The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1858-11-17
MR. SEWARD INrERpRErED BY THE TRIBUNE. i

The MlcoOUhl OOhlfiNobiioE NAo hiohi
MR. SEWARD is RIGHT
1t is remarkable feature Of intellectual life that
every great effort of requires subsequent inter
probation We now have the Tribune's semi-oficial
commentaries upon Mr.. Stewards Rochester Mani
festoj and distinct enunciation of the principle
that the American people no longer expected to
maintain the federal Union--that they are engaged
in "momentous struggle" amongst themselves in
volving the end of absolute freedom absolute
slavery to ALL This struggle ID declared to underie
all our political contests, and of course to control
them. But we prefer that the Tribune should state
the case
4. This country is the Of momentous
struggle between freedom and slavery q This struggle
underlies and animates all political contests B. 1t
must in the nature of things be prosecuted until free
dom slavery shall have completely rumphed 4
Should slavery thus triumph, he GOV. 81 will bid adcu
to his native land and seek home in some other where
man is not chattel-where the image aod is not law
full and current merchandise
This is plain language and fan we see, is fair
presentation of Gov. Stewards Rochester manifesto
II is explicit, 1t repudiates all parties and
politics The 'momentous struggle between Free
dom and Slavery underles and is superior to call our
political contests" The work of maintaining the
ton, if not vain and silly by-pay. Mr. Seward is
recruiting for soldiers to fight his countrymen, not
for patriots to uphold tho integrity of the federal
Union. He is for war; involving the sacrifice Of all
our material interests, our national fame, the
matchess glory OF our career as people our wealth,
prosperity and happiness, and above all, power,
to serve the great of freedom throughout the
vrnrld Mr. Saward will do us tha iustica To admit
that we have again and again declared that it was
the ultimate design of his party to force on "mo
mentous struggle between the free and slave States
of the Union. Without this end in view his labors
and those Of his party pontless, desultory and
capricous They have long since known that
the field of controversy about slavery in the
Territories was utterly barren of all political
fruit. They have used that issue means
to an end--as ladder aiding them to ascend to a
commanding position such that from which Mr..
Seward discharged his Rochester artillery. And
what is that position The announcement of a emo
mentous struggle" between the North and the South
already commenced and which, sin the nature of
things must be prosecuted until Freedom or Slavery
shall have completely triumlhed." What is this but
calling for recruits to make upon the institu
tons of the country Ia there man amongst us 80
thoughtless, 30 ignorant or so abjecty fanacal as
to be unable to see that momentous and perpetual
struggle between the two sections of the Union upon
the question of maintaining the existing political
system of the United States--the absolute sove-
reignty Of the States and their exclusive jurisdiction
and control of the institution of slavery-must end
in the overthrow of the federal constitution 1t is
IlL - -.
table fruit of the struggle referred to- That how
ever we take it, comes within the scope of Mr..
Stewards policy. He is too sagacious not to see
that the sacrifice of the existing government is the
price he and his friends must pay in order to
achieve his Triumph of Freedom" 1....H
Let us grant to Mr., Seward this success in the
prosecution of his "strugge"wo mean, of course,
the overthrow Of the government-how, them will he
proceed in his bloody work of subduing the States
which legalze slavery Let him command the
northern people to Withdraw their allegiance from
the Union, and array themselves in hostility to the
people of the South---wl he and they accomplish
more than the rupture of our federal relations? We
concede that the weakest fertilization in the way of
Mr. Stewards invading force is the constitution of
the United States That compact is animated by the
popular mind and is, in the nature of things subject
more or less, to the control and we may add, where
il is perverted misdrected to the damage of that
mind. We have belief however, that it is in the
power of Mr.. Seward the Tribune, with all their
conceded credit amongst the fanatics and madmen of
the North, to impair the patriotism of majority of
the northern people, much less to wed them to the
bloody programme announced in the Rochester man