Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1855-11-01

become nearly united aid 1t was an easy
matter fer Gov. Gardner then to express the
common sentiment. So when the pro- slave
~ resolutions came in. and the North was IN
sultiugly inquired Of, if they ould submit if
voted down upon them, and dozen Of her
representatives sprang to their feet, to reply,
Gov. Gardner was among them. Ills coll
leagues and the others, gladly gave way for
him, for he had not spoken before they felt
that he would now speak their sentiments, and
from his well-known disposition to eonserva-
tism and Cancellation, if not compromise,
would have more influence with the large
class Of q similar disposition, than any Of
themselves. He spoke briefly and well, and
you had at the time, an authentic sketch of
his remarks. Upon that speech is based all
the claims Gov. Gardner has to have been the
first and foremost man of the North in this
struggle. How just these claims are, the
reader of this history of preceding events eau
fairly Judge The work was all done before,
and largely without his leadership.
But let MS conclude the history. The lie
bate thus opened ragged iiercely through Mon
day evening, and Tuesday. Wednesday it
was clear the vote would be taken on the two
propositions of the majority and minority.aud
such intermediate compromises as Kenneth
Rayner and few weak backed northeTuers
were anxious to have adopted for the salvation
of the council. Wednesday morning, GoUey-
nor Gardaer started for home on pretenses
that were not adequate TO such desertion. =
The chief one was that he desired to spend
his birth day, which was the next day, in his
family. l do not believe he feared to record
his vote either against the majority PROPOSE
ton or for the minority resoi luton; but L do
believe that ne desired to avoid those trials to
Il. 1
of the enemies OF right and truth and justice,
the compromise propositions which would be
brought IN. At any rate, the votes were all
recorded without him. Luckily for him, the
compromises did not succeed, the ultra pro-
slavery resolutions Of the majority were forced
upon the council, and the northern delegates
remaining 5olted, and issued the address pre-
yiously prepared for the contingency. Gov.
Gardeners name was appended to it, lie hay-
ing left Instructions to that effect, if the ma
iority resolutions were carried. Had they
been modified. and a compromise made, how
ever unpalateable and unjust to the North,
there would have been no authority to con-
meet his name with the mol hern secession and
appeal. He did not as one would have sup
posed he should have done instruct the use
of his name in a seeding movement, on the
rejection of the minority proposition, tor that
was as little as any true northern man could
have stood upon-less than most Of the north
ern delegates desired to plant themselves upon
Such is the record. l append an extract
from a letter from a Maine delegate to the con-
vention to a Massachusetts delegate, written
this present mouth, the very day, indeed, at
ter the American Convention in Boston, to
which it alludes =
- Especially am l surprised at the bad faith
which exist; among the members of the Amer
lean party in Massachusetts, 1t seems as
though a wide spread and sickening selfish.
ness had seized upon the leaders OF ali, OF
nearly all, political parties, and IN view Of
this, and the timTlity of henest yet faint
hearted men, l am afraid that my own 'back
bone is liable to become tiimsy. 1have read
Gov. Gardner speech i'll the American Cou-
Yention accepting the nomination, and am sur
prjsei at his aittsioR to his roWse IN the Phil
alelpAia Coareatioa. While it may be liter
ally true, that he vas the first man. after the
platform was introduced, to tell Mr.. Mallory
Of New York. 1 think it was, that 'Massachu.
sets will not be bound by such platform,
yet you will remember that you and others,
myself among them, on informal questions,
when the subject was brought into discussion
and when it was pretty well understood low
the committee would report, made substanti-
fk6 popularity ii 6S fHh slavery sentiment,
this claiming Of credit by Gov, Gardner, of
poneership in the work of standing up man.
fully in the Philadelphia Convention, but you
aud others Bilolo nell that Cor. Gardner hoped
that some act;on might be taken achich ,oou!d
justify the South and achicb at the same ttnse
might be made pa9ata5le to the Northern dele
gates"
The name of the writer of this letter and OF
the person to whom it was addressed are fur
nished to the editor Of the Tribune who may
give them to any person interested enough to
have Il right to call for them.
The truth Of the whole matter il simply
this The great majority Of the northern del
egates at Philadelphia had no original pur-
pose of making bold and dec ded stand
against the demands of the southern party
They were forced into it by the resolute and
manly conduct of dozen or twenty firm and
true men, including representatives FROM
Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Yer
mont, Indiana, and Ohio. These men, hope
less minority of the North at The start, aided
by the infatuation OF the South in making
such outrageous demands and in a coarse and
brutal spirit, put back bone into the most Of
their colleagues and achieved those results
which electrified the country. The fact that
there was all unseen eye upon the delbera-
tons of the body, watching the conduct Of
each man, and reporting his detections to his
constituents, through the Tribune had pow.
erful influence, also, upon the results.
Of these dozen Or twenty leaders of the
North on this occasion, Gov. Gardner was not
one. Instead OF being leader, he was a fol-
lower. Instead OF putting back bone into
others, he had to have it put into him. He
came in at the last hour, to bear away the
palm of leadership. But he deserves it not
Had he contiolled the northern sentiment in
that convention, the result would have been
far different. There would have been no eff.
fective stand against the South. But the his
tory of the convention, instead of furnishing a
new aud bright page in the story OF the con-
hlcts between the spirit Of liberty and the
spirit of slavery and selishness, as it does,
would have added only another chapter to the
volume of southern domineerlng and northern
subseryiency which makes up the record of
our political national conventions.
On another point, desire to write, mas
much as it furnished an illustration from sub
sequent history, to the truth Of what | have
/. already written. The leading Northern dele
gates, and to this at the close, Gov. Gardner
fully assented, agreed to go home, and throw
up the American organization as an organiza-
ton, in oider to u lie the North in an all
powerful aud effective party against the ag-
gressiyeness of slavery. They did not agree
10 discard American principles, but they agreed
to discard the party as such, and hold the prin.
ciples in abeyamce, if necessary, III order to
bring about the union upon the slavery aues-
ton. They had seen, ut Philadelphia, that,
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