Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1857-03-12

finds favor in Missouri by the late proceed
ings of the two Houses of the Legislature in
Joint session for the election of Bank Direc.
tors VIM. Palm, of St. Louis, was nomi.
mated as one of the said Directors. Nr.
Blow, of St. Louis, objected to Mr.. Palm on
the ground that he was an avowed emanci-
pat ionist. as shown by the following para
graph in a letter to the New York Journal
of Commerce:
at is well known here that am in favor
of the gradual abolition of slavery in ,,thir
State, comb ined with the removal of the
negroes without our border, and that I an.
ready to make sacrifices for the same"
Mr.. Blow in consequence nominated G
consistent Democrat of the ro-slavery
stamp, Mr.. Ryland. The vote stood Palm,
80, Ryland 49,
Col. Benton at the late gubernatorial elec-
ton received about thirty thousand votes in
the State, and as Soth he and his friends are
bitterly opposed to the opposite wing of the
party, it is not unreasonable to suppose
that with very many, il not all Of them, this
emancipation scheme will grow more and
more into favor.
That it would be voted down BY a heavy
majority, should the question be submitted
to tFe people, we have not the least doubt 4,
still that such proposition should be grave
ly proposed, and receive the support of even
a small minority in a slavsholdinp State.
upon the heels Of the excitement which n
few months ago existed, and of the efforts
that were made in that State to extend sla-
very, is most pregnant circumstance, and
well calculated to arrest public attention
1t affords PRACTICAL and most powerful CON-
nentary upon the hurtful consequences to
the South of the perpetual agitation within
her borders of the slavery question by politi-
cians seeking TO make it stepping stone to
place and power. 1t strongly illustrates,
too, the tendencies and results of extreme
measures and fanatical opinions on the SUBJ
ject. The South should learn from it some
important lessons, and profit by them. 1t
should begin TO End out who are it's real
friends, and what is the path of safety and of
true advancement. II should set its face
like flint against all exrraordinary measures
and extreme opinions in relation to the in
StitutiOn of slavery under whatever specious
pretexts they may be urged, a. certain in
the end to result in disaster, aud to retsrd
the general prosperity.
! We can scarcely refrain in this connec-
tion from referring to the effects of the late
| proposition to reopen the slave trade, if it
had met with the general appreciation of the
Southern people, instead of unqualified and
almost unanimous reprobation. Had the
measure been decided upon by the united
Soui h, and the attempt to carry il into exc
cution actually been made, it would have
resulted, in our judgment, in the final ex.
tinction of slavery, carrying along with it of
course the great material interests now
bound up with the system. II would have
reused into uncomfortable fury not only al I
the free States and Territories of the Union,
but the whole civilized world. We presume
however, that this consideration would have
been considered a very trivial one by the
very saPient half dozen patriots who zeal
ously advocated the proposition. They
doubtless considered themselves more than
match for the North, England, France,
I
would suppose to hear them talk, that they
were able to demolish the British army with
a MULLEN stalk, and sink her navy with a
cypress canoe. The Southern extremists
never admit any plea of srpediency what
ever. Oh, no that would be coming down
irom their lofty posiiioEs, quite humilia-
ting. Il a man should be certain of falling
and breaking his neck by pursuing a given
Pah 1t would argue very culpabie sban-
comment of principle, and an entire want of
chiraIry to turn aside in order to steer clear
OF the danger, of course. Don Quxote is
certainly too much neglected. He was q
model 6liibuster, immensely valiant, hugely
patriotic, gallant, sagaeious, and Fighter of
wrongs generally. His friends and 70 llow-
ers should closely study the Character Of
their great prototype.