Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1850-11-28
NOVEMBER 20. 1850.
: Respect for the Law.

the Dry Goods Reporter (uon- politically evident.
ly has squirt to Northern agitation on the slave
Law. But the people of the North do not preach
rebellion; the Reporter must turn i'll. ear South
ward for that discordant music. The article il
worth serious consideration every where, al
pointing out the consequences o. resistance 10 the
laws of the land.
The conservation Of the laws of the country
and the rights and interests of individuals. cor
poratons, cities and States, under federal gov
ernment that shall administer generally thoee
powers which are for the regulation OF the whole
mass of the people, securing 10 each his rights
without conflicting with those of any other par
ties, is what is indispensable not only to the;prog
ress of mankind, but to the very existence o.
civilization. The ground work Of all govern.
ment upon this Continent was respect for the ma.
ural rights Of every member Of the community
This consisted of persons, for the most part,wto
emigrated to new country for the purpose
either of enjoying a greater degree Of personal
and religious freedom or for lettering their Pc
cuniary resources. II resulted from the position
Of those persons that the first municipal regula-
tons were adopted at consultations of the faith
ers of families settled together. These settle
menls multiplied into counties and ultimately In
to States, and the principles of self-government
gained strength and breadth as numbers ncreas-
ed, and spread over broader surfaces, rising from
towns to counties and colonies. The harmony
of this system Of government, where there was
no acknowledged head over all to dictate THAI
which all should observe, was preserved only by
strict observance Of the rights of individuals
and continual appeals in town meetings to the
sense OF justice and reason to all parties con-
| IL SntE
ment thus was planted like the oak, in small
compass, but grew on the soil Of equal rights in
to the stately tree which now overshadows this
continent.
| II could not but have been the case that colo
MES originating in a snail way aud subjected
to the imperial rule Of an INSCRIPTIONS home
government which had numerous dependents
upon it, sought to reward at The expense of the
colonies. should have various abuses forced upon
them for the profits of the parasites. These a.
buses naturally gained strength in many Of the
colonies, producing a state of Thugs at war with
the public sentiment and obnoxions to other ill.,
terests. II followed that when the lnalgn in
iuence of the imperial government was re'nov.
ed, and their colonies, the local governments OF
which had preserved untainted the principle of
individual rights, came 20 amalgamate the whole
into one governn ent tina, the stock of phiosoph
ers with profound reverence for the laws ensct-
ed by the majority, should nave been put to the
test
| Pecuuiary interests religious prejudces. COM
mercial advantages, political expedency and
individual ambition, had Ill to be alternately sur
rendered, modified, ceded and abandoned, in or
der that one harmonious whole might result from
ihiteen differently trained States The finger
of Providence mysieriously Indicated the emf
neni men from each state necessary to complete
the immortal work, and they perfected 1t in
most mastery manner. Under The operation of
The constitution then constructed, the principle
If respecting existing rights was the ruling one.
and it has served 10 carry forward the nation 10
point of greatness which hiss become the envy
OF Chrlstendom. In the train of that greatness,
the black race has advanced to an extraordinary
degree. Morally, physically, and religIously, il
has attained confessedly higher rank Of condi
tion than most Of the white peasantry of Europe.
The fact Of their elevation and moral culture.
ply seal welfare and general conta nj is manifest
in the fact that although they have risen froi.
600 600 TO 5000, 600 souls, 10 the course Of so
years. no case of serious instruction has occur
ed among them, while in the single island Of ia
maica. under British rule, with a population of
800 0QO, tel bloody instructions took place in
period of forty years. and the last one, in 1882
Witnessed the loss of s5,0OO,000 worth of prop
ery. The lumber of free christians and thriv-
ing blacks in The southern states, equals half the
number of slaves al the close Of the last Gen.
fury.
This state of progress for blacks and whites
has now been threatened with destruction. be
cause certain parties refuse to recognize those
principles OF mutual rights on which the cnps,i-
tuition was founded. "A disruption Of the States
and general ,car teil~en States on one hind or
a po,cerfui military central gorernment strong G.
nough TO enforce the lai0s on the other, to be
the only alternatives that present themselves chen
rsssianee to regularly enacted iar shall be coun
tenanced by any considerable number Of citizens.
Tie military profession which has so long been
secondary IN the scale Of public estimation, must
rapidly resume its superiority, and the cordons
of soldiers guarding each States boundari
from aggression will become officered by the
turbulent and ambitious at the expense Of the
oppressed industry of the country. Peaceable
separation IS impossible since the causes which
lead 10 it will become bei after that event.
Frequent care and constant spprehensions of it
which require a STATE Of constant preparation
which will Inevitably produce Standing armies,
and the weaker states would be the first 10 or
game them, but the popular prejudice IN this
country would postpone their creation as long
as possible, and irregular and predatory warfare
with its conccsntanis, plumber and desolation,
would soon lay waste those regions where wealth
has hitherto accumulated under the peaceful re-
spect for law. Hayti affords an example of the
war which the dark race wages upon the others,
and who shall calculate the horrors that would
follow in the train of half a million Of black
dem-savages.
| Europe exposed to continual international
wars has shown sufficiently little progress, but
hers have not been wars OF races. They have
been guided by enlightened although ambitious
governments who have IN the procreaton Of hos
tilities restrained them within certain limits and
gradually ameiorated the barbarities which me-
cessarily follow in their train. On this cont
nent servie war would know no such restraints,
and industry and commerce must perish in the
conflict. The middle course between despot
ic military government and war Of races is only
to be found in that respect for vested rights and
enacted laws which was the basis Of our organ
lzatiou.
An Heroic Wife.
The Frankfort Ky correspondent Of the Lou
isville Journal, under date Of Nov. II, says:
~ H. ~eI.-