Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1848-07-28

oury ~ came 10 INC alI ~ Mr.. Smith, ard al
though Mr.. Weston and others cxpoycd the
glaring absur1y Of the proceeding. and
the still more paring absurdity of the reasons
assigned for it, the Go:eHc amendment was
s'ncd and the abominaton Of Slavery in the
National Capital received no rcbuke from this
" Fire. Soil Convention - BAH
We ask Our sobcr-mindcd Wing friends. who .
nrc PLAYING tail to this Van Bure1 Kite. TO re-. /
fleet On this significant circumstance. If there
is any one man in the United States who has
done more to strengthen and pcrpc'ua,e the Slav.
Power in the Country than N1rtin Van Buren,
we woild b, CAD 10 know who he is. L., our
readers notice ctributc that the f,N Free S2H
CoRren,ipn ever held in Vermont. has now been
forced 10 pay 10 his pro-Slarery rierS and then
Judge. if they can. about how far FREEDOM will
probably be advanced by a party led on by
iiqrfin Van Buren,,
We have no room for farther comments to.
day, and may or may not resume the subject
Any thing bnt harmony prevailed in this mscel-
lnneous asscmbage, and any thing but good
will come OF it.
/ We give below the able and patriotic letters
Of Judge PHELPS Of the Senate. and Messrs Cot
LAuER IIEyRY and MARSH Of the House. for
which we had not room last evening. These
letters were read to tie Wing State Convention.
on "Wednesday last, by the Hon. Mr., Foor, and
us we have before said, were received with re-
pca'cd and emphatic marks of appreciation by
that body. They will b? read with interest and
their wise and earnest counsc's will no, pass un-
needed in Vermont -
; Cry OF WASHINGTON, July ii, 1918.
Ny DEAR SiR:-l regret much that my dn-
ties here forbid my being present at the ensuing
, Wing Convention. to be held at Woodstock on
the l9'h inst. 1t would be extremely gratifying
10 meet my fellow citizens Of Vermont on such
an occasion. But the times demand that every
: man should be a, his post whether that post be
: public station. or the posiorrof private cit
izcn. attached to and duly estimating our ins,i-
tuions. and duly sensible of the great duty OF
transmitting them unirnpaircd to posterity.
r In common with the great mass Of the Wings
4 Of this Union, have watched with pain. will
anxiety and alarm. the downward course of af
fairs in our Republic. aud the misguided and in
n fatuat'd policy of the party now in power. We
! are al deeply sensible of the Indispensable ne.
Q ce'sty Of change in that policy to the insii
tutions, the honor, prosperity, happiness, inegri
- ty of the country.
= The grounds Of this opinion need not be emu
c mcrated. They are known 10 every iTtcl!igcn
!. Wing oftle Union. Recent events have cXhib
- tied the tendency of the present administrator
of affairs in its mos, appalling aspect. The ,pri
IL of acqnl>ition--of military conquest. which i
IS the prominent feature Of the policy of the pres
r. ent administration, and which seeks TO bring in
to our political family an incourruous pnpula
ton OF different races. habits and sentiment,
OF both political and religious. population wi.ic
n, can neither harmonize with Us, nor he made +
s. understand orr political systems and equal
?. incompetent to carry out the free principles c
our Constitution As they have proved TO be t
III govern themselves under similar institution,
a. tends strongiyto weaken the bonds of our Unto
c. and hasten its dissolution. Nor is this the wors
Us The agi,ating and pcrplcXing questions CROWN
; out Of these acquisitions questions which ca
10 neither be avoided nor adi usted-which, il is
H. lie feared. can neither be compromised nor Sc
Of tied satisfactorily to all by voice OF the maio
70 lty.-Iucstions OF endless and ongt, di-cuS-i"i
, involving on the one hand considerations of dee
" moral conviction which can not be surrendrrcI.l
: on the other consideration. interviewer with ii
d. very tou dalon Of the social system of IA PORTO
IT. of these States, and threatening lis very cXis
euCe,-qLcsIion- with respect to which one PIT
" can not secedc without an abandonment
principle, nor the other without hazard. the
m think. 10 their whole social syStcm.-qUcstiol
me fortified on one side by principle, and on the oil
- er by a counlcrvany and stringent necessity
these questions afford stronger ground for alar
p- IN regard tn the pernancncy Of our institution
N aud our Union. than any and every source
Vii agitation and di>scn,lu which has o,currc
/ since the formation Of that tai0n. What
- worse. this topic Of slavery, involving gre
t" moral question, il AT the same time iOcFi d
ch tnc'inn, separating diiltrcn, portions of q,
d. country by a line impa>sahc with honor or cpi
~, si,tency as each party seems 10 think, BY Iise
at all events.
ot THIS unfortunate controversy, invoking cvj
nj which transcend infinitely the advantage, wlic
Ell the most saugnime INA Iiulton can antelope
.. from oar territorial acquisitions, j. one OF Il
first fruits OF this career of acquisition aud COZ
al quest which commenced with the ANNEXATION
&c Texas, and is consummtcd, lit indeed it be Y
Ter cunsummated) with the conquest of II great 20
-, of VI Xico. II j. greatly to be feared that !!
irt Of acquisition is not satisfied. fla chang
-, i not effected in the policy of the Govcrnm"
OF II viii awake 10 new enterprises. And whiie
70. cudan-cS the Union BIZ cnd'avorngto c0mlii
m, under it hctcrogenc'uS aud irrccuncilabie cl
,l mcnts, It mast inevitably work. a 1t has dot
, already, 10 an alarming extent, Il rdticaI Cha0-
~ the genius and character of our GuvPrnmcl
~ 1t is impossible to eneral upon the limited poy
~. erS Of the executive magistrate Of the ConStlt
800 ton the powers of military conqueror, wit
out adding 10 the already dangerous power
~ that executive, and to that ascendancy of exc
sc utiye power over the other departments Of Go
nj, eminent which originated in the bold and i
m. flexible character OF Andrew Jackson, and n
gradually assumed "A more alarming attltn,
''' from that day to the present. The indIScrm
for nate aud reckless use of the Veto power 10 fu
tin tier the private personal views OF the Pres
M, dent, bach, ID By the immense patronage ut h
command. Il patronage immensely increased
ur great military establishment and wide territ
tn rial posses ions. has already subjected the lc
;cs lslatiye power TO an alarming extent TO his co
,or troll.
ia The executive has of late assumed dictat
rial position from which Washington and J,
10 ierson and Madison shrunk. These tendenci
by To the destroying Of the balance Of the Cons
%. tuition will be inGSeased by continuance
FIR power in the now dominant party. as the sp
of party becomes more rabid by indulgence al
more reckless with an increasing sense Of ;
re- curty.
co- say nothing of those measures of intern
,y7 policy SO often and so fully discussed with
spect to which the policy Of the so-cailrd De-
=! ocra,ic party is condemned by the great WA
OF party of the Union and most empha,lclIly by t
AS Wings OF Vermont
sY- We are all sen-ibleofthe necessity ola chang
4, 1 4 l..