. regard not the disavowals of any
such intention, upon the part of the authors
of these schemes, since, upon the examina-
ton of the publications which have been
made, they WILDE found to contain the very
fact, and every argument which would be
used, If such had been their object. am
certain that there is not, in this assembly
one Of these deluded men, and that there
are few within the bounds Of the State. ii
there are any, would earnestly entrea'
them to forbear; to pause in their career, an6
deliberately consider the consequences ol
their conduct to the whole Union, to State:
more Immediately interested, and to those
Tor whose benefit they profess to act. Tha
the latter will be the victims of the weak
iniudicious, presumptous, and unconstitu
tional efforts to serve them, a thorough ex
animation of the subject must convince them
The struggle (and struggle there must be,
may commence with horrors such as | have
described; but it will end with more firmly
rivetting the chains, or in the utter exptirpa
tion of those whose cause they advocate.
Am wrong, felIow-ci.izens, in applying
the terms weak, presumptuous and uncon
siitutional to the measures Of the emancipa
torsa A slight examination will, think
show that / am not. In vindication Of thl
objects of convention which was latel,
held in one of the towns of Ohio, which
saw in newspaper, it was said that nothing
more was intended than to produce a stat
of public feeling which would. lead TO al
amendment of the Constitution authorizing
the abolition of slavery in the United States
Not0 can an amendment Of the Constitute
be effected acithout the consent Of the Soutl
ern States? What then is the proposition
be submitted 10 theIn2 1t is this-"Th
present provisions Of the Constitution secur
to you the right Ia right which you held b
fore twas made, which you have nevt
given up, TO manage your domestic cor
Germs in your own way; but as we are cor
vinced that you do not manage them prof
erly, we want you to put in the hands ofth
general Government, in the councils {
which we have the majority, the control owe
these matters, the effect of which will
VIRTUALLY to-transfer the power from your
into our hands, Again, in some of tn
RCtofor and IN rovrf.orc &c cthare fho hlar
population far exceeds that of the white
Some of the emancipators propose an in
mediate abolition. What is the proposilio
then as it regards the States and parts
Estates, but the alternatives Of amalgamatic
with the blacks, or an exchange of situation
with them? Is there any man of CONNIE
sense who does not believe that the emanC
pated blacks, being majority, will insi
upon full participation of political RICH
with the whites, and when possessed ofthes
Twill they not contend for full share of S
cial rights also? What but the extremity
weakness and folly could induce any OF
to think that such propositions as these cou
be listened to by people so intelligent
the Southern States9 Further The ema
cIpators generally declare that it is their
IS teniion to effect their object (although the
Lo acts contradict the assertion by no 9th
D, means than by convincing the slave holde
le that the immediate emancipation ofthe slav
B. is called for, both by moral obligation al
ii sound policy. An unfedged youth, at 4
moment of his leaving Indeed in many
WI stances before he has Left his theologic
6 seminary, undertakes to give lectures up
id morals to the counlrymen Of Wythe, Tue
ill er, Pendlelon, g. Lowndes, and lessons Of I
I'D litical wisdom to States whose affairs ha