Weekly hawk-eye and telegraph. [volume] (Burlington, Iowa) 1855-1857, 1856-06-04
THE CRIME.

Against this Territory, thus fortunate in posi-
ton and population, Crime has been commit
ted, which is without example in the records Of
the Past. Not in plundered provinces or in the
tiles Of selfish governors will you find its
parallel; and yet there is an ancient instance,
which may show at least the path Of justice. In
the terrible impeachment by which the great
Roman Orator has blasted through all time the
name of Varres amidst charges of robbery and
sacrilege, the enormity which most aroused the
indignant voice OF his accuSer, and which still
stands forth with greatest dstinctncss, arrcsting
the sympathetic Indignation of all who read the
| story, is that away i'll Sicily he had scourged
citizen ofRome-that the cry, 81 am Roman
citizen, had been interposed in vain against the
lash of the tyrant governor. Other charges
were that he had carried away productions of
art and that he had violated the sacred shrincs
1t was in the presence of the Roman Senate that
this arraignment proceeded; in temple of
the Forum; amidst crowds-such as no ora
tor had ever before drawn together-throng-
ing the porticos and colonnades, even clngng
to the house tops and neighboring slopes
under the anxious gaze of witnesses summoned
from the scene of crime. But an audience grand
er far, of higher dignity, of more various people
and of wider intelgence-the countless multi
| tudc of succeeding generations, in every land
| where eloquence has been stndied or where the
Roman name has been recognized, has listened
| to the accusation, and throbbed with condcmna-
ton OF the criminal. Sir, speaking in an age Of
light, and in land of constitutional liberty,
where the safe guards of elections are justly
placed among the highest triumphs Of civiliza-
ton, fearlessy assert that the wrongs CT much
abused Sicily, thus memorable in history, were
| small by the side of the wrongs of Kansas where
| the very shrines of popular institutions, more
fhon onu hna thnn nlfar hoto hon lnca
Grated; where the balloi-box, more precious
than any work, in ivory or marble, from the cum
ming hand of art, has been plnndered; and where
| the cry, II am an American CITIZEN" has been
interposed in vain against outrage ofevery kind,
even upon life itself. Are you against sacrilege
l present it for your execration. Are you
against robbery? hold it Up to your scoru.
Are you for the protection of American citizens?
l show you their dearest rights have been Glow
en- down, while 4 tyrannical usurpation has
sought to install itself on their very necks.
But the wickedness which l now begin to ex.
pose is immeasurably aggravated by the motive
which prompted it. Not in any common lust
for power did this uncommon tragedy have its
origin. If is the rape Of virgin Territory, COM
pelng it to the hateful embrace of Slavery; and
it may be clearly traced to depraved longing
fora new slave State, the hideous offspring oi
such crime, in the hope of adding to the power
of slavery in the National Government. Yes
sir, when the whole world alike Christian and
Turk, is rising up to condemn this wrong, and
to make it a kissing to the nations, here, in oul
Republic, force-aye, Sir, FoRcE-has been open
ly employed in compelling Kansas to the pollu
ton of slavery, all for the sake ofpoltical power
There is the simple fact, which you will vainly
attempt to deny, but which in itself presents ar
essential wickedness that makes other public
crimes seem like public virtues.
But this enormity, vast beyond comparison
swells to the dimensions of wickedness which
the imagination tolls in vain to grasp, when i
is understood that for this purpose are hazardcc
the horrors Of intestine feud, not only in thi
Territory, but everywhere throughout the eoun
try. Already the muster has begun. The strif,
is no longer local, but national. Even now, whil'
/ speak, portents hang on all the arches of tn
horizon, threatening to darken the broad land
which already yawns with mutterings of eivi
war. The fury of the propagandists of slavery
and the calm determination Of their opponents
are now diffnsed from the distant Territory owe
widespread communities, and the whole country
in all its extent-marshalling hostile divisions
and foreshadowing strife, which, unless bapp
ly ayerted by the triumph of freedom will be
come war-fratracidal, parricidal war-with Al
accumulated wiekedness beyond the wickednes
Oi any "sf III huiHau aiiuas justly pEoSoniii
the avenging Judgment OF Providence and tn
avenging pen Of history, and constituting
strife, in the language Of the ancient writer
more than foreign, more than social, more tha
civii; but something compounded of all thes
strifes, and in itself more than war; sed potia
commune qatoddam ex omnibus, plus guam be
tnm.
THE CRIMINAL.
Such is the Crime which you are to judge
. Bet the criminal also must be dragged into da,
that you may see and measure the power b
which all this wrong is Sustained. From no con
mon source could il proceed. In its perpe.r.
ton, was needed spirit Of vaulting ambitio
,rhich rnnId hesitate at nothing a ha rdihnnd .