New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1852-02-09
Birney and Clay.

tssen' o- more m,seraoly narrow IN his raage OF
vision In his favor, however, we are glad 70 De
able to suppose that he was not up and
tine Of the Missouri Compromise Those trends OF
Freedom who were coud never nave then conn
deuce in Mr. Clay restored Had It not been Tor his
maguelizing Influence, ttere could not nave Osen
found enough traitors 10 Liberty ~ have gwen mat
Gy,, ceci,iye victory 20 the Slave POTer-the oln-
tain OF ali our eviis. The friends OF Liberty, once
20 HOfnlly chestcd, cad Lot and could nOt trust hr
Cay IN le44 Thel knew him 10 1e me BOs. dan
sefous foe to Liberty. because the most prncent
az cunning friend 70 Slavery Have events since
1874 done snythins 10 show those who voted for
Ri,n.y N 1874 that they misnig ed Where IS Clay
now Where Is the great WAlE party They nave
not OILY sanctioned The extension o. slavery "Aea
they had the power TO defeat II, pnt tney nave pre-
uoeed their poor apologies for souls by violating the
most express constitutional suaraH!ees OF personal
rights for the piilnl purpose OF securing TIE poiu
cal favor OF kidnappefs"
We give The Commemorative state
mest in full, because we wish our readers
to see, a. we think they must, that preJu-
dice and passion, vindictiyeLess and blind
pers onal hatred controlled the action of the
Birney ties in 1914, and caused the result
which we so deeply deplore. We think
that truth must be evident to the Intelligent
and penetrating reader, even from their own
story. This Abolition Commonwealth
is now the central organ of the Massachu-
sets Free Soil party, and active in the sup
mort of the dominant Coalition in that State
In this capacity it has powerfully contrib
uted to make George S. Boutwell, Gov
ernor. Has it any confidence " in Gov.
Boutwell, as an Ahti-Slavery man! Has he
ever asked them to repose any Certainly
not. Yet The Commonwealth and its co.
laborers have found no difficulty in urging
Free Sellers as such to vote in such man
ner as to make Mr.. Boutwell, Governor.
They profess to see how Free Soil Prlncl-
pies are thus promoted and they are their
own Judges in the premises. Does not their
own action in l65O-5l emphaticaaly con-
denim their course in 1874?
Mr.. Clay asked no confidence from the
friends of Freedom in 1874; he made no
professions of sympathy with their efforts
But he did declare himself opposed to the
Annexation Of Teras under the existing cir
cumstances, or, under any circumstances
while Mexico Should protest against it or
any portion of our States should deem 1t
Objectionable. lie based his opposition on
high National grounds, having no relation
to Slavery. We, with the Aboltionists,
were opposed to it for these reasons, but
moreover because of our invincible hostility
TO the increase of the Slave Power in our
Government and the extension of Slavery
under the flag of our Union. We should
have opposed the measure to the end, on
Anti Slavery grounds, and thus rendered
its occurrence impossible with Mr.. Clay's
assent. because of the resistance of our Sec
ton of the Union. 10 was within the power
of the Abolitionists, uniting with the North
ern Wings on the basis of hostility to the
Annexation of Texas, to have carried the
North and East, with large proportion OF
the Center and West, and committed the
Free State Wings to the principle OF per-
petual resistance to the Extension OF Slave
Power. A triumph on this common plat
form would have changed the whole course
of events and of sentiments. In short, the
Abolitionists might have clutched the VIC
tory which they yilely cast away, by acting
as sensibly and consistently as South Caro-
lima ard the shareholders did. They had no
material preference forPolk over Clay, save
that they saw that the formers election
would enable them to annex Texas, and
thus, Gas Gov Hamilton phrased it, give
Gibraltar to the South" while Clays cleo
ton would defeat it. They did not stop to
ask whether Polk was in favor of Annexa-
ton for the sake Of extending SldUery; II
they could only secure Annexation, they did
not care whether the instruments by which
they worked had the same end in view that
they had his motives were his own; his
acts were all they inquired into. And thus
Slavery won a momentous triumph BY being
true to itself, while Abolition threw IL away
il order to wreak its malice on an Individual.
- The Missouri Compromise did not ex-
tend the area of Slavery; it rather con-
tracted il; and at the same time explicitly
reaffrmed 10y Southern votes) the night
of Congress to prohibit Slavery in the Ter
ritories. We might have done better still,
if the Northern members had al been
Northern in heart; but, as the proposition
of slaveholding Representative, the Com
promise was not a bad basis of adjust
ment We ought to have secured more
but the settlement was not a disastrous
one. And Mr.. Clay is now where he has
ever been opposed to the Extension Of
Slavery by act Of Congress. He has