Daily national Democrat., 1859-05-25
1ailp National ltmotrat.
SPEECH OF HON. JOHN HICKMAN.
Psfors the Democratic State Convention, at Har-
~ .ish,Lrn Pn AnrL Ii 1880

psf0rf the I6111OcfdtC oJdLe CO1GenttOf1, az IfdF
ris5urg, Pa, april Is, 1859.
Nh PRESIDENT AT this day, resolutions com
rlimentary to the present national administration
nav be pardoned, when proceeding from oficia
rronhants, but they can neither do good moi
Iorm The history of Mr.. Buchanan S executive
5ife has already been written, and too plainly tC
he obHterated by bribed euogy, or to be misun
Jorstood bv the people of this State and nation-
Neither political cOnjuration nor party magic car
make them forget the wicked violation of pied
COS the arrogance of boated power the prostltu
don of Congress, the prohigacy of departments
or the rapid and marked encroachments upor
nopular constitutional rights. Judgement, fina
iudcment, has been calmly and deliberately pass
cd upon this treason to the Democracy, this as
sociation of common honesty, and it is as irrever
sable as the DEGREES of God. 1t is wise, there
fore in this Convention, to speak the truth plain
". and to avoid the folly of an attempt TO cover
,ip an audacious criminality we must all con
demn.
By action of the 34th Congress, the complaint.
made by the residents of Kansas were ascertain
ed to be true. Although the South, by the egis
laton of 1854, was pledged to maintain the do
rnestc sovereignty Of the Territories, portion o
their people from Missouri entered upon the sol
of Kansas, and by force and fraud, seized the law
making power, stlled the voice of the majority
and enacted statutes disgraceful to the age and
nation. This fact, when legally revealed, made a
deep impression upon the public mind, and Mr.
Buchanan found it necessary, in order 10 carry
the election in his own State, to pledge himself
distinctly to the maintenance of the doctrine OF
popular sovereignty, and to defend the rights OF
those who had been thus ruhessly despoiled =
will not pretend to indicate the particular week.
ness in his nature that induced him to turn the
hand Of the suicide against his own fame, as it
matters little whether it arose from timidity, a
fear of his enemies outweighing a love of his
friends, careless disregard of fair dealing, or
nd itv il IN
that he deceived all our hopes, turned with the
blacklist ngratitude upon that seli-sacrificing
friendship by which he reached the goal of his
feversh ambition, and sought by all the means
within the reach of drunken and staggering au-
thoyity, to disgrace every man whom he can : de-
bauch. Suddenly, and as by the touch OF the
wand of the magician, he became transformed
from the sympatbser with down-trodden free
dom, TO the open and shameless defender OF ag-
gressive and law-defying slavery. The halls OF
the national Legislature were turned into marts
for conscience; he published his interpretations
of party principles and platforms with the arro-
gance of dictator; and commanded his subor-
dinates in office, and his coward slaves, to reter-
ate and proclaim his bulls Of party excommuni-
cation against all who were rash enough to follow
an independent judgment These acts of them.
selves are enough to sever allegiance. 1t would
be an ill-shapen manhood which could tolerate
them in silence But because we denouncc them
we are anathemised as rebellIous. We will see
where the rebellion will end. 1t will end in the
rupremacy of the law; in the integrity Of the
constitution; in the publication of parties in the
sworn loyalty of executives, and the vigorous
growth, material greatness, and eternal domin-
ance of the North; that is where it will end. Pop
ular sovereignty, invoked by the South, will be
defended by as, and it shall unfold the yelled, yet
dlmy discovered destiny of this great republic
We are battling for the right for the spirit of the
institutions our fathers established; let us feel
that we are doing this, and we will accomplish the
victory of our century. Not mere naked tri-
umph at the polls, but the great success after
wards-the untrammeled selfgovernment of man;
the dedication of continent to a consistent liber-
ty.
promises between us and the selEconsttuted ora
ces of the Democratic party, can have but fee
BILE appreciation of the real condition of things
When you can harmonic light and darkness, in
tegrity and corruption, the patriotic devotion of
the private citizen to the principles of our gov
eminent with TYRANNY worse than that of the
middle ages it will be time enough to cry peace.
