Fremont journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County [Ohio]) 1853-1866, 1856-04-25
THE COMING CONTEST.

l luC AEsou'tS 'to " IOllSJ IiIAS ftuu PidSS'
THE COMING CONTEST.
The coming Presidential contest will ex
eel in bitterness, in the Importance of til,
principles at stake, and in far reaching re
suits, all that have gone before it. 1t is t,
be the death struggle in this land between
the demon of slavery and the spirit of liber
ty, between an aristocracy of 1000 slave
holders and 100000 oficeholders on one
side, and the reused and indignant million:
of freemen on the other. This contest ha;
been going on, sometimes secretly, some
times openly, ever since the formation oi
this Union. At last the slave power has
thrown of fall disguise, cast away all COM
promises, and now demands the control oi
the Federal Government, as security for its
existence where it is, and for its extension
into new regions The party of despotism
and the party of liberty are now formed,
and the contest which is to give freedom OF
slavery to vast regions, is approaching. In
this contest no quarter is asked and none
will be given. If the party of slavery con
quers, no man suspected of love of liberty
can hold Office. The Shareholders will ride
over the free north as they now do over the
PROSTATE millions of slaves. They have re-
solved to possess the new territories, and "to
subdue" those who oppose them. They
They mean that slave shall be no near
er freedom in Ohio than in Kentucky; that
the master shall bring his slave into free
State and hold him as long as he wishes ;
that citizen of Ohio who shall be guilty
of aiding a slave to escape shall be liable to
indictment under the laws of a southern
state, and a trial by a southern jury. These
points secured, the triumph of the slave
aristocracy, and the Office holding dcmocra-
cy will be complete. Then Toombs may
call the roll of his slaves on Bunker Hill;
then Cushing may 'crush OUT the men who
dare peep against the slave oligarchy; then
the north will trcmble through all her hills
and valleys, at the nod of southern nabobs
who own thousand slaves piece. This
is the millennium for which $4,000 slave
holders are praying.
But if the party of freedom conquers,
slavery will be shut up in its present limits,
and ike a viper in a circle of flame, must
there writhe and die We mean that the
new territories shall be free states; that
the north shall not be hunting ground for
men and women, seeking freedom; that no
slave shall breathe in free state; that no
citizen of free state shall be punished for
loving liberty for himself and his neighbor.
To establish these principles, the people,
the working millions, are gathering in bat
tic array. They are learning that the work
of the Revolution is not finished; these
great truths are not yet fully established,
chat all men are created equal; that they
are endowed by their Creator with unalien-
able rights; that among these are life, lib
crty, and the pursuit of happiness" The
battles of liberty are to be fought over again,
with bloodless weapons it may be, but with
such as the men of Lawrence withstood the
ruffians of Missouri, if it must be.
1t is in vain that the office holding Gemoc-
racy tell us that it is only the liberty of
few ''niggers" that is at stake. If slavery
is right for the black man, might may make
it equally right for the poor white man.
Hence the principal organ of the slavehold-
ers recently said 'that slavery is not limited
to color" How can it be, when there is
scarcely slave at the south without white
blood in his veins. In thousands of cases
descent alone determines that drop of Af-
rican blood remains. This bleaching pro-
cess is going on as fast as lust and avarico
can urge it. Where then would tho slave
driver find his victims, if slavery is to be
limited by color!
Nor can the people be deceived by the
false and hypocriticalappeal ofpopular SOW
crcignty. They know that a majority can
not take away ''unalienablc" rights; and if
it can, then farewell to liberty.
The question is shall slavery be lcgalized,
sanctioned, extended and rendered perpetu-
al, by tho power of these United States
If this is to be- then this land is to see an
aristocracy of greater pride, and despo-
tisln of greater cruelty, than the world has
vet witnessed