The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1854-11-08


caro- Of the results. No fear of any evil
result ought to deter him from acting
with all the zeal and energy of his ma.
turc-tcmpcred indeed by discretion,
humility and charity-to secure good
laws and repeal bad ones.
Entertaining these views, We cannot
for moment acquiescc in the repeal Of
the Compromise Of 1920. because to at
tempt to restore that restriction is sup
posed by some to cndanger the Union.
We cannot regard the Union first and
justice aud truth afterwards. The North
has clear and uuqucstioncd Constitu-
tional right to present the spread Of
slavery into any moro of the territory
of the United States, and, if there is
reasonable ground to fear that it will
spread there, is bound to exercise that
right. Not 10 do so, is to acquicscc in
great public wrong and to make that
wrong no longer sectional. but national
Slavery cannot enter the new territories
without the acquiesccnco of the North
Let the North emphatically refuse to
permit it to 60 there, and He, who looks
down with smiles and appreciation on all
right doing, will take car, that the result
shall be good one. If that result shall
be the separation of these States, then
the Union is not worth prescrving-its
further maintenance will have been
shown to be inconsistent with justice and
obedience to God 1t will have been
made manifest that VIC at the North can
not perform our highest duties as citi
xens of Free State. while this Union
lasts, and that, therefore, it should no
longer stand in our way tn tempt us to
depart from the plain path Of individual
and national duty.
To guard ourselves from all misapprc
hension, we deem it proper to say tina,
we do not lightly appreciate the value of
the Union, afiismins only that it is more
important to do justly than to preserve
the Union-on the hypothesis that both
cannot be done. We do not, however.
suppose there is any Inconsistency he
tween the two things We DO not be
lieve, for n moment, that to rc.cnact the
ancient restriction in respect to all ,ha,
Northwestern Territory, is To cndanger
in the slightest degree the stability and
permancrcc of the Uuion. We believe
that the real danger to the continuance
OF 1bis Union will begin only when the
North is provoked to desire its dissnlu.
ton.
We trust, therefore, that the North
vii! firmly and at all hazards insist Oh
Repeal Of the repeal--,hnt it will not
consent to give up solitary safeguard
that has hitherto existed against further
eucroachmcn's by the Slave power Nor
do We think there is any good reason for
regarding the attempt to restore the
Missouri Compromise as impractcablc
The North can easily DO it. If it can
not overcome President Piercc's veto, i,
can put better man in his place. whose
sympathics are where they should be
We know very well that, ere that TIM
arrives, one Of the Territories may apply
for adm ssion into tho Union but the
North can prevent its admission ill shat
Restriction Is prenacted and enforced, il
slavery shall already have entered there
We admit, that, could it be f,rcsccn
tina, slavery would not succeed in cstab.
fishing itself there by law. there would
be no motive for restoring the Compro-
mise But no man, who is at all well
Informed can say that the Territories are
at all sure to DO free states All tho
evidence, derived from the public jour
nails, and from the testimony of residents
in Kansas, shows that a majority of
the settlers in that territory is
Tho hope for that Territory -
for tue present, at least-rests up
on the presumption tina: very many Of
tho emigrauts from Slave States arc
themselves hostile to slavery. 1t is
true that rery few slaves are known to
have born taken there, and it is probable
that very few will be. before i, is known
whether laws can be passed protecting
that kind of property. 1t would great.
ly diminish the probability of such laws
being enacted, were it known that the
North is determined to restore the Re.
striction aud not to admit the Territory
as Slave State And knowledge of
that fact alone, VIC believe, will keep
Slavery out.
We trust, therefore, that. so far from
any submission to the repeal being man
Tested at the North, there will be res
olute and iufexlbie purpose everywhere
evident to demand restoration of the
security that is now lost. We trust that
the friends of freedom in the next Con.
gress will agiiate the repeal of the re-
peal with an energy, which the North
has never shown before. Aud We de