The weekly Anglo-African., 1859-09-24

range of vision enables them to descry, as
in the strong, clear light of eternity, the re-
sistless undercurrent which is upheaving
the foundation of our already diseased and
tottering body polite, will find no difficulty
in discerning and asserting to the correct
ness of this plain and positive declaration.
These are aware of the fact that the ques-
ton of the life or the death Of liberty in
these United States is the all-absorbing,
aye, the test question in American poh-
tics.
On the part of majority of those CON-
posing the Democratic party, there is man
ifestly disposition to ignore the real issue
and substitute some other in its stead A
few bold and determined Southern politi-
clans do not hesitate to avow their inten-
ton and determination to makeslavery the
God over all and blessed forevermore"
of this Republic, and to compel men and
women everywhere in the land to fall
down and worship this incarnation of crime
and corruption-this embodiment of death
and damnation. But a majority of the
slaveocratic party, both at the North and
at the South, hesitate, for certain reasons,
to make this candid avowal.
The Republican party is likewise fear
full, but for a different reason, of a presen-
tation of the only true, living, real issue.
With few exceptions, its leaders are not dis
posed to take the broad, consistent, andright-
eous ground of deposition to the existence of
slavery. They prefer to harp upon the
popular and palatable doctrine of its nom
extension to the Territories of the Repub-
lie, and appear exceedingly afraid of the
imputation of Abolitionism. They talk of
the shareholders rights w'ader the CoaSti-
tuition" about as hippantlya as the slayehold-
ers do themselves. But if they were to in
terpret the Constitution in accordance with
the well established rules of legal herme-
neutics, they would discover that the slave
holder, as such, has no more rights under
the Constitution than he has under the
shadow of the protecting wing of Heaven
has no more right, as q shareholder, a
human flesh jobber, to live in the Republic,
under Constitution ordained to cSt0b-
tiSh justace' and secure liberty" than a
wolf has in the cradle of a newborn babe
Now, the Republican party is the only
political party in the land in position,
numerically speaking, to strike a death
blow to American slavery-such blow as
will send it staggering to hell. 1t is i'm
portant, then, that it assumes defensible
and right position in the present conflict.
1t does not deserve success, it ought not
expect success, while in the occupancy