The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1850-03-19

diu hlN f3bh'h
and strong in its support Sir, there is no
generation of mankind whose opinions are
not subec 10 be Influenced by whatappears
TO them 10 be their present, cmergenl aud
exigent interest, impute 10 the South no
particularly selfish viewi the change which
has come over her. impuie TO her GER
tsnly no dishonest view. AL thathas hap
pened has been natural. 1t has followed
those causes which always influence the hu-
man mind and operate upon it. What, then,
have been the causes which have created
so new feeling in favor Of slavery in the
South-w hch have changed the whole no.
mencature oI tie South on the subject
and from being thought ol and described
in the terms have mentioned and will not
repeat, il has now become MI institution, a
cherished institution in that quarter; no
evil, no scourge, but great religious, So
| cial. and moral blessing, as think have
| heard it laiierly described lsuppose this,
sir, is owing to the sudden uprising and rap
| id growth ol the cotton plantations of the
South. SO far as any motive Of honor. JUS
lice, and general judgment could act, ii was
the cotton interest that gave new desire
to promote slavery, 10 spread it and TO use
| It's labor. ! again say that that was pro
dnced by the causes which we mus, always
expect 10 produce like effects; their whole
interests became connected with il. II we
look back to the history Of the commerce
of this country at the early years of this
| Government, what were lis exports Cot
ton was hardly, or 10 ii very limited extent,
known. The tables will show that the ex.
ports Of cotton Cor the year 1890 and l79l
were not more than forty or fifty thousand
dollars year. 1t has gone on increasing
rapidly until it may now, perhaps, in sea
son ol great product and high prices, amount
to n hundred millions Of dollars. In the
years | have mentioned there was more Of
wax, more of indigo, more OF rice, more Ol
almost every article oi export from the
South than oil cotton. Think have heard
it said. when Mr.. Jay negotiated the trea-
~ oil 1874 with England, he did not know
that cotton was exported at all from The u
niied States; and have heard il said that.
inter the treaty which gave TO The United
States the right TO carry their own com
modiies to England in their own ships,
the custom-house in London refused TO al
nit cotton. upon an allegation that il could
not he an American production, tn re be
ING, as they supposed, no cotton raised in
America. They would hardly think Sc
now!
Well, sir, we know what followed
The age of cotton became golden age
for our Southern brethren. 1t graified
their desire for improvement and accu-
mutation a, the same time it excited it.
The desire grew by what it fed upon
: and there soon came TO be an eagerness
for other territory, new area or new
| - ,,,l,,yat,A,, Of tho nr
crop, and measures leading to this result
, were brought about rapidly, one after
I another, under the lead of Southern mer
at the head Of the Government, they
r having a majority in both branches to ac
complish their ends. The honorable
member from Carolina observed tha
there has been majority all along in ia
, , vor Of the North If that be true, sir
, the North has acted either very LIBERAL,
: and kindly, or very weakly; for the,
never exercised that majority five time
in the history Of the Government. New
er Whether they were outgeneraled
! or whether il was owing to other causes
, | shall not stop to consider, but no man
; acquainted with the history of the coun
= try can deny, that the general lead ii
the politics Of the country for three
fourths Of the period that has elapsed
, since the adoption of the Constitution
= has been a Southern lead. In 1902, in
pursuit of the idea Of opening new
5 cotton region, the United States obtain
= ed a cession from Georgia OF the whole
of her Western territory, now embracing
the rich and growing State of Alabama
In 1903. Louisiana was purchased from
, France, out ofwhch the States of Louis
: lana, Arkansas, and Missouri have beer
5 framed, as slayeholding States. In 1919
) the cession of Florida was made, bring
, ing another cession of savehodlng prop
erty and territory. Sir, the honorable
!, member from South Carolina thought ht
saw in certain operations Of the Govern
ment, such as the manner Of collecting
: the revenue and the tendency of lhost
measures to promote emigration into the
country, what accounts for the more
rapid growth of the North than the
South. lie thinks that more rapic
growth not the operation Of time. but o
, the system of government established un
t der this Constitution. That is a matter
; of opinion. To certain extent it MAJ
be so but it does seem to me that i
any operation of the Government coulC
be shown in any degree to have promo
ted the population, and growth, and
, wealth of the North, it is much more
! sure that there are sundry important and
; distinct operations of the Government
about which no man can doubt, tending
> to promote, and which absolutely have
promoted, the increase Of the slave in
teresl and the slave territory ofthe South
Allow me to say that it was not time
that brought in Louisiana it wa, the act
of men. Ii was not time that brought in
Florida il was the act OF men. And
lastly, sir, to complete those acts Of men
which have contributed so much to en-
large the area and the sphere of the in
stiluton Of slavery. Texas, great and
vast and illimilable Texas, was added TO
the Union IN 1915; and that, sir, pretty
much closed the whole chapter and set
tied the whole account. That closed
the whole chapler-lhat settled the whole
account, because the annexation of Tex
as upon the conditions aud under the
guarantees upon which she was admitted,
did not leave an acre of land, capable of
being cultivated by slave labor, between
this Capitol and the Rio Grande or the
Nueces, or whatever is the proper boun>