The miners' express. (Dubuque, Iowa) 1849-1854, 1852-01-07


sentiments which The constant occupa' ION with
ever young, ever great, ever benefcent Nature
inpars TO maG' Add ia this consideration, that
this immense agricultural interest, which, dcri.
wing large lnarkc s aad 1t the same tine mos
solid bass, also 10 your maHuinc.ural industry
and to your commerce, has deyelopcdfin snci
an immense proportion, makes such baundlcss
difference between the infant Republic OF the
time IT Washington and your present giant r.
public tina. though You may very we'll be Mt
tachrti II your original constitutional ptiuci pies
because the principles 0. liberty are everlasting
~ the same; but prospect to the exiacncics Z"
your p"l.cy, il is Impossible not TO feel That, !
You are to DE regulated in your policy ny iH,"f-
est, then your country has other interests today
than il had then; and fever You are to be reg
ualrd in your policy by the higher cons d3F.'
tion Of yUur principles, then you are already
strong enough 10 feel that the time has come L
do so. And |, standing here before von to plea
tn" cause of oppressed humanity, rrsolatci.
declare that there nIav perhaps never come
time when the elevation Of your policy to th
big! level Of principles identified with liberty
could prove either more glorious to you or mo
beneficial to humanity; because we III En-
ropc arc apparently on the eve Of tina
day, when either the hopes or The fears Of op
pressed nations viii be crushed for a Ion!
time.
Having stlttd so IA. The difference of the SIT
uatiun, beg leave now to state that is entlrel..
an uniounded supp"sitlon, that the doctrine o
non-intcrierence in tnrrign matters had been, +
The people of the United States, by yonr grca
Washington, b. queathed to be constitutions
principle TO you.
No, that is not the case.
TirsHg Washington never even recon-
mcnded non interference, or ind ference, to tn
fate of other nations, to vou. lie has only rec
commended neuirafuy. And there is a mighty
difference between these two ideas.
Neutrality is an idea VIII CHI has reference +
state Of war between two bcligcrcnt powers
and i, is this case which Washington contempla
ted when be, in his Farewell Address, advises
the People ofihc United States not to enter in
to cntanaling alliances. Let quarreling pow
crS let qurrrcling nations war; you consldr
your own concerns, and let foreign power
quarrel about ambitious topics, or scanty, par
ticular interests. Neutrality is 4 matter OF con
vcncnce, not of principle.
But even as neutrality has reference to
state Of war between brligerent powers, tn
principle of non interference has, on the contra
ry, reference TO the sovereign right of nation
to dispose of their own domestic concerns.
Therefore these two ideas of neutrality ant
non interference are two entirely different ideas
having reference TO two entirely different Inat
terS
The sovereign right Of every nation to dis
pose of ITSELF to alter its institutions, to change
the form of its own government, Is common
public law of nations, common to ALL and there
fore, put under the common guarantee of all
This sovereign right of every nation to dis
pose of itself, ycu, the People of the Unitc'
States, must recognize, because it is commo,
law Of mankind in which, being common law
of mankind, every nation is equally interested
You must recognize il, secondly, because TIN
very existence of your great republic, as als
the independence Of every nation, rests upo,
this basis-rests upon this ground. If tina
sovereign right of nitlons were no com
mon public law Of mankind, then your own ia
dependent existence would be no matter o
right, but only matter of fact, which might b.
subject 70 whatever time, to whatever chance
Of power and OF violence.
And where is the citizen Of the United State
who would not feel revoltcd against the idea
that the existence of this great republic is no
righteous nor lawful one, but only mere ac
cideut, a mere matter of fact?
If it were so, You were not entitled to invoke
the protection of God for your great country
because the protection of God cannot. withou
sacrilere, be invoked but in behalf of justice
and right You had no right to look to the sym
pathv Of mankind for yourself, because yol
would profess an abrogation of the laws Of hG
mainly, upon which is founded your own indie
pendcnce, your own existence.
Now, gentlemen, if these be principles o
common law, Of that law which God has q ivei
to all, and to every nation OF humanity, TIN
violent act of hindering, by armed forces,
nation from exercising that sovereign right
must be considered as violation Of that com
mon public law upon which your very existenc'
rests, aud which, being common law of al
humanity, is by God himself placed under The
araguard of all humanity; because it is Coo
himself who commands us to love our neigh
bors as we love ourselves and to do toward
others as we tcsire others to do towards our
selves.
Upon this point you cannot remain indcffcr
en,, You may well remain neutral to every
w ar between two belligerent nations, but yol
can not remain indifferent to the violation o
the common law of humanity. That indlfier
ence Washington has nevertaught you. def,
every man to show me out of the eleven vol
umes of Washington's writings, single wore
to that effect He recommended neatrd'ity ii
the case of foreign wars but however recon-
mcnded Indifference TO the violation of tho
common laws of humanity, by interference o.
foreign powers with the sovereign right of ma
tons to dispose of themselves.
And he could not have recommended this
iadi ference without ceasing to be as wise as
he was, because there is, without justice, nc
wisdom on earth. He could not have recon-
mended it without becoming Inconsistent, be-
cause it was this common law of mankind which
your foreiathers invoked, before God and m1n-
kind, when they proclaimed your independence
1t was he himself, your great Washington, who
not only accepted but asked again and again
foreign ld,-foreign help for the support of the
common law of mankind, in respect to your
own independence.
Knowledge and instruction arc so universally
spread amongst the enlightened people of the
Unsted States; the history of your country is
such household science at the most lonely
hearths Of your rcmotest settlements, that il
may be sufficient for to refer, in that respect
to The instructions and correspondence between
Washington and his minister at Paris,-the
equally immortal franklin, the modest man,
with the proud epitaph which tells the world
that he wrests the tightening from Heaven, and
the sceptre from the tyrant's hands.
Thus | have proved, believe, that Washing
ton never bequcathed to you the principle OF
non interference against the violation Of the
sovereign right of nations to dispose of them-
selves, and to regulate their own institutions
but he taught you only neutrality IN respect to
the wars of foreign nations.
viii 90 further. And state that even that
doctrine of neutrality he taught and bcquca,heu
to yuu, moi constitutional principle last
ing regulation for all future time, but ouly as Il
matter OF temporary policy | rafcr in that
respect to the very words of his Farewell Ad-
dress There he states explicitly that, sit is
your policy to steer clear Of permanent alliances
with any portion of the foreign world. These
are his words. Policy is the word, and you
know policy is the Silence of principles, but of
exigencies and that principles of course,
by free and powerful nation, ever to be sac
r;fced to cxigercies. The exigencies are pass
ing away, like the bubbles of rain. but the
nation is immortal it must consid der the future
also, and not only the egotistical comfort ofthe
passing hour. 1t must be aware that to an i'm
mortal nation, nothing can be of higher impor
lance than immortal principles.
will 20 yet further; and state that even
this po',ey of neutrali;, Washington taught
you, not as permanent rule, bnt as temporary
! prove it again by referring to the very words
of his Farewell Address, when he in reference
to his policy Of neutrality, explicitly says that
swilh him, Washington predominant motive
has been to endeavor to gain time to your coun-