The Hillsdale standard. [volume] (Hillsdale, Mich.) 1851-1909, 1856-06-24
,rnE EFFECT NJ OF IT.

Sumner has been severe before, rs therc any
likelihood Of his being milder now! VIII he
rise from his bed and 60 back into the Senate
with apy less hatred Of slavery Has bis un-
dcrstanding been enlightcnedl or his heart
concliatcd? Docs he see now that it was no
"crine" to carry slavery into Kansas-that
Senator Butler has not Quixotic love for
the institution--that Senator Douglas never
performs menial services for it-that Senator
Mason is fine old Virginia gentleinan-and
that South Carolina is the very flower OF the
States, and the homo Of all true chvalry =
Or supposing his opinion and his feelings un-
changed, has he learned to quiet down his
tongue? Will he hereafter sit in the Senate
Chamber dumb lookcr-on, or if he speak per-
chance, will he aggravate his voice 80 that he
will roar the fierce Douglas AN t%erc any
nightingale Will Mr.. Sumner 60 back a
converted man or conquered man! Who
believes it? ...I,
The fact is incontcstiblc that when the Mas
sachusetts Senator again crosses the threshold
of that Senate Chamber, Slavery will have to
confront the most formidable foe it ever had
to face before the public eye. He will come
with every muscle braced and every snew
strung by the sehse Of measurcless personal
wrong;-but infinitely more than that, he
will come armed with the Indignation and
shielded by the moral support of tho whole
North. Hitherto he has figured but in one
character, the assailant of Slavery; henceforth
he will also be the accredited asscrtor and
champion Of the most sacred right offreedom
of speech, and as such will command ten-fold
greater consideration. His antagonists have
affected to despise him before, and to treat
him with scorn. ,,f'he day for that has passed.
The public man who has once been the occa-
sion of such an outburst Of sympathy from the
mouth Of millions upon millions Of his country
men, he is no longer man to be despised.-
He has henceforth position, power, and secu-
rity beyond any Of his advcrsares. Let his
sentiments by what they may, his free utter
ancc of them hereafter becomes an assured
thing, in SO much as that utterance will serve
as the best of all possible tests of that freedom
of debate which has once been outraged in his
person, and which it is the present dcterm-
nation Of tho North shall be maintained at all
hazards.
No greater mistake can be committed by
any ruling power than to give its adversaries
the chance Of identifying their peculiar cause
with an outraged constitutional principle
The friends of slavery in the House of Repre-
scntativcs did the institution immense mischief
twenty years ago in refusing to receive anti
slavery petitions; for they thus sent to the side
Of John Quincy Adams every man who cared
for the sacred right Of petition. They at last
saw their mistake, and gave way; but not
until their enemies had gained an immense
moral power from this cxtraneous issue. 1t
will prove just so in regard to this new issue
Of the freedom of speech in Congress. 1t is
infatuation for slavery men TO transfer the
struggle TO that ground. 1t covers principle
more calculated than any other to rally tho
North as one mnn against them-a principle
which they have been taught to believe; and
most religiously do believe, is of all others the
most vital TO liberty and humrn progress
The Constitution protects its exercise in Con-
gress in the most solemn words; and it cannot
be violated without absolute treason to the fun
damcntal law. The South may rely upon it
that the North will defenl tho right of free
speech in Congress with its utmost strength,
and that every interest which arrays itself a.
gainst this Constitutional right, becomes it
the very act hostile and traitorous interest.
Slavery has It's Constitutional projections,
but exemption from discussion is not ono of
them. There it is subject to the same liabil.
tiles as all other institutions, and like them,
too, its best peace lies in gi ing no occasion
for offcnse. Ifit desires Immunity in the halls
of Congress, II can Nave it OH no other condi-
ton than ceasing aggression. Ifit chooses to
break away from all the old legal restraints i'm
posed upon it with its own concurrence. and
to enter upon career ofconquest and violence
it must expect the most scatching rebukes and
the most relentless denuncations. Iii can
find justification in argument, let it justify it
self In that effort it shall have full swing
Guilty rs it is, no Northern man dreams of
with its right Of free speech. IL
that instrumcntality is not sufficient for its |
defence, It's cause is desperate. Ofcourse all |
discussion in Congress upon this subject, as
upon every other, is subject to parliamentary
regulations. There are rules Of order which |
ought never TO be ovcr-stcppcd, rules which
arc necessary for the preservation Of the digni-
Iy of every legislative body. We care not
how vigorously such rules are enforced, for
heir most rigorous enforcement can in no wise
restrict or embarass the legitimate freedom Of
debate secured by the Constitution. Mr..
Sumner has cvnccd quite as high respect for
hose rules as any Of his particular advcrsarics,
IND will be the last man in tho Senate to
complain Of their vory strictest applications, il
impartial and universal. We suppose that
10 is willing, We are certain that the North is
wiling that parliamentary rhetoric and logic
hould do their worst with him. What they
,annot do, nothing else can do. Any other
means will only recoil upon the cause which
Employs them IL Courier and Enquirer.
BRooKs TO HAVE GoLp GoBbEr.-At