Let this truth be made pr0minent-that there is
an eternal antagonsm between freedom and
slavery The constitution of the human mind
and human heart makes it inevitable; and that
the one or the other must eventually gain the as
cendancy. The struggle between them, but just
begun, is now going in our midst, and he is
but a superficial observer who does not discover
it. We have acted rably-benevolently.-
For long, long years we have defended the char
tered rights of our southern brethren; we have
even conceded their exactions; we have given
them all the advantages sprnging from unequal
legislation; we have changed policy to suit their
notions of interest, until having grown fat, they
demand as prerogatlve what granted n
favor, and having found President without af-
fectations a sworn officer not afraid of perjury,
willing to back their pretensions, they would
treat us as a common enemy, and brand our
names with indellible infamy. They have done
more they have gone farther; they have come
amongst u.s. and bribed cupdty with gold, am
bitiOn with promotion, and vanity with Temporal
nv consequence to do violence TO Justice Long
f0rbearance not only ceases to be a virtue, but it
becomes cowardly and base. The North has
rights, long in abeyance truly, vet not lost; we
will save them; by walls and fire and blood, il
need be, we will save them.
In what have Just said, would not be misun-
derstoOd | know cannot escape misrepresentl-
tion. would resist aggression on the part of the
South, not her constitutional guarantees and
would force plain, distinct, unequvocal recog-
milton OF the rightful claims of the Noath moth
ing more, nothing less Who can safely complain
OF thisS
wish could stop here, If this were all OF
the accusation, we might forget the past in the
eecise of profuse charity, but unfortunately, we
are not allowed to do so. A usurpation has been
accomplished which saps the very foundation OF
our political structure Mr.. Buchanan has de-
manded an absorption of the powers of Congress
in those of the executive. To carry out this
treachery to us, he has assailed the represents
tives of the people. He has brbed the venal, re-
warded the aspiring, alarmed the timid, and de-
ceived the honest By SUCH means was the Le
compton Constitution carried into a provisional
law, in contemptuous disregard of the known will
of the people upon whom it was imposed, and in
direct contravention of the letter and spirit of the
organic act itself The reason which prompted
the commission of the outrage is too manifest to
be doubted 1t was to purchase fattery of the
South to force slavery upon the soil of tho
North aud to strengthen and aggrandize one
section of the Union at the expense and hazard
ofthe other. Then, compliance with executive
behests was the test of Democracy, and to disre
gard them was apostacy More recently, however
when the recommendations of the President were
thought to favor the manufacturing and agricul
tural States-when the propriety of new tariff
law was suggested, and when the so-called Dem
Ocratc members OF the Senate and House Of Rep
resentatives, and even Cabinet officers, raised the
voice ofdenuncatory opposition, it all right
and rebellion became loyalty. And yet Penn
sylvanians see nothing wrong in this; nay, they
commend it. Chains never clanked upon the
limbs of beings more serve and debased. We
might perhaps, be able to open their eyes to the
truth and loosen their tongues TO utter it, by con
tnuing them in Office undera new administration
governed by more benign policy. II parties
with snch plastic notions shall be able TO 9raST
the control lnf our Government, then must the
strong empire of the North be dwarfed to barren
ness, and eighteen millions Of white slaves her
be be added TO four millions Of black slaves yOnder
aH~e 's indeed a strange illustration ofthe advan
e'ses y, Hee Government which proclaims ne
y oess'.y WI crushing out the inherent power Of
people by tashioning their institutions for them
requiring 1t to be sanctioned and VET allows onc
encourages denial of law bv which alone a hank
fupt treasury can be repenished and homes