The miners' express. (Dubuque, Iowa) 1849-1854, 1849-04-24

|
| tablished for many generations, must be given
up before q common right is allowed to be sed.
| In the other case, that common light IS laid
! open to immediate use, without requiring as a
| preliminary thereto the surrender, or the com
mutation, or the disposal Of any other right
whatever. What sort Of equality Is there here?
! and how is it possible that the very pretencc
of it, CO. existing with such state Of facts a
this, can be otherwise than offensive, both to
| the feelings and the understanding Of the par
ty aggrieved?
Upon this view Of the effect on the rcla tive
rights of the different sections Of the country,
which must necessarily result from the propo
sed exclusion of slavery from the Territories,
we, who represent the South, have abundant
| reasons Of right and Of Justice to demand of our
associates here, that no such exclusion shall
be sancticned; and that no territorial govern
ment shall be forced upon us by the arbitrary
use of their ma iority- power, by which the fun
! damcntal and cherished principle of our perfect
constitutional equality shall be painfully
and hazardously set aside. To this demand
besides the sophism examined, that that exclu-
sion works no inequality, we are yet further
answered by these associates with but few
exceptiens> that they cannot and will rot
| countenance any government or any law By
which slavery may be extended to Territories
II ow free; that, in their Judgment, slavery is
a false, cruel, and evil institution, the "enten-
sion" Of which, so far as it may depend upon
them, they are determined to resist at 4 Ii haz
ards. mo extension" is the short but compre.
hensive dogma under which the rights Of the
South, in this matter, arc to be sacrificed, and
the stability of the Union itself knowingly put
! into peril, Let US inquire into the practical
purpose thus declared, und sec whether it is in
any respect worthy Of the serious, and it may
be, the fatal consequences which arc 50 nc Idly
and daring!y riskod to maintain it. This mon.
extension,' though fallacy, as | think CO
show, in its main and substa ntial idea, is new.
ertheess term. as we are given to understand
here, IF oversha downing, and in certain regions
of our Republic. Of cabalistic power. 1t is
there the ~hibboleth Of poltic,ans-to utter
which Alright, is to livc-to stammer over it,
is to die. 1t has power to throw instantly open
to its advocat ties the door Of this Ha H. it has tn
power as instantly TO shut it in the face Of its
opposcrs, and condemn them to pcnitence
or to obscurity. In this it is like the "opcn
sesame of the Arabian Tales. which had only
to be spoken clear and Strong. with emphasis
and JUNCTION enough, and at once the rocky
door TO which it was addressed flying open, Of.
fercd Il cavern Of gold for the spoil of the spok,s
man. SolIerc, let tho words mon Eek tension ~
be only spoken out by some free soiler, with
no Mussulman faith, but with hearty and
believing spirit, and our own barred-up and
heavy door swings wide open to the spco ker
and admits him to a share Of richer treasures
than were ever found in the cave of A5daIla
Well, gentlemen, go on with your schemes
carry ont your proposition of ''lrcc labor anc
free soil'' 10 the uttormost; rule out the slave
from your territories; rule out the South, YOU
true and loyal partner i'll every extremity fo
, seventy years; rule her out from all due parti
cipalon in these terri, cries; use all the libert,
: and all the faculties which your union wit!
her has impaired TO yourselves to crush he
right to a co equality with you in the use ane
en- oyment Of Il common property; call upor
: her to bow down and submit. to conditions a.
conditions precedent to such enjoyment which
or the equiva Tents Of which, in your own case
you would indignantly refuse; DO all this, ant
do it in such way us will go the furthc>t tt
offend her sense Of Justice and Of constitution
: al right-to wound her honor, to mortifv he
quick and generous spirit; and whot at last
> will you have accomplished by it all? Wha
amount of public good, at all commensurate.
with so much sectional wrong? What, in fact
will you have done by it, except to depopulats
the South in a great measure Of her white in
Eabitants, and TO put the residue, togcthc
with their slaves, in a state Of aggravated anc
appalling danger to one anothcr2 This is al
that you will have done. And is this an ci1ievc
: ment worthy Of your philanthropy and you
labors? Is this an object for which, in thu
tn angricst passions Of the country ought t.
be aroused, its great divisions thrown into com
motion with one another, and our blessed u
Mon itself brought into danger-that Uniol
which, next to personal libcr.y (and it is higI
protector even Of that is to every American
the richest Of all the public treasures whic!
Heaven has to givc-that Union which, consid
cred even US antagonistic to the hopes Of tn
slave, [although it is not so, won id still, in tn
world. 10
more, UNNECESSARILY more, to us and to man
kind than all the slaves Of all the globe togeth
err? Extnguish it, if you can, in ruthlcs
. and senseless crusade for the slave, and he an,
his advocate and his master will suffer ant
perish together Light up, if you can, the
warfare an the spirit of another Peter th'
Hermit, and in this case, as in that, you vii
be rewarded with dcsolaton and tomb.
;: That slavery has been permitted to establish
itself on this Continent for purposes both o
" wisdom and Of mercy, no reasonable man VIII,
' is accustomed to look for the origin or the pro
:, gress OF events in power and know 'edgt
higher than his own, can reasonably doubt
Neither car he doubt that these purposes, what
ever they are, will, in due time, be made ma
nifest to all. Meanwhile, it is not for us TO la J
an impatient and forbidden hand upon any o
the powers of this Government for the purpose
Of disturbing or controlling it by any authority
or action Of ours. On our part, perfect u bsii
nencc in regard to it is the wisest ofall politics
the clearest of all constitutional obligations
and the best Of all personal humanitics. Lei
it alone, is the one rational and authoritative
injunction of wisdom and of duty concerning
it-Iet it 90 south, still south, as it is now go.
ing; and let its diffusion be such that the two
races shall be protected as long possible and
as mach possible from all liabilities of VIC.
lent collision with one another. This permit
ted and done, all else should be patiently left
10 the developments and the teachings ftime.
Some of these, as they have gradually come
to re seen and upprchended, are beginning to
shine forth with impressive ana instructive
significance. Take the color, for instanee-a
mark of perpetual separation from the white
man, but bond of perpetual union and sym
pathy with the negroes themselves 1t is and
ever has been prohibltory Of all complete anal.
gamation between the IA ccs, and thus preserves
amongst us all the physical characteristics Of
the African ust as they were impressed upon
him at the kour and in the land of his birth.
But this separation Of the races, with the uti
mate and providential design. it would seem,
to maintain on this continent all the physica
peculiarities of the African on his own, would
never have been effectual had il been LETT 10
the mere caprices Of sentiment or taste found
ed upon varieties Of color. These might have
been overcome, and the peculiarties to be