The weekly Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1861, 1858-09-16
Governor COrwIn's Speech.

Governor COrWImS speech.
Some Of the Republican PAPERS say thu
D the political campaign on their part, wa
opened last Friday, by speech at Morrow
Warren county. II it be 80, il becomes i'm
portant to know what were the sentiment
e uttered by the great champion which wer
, considered as opening the campaign for III
, Black Republicans, and which of cours
must be held as the position of the party OF
the questions Of the day.
The positions Of Gov. Corwin are utterly
! at variance with the creed OF that party, a
, we will show, and they cannot accept hi
r views without an abandonment Of all tha
they have claimed since the organization O
their party. "No more slave States,' is no
his position, and therefore not Republican n
From the day of the formation of that party
its leaders, great and small, from Seward an
Chase, down to Campbell and Nichols, to
gether with the rank and file, have sworI
"by the eternal" that they would not consen
to the admission Of slave State, though al
the people in it should so desire. But ther
that position was a.false one, and must fal
before the march of truth. Hence the ne
cessity for the abandonment of those ground,
and the employment Of an old and experienc
ed politician TO seek out and occupy fol
them new positions. Gov. Corwin, after
ridiculing the attempts of the party to
make an issue out of "Lecompton," anc
making such managers as the Journal anC
Campbell clique, look very insignificant,
says of the Kansas apd Lecompton ques-
ton:
"But this question is decided on Monday.
He considered it settlement of the ques.
ton for years to come, and thought it time
to come to the consideration of questions oil
grave import. Why not harmonize the
North and South. The South is tired and
harrassed with the issue, for it has beaten
the whole Government. But if the people,
said he, have had fair vote upon the Le-
compton constitution, what have you or to
do with it! Nothing. They have the right
to form their own Constitution, with or
without slavery, and we have right to re-
ject their application for admission into this
Union; we would have no right in Ohio to
object, although every man would be at per.
feet liberty to express his sentiments upon
it. II you say you have q right to interfere,
then upon the same principle you cannot
deny the right of the Border Ruffians of
The Honorable gentleman then scatters
Black Republicanism to the winds, and pla-
ces himself upon the Democratic platform
in support of Popular Sovereignty. He
then says;
"Every State has the right to make its
own domestic institutions, frame it's own
laws. II you have the right to reject slave.
ry, you have the right to make it part of
your laws. If you are bound to either one
or the other OF those you have no will. Is
it not so! | have seen in the papers, or
heard it said, that ] am not good Republi-
can. | thought |; was, Laughter If it
be one of the dogmas of the Republican
party, that the people of State have not
right to settle this question themselves, then
| am not Republican. God help me, if
that is SO. can't help it. IA voice
"Good!"! hold that a Territory which
has the right to reject slavery has right to
adopt 1t, if it wills. | can't stand up and
say to the people, you have no right to make
your own institutions. You have a right to
come into the Union upon an equal footing
with the rest of the States, and it is clearjv
impossible for them to try to do so under
impositions restricting them to come in
without slavery, or to stay out altogether.
and if, unhappily Kansas shall wish to come
into the Union with the blight of slavery in
her constitution, clearly she has the right to
come in."
And further, upon the "Nigger question:"
he says:
"l am no immediate emancipationist.-
What would you do with the slaves!
know there are those who would saw, "Do
right and leave the rest to God" But how
to do right, is the question. You can eman.
clpate niger on sight, provided you cut
MS throat; does that remove the moral diff
Guilty. This is not question, however, for
US now to consider. | do not believe there
is a Republican in Ohio who claims the
right to interfere with the laws of Ken
lucky to emancipate her slaves, and SO the
question does not vex US. But further, in
relation to this question of admission of a
State with or without slavery. Suppose
that the people of the State OF Pennsylva-
MIA should change their Constitution and
introduce slavery. How would you meet
this difficulty! Ought you not upon the
of rejecting the application of
people with slave constitution for their
States, to possess the power to thrust out
State thus changing her organic Instrument. !
If State has the right to stay in thus to
send her Representatives to Congress,
where do you get the right to prohibit
3 tate from coming in? If you can't turn
out you can't keep out. But don't be-
leVe that it ever was principle or creed of
our fathers to reject State applying for
with co Institution adopting slav.
cry"
He then goes after what he is pleased to
call "Squatter Sovereignty" and combats
on idea, which certainly never originated
outside the Republican ranks, for no demo.
crat ever either originated or supported such
q proposition. He says;
awe are told that few men NAV settle
anywhere at the base of the Rocky Noun.
tains and make what laws they please, and
that Congress has no right to repeal them"
Now we can't imagine who told Governor
Corwin such thing. 1t may be one of the
secret articles in the Republican creed. He
did not find it in the Cincinnati Platform; of
this we are sure.
Mr. Corwin is strongly opposed to the
acquisition of any more territory. This
does not suit US, nor do we think it likely to
meet the appreciation OF Seward, and .those
who are in favor of the annexation of Can
ada and all North thereof.
We have thus given Gov. Corwin's views
and positions upon the agitating questions
OF the day; if the Republicans can stand
upon that platform let them; but they must