Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1848-07-08
PLAIN SPEAKING.
FROM TIE PROVIDENCE On. ~ JOURNAL.

fAon ihb fhoNlDENCE (H L. JOURNAL.
The annexation of Texas was undoubtedly the
greatest slavery measure that has been carried since
the adoption of the Federal Constitution. This it
was that produced the great controversy upon free
territory which now RACES throughout the land
This measure received the almost undivided sup
port OF the Locofoco party, Barnburners as well as
Hunkers. Every man who voted for Polk knew
ii he knew enough TO entitle him to vote-that he
was voting for slavery and as for those men who
protested against the measure at the very time when
they were giving their support to the man pledged
to consummate il, they only showed the weakness
of their virtue and the strength OF their party dsc-
pline. They showed that they knew what was
wrong, and that they lacked the courage to resist it,
The Locofocos in Congress voted for the annex
alton in body. Every Wing member of the Sem
ate but three, every Wing member of the House but
one, voted against it. Southern Wings, men with
all the feelings and preudces Of the slaveholding
section OF the country, voted against the annexation
and Northern Democrats, men coming from free
States and protesting to represent free constituent
cies, voted for 1t. Archer, Barrow, Berrien, Clay
ton, Crittenden, Foster, Jarnigan, Mangum, More
head, Pearce, Rives, all Wing Senators from slave
States, voted against annexation, while every Lo-
cofoco Senator from the free States as well as the
slave States voted for it-Barnburners and all !!
And now these men, having been beaten in their
own party and at their own game of intrigue and
corruption, come forward and set themselves up as
the champions of freedom. They who, without
even the excuse of being Southern men, voted for
annexation and slavery, come forward and say to
Mangum, Berrien, Crittenden, and to the entire
Wing party in the South, we are the friends of
freedom and you are the friends of slavery! We
dare not trust the interest Of freedom in your hands
We must take charge Of them ourselves! Now,
we have seen great many cool things in politics,
but we have never seen any thing cooler than this
The devil quoting scripture has always been held
to be respectable performance in the way CT i'm
pudence, but for man who voted for the annexa-
tion OF Texas to turn around and stigmatze man
who voted against ii as foe to freedom this in
deed surpasses any thing on record. Van Buren,
himself, who is entitled to far more praise than his
associates for his upon this subject, was ex-
ceedingly moderate in his opposition TO the annex
ation His objections were to the mode and to the
time, rather than to the act itself, and he distinctly
says, at the close of his letter. that in case the two
Houses Of Congress should agree to the measure of
annexation he should give to il the Executive sane
ton. This is the man who has been selected as
the standard bearer of freedom, and such are the
councillors by whom he is surrounded. These are
the men who plant themselves upon the high ground
of freedom, and say to the original and consistent
opponents of annexation, " am holier than thou"
Out upon such shallow hypocrisy Out upon
such baseless pretensions