Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1845-03-14
THE FREEM .
H.
"Pliant reeds where Freedoms waters glide
Firm as the hills to stem Oppressions tidel''
MONTPELIER, VERMONT, FRIDAY, MARCH IA, 1916.
OF TEXAs---WHERE LIES
THE RESPONSIBILITY?

occasion by many of the wing presses at the north
of the most violent and venomous abuse of the
Liberty Party as tho instrument ofts accomplish
mont. 1t is not charged that we have direct
/ ly favored the meas ure but that we had the DOW
err of casting the vote of New York for Mr.. CLAY,
and thus securing his election, in which event an
nexaton would not have taken place. Now both
OF these propositions we are disposed to deny
list. Had the Liberty Patty the power Of giving
the vote of N. York to Mr. Clay' It's undoubted-
ly true Of New York, as of the other States, that
prior to the last campaign, majority Of the mem
bers Of the Liberty Party were from the wing
ranks But at the last election many causes com
bined to reverse this state ofthings, aud what was
true of every State, was empbaticay so of New
York that a majority Of the accessions to the
Liberty Party ranks, were from the so called dem
ocratic party. 1t should be borne in mind, in the
first place. that the Liberty vote in New York last
fall was but two or three hundred larger than the
lprevious year and instances are actually known
in which more than that number have Joined the
Liberty party from the democratic ranks
The servie course of the democratic party in
sacrificing Mr.. Van Buren,, because he would not
swallow his conscience and self-respect, and go
blind for Texas opened the eyes of mutitudes Of
honest democrats in New York INSTANCE the let
ter Of Judge Foote, the cession Of more than 100
IN body in Madison county the circular of Bry-
ant, Sea gwick, Barker, and many others of the
most prominent democrats in the State, protesting
against the position the party had taken in favor
Of annexation, and many other evidences Of the
fact that might be named While the wings, by
their remarkable faculty of accommodating them
selves to the wishes of any and every latitude-ol
abolition at the NORTH aud slavery at the south
succeeded in keeping their ranks good, and even
drawing off some from the liberty party. BY their
base Garland forgery alone, it was estimated by
the best judges in New York more than 5000 votes
were drawn off from Mr.. Birney, and given to
Clay. But let US admit, for the sake of argument
that which is not true-that two thirds Of the
10000 liberty voters in New York were formerly
wings, and would have voted for Clay, in tho event
of the breaking up Of our organization; even then
the vote of New York would have been given to
Mr.. Polk. For $500 Gone bird of the liberty vote
added TO 5000 (Polk's plurality over Clny) would
still have left Mr.. Clay 1900 or 1000 in the rear
Thus, without having accomplished any thing for
the wings, our organization would have been for
ever broken up, not only in New York, but thro'-
out the free States, the slave power left unchecked
IN its bloody career, and the shout of its triumph
would have been requum 10 the hope Of the
bondmen-the patriot--the phlanthropist, and
Christian Another thing appears to have been
lost sight Of in accounting for the falling of from
the wing vote in western New York, without a
corresponding increase in the vote of the other
parties-certany not in the vote of the liberty
party. This was the great arena of the old anti
masonic war; Mr. Clay is royal arch mason
and mutitudes would not support him on that ac-
count They could not, as could many in YER
mont, openly and unbIushingIy falsify the pledges
son to Offices Of trust and power.
! ID. Would the annexation scheme have been
defeated in the event of Mr.. CIay's election? To
he sure the wings have, in Congress, almost unan-
imously voted against the present plan for annex
ation-but did not many of them, in doing so, de-
clare that they were opposed to the manner of do
ing it, and not to the thing itself? Had the Wings
succeeded in the election, would they not have
had scheme of annexation? With the liberty
party, in the language Of Governor Slude, their
" everlasting objection to annexation is, that ii
will extend and perpetuate slavery" but is this
the language Of the whg party? At the south
the wings are generally i'll favor of annexation; aud
they oppose the hot-headed scheme of Calhoun
Tyler, s. Co., as calculated to prevent its ultimate
and permanent acquisition. Some even boldly OPP
pose annexation, lest it should tend to abolish
slavery! Mr.. Clay, whom the wings hold up as
the instrument with which they would defeat tn,
scheme, has set the example, and glories in it, Of
compromising away the rights of the north for The
extension of slavery he declares that the sub
ject of slavery, which the wings of Vermont hole
up as their " everlasting objection to annexaton,'
will not have feathers weight with him in decid
ing the question and in enumerating his obec
tons to annexation he does not deny that it is per
fectly constitutional In fact, for any thing eve
E made public by MIR. Clay, he would be utterly un
safe single moment as an opponent of the mea
sure and his claims were strenuously urged a
the South as tho most promising instrument Of III
innate annexation. The wings as party dar
> not commit themselves against the measure in thei
national convention, Notwithstanding the question
: then engrossed the public mind. Nor are tn
wings free from actual guilt in the of an
nexation at the late session of Congress. A viii
y Senate unanimously confirmed Mr. Calhoun a
Secretary Of State, who stated, in his note of &C
i ceplance, that he would consent to occupy the pos
only until this darling question could be settled
. and without whose influence and management
probably would not have been carried. 1t was
j wing senate, too, that adopted the measure to b
sure, only three wings voted for it, but there wa
/ majority of only t,co-thus throwing the respor
: sibility directly upon the wings.
+ The same senate also voted to admit Florida a
+ slave State, under the most unfavorabc circun
g stances, denying TO the State the power, even
d abolish slavery only 8 out of 81 wings opposin
o the nefarious scheme. Does this look as thong