Eastern times. [volume] (Bath, Me.) 1846-1857, 1854-03-16
Extract from a Nebraska Speech,


delivered at Nashua, n H., March 8, 1854,
by Hon. b. F. HALLETT Of Boston. Mr.
Hallett was invited TO express his views on
the Nebraska bill by the democratic citizens of
the county of Hillsboro', and he responded in
one Of the most torcible and ablest speeches at
Nashua he ever made. The democrats of
Bath know very we'll who and what Mr.. Hal
lett is, We had specimen of his metal in
an outdoor speech in front Of the Custom
House in this city, during the last presidential
campaign -
Now, my friends, | want TO treat this
question in a fair and Just manner. My opin-
ions are very decided upon it, but, at the same
time, | speak in no spirit of evaporation.
want rather TO convince those who differ from
me on these points, than to have any serious
conflict with them; and after looking over the
experience Of my own life, and lengthening
that out by the experience which history teach
es US, why, feel just as comfortable about
this Nebraska agitation as feel on looking
back to the agitation this same coalition oppo-
siIion raised about the purchase Of Louisiana
and Florida, the war of 1912, the annexation
of Texas, the Mexican war, the acquisition of
California, New Mexico, the bank, indepen-
dent treasury, tariff, the Wilmot, or any of
those obsolete ideas, all of which, each in
its turn, were going to ruin this country, ut
terly, totally, and eternally. The country has
prospered wondrously through all this, and
now the very men and their political descen-
dants who clamored so loudly about annexa-
tions, and sub-treasuries being sources of ruin
to the nation are enjoying the vast benefits de-
rived from them, and rejoicing that they were
saved from themselves by democratic policy.
Tell one of them that he agitated these subjects
some years age, he would be very much offended;
you could not do them greater injury than
charge them with such an act. That has been
the course of the federal party, and the wing
party ever since have known anything about
politics. Everything expansive, everything
large and liberal, every great national measure
in this country has been achieved by the dem
ocratic party, and opposed by the federal or
whig party. But the moment the democrats
are successful, then the federalists or wings
abandon their policy and turn round and claim
it as their thunder 1t is their particular
measure. So they subside for time, when
reduced to hopeless minority, and then wait
until another proposition comes up from the
democratic party, and then they oppose that
in like manner and the moment the measure
is carried, they reap the benefit in their COM
merce, their manufactures, their ship building,
their capital, their labor and everything else
that makes men prosperous. The federal and
wing party has always opposed the anneXa-
tons of new territory which have added such
vast wealth and opened such wide fields to the
commercial enterprises of the land. These
anneXatiOns are the results, solely, Of democrat
lie policy, fought out by the democratic people,
by men like you, who do not mind storm,
but come out to hear public issues discussed,
and 60 TO the polls and elect right men to con-
gress, TO aid in carrying out right measures.
The wings in their obstinate opposition to
annexation and new markets, and in drawing
wealth from them as soon as they arc compell-
ed to enjoy them, remind me Of the lrishman's
pig, which was Of that peculiar disposition, he
had TO pill his cars off to ,gtt him 10 the trough
10 cat, and his tail off TO get him array from Il.
daughter and cheers) The democratic par
ty have had to pill ichig and abolition cars off
to get them into Louisiana and Texas, and
into the California gold diggings, and now
they are there, you could not get them out alay
,rdy. They are luxuriating in it, and enjoy
ing the fruits of democratic policy and yet,
the moment we say we want TO 90 on with
this same great American policy, we want to
cover this whole continent with states, we
want to put a stopto this meddlesome matter
of sectionalism, as to how men shall organize
their form of labor or domestic institutions, we
want broad principle TO settle this question,
under the banner of which we may march for
ward from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and, if
need be, FROM the Arctic sea to the Isthmus of
Darien, and cover our whole continent with
great and glorious states; the moment we talk
of that principle and of its introduction into
the Nebraska bill, up rises all these people
and oppose us again, on the same one idea, on
the same mistaken and always defeated policy.
And by and by-for some of US will live long
enough to see it,--when these Nebraska and
Kansas territories shall have become a great
malt of central states for the manufactures of
Nashua and Lowell and the commerce and
productive industry of the whole north, who
will be found in the land to boast or even to
confess that he ever opposed itl When that
time arrives for Nebraska, as it has already
come for Texas, if any democrat should 90 to
these inventors of Wilmot provisos, and anti
slavery prohibitions to retard expansion, who
will then be enjoying all the benefits resulting
from Nebraska having been organized as a
territory and admitted as state, on the same
principle with the original states and tell
them that you remember there was some oppo-
stion TO this measure when Nebraska came
in, they will assure you that really thea new
er had anything to do with it there might
have been some fanatical or ultra men who
opposed it, but we had no hand in it
Could you catch man now, if you adver-
tised for him, who would acknowledge that he
opposed the acquisition Of louisiana You
can hardly find opeiunless he is one of those
intensely sectional men who has lost his I'M
Outstanding by looking through very small
orifce al one single object, and that dark
ened one, until he could see nothing else.
Laughter.
You can scarcely find man now who will
own that he was opposed to the annexation of
Texas, unless it was one Of that peculiar or
ganization-and yet that was just here the
other day, within our own time. Inquire at
Lowell, in State street, on our wharves, or at
our ship yards, in our counting rooms, banks
and work shops, for that man who wanted to
sell California, and have her 90 to Great
Britain or some other power, instead Of be-
coming part Of the United States, and where
will you find him! e Ditto
Very well here are our lessons of expert
ence; profit by them. These people who
start up now and rail about Nebraska, and OPP
pose Nebraska, are Of the same Identities, the
same stripe, the same one-idea men who OPP
posed these earlier measures of the democratic
party. 1t is just that same One-idea of Sec
journalism, of opposition TO expansion and the
growth OF the country, and, as / said before, it