Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1845-02-21

backwater of fraudulent importa'ions of British
goods, through the accommodating agency Of
| philanthropc and viruous Texas. ii is slngu-
lar tina, this argument should come from the
! lips of those who denounce, in the same breath,
! the Northern manufacturers as band of rob
bers; and, as a manufacturer, | own am a lit
tie jealous Of this new born zeal in behalf of in.
teres's even now SO furiously assailed from the
very same quarter
| Perhaps, sir, some subtle advocate Of annex
alton. by the aid of a faculty in which profess
myself deficient, faculty which has been said
to constitute the essence of wit and which is,
at airy rate, prerogalve Of genlus-the per-
cep,ion, namely, of obscure relatiors-may be
able to reconcile these seeming incong uiles
but IN the mean time, and until better advised,
|, poor spinner aud weaver, shall look upon
the new friends of my interests with some dis.
trust.
In regard TO the first point, the probable in
fuence of annexation upon negro emancipation,
! do not pretend to such a knowledge of the
! present condition of the slave question in the
northern savcholding States, as to render me
I competent Judge, hut | know that udc Gus
! Sou'herners, friends, too, of annexation, look
for no such result. ! have seen no argument,
conclusively, or even probably, establishing that
consequence. So far as | have observed, no
Southern gentleman on this floor has lazarded
the opinion, that it will have any such tenden-
cy; and even were | convinced that it would,
! am not clear that this is not the precise case,
where il is not lawful to do evil that good NAV
come. This much is certain and evident to all
men, the immediate effect of the measure would
be the territorial extension of the system, and
therefore increased space, opportunity, aud in
element to the multiplication of Its objects
Yon have, then, an immediate and certain in
crease Of what all Northern men agree in con
sidering as an evil, while the alleged cores
pondng good is predetermined in any event, in
all events contingent and remule. This, there.
fore, is ground upon which no Northern man
will honestly advocate the annexation of Texas
As to the second point, the incidental encour.
agemcnt to our manufactures though we shall
not be wanting in gratitude to our Southern
brethren for any sincere manifestation of inter
est IN our welfare, we prefer to be permitted tc
regulate that matter for ourselves, and TO dis
pose OF our wares in markets of our own seec.
ton. Even the gentleman from Alabama, (Alr
fancey) allows us something of shrewdness-
perhaps ought rather to use humber phrase
say, of instructive sagaclty, in the base me
chanlcal concerns of the filthy lucre of gain, ant
we are somehow or other possessed with no
/ ton that our manufacturing interests will not be
. much strengthened by Texan patronage wheth
are not well advised what their views may be
, on the great question Of legislative protection
, to domestic industry, and in spite of the encour
, aging declaration, that the Anglo-Saxon race
, which has ovcrrun Texas, AS essentially
dcbl-pay ing, as well as a land stealing people,
we are Ihuhted by "reminiscences of ou'stand
=, ing accounts for goods sold and delivered arains
. persons residing. not exactly in Texas. bu
n Whereabouts; and we are pes,ered with doub'
IN regard to the puncuallty of that interestln!
!, community III the matter OF payment. Base
, is the slave that pays" was rather favorit,
y maxim with some OF them while citizens Of til,
. United States, and we are not yet sufficient,
f certified, tina. a somewhat hasly emigration ha
increased their means or improved their moral
, i'y. 1t has becn somewhere limited, though. a
, well As ] remember, not urged here, that III,
, Southern people expect some commerc al ad
vantage, in the way OF reader sale or increased
price OF merchandise peculiarly their own
which shall here be name less, and | believe
is well known that the purchase of Louisian
4 added very greatly to the value OF tina, specie
' of property. What weight this cons LIBERATION
= may have with any of the advocates of annexa
ton, pretend not to determine, but is at leas
a view Of the subject which cannot be cxpece
Y to strengthen the measure very materially..a
:, the North.
u
n frequently used, and perhaps with the create
y effect for lis equvocal signication. The an
r neXatlon of Texas will extend the area Of free
!. DOM 1t was beautifully SAID by Sir lIumphre
, Davy, "the broader the sphere of light, tn
+. more extensive will be the boundary OF dark
i, ness by which it is surrounded" II is perhap
TO a sort of inversion OF this remark, tina, W
. owe this argument, for in no other sense ca
!, the Incorporation within our jurisdiction of
N country already as free our own, and the con
. sequent diffusion of slavery through all its vas
:. borders, be said to extend the limits of freedom
1t is an argument addressed to the ear and 1T
/, TO the understanding, a mere jingle of word
i without meaning, or if significant, false in tn
only sense which the words will fairly bear.
g But some gentlemen would have us believ
;, that a generous and disneresed desire for tn
1t extension of the blessings Of American freedom
II is the only motive which inspires their zeal i
II the cause of annexation. For this the exrem
South is willing to deprive itself of its barrie
g against the encroachments of the fanatic spir
n of abolIlionism, by the emancipation of the slave
= IN the Ns.thern slaveholdlng States, thus mai
;. rowing the area of Southern freedom on III
n one hand, for the sake of extending it on tn
% other; for this, it is ready 10 depopulate itsel
:, that it mag pour plenty and prosperity into tn
l. lap of its neighbor for this, it is prepared to as
!, sumo a debt OF unknown millions, to engage
# causeless war with friendly nation to exas
!. perate and ALLEVIATE at least half of the FIRE
q people OF this great republic, to incur the scor
) of the Christian world. What unheard of an
!. self-sacrtcing magnanimity is this Gentle
a men who lend believing ear to such profession
Is as these, must have greater confidence than
in the sincerity of politicians.
Blu: the swift progress OF the index OF our Shrew,
bury clock warns me that Il Is time To turn my ter
:, ton 10 the real point at Issue, and to state openl,
! what all men know, that, with the orIginaors an
l. eadlng advocates OF the measure II is honestly an
rs simply struggle for political power. The anneXt
!. ton of Texas is desired by Southern politicians b,
cause the half dozen states 10 be carved out 81 II WI
long serve a counterpolse to the growing strengl
J. of the North They expect the system of SLAYER,
with its Constitutional bass of representation, 10
IA extended over Texas and prepared share wit
n that country whatever of good or evil may accru
,, from its Incorporation into the American Union
u beg to be understood as charging upon the Who'll
people of the South n selfish desire TO srengthe
themselves at the cost Of the North No doubt
!, very large portion of that population honestly eev,
that whilst annexation would benefit both them an
Texas, il would not essentially nure the North, an
y the question unmxed with considerations of pc
u litical power, should have great respect for the
I, opinion, however feeble hollow and inconsistent III
arguments by which their representatives support III
;. measure. But | claim the same charity for lhos
T" whom represent, and expect to be believed when
u assert that the people of the North oppose annexa
ton, because they consider It fragrant violation
s. constitutional law, the law of nations the n,orf
!. law, fraught with unmlxed mischief and pToducty
of no possible good, or, in other words us unwse IN
" profitable, unjust. The chairman of the Commute
of Foreign Relations has told u.s. that this is indeed
It emphahcally, Southern question, a matter OF mer