Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1858-1860, 1858-12-03

\ went heart and soul into that-contest IN or
| der to ascertain whether or not there was any
common platform upon which Northern and
! Southern people may live in peace forever
under common constitution. .fApplanse-l
| I think am doing my opponent no injus-
tice when say that / had driven him step
| by step. from almost every plank in his plat
FORM Just at that point Mr.. Seward, the
| great leader of the Republican party. stepped
into the arena and made his Rocbesterspeech.
and held MP to the world the great creed that
| Mr. Lincoln was about abandoning on the
plains of illinois, Mr.. Stewards Rochester
| speech does not contain one new idea nor
| propositions; each and every one are taken
from the debategin the Illinois contest. and
! hence when that speech was made did feel
| rather desire to make the northern route to
| Washington to make one speech in reply to
| Stewards version of Lincoln's platform But
1 1t matters not whether the platform is made
] by Illinois or New York-whether by Lin
coin or Seward the standard-bearer.
| . The question is whether or not this novel
! doctrine of uniformity between local and do
mestic institutions shall prevail in this Gov
ernment or the old fashioned doctrine. the
| sovereign right of each state to decide for it
self shall he maintained forever in this Re-
public. IApplause.1 We have a proposition
| which Mr. Lincoln reviewed on behalf of the
Republican or Abolition party in the Illinois
| cOntest-a great crusade against the Supreme
/ Court on account of the bred Scott decision.
| Under that proposition various points were
/ made First, that the bred Scott decision
| is unjust, wicked and monstrous, because it
| was intended to deprive the negro of the BEN
| efts of that one clause of the Constitution of
1 the United States which declares that the cit
| liens of each State shall be entitled to all the
] privileges and -immunities of the citizens of
| the several States. In other words, that de-
cision intended to deprive the negro, slave or
free, of the benefits of citizenship. ] then
| stated, as now repeat, if such the OBJ
| iect or legal effect of the decision. it was the
| strongest argument that could be urged in
| support of its correctness. / hold that this
| government was made by white men. for the
| benefit of white men and their posterity: and
to be administered by white men and none
| other; and that the negro is not, cannot be-
| and never ought to be, citizen of the United
| States. [Cheers.1 / have had occasion to
advance that proposition in every political
| speech that have made for the last two years.
In reply to that proposition the Republicans
! have set formulas catechism. have an
! swered their speeches so many times cOuld
repeat the original speech. They begin by
| quoting the Declaration of Independence in
| these words: 1--WE hold these truths to he self
evident, that all men were created free and
| equal and that they were endowed by the
| Creator with certain inalienable rights. among
| which are life. liberty, and the pursuit OF hap
that all men are created free and equal? Is
| not negro man? If so. does not that de-
| clare that he is made equal to the white man?
Does it not say that equality is conferred by
divine power, and that equality is inaliena-
| ble?" Then they say, chow can you reduce
| him 10 condition of inferiority by human
law institution ?' BY that sylogism the
Abolitionists have succeeded in misleading a
| great many young children. great many old
! woman, and quite a number of weak old men.
| That process of reasoning is the whole capital
| stock in trade of the Abolitionists, and yet it
is susceptible of an answer--an answer sus-
tanned by the history of the country, as well
as by the experince of mankind.
| In the first place the Declaration of Inde-
pendence when it declared that all men were
| created equal had no reference to the negro;
were not talking of negroes nor thinking of
| them; they We're speaking of white men. men
Of European birth, European descent, strug-
| Cling for the rights of this continent against
the tyranny attempted to be imposed upon
them by the powers of the old world. And
hence they spoke of white men. that thew
were created equal, that is equal to their
brethren across the water. If you desire ev-
idence on that subject will present that tes-
tmony which have been in the habit of SUBJ
uniting to the AbOlitionists of the North in
confirmation of the correctness of their opin-
ion. ! remind those Aboitionists that when
the Declaration of Independence was put forth
every one of the thirteen colonies was a slave
holding colony. At that time every man
who signed the Declaration of Independence
represented a slave-holding constituency. Ap-
pealng to these facts, you prepared to say
that Thomas Jefferson was so great a hvpo-
critic as to suppose that his negro slaves were
his equal by divine right and yet hold them
in slavery the balance of his life. Are YOU
prepared to say that every one of those ven
Grated patriots who signed the Declaration of
Independence were such great hypocrites as
to say that the negroes were their equals and
yet never emancipated slave nor conferred
political equality upon them, those very facts
are sufficient to show that they had reference
to white men, and not TO negroes, and other
inferior races when they declared the equality
of all men.
Here l desire to say as / have said on all
occasions at the North that it does not follow
because negro is not our equal that there
fore he must necessarily be slave. On the
other hand have ever said and now repeat
to you that humanity requires that we. the
white men, should extend to the negro race
and to every other inferior race every immu-
nifty and facility which can be granted safely
and consistently with the good of the COM
munity where he lives. ICries of @good."l
Humanity aud christianity demand that
much at our hands. With reference to this
principle there will be, there can be no diff
is the nature and extent of the rights we
avow to extend to the negro My answer to
that question is this; it is a question which
each State under the Constitution has n light
to decide for itself We in Illinois have deci-
ded that question. We began as Territory,
establishing hereditary slavery within it and
maintaining il for twelve years, until we
found ii was not good for us to have slavery
and hence We abolished it.
When we abolished it we provided that the
State would not hold slaves, nor could the ne
gro hold citizenship there. will not stop to
inquire Of you whether you like or dislike that
system of policy which we adopt in Illinois.
l shall not discuss it for the reason that, with
all due respect it is none of your business
/ whether ii is a good policy or mob lIm-
mense applausel Ii is enough for my par
pose that Illinois is n sovereign State and by
virtue of her sovereignty, had the right 10
adopt that line of policy. Ii suits us, and
that is enough. whether il suits any one else
on earth or not. ILaughter.l II you peo-
pie OF Tennessee don't like our policy, just
stay at home aud let US alone. Having thus
settled our line of policy for ourselves in Illi-
nois, one that we believe to he just and pro-
per 10 ourselves. we have exhausted all the
power we have upon that subject. We have
nothing to say, whether slavery is right or
wrong, whether il is blessing or curse;
whether it is necessary or unnecessary in
other States. We say TO yon, gentlemen, do
as we did; work out your own salvation by
your own experience. If it is a blessing, hug
1t to your bosoms. III il is not-ifit Is n
curse. live under IL until you can dispose of
il as you may think best. All We ask is, that
we ia Illinois shall have the liberty to main
tain our own line of policy without the inter
ference OF New England on the one side, or
Southern States ON the other. | am aware
that our policy in regard 10 negroes differs
from every other State in the Union. In
New York they allow negro to vote II be
owns $3.50 worth of property. While l never
saw the wisdom or justice OF his voting at all,
and that Of making the property qualification
a test New York being a sovereign power, IL
she chooses 10 retain that line of policy. IL is
her business, not ours. In Maine they al
low the negro to vote on an equality with the
white man. While l would never permit a
negro 10 vote ut all. nor exercise any political
rights, nor be n citizen of any State, where
lcoald control il with nv vote vet IL Maine