The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1854-07-20

nind tnen own business, whilst we minded ours
But, If they have no right to forbid our fusion
with Great Britain, pray, what right should we
have to forbid the proposition of Hayti to join
France, or Chill to join China, or, (most terrific
of all terrific things, in the eyes of an American
Jfh6uster y Cuba to join England
The truth is, that our rapid progress in popu-
lation, wealth, and power, has made us forgetful
Of the equal rights Of the nations of the earth-
We are disposed to measure our rights by our
prosperity and to disparage the rights of others,
in the degree that their prosperity falls short of
our own. In our boundless sef-conceit, our
might, either already is, or is very soon to be,
boundless. And, as is to be expected in such
case we are already acting on, if not in terms
avowing, the maxim, that might makes right
1t was in the proud and arrogant spirit of our
country-it was under the influence of the ex-
trayagant pretensions, with which she is bloated,
that the Squier treaty was so much condemned,
and the Hise treaty so much extoled, in the other
wing of the Capitol year or two since. The
Squier treaty admitted, that other nations of the
earth might participate with ours in controlling
the ship-canal between the Atlantic and the Pa
cifc. But the Hise treaty claimed, that our ma
ton, alone is worthy of controlling it; that the
nation, whose Office is sole dictator of the whole
earth, should be the sole keeper of that great
gateway of all the nations, and should decide
when, and on what terms, the ships of those
taken for granted, that all the nations of the
earth would be tame enough TO acquiesce
promptly in this, as well as all other claims of
our assumed dictatorship.
81 OK the chain to great Olympus height,
And the vast world hangs trembling In my sight"
are words quite too swollen for n nation-for any
| collection of mere men to use-howeyer fitted
they may be to the lips of God.
"The pride of thy heart" saith the prophet,
hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the
clefts of the rock, whose habitatiOn is high
that saith in his heart, who shall bring me
down to the grounds? Though thou exalt
myself as the eagle, and though thou set thy
nest among the stars, thence will bring thee
down. saith the Lord"
Is not such the pride, that we are nurturing?-
the "pride," may we not fear, that ''goeth before
destruction ?-the naughty spirit before
fall2s
Never has there been so self-deceived a nation,
as our own. That we are a nation for liberty is
among our widest concets. We are not nation
for liberty refer not, now, TO the terrible blot
of slavery upon our country. l refer TO our
pride. No proud man is for liberty. NO proud
nation il for liberty. Liberty-preciOus boon OF
Heavens meek and reasonable. She admits, /
that she belongs to ALTO the high and the low |
the rich and the poor; the black and the white |
and that she belongs to them all equally. The |
liberty, for which a proud man contends, is |
spurious liberty; and such is the liberty, for /
which proud nation contends 1t is tyranny; |
for it nvades and strikes down equal rights. But |
true liberty acknowledges and defends the equal |
rights of all men, and all nations. There is not
time for me to expatiate upon the merits Of true
liberty. They will be known to all, who bow |
themselves gratefully and lovingly, to her claims.
There is not time for to prove, that it is her
true character, which have given TO true liberty.
Suffice it TO say, that all will see it to be SUCH
who are so happy as to escape from the hard do |
miniOn of passion and prejudice, to the welcome |
control of reason and religion.
If this nation is to prosper, it must be by adj
herring TO the great and precious principles avow
ed at its birth One of these principles is that
every people may choose its own form of govern
men: and vary it, rs it pleases. We chose ours
and VIC write "hypOcrite" with our own finger,
upon our own foreheads if we deny to the Hay
items or Cubans, or any other people, the liberty
to choose theirs If Cuba proposes to remain
part Of Spain, or to become a part of France or
England, we cannot condemn the proposition
but at the expense of condemning our own, de-
liberately adopted and solemnly uttered princi- |
pies.
1t is not for this nation to deny the right of
one people to blend themselves with another peo-
ple nor the right of any people to break up their
existing national relations. In other words it is
for this nation to deny the right either of an
nexation or secession. | claim the right of the
British provinces, north of us, to annex them
selves to our nation, if are willing TO receive
them and that, too, whether Bnglan,i does, VI
does not consent to it. claim the right of those
provinces and New England to form nation by
themselves and that, too, whether with or with
out the appreciation of the English and American
Governments. / hold, that the Northern States
have the right to go off into a nation by them
selves and the Western States and the Southern
States. If they will go, let them CO. and we,
though loving the Union, and every part of it.
and willing to lose no part of it, will let them 90
in peace, and will follow them with our blessing
and with our warm PRAYER that they NAV return
to us and with our firm belief, that they will
return to us, after they shall have spent few
miserable years. or perhaps, no more than few
miserable months, in their miserable experiment
of separating themselves from their brethren Of
course, cannot forget, that many-alas that thew
are so many would preferfolowing the seceders
with curses and guns. Oh, how slow are men to
emerge from the brutehood, into which their pas
sions and their false education have sunk them
! say brutehood; for rage and violence and war
belong to it, while love and genteness and peace
are the adornments of true manhood
trust, that shall not be regarded as holding
that single State in our Union may set up for
itself. 1t may not any more than single coun-
ty. Such an imPerium IA inperio would be too
full of inconvenience and objection to entitle
IN.
Ny doctrine of annexation and secession is not
to be stretched over every folly that may lay
claim to countenance from the doctrine
| spoke of the right of the British Provinces to
annex themselves to our nation. hope that in
due time, the right will be exercised; and that
England will feel, that she cannot Justly resist
the exercise of it. But, | hope, for more than
such annexation. | hope for the annexation to
us of every other part of North America To
ri DpOnlpc of Nnrfh Arna
| nation with ourselves, would be to bring them
under rapid process of enlightenment, civiliza-
ton, and homegeneousness with each other and
with u.s. | trust, that we shall be a better people.
by that day. But bad, as we now are, even in
that case, few of our neighbors would become
worse, and most of them would become better, by
becoming like us. Were all North America to
become one nation, it might not long remain
such. But the various nations, into which it
would divide, would be more intelligent useful
and happy, than if they had never constituted
one nation
Let Cuba come to us, if she wishes to come.
She belongs to us, by force of her geographical
position Let her come, even if she shall not
previously abolish her slavery. am willing to
| risk the subsection of her slavery to a common
| fate with our own. Slavery must be a short-lived
thing IN this land. Under our laws, rightly inter-
preted, and under the various mighty influences
at work for liberty in this land slavery is to come
| TO speedy termination. God grant, that it may
be peaceful onet
| Ewould not force Cuba into our nation, nor
pay $3.50, 100000 for her, nor $500, 900 ,OOO-no,
nor even 500, 100000. But when she wishes to
come, would have her come and that | may
be more clearly understood on this point, | add
that | would not have her wait, always, for the
consent of the Spanish Government. Now, if this
is Jfiibusterism, then all have to say is "make
the most of it'll" [Grcat laughter.]
| do not subscribe to the doctrine, that the