The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1858-12-04

2 NNN' PNlWHufuNg tAlhlNl i"ftlhff ll on"
D country, and hcy Berrr caH. Il would be
% The iUec0Ucilable contrast between their great
I principles and characteristics, Bat the eX-
, prrlence Of mankind has couclusiyey cstah-
lished ID, Slavery, have already lutina-
ted, existed iH every State Ia Europe. Free
labor hns supplautel h every WIseru except in
. husa,a and Turkey. state peoesslies, do
tSelapei i0 modern iimssi $40 EoW GhliRiHR
even those tRu nations a. encourage and em-
plly llrr labor, and already, dospOiio ak they,
are We Lud thrm engaged in ,nbolshing
slHNhy Ia The United States slavery came
into collision with free labor ~ the close of
the last century, and fell before Il in Now
England Nrw York, New Jersey, and Penn
silyhpIl, but triumphcd over Il eilecWaliy
and excluded u for period yet uudotermiu-
cd, from Virginia, the Cafolinas and Georgia.
Indeed, 30 Incompatible are the two systems
that every nuw State which l. organized with
in our cyer-cXlcndiug domain makes its frat
political act choice of ono and an exclusion
Of tho other, cVen AZ the cost uf civil war, a
necessary The slave states, without law, az
the last national election, forbade, V.,hin
their own limits, even the casting Of votes for
= candidate lor President Of the United States
supposed "a be- favorable 20 the establishment
ct the free labor system Ia now States,
Hitherto the two systems hhVo existed iu
different Satcs, but ,idc by side, within the
American Union, This has happened because
the Union 10 q confederation of States. liut
~ another aspect, the United States constitute
only one nation. Increase Of populatnn
which u filling the States out 20 their very
J bordets, together with new and extended
network oi railroads md other avenues, aud
/ Hn internal commerce which daily becomes
more intimate, l. rapidly bringing thr States
into higher and more perfect social unity ~
consolidation. Thus these Hnngonistio sys-
toms are continually coming into closer con-
tact aud collision results.
Shall tell you lil this collision means ?
They Who think that IL T. accidental. unncccs-
surj, the work Of interested uT mnntical agiri-
tor', aud therefore cphcmcral, mistake the
ctss Altogether IL il an iUcprcssblc conflict
between opposing aud enduring forces aud 10 |
means that the IHiied sfrfcs must u,d rriR.
sooHcT ar idicr becomc entirely a sLirehoid- |
Vi4 nation or cIhiroY u free iabor HaiioH !
Either the cotton aud rice fields Of South
Carolina and the Sugar plantations Of Loui,i. |
ana viii ultimately bc Tiled hy free labor, /
gud tharlr stou aud New Orleans become /
maris for legitimate mcachin alone, ot
else the rye fields and wheat fields Of Massa. |
chusetts -ad New Nork riust again he sur.
rendered by their farmers 90 slave culturcI
and io the production OF slaves, aud Boston /
aud New York become once more markets |
for trade iu the bodies and souls 81 mrn. II /
i~ the failure 90 ApprthCnd this great truth I
that induces 40 many unsuccessful attcmuts /
at iiu,d compromise between the slave and .
free Statcs, and II iS the existence Of this /
s',et fnst that i,plria al nUcu pro.oua,d [
compromisc, when made vain and cphcmcral I
Startling - t!is saying may appear To YOU, |
icl.oW-cltiIcBs, II Is 10y no means an original |
ur oven modern one. Our iorciathcrs |
knew 30 to bc true, and unanimously acted |
upon IL, when they framed The Constitution I
OF the nI,rd States. They regarded the I
existence ol the sgr,ilc syAten IN An many of ]
the states With sorrow and shame, which |
they openly confessed, aud they Looked urou |
Hhc collision between them, which was then |
lust revealing itself aud which We are nov /
accustomed 10 dcrlorc, with'ia,or and hope /
fh,!skupW that cthc. The one or the othcfT
system must exclusively prevail.
Unlike too many of those who, in modern /
time, invoke their authority, they had q choice /
between the Two. They preferred the ,y>tcm .
oi free labor, and they determined so TO or /
gguI1r the government, aud so to direct it, |
activity, that that system should surely pre- .
vail For this purpose and no other, tho, .
based the whole structur, of government .
broadly on the principle tnnt all men are |
created equal, and, therefore, frcc--litlr /
dreaming that within the short period of one |
hundred wears their descendants would bear I
lu hc told toy any orator, however popular. 1
that the utterante of that princi pie was mere. .
N rhetorical rhapsody or by ANY Judge, .
-ho"-'~ -vaRersted, thai il U4S- attended hl .
mental reservations, which render it hypocri. 2
ticd aud false. by the Ordinance OF 1857, |
they dedicated all of the national domain, not .
yet polluted 10y slavery, To free labor immrli- |
atcly, thCncciorih and forever. while. the new /
Constitution and laws, they invited foreign
free lubor FROM ii iatttl- tttdrr the. uttt
interdictcd the importation Of African slave
t.I. IA D HI. D Al
circumstance Whatsoever. 1t is true thnt
they necessarily and wisely modified this poll
cy Of freedom, by leaving it To the several
States, affected as they were by differing cir
cumstanccs, To abolish slavery in their own
way aud at their own pleasure, instead Of
contding that duty To Congress, aud that they
secured to the slave States, while yet retain
ing the system of slavery, threc-inhs repre-.
scntatiun OF slaves in the Federal Govern.
ment, until they should find themselves able
to relnquish it with safety. But the very
nature of these notifications fortiics my
position that the fathers knew that the two
systems could not endure within the Union,
and expected that within short period slave
ry would disappear forever. Moreover, in
order that these notifications might not
altogether defeat their grand design OF Re.
public maintaining universal equality, they
provided that two-thirds of the States might
amend the Constitution.
1t remains to say this point only one
word to guard against misapprchension. il
these States are again to become universally
slaveholding, | do not pretend to say with
what violations of the Constitution that end +
shall be accomplished. On the other hand,
while do confidently believe and hope that
my country will yet become a land of unvcr-
sal freedom, 4 d0 not erpect that IL iciH be
made so otherutse than through the acfioa of
hASecerai states, cooperating ,cith the Federal
G0uer7'ment and all acting ia strict con torBui-
N toiih their constitutions.
The strife and contentious concerning
slavery, which gently disposed persons habitu-
ally deprecate is nothing more than the