Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1858-11-18

lie. Applause And they will tell 20,
as often as you want to hear it, that the,
stand ready to sacrifice to the preservation
!, Of Slavery, the Union of these States an
the las. remnant of their liberties and re
publican institutions. tCheers.l Nobod.
can deny it. in the South Slavery over
rules everything else; Slavery rules il all.
And what about the North1 Look at thu
party in power! 1t considered the Missouri
; Compromise sacred compact as long al
it served to augment the number of Slave
States. II advocated the extension OF The
Missouri line to the Pacific Ocean, wher
BY that extension large territory nigh
be acquired for Slavery. 1t became sud
of the Missouri Compromise, and repealed
it, when that compact was to augment The
number of the Free States. 1t transmog.
riiec the face of Popular Sovereignty ten
times sccording to the pleasure of the slave
holders. II considered the population oi
Kansas numerically sufficient to form a
Slave Slate, but sadly insufficient to form
Free State. II lavished with unhe ard -ol
profigaey the money of the people for the
benefit of the slsveholding interest, and
treated the commercial interests of the
Free North with contempt. II applauded
the most fagrabt violations of the ballot
box. the most daring usurpations of power,
when they served the interests of Slavery
| fCheers.l And how are all these amazing
things effected. Look at the interior or
ganzation Of the party. No kingdom. no
hierarchy is ruled by more absolute des-
potism than that party is ruled by its lead
ers. AsI have shown, their principles are
shaped and remoddled according to the ar
biuary pleasure of the South, and the
mas es have but to obey, and they do obey.
They are watched and dogged like flock
of sheep, turned out to pasture to-day il.
order to be feeced to morrow Look at the
exec Itcr of John Calhoup's last will, in the
White House, who like an Oriental despot,
hurls his sndthemas and political DEATH
warrants where he cannot debauch the Con-
power and patronage he has transformed
into a vast machine of corruption in the
service of Slavery. Cast your eve where
yoa will, nothing but party despotism, moth
ing but the fiercest oppression of moral in
dependence, nothing but corruption organ
lied into system, and all this in the SER
vice of Slavery. VIII you deny it, Even
in The North, Slavery struggles to rule it
all. tGreat applause.
Where are we driftingi will not dwell
ON our perverted commercial policy, nor
On the question of internal improvements,
aud the like. ! will point out to you the
antagonism in which our political develop
ment is eniang!eG. s....- as
have often been told that the slavehold-
ers are right in restricting the liberties of
speech, and Of the press, &c, on the SUBJ
ject of Slavery; for those liberties. unre-
strained, would be real danger to them.
No doubt they would be danger, but there
is DO more crushing argument against
Slavery Than ihis-no more conclusive
proof of its entire incompatibility with true
democracy, whel an institution in society
cannot stand before the tribunal of free
speech and free press. The question
arises, shall we sacrifice our liberties 10
that institution, or that institution. to our
libertiesl [Cheers.] 1 hold that no inter
est DhicA is incompatible Dith a free erpres-
sibn of public opinion can haue right to
erist in democratic organization Of society.
[Great applause And if it does exist, it
Will be like chronic disease, or like an
ulcer lying underneath the skin, which
will leave no rest or comfort to the body
polite, until it is finally extirpatedsnG ex-
ipct. [Cheers.] 1t is in vain to paSsjsfe
the disease by artificial means. 1t wNI
break forth again and again with increased
fury; and will urge on and on to a final
crisis.
Aye, Sir, your standard bearer is right, in
spite Of Douglass sophistries. A house
that is divided against itself cannot stand
Loud cheers 1t cannot stand. 1t must
fall unless it cease to be divided. [Con-
tinued applause. By the memorable, un-
compromising logic Of things, we must
either go one way or the other; not as Mr..
Douglas tries to make you believe, make
all States slave OF free by force of arms,
tut we must either abandon the principle
of equal rights, even among 1hite men,
adapt the whole development Of our polti-
cal organization to the paramount interests
of privileged class of Shareholders, put the
liberties of'speech and press at the mercy
of the ruling power, and sacrifice our DEM
ocratic system of government to the aris-
tocratic and despotic tendencies of the
slaveholding system throughout, or we must
break tine political power OF Slavery in our
national concerns, and return to the origi-
nal principles on which this Republic was
founded. In oae word, we must formally
recognize Slavery as the ruling interest in
our national policy, or we must deny it the
recognition of any national right, and con-
fine it to merely loee! existence under
positive State legislation. Cheers This
is the alternative.
Now, quibble as you will, devise side is
sues and subterfuges, invent palliative rem
edies, delude others aud deluce yourselves
with fictitious compromises. This alterna-
live viii again and again push away all
your plausibilties and sophis,ries, and say
to you with the stern voice of inexorable
fate: Here TN L. You have not seen me
perhaps, but here am.'' Cheers] cd
And now there comes a man like Mr..
Douglas, who ought to understand the signs
of the times, and gives it as his opinion
,hst Slavery and Democracy, having lived
side by side these eighty years, may live
on thus, and that he does not see the in