New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1857-01-08


,o,. with alarms. and stands in dread Of the han
bier quarter houses. There Is revolution pan
ming IN the garrett, and a gunpowder-pot IN the
cellar Betty il putting arsenic into the coup IN toe
kitchen. and Sam IL secreting rusty musket In the
stable. All this reconciIes Va 10 blunder ng irsh
servants, to half-cooked breakfasts, and TO ooos
,lly-polisbed-to the innumerabe inconveniences
attending free service on which our Southern
friends are perpetuslly descantiDg. There
pleasure in feeling toleraby safe, and there Is
rapture in the conviction that your throat Is
decently secure from the knife Of the assassin.
How easily the STAKEHOLDER is frightened, and
bow thoroughly, helpessly and hopeleSSly be Is
frightened, is proved by the Astounding willing
Iess which be exhibits TO hang his two-iegged
cb.tten. His public spirit in this regard is re-
markab!e; AID the recent alarms Of insurrection
have furnished US with many notable instances OF
such nagnaniuity. To kill dog thst has worried
your sheep is not uncommon: but thep, no dog 10
worth one thousand hard Federal dolsrs, nor BIAS
Gov. Wise made any pleasing prophecy OF rise
in the canine market The truth IL, thai all The
fuss and furry, the public palpltation and
panic. the excitement and the executions which We
have witnessed prove, with rightly of logic of
which statistics would be incapable, the piaable
weakness of the slave system. Such events as those
which we baye been compelled to record, furnish
refutaton of all apologies, excuses, extenuatons
and arguments. They knock our twatdllng iren''
M Richard Yesdon, fiat as his Own style; they
make ludicrous the elegant simphclues oil Mr'
Simms and they demolish the card'casiie theories
of Mr.. Calhoun, reared with so much pains and
at such expense of time, of thought and OF inge-
nuty And most especially do they diss'Pate the
Abrabamc fancies Of good President Lord, who,
tn great deal of theology and an infnitesmal in
fusion of Christianity, has proved black to be white
% the satisfaction Of himself Of six other Doctors
Of Divinity. and of The Journal Of Commerce. In
bis multitude Of bOndmen the patriarch found
strength; but the bigger the gang of field hands and
of house bands upon plantation, the greater tho
weakness of the whole establishment; while in
South Carolina, where this species of property has
reached a D int beyond which accumulation seems
impossible they are in the last stages OF constructive
psupersm, and would not have dot wherewith to
cross themselves, did they not keep watch and
ward over it with blades and blunderbusses. Bat
who can imagine Abraham walking about his sheep
fold with revolver 10 each hand and a bowie
knife between his reverend teeth
We have said that these instructions, as they
are called, or rather the fear of them, demonstrate
the weakness of the whole system of Slavery
weakness which ramifes in every direction, and is
felt in finance and in faith; in personal character
and in the public character; in manners, habits,
and all the phenomena of social life. This Ii g nj
nently true Of il in time OF peace, II such time
can be said ever to exist at the South. While We
have no pressure from without, and no extraordi
nary demands upon our resources, an indulgence in
dreary stupidties may be comparatively harmless.
But war is by means impossible. We have
vapored aud staggered, and played pistol: we
b.Ae INDUCED in the pleasing luxury Of Ostend
ManifestOs, and in theory at least we have demol'
shed most Of the reigning dynasties OF Europe,
Just as efiectualy as We demolished Greytown.
But suppose, after all this theatrical display, the
hard stern reality should come Suppose the
dogs of war should become too strong for the
Marcy Of future period, or should grow FESTIVE in
their leashes, with no PalmerstOn to restrain them
We have said that hoStillties were by no means i'm
possible; and, in fact, nothing but change in the
national policy can render them otherwise than
probable. Have our rulers, or rather have our
readers who make and unmake rulers considered
how frChtful would be the results Of an invasion OF
the Southern country That there would be in
vsson nobody can doubt; nor can any one suppose
that a sagacous enemy would strike at us in the
strongest place Then indeed, the nObeSt natural
II ,,,l,, -. he
terest curse. 1t would be better to be without
great CULTS if they only invited the menacins fleets
of the enemy; wi bout mighty rivers, if they only
served for the transportation of hostile hOtlla.
And 10 what situation would the South be for de-
Tense Witha sparse white population, extending
over an immense tract of country the repusiOn OF
amtary and naval force would be, under ordinary
circumstances, difficult; but how those dlffcul.
ties increased and complicated by the presence OF
masses of irritated aud despsTng men, hopeless OF
happiness save from the ruin of country which
has proved TO them only stOny-hearted step
mother The imagination shrinks from the con-
temptation of scenes in which the inevitable horrors
of war are aggravated by servlle insurrechon-
from scenes of confaeratiOn massacre and wide
spread ruin-of blazing towns and rayaged panta-
tons. 1t is not enough to say that, in such con-
test We should be victorious for victory would be
obtained at an expense frghtul to estimate; at the
cost of depleted treasury, at the greater cost of
thousands upon thousands of valuable lives Those
who sneeringly ask us what the North has to do
with Slavery had better devote few moments OF
leisure, if they have any to contemplation of
these contingencies; and, should they experience
any difficulty in coming TO conclusion, we have