The Davenport gazette. [volume] (Davenport, Scott Co., Iowa) 1841-185?, 1854-06-29
The Nebraska Excitement.

lent advocate Of the pacifcatory measures o
Henry Clay, we humbly claim voice in tn,
Iupheayal Of public sentiment which is agta
ting our Union. Drops contribute 10 form
THE fathomless deep. but there is no voic,
that can say to its turbulent pillows, "peace
be stili'' and they obey. The once mighty
minds OF the nation are obscured by death
the towering intellect that for fifty years
dictated the course Of government and res
] cued her from political maelstrom, rule.
but by example in the past. No lofty ant
far-seeing patriot stands at the helm to di.
rect the ship Of state amid the shoals ant
quicksands that beset her perilous course
Lesser minds, humble though they be ane
/ limited their sphere Of action, must unite r
the effort to effect what great intellect,
could more surely have comprehcnded.
We are pleased to see sentiments throwr
out in late issue, which We feared were
,isolated, prove but reflections from the vel
digested ideas of superior minds; it convin
ces US of their truth. The passage of the
! Nebraska bill has aroused in the north q
greater antagonism to the Fugitive Slave
Law. While that act constitutes portion
of the laws of the U. States, every man who
loves his country will regret to see opcr
Opposition manifested to it, Mob law, come
in what form it may, is ever to be regretted
and no good can possibly arise from forcefu
opposition to any enactment of Congress
however refugnant it may be to the mora
sentiment Of community. 1t was not oppo
sition to the measure, however, which here
tofore occasioned such difficulty in its en-
forccment, 50 much as the desire upon thf
part Of many well disposed persons to see
the laws carried cut, and who thus have aid
led in its execution.
Taught from the recent action Of Con-
gress that the compromise is binding but
upon one side, they will be less chary OF
their aid in future While mob violence
will be thus measurably avoided the diff
Guilty Of enforcing the law will become so
great that it will rarely be attempted, and
its repeal may be ultimately effected with
out that fearful result which the N Y.
Tribune and kindred prints by innaming the
passions, are 50 anxious to bring to pass
While under the petulance OF feelings justly
aroused by Congress disregarding the wishes
and remonstrances OF their constituents,
men are naturally disposed to resort to ex-
treme measures; but" sober second thought
must convince them that the labored efforts
now being made in many portions of the
East TO get up lengthy petitions for the re-
peal Of the Fugitive Slave Law, are useless.
1t cannot be done, and under the present
state OF excitement, the atte mpt is hazar.
dous. "The Union is too precious, the con-
s,itution is too sacred, to be sacrificed in a
moment Of hasty resentment for an affront
which is dishonorable only to the party
from which it proceeds
Slavery will gain nothing by the passage
of the Nebraska bill. The south can hope
for no more compromises from the north
In the language Of Senator Wade, of Ohio,
northern Wings can never again combine
with their southern brethren in support of
slavery" While the recent act of Con-
cress annullei past compromises, in the
words Of Sumner. at made future mpro-
misses impossible" The man counts with
out his host who supposes that the Wings
Of the north will ever unite with those Of
the south, in any measure calculated TO
perpetuate the institution or extend the
area of slavery.