The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1852-03-25

discussed from time 10 time III the senate. Mt
y Soule, one of the Senators from Louisiana, de
h Gvcred powerful speech last Monday, in sup
n port of the general policy Of Intervention.
Is was particularly remarkable as being in oppo
: siton to the ruling sentiment of the South Al
elaborate speech by Mr.. Seward, on the same
n subject we present in this weeks Era
y THE STATE OF THE C0UNTRY-THE CRISIS
, The country has been drugged nearly tC
death with compromise. We have been com
7 promising and compromising for half cen.
= fury, in our Constitution and Laws our Poll
ties and Religion, until we have become ma.
ton of trimmers, time-servers, and towards
Principle is voted an abstractiOn-Right ,apd
Truth are kq- 'rt"J from oDr nq);AcPI ntbios--
Craftsmanship is made to consist in the science
Of expedients to reconcile contradictions. Does
a Question which goes to the foundation of
our social or political system demand solution
we shudder at its dimensions, grow pale at it's
possible consequences, shut our eyes to its
merits, seek by every artifce to postpone its
consideration, Forced at last to meet it, the
first effort is to see whether it may not be ar
ranged by compromise, instead of being settled
by Principle. We know that the physical
universe is governed by law-that worlds upon
worlds move tremendously in their courses,
only in virtue of submission to aw-that the
violation of physical law is followed by its
inevitable penalty-that man cannot put his
his hand into the fire without being burned, or
take poison without endangering or destroying
life but in the world of mind and morals we
are infdes our conduct says that there is no
God, no Truth, no Right, no Wrong no Prin-
ciple, no Law. The point is, how shall we man
age, and not what is Truth. We look at this
prejudice, and that interest, this difficulty and
that danger this precedent and that conse-
quence. How shall we avoid giving offence!
How prevent that loss That obstacle must
be consulted-that danger is imminent-the
ancents, what say they or, the consequences
may be dreadful. All the while, we forget to
ask whether there is II right or wrong in the
matter; or, if we do ask this question, it is
only to determine how far we may compromise
with the one in disregard of the other.
Look at the old political organizations
what are they about! Devoutly engaged in
harmonizing themselves by compromise, with
out reference to Principle. The question of
Slavery distracts them both Their Northern
sections are opposed to the evil, desire its lin
' tation and ultimate extinction, know that
l they have undertaken criminal responsibilities
l. in its behalf, are at times Disguised with its
, demands are aware of its desperate purpose
1 to occupy new territory, and secure itself per-
petual ascendancy-and yet they are aboring
to stitle their convictions, to put down all agi-
tation. all excitement, all discussion, to unite
, their rank and file in abject submission to what
ever its supporters may require, to plant them
| selves upon the miserable mposture of the
hnality of the Compromise
The Finality of the Compromise - Are
we losing our reason as well as our honesty !
We build our house on the sands, and talk of
the fnality of our work Is Error immortal 2
Is Truth, crushed to EARTH" never to rise
again The shorn Samson of to-day meek
and unresisting, will ere long bury under the
ruins of the Temple the rabble gibbcring in
? idiotic mcrriment over the fnality of his cap
tvity. Who talks of the fnality of the French
usurpation, or of the pacifcation of Europe +,
Men who have said in their hearts there is no
God. Who talks of the fnalty of Compro-
mise, which undertakes to make wrong eternal,
and stihe free thought and free speech The
disbeever in God and Humanity
While we are imposing upon ourselves the
= contemplate dclusion that the Compromise
= must be regarded as final adjustment of the
, Slavery Question, the men who are helping us
3 in this work of selfdeception are laborng by
a every means that a devilish ingenuity can sug.
: gest to overturn the free Constitution of Cali
!, fornia, and raise the black flag of Slavery on
/ the shores of the Pacific Here they preach
4 peace-there, wage war. And their suppl,
agents, the politicians and Presidential candi
dates, in obedience to their dictation, cry "all'
/ WELL when before their eyes is going on, with
@ out disguise, stupendous scheme for robbinl
= Freedom of the noble heritage it was hope,
$ the Compromise had secured to her WIZ
!. docs not know that the only consideration tina
!, made that system of measures toerable at tn
,. North, was the conservation of the new world o
is the Pacific to Freedom and Free Labor Ore
" gOn, with its unsurpassed forests and mex
;, haustible soil had free Constitution. Cali
a fornia, with its golden treasures had n fire.
Constitutions The refugee from oppresse,
= Europe, the laborer from over-populated Asia
. the emigrant from the older States of tn
Union, could there find home, with freedom
a and responsibility free from the faint an'
, blight of oppression.
c Had Slavery obtained ioothold ON the Pacific
we know that there would have been no peace
, for the new States to spring up along it
4 shores Divided by Incompatible institutions
{ the Discords which have disturbed the peace
/, mpeded the march, and demoralized tn
{ Atlantic States, would have been propaga
= ted in them Slavery betting the continent
would at once have opposed barrier to thu
: free institutions of the North and opened Al
n illimitabe field for the growth of Slave insti
# buttons Southwardy The Compromise, it wa
IS iondly hoped, had prevented all this, and i'm
!, posed perpetual Limitations upon the exten
!. sion of Slave Empire,
r But, what do we see While men slept, tn
4. Devil came and sowed tares. The Compro
K mise narcotiaed the People Hack politicians
= shallow, short-sighted, selfish, without a singl
|, conception of the true welfare of nations, tn
n true foundation of national greatness, wrap
l. up in their own petty schemes for winning