Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1854-04-07

sight Let the bill be passed into a law, and .
the claws will BIO seen buick enough. The |
bill, to be sure, is not as acceptable to some |
of the members from the Slave States since
that amendment was put in as it was before,
because they fear that their favorito doctrine
of the implied and secure right to hold slaves |
in the territories if there DO no express law
against it shall fail them on trial. But
leading Southern politicians took that ground
in 1920 and they take it now, and they so
for the bill accordingly. If the Sentinel be-
leves that the bill if enacted as n lar either
with or without Mr.. Badgers amendment,
will leave Nebraska and Kanzas with slavery
absolutely excluded from them till it shall be
allowed there by .enactments yet to be made
by the proper Legislative body, (whatcvcr body
that may be, it believes what the ma ority
those who are to carry the bill through Con-
gress, if carried through it shall be, do not
believe That it may rely upon.
consequence of the repeal, to say the
least, is to give slavery chance to work its
way into and to establish itself, with all its
wrongs to man and its injury to the free
States in vast region under the sovereign
control of the government of the United States,
from which region it is now debarred By ldw-
by law enacted by the only government on
earth which has, or pretends to have, any con-
troll over that country, and which has as per-
feet right to hold it under law, and under
that law, az the State of Vermont has to hold
under such law, or any other law, the unoc-
cupied hills Of our own State All the long
drawn arguments, and all the true or sophis-
teal meanings which may he given to tho
terms usnd on the subject, can not alter that
! plain statement of the case.
We understand the Sentinel to be in favor
ever others it may fnd) because by it, the
eristing legal obstacles will be taken out of the
way of the establishment Of slavery in Nebraska
and Kanzas, if the people Of those territories
shall uish it to erist there; for the law remain
ing as il now is will not hinder them from for
b'dding its existence, whenever they may be
allowed to act on the question. Who are
meant by "the people," and how far the will
of the first 900 5000 or 100000 who shall
be concerned in forming government there
(other than that of Congress) shall have
power to bring that great country under the
influence of Slavery for generations to come,
lift shall be their pleasure to do so, the Sen
tinel has not yet told US. The Sentinel thinks
that doctrine democratic Using that term as
party designation, wegrant it, for the demo-
cratic party has been the great agent ofSlave-
ry extension in this country. 1t is not Wing
doctrine and it does not agree with Wing
practice. The Wing party is the only one
which has stood with its face like flint
against every extension of Slavery into re-
gions unoccupied with it, which has never
! been the means Of helping on such. deadly
foe to equal rights az Slavery is, and it needs
no change Of name or principles to make its
hostility more decided or effectual.
: But we caution the Sentinel, that if il
wishes to have Mr.. Douglass measure q
favorite with Vermont democrats, it will dc
we'll to keep it masked under the regular
phrase Of " allowing the people to frame
their own institutions without dictation from
others" 1t will get on better in this State
behind that stalking horse, than it will in the
clear day light of its real character and OBJ
ject vermonters love freedom as they love
fresh air, Much as they hate Slavery they
are quite willing to let it alone, where
they have no legitimate control over it, but
they are mighty hard set to beat up for re-
cruits in, to help its spread into region'
where they can rightfully oppose it. They
have got to be cheated by some false guise
to make them enlist in that cause. Some o
them have been caught SO before now, ant
they are getting suspicious we know, but i
is the best thing the Sentinel and its helper
can do. To show up the actual history 0
Slave extension in our country,-to point GU
how Slavery influence has palsied for all tina
is good, the States where it prevails, while
it has strengthened their power to injdre thu
free States would never do at all. Best Il
fight shy of all that-let it go for wing oppo
sition, and repeat the old tune so much thu
louder 1t is its only hope.