The Cass County Republican. [volume] (Dowagiac, Mich.) 18??-1880, 1858-12-02
Speech of Mr. Seward, at Rochester, MY

Speech of Mr.. Seward, at Rochester, MY.
There was an immense meeting at
Rochester on Monday to listen to a
speech from Governor Seward. He
was greeted with overwhelming enthu-
siasm and spoke substantially as fol-
lows:
Eelloao CitizenS:-The unmistakea-
BILE outbreaks of zeal which occur all
around me, show that you are earnest
men-and such a man am /. Let, us,
therefore, ut least for time, pass by
all secondary and collateral questions,
whether of personal or general ma
ture, and consider the main subject of
the present canvass. The Democratic
party-or, to speak more accurately
the party which wears that attractive
name, is in possession of the Federal
Government. The Republicans pro-
pose to dislodge that party and dismiss
it from its high trust.
The main subject then is, whether
the Democratic party deserves to re-
tain the confidence of the American
people. In attempting to prove it un-
worthy, think am not actuated by
prejudice against that party, or by pre-
possessions in favor of it's adversary;
for | have learned by some experience,
that virtue and patriotism, and vice and
selishness, are found in all parties, and
that they differ less in their motives
than in the policies they pursue.
Our country is theatre which ex-
hibits, in full operation, two radically
different political systems - the one
resting on the basis of servile or Slave
Labor; the other on the basis of vol
untary labor of Freemen.
The laborers who are enslaved are
all negroes, or persons more or less
purely of African derivation. But this
is only accidental. The principle of
the system is, that labor, in every So
ciety, by whomsoever performed, is
necessarily unintellectual, groveling
and base, and that the laborer, equally
for his own good, and for the welfare
of the State, ought to be enslaved
The white laboring man, whether ma
tive or foreigner, is not enslaved only
because he cannot, as yet, be reduced
to bondage.
You need not be told now, that the
Slave System is the older of the two,
and that once it was universal. The
emancipation of our own ancestors,
Caucassians and Europeans, as they
were, hardly dates beyond a period of
five Hundred years. The great melio-
ration of human society which modern
times exhibit, is mainly due to the sub
stitution of the system of voluntary
labor for the old one of servile labor,
which has already taken place. This
African slave system is one which, in
its origin and growth, has been alto
gether foreign from the habits of the
races which colonized these States and
established civilization here. 1t was
introduced on this new continent as an
engine of conquest, and for the estab-
lishment of MOnarchical Power by the
Portuguese and the Spaniards, and was
rapidly extended by them over all South
America, Central America, Louisiana
and Mexico. Its legitimate fruits are
seen in the poverty, imbecility and
anarchy which now pervade all Portu-
guese and Spanish America. The Free
Labor system is of German extraction,
and it was established in our country
by emigrants from Sweden, Holland,
Germany, Great Britain and Ireland.
We Justly ascribe to its influence the
strength, wealth, greatness, intelligence
and freedom which the whole Ameri-
can people now enjoy. One of the
chief elements of the value of human
life is freedom in the pursuit of happi-
ness. The slave system is not only
intolerant, unjust and inhuman towards
the laborer, whom, only because he is
laborer, it loads down with chains
and converts into merchandise, but
scarcely less so the freeman, to whom,
only because he is a laborer, from ne
cessity, is denied facilities for employ
ment, and whom it expels from the
community because it cannot enslave
and convert him into merchandise also.
1t is necessarily improvident and ruin
Gus, because, as general truth, com
munities prosper and flourish or droop
and decline in jlst the degree that they
practice or neglect to practice the pri-
mary duties of justice and humanity.
The free labor system conforms to the
divine law of equality, which is writ
ten in the hearts and consciences Of
men, and is therefore always and every.
where benefcient.
The slave system is one of constant
danger, distrust, suspicion and watch
fulness. 1t debases those whose tot
alone can produce wealth and resour
ces for defence, TO the lowest decree n