Carroll free press. [volume] (Carrollton [Ohio]) 1834-1861, 1847-03-12

initiation, and doubtless mcdaied the subiuga-
ton Of Russia. He who holds the winds in his
| fa gathered the SHOWS Of the north and blew
them upon his six hundred thousand men,
/ They fled, they froze, they perishedl And now,
the mighty Napoleon, who had resolved on uni
yersal dominion, he too, IS summoned 20 answer
for The violation Of that ancient law, ''thou shalt
not coyei any thing which is thy ueighbor's. -
How is the mighty iaen He, beneath whose
proud fout.siep Europe trembled, he is now an
exile al Elba, and now finally a prisoner on the
rock OF 81. Helena, and there on a barren island,
in an unlrequented sea, in the crater ofAn exiin-
guished volcano, there is the death bed Of the
mighty conquerorl All his anRezdiiOns have
come 10 ihali His last hour is now come, and
he the man of destiny; he who had rocked the
world as with the throes Of an earthquake. is now
pewerless-still; even as the beggar so he died.
On the wings Of a tempest that ragged with un-
wonIed fury, up 10 the throne Of the only power
that controlled him while he lived, went the fiery
soul Of that wonderful warrior, another witness TO
the existence fihat eternal decree that they who
do not rule in righteousness shall perish from the
earh. He has found "room" at last. And
France, too, she has found ''room." Her sea
gles'' now no longer scream along the banks Of
the Danube, the Po. and the Borysihenes. They
have returned home, 10 their old eyrie, between
the Alps, the Rhine, aud the Pyrenees. So shall
Il be with yours. You may carry them 10 the
loficst peaks of the Cordilleras; they may wave
with insoent triumph in the halls of the MonieZu-
mas; the armed men Of Mexico may quail before
them but The weakest hand in Mexico, uplihed
in PRAYER 10 the God of Justice, may call down
against you a power in the presence ofwhich the
iron hearts Of your warriors shall be turned into
ashes.
Mr.. President, fhc history Of our race has
established any truth, il is but confirmation Of
what is written, ''the way of the ransgressor is
hard" Inordinate ambition, wantoning in pow.
er, andspurning the humble maxims of justice,
has, ever has, and ever shall end in ruin
Strength cannot always rampe upon weakness
The humble shall be cxalted-the bowed down
will at length be lifted up. Ii is by faith in The law
of strict justice and The practice of its precepts
that nations alone can be saved. All the annals
OF the human race, sacred and prolane, are
written over with This great truth in characters of
living light. II islny fear, my fixed belief, that
in this invasion, this war with Mexico, we have
forgotten this vital truth. Why is it we have
been dawn into this whirlpool Of war! How
clear and strong was the light that shone upon The
path Of duty year agol The last disturbing
question with England was seuled-our power
extended its peaceful sway from the Atlantic to
the Pacific; from the AlleghaDes we looked out
upon Europe, and from the tops of the Stony
Mountains we could descry the shores Of Asia; u
rich commerce with all the nations of Europe
poured wealth and abundance into our lap on the
Atlantic side, while an unoccupied commerce OF
three hundred millions Of Asialics awaited on the
Pacific for our enterprise 10 come and possess it,.
One hundred millions Of dollars will be wasted
in This fruitcss war. Had this money Of Ihe peo-
pie been expended in making a railroad from
your Nonocrn Lakes 10 the Pacific, us one Of
your citizens has begged of you in vain, you
would have made highway for the world be-
tween ASIA and Europe. Your capital then
would have been within thirty or forty days.
travel Of any and every point on the map of the
civilized world. Through this great artery of
trade YOU would have carried through the heart
of your own country the teas Of China and the
spices Of India TO the markets of England and
France Why, why, Mr., President, did we
abandon The enterprises Of peace, and betake our.
selves TO the barbarous achievements Of war!-
Why did we "for5ake this fair and fertile field 10
baue on that moor!"
But, Mr.. President. If further acquisition otter
rority Is to be The result Of conquest or treaty,
then scarcely know which should be preferred
eternal war with Mexico, or the hazards Of in
ternal commotion ut home, which last fear may
come it another province is to be added 10 our
territory. There is one topic connected with
this subject which trambe when approach,
and yet | cannot iorbear To notice it. 1t meets
you in every step you take, it threatens you
which way soever you 20 IN the prosecution Of
this war. alude 10 the question OF slavery
Opposition 10 lis further extension, il must be OBJ
vious to every one, is u doeply-rooIad detcrmi-
nation with men of all parties in what we call
the non-slaveholding States. New York, Penn.
svIvana, and Ohio three Of The most powerful,
have already sent their legislative instructions
here-so il will be, doubt not, in all the rest
1t is vain now TO speculate about the reasons for
this. Gentlemen Of the South may call tpreiu-
dice, passion, hypocrisy, lanatcsm. shall not
dispute with them now on that point. The great
fcl that il is so. and not otherwise. is what it con-
Germs us 10 know. You nor cannot alter or
change this opinion il we would. These people
only saw, we will not cannot consent that you
shall carry slavery where il does not already ex.
ist. They do not seek TO disturb you in that in
stilution. as il exists in your States. Enjoy il if
you will, and as youwill. This is their language,
their determination. How is it in the Souh!-
Can it be expected that they should expend in
common, their blood, and their treasure, in The
acquisition of immense territory, and then will
ingy rorego The rightl 10 carry thither their slaves
and nhabil the conquered country ifthey please
to do sol Sir, know the feelings and opinions
thtp N,yy
believe they would even contend to any ex-
trcmiry for the mere right, had they no wish TO
exert il. Ibeleve (and confess tremble when
The conviction presses upon me- that there is
equal obstinacy on both sides of this fearful ques'
ton.
If, then, we persist in war, which, ifit termi