Washington telegraph., 1855-12-26

ganization of dangerous sectional party,
Dir. Breckenridge holds the following Ian
guage:
1T is no part OF my business. SIR, to be
statesman, nor am |. except in the widest
sense, even politician. | am only plain
man who loves his whole coantry,-and is
ready to do his utmost for every part of it.
; In this spirit | deeply deplore the repeal of
; the Missouri Compromise, and considered
that act great error of the Democratic
Party-a still greater error of the South, as
the event, / think. has proved did ali
private person, situated as [ was. seemed
called on to attempt, to prevent the commits
sion of that error | foresaw and urged
upon the distinguished member of Congress
whose constituent I was, with all the consid-
Grafton due to his great virtues and infu-
ence. with ell the earBestness allowed In an
old and trusted kinsman who loved him
Ike son,-mOst of the evils which have
followed. and which still hang over the
country. | did it In vain. His convic-
tiOns did not accord with mine II they
bad, l believe he could have defeated the
act. If any one man could. Faithful to my
convictions. and TO my whole country then,
| am not less faithful now. And in this
spirit deliberately assert that, even if the
repeal of the Missouri Compromise were
ten thousand times worse than ever sup
posed it to be--nay, than you make it out
ii is as nothing in comparison with the
principles you avow and the ends you pro-
pose; nothing in the vastness of the evils
which must result-the deliberate perfdv
of the means which are used-the atrocious
wiekedness of the objects which are sought.
Why, Sir, would you have US believe that
there Is no difference between repeating an
act Of Congress and subverting the Govern
mentf No difference between permitting
ALI tne Territories to do as they think fit
with regard to slavery. and dissolving the
Uuion on the slave line No difference
between committing a great mistake as to
the best method of securing the peace of
the country, and copmitting the very great
est political crimes in order to drive the
country into civil war? No difference be-
tween the indiscreet attempt TO equalize
the rights Of the two great sections of the
AIon upon the most difficult of all nation
al Questions with ferocie,:s purpose to ar
ray those two great sections in deadly and
endless hostility? All Mr. Seward, that
is neither The logic. the rhetoric the 1lorali-s
I ty, nor the patriotism which was taught at
Onr common Aima Mater, and your high
position has been dearly won if It has been
reached, OF must be maintained by such
means as these i''
Or. Breckenridge, declaring that the
rights of the South are wantonly and cruel
" invaded by Seward and his followers,
next proceeds to show that the South is not
the contemplate minority-;he three hun
dEed and fifty thousand Shareholders array
ed against twenty FIVE millions of .'ffee, non
.slaveholding white men '-described by Dir.
: Seward.
If" he says, ',the slaveholdiBg interest
of this country were as insignificant as YOU
pretend the present. condition of the public
mind throughout the Republic would be.
not only the most inexplicable, but the most
disgracetul phenomenon ever exhibited am
ongst civilized people. The bucksters in
the City of New York, compared with its
whole population-the boatmen On your ca
nals, eontrasted with all the people of your
State. would be incomparably more weigh,y
and decisive elements with you, than this
handful Of detestable and powerless tyrants,
in the grasp of SO many millions of freemen.
Whatever may be the number of Slavehol-
ders In America. this at least is obvious up
On your showing that the dread of them has
! penetrated thirteen States so deeply. that
they have dissolved all other political par
! ties to serve one great Republican party, BY
means of which TO preserve; if possible, their
own liberty a result so doubtful as appa-
rently to ill you with the greatest anxiety.
Whatever may be the proportion of slave
holders to non-slaveholders in the slave
States, it is past all doubt that in every one of
them the great majority of the people are op-
posed TO any disturbance of the institution.
/ and that in the conflict with your great Re-
publican party. they will be more unanimous
and determined than the people of any Free
| States are, or ever were upon any disputed
I question whatever On the other hand,
there is not, and there never was. the least
desire in any Slave State to sacrifice or put
in jeopardy the safety or interest of any
Free State. further than anything of that
sort may be- imagined to be inseparable
from fair participation by the slave States,
in ali the advantages resulting from the
union of ali the States under one common
government So far has it been otherwise.
that numerous and powerful Free States ex-
ist upon territory conceded by slavebolding
States. while not foot of slave territory
exists which was conceded by one of the
Free States of this Union.
He next speaks of the influence by which
/ he has been surrounded from his childhood.
and proceeds to state what the views of
Kentucky are on the question of slavery.
| and the causes which have prevented that
State from manumitting its Slaves. He
-says:
'.Sir, passed that childhood around the
knees Of the old officers and soldiers of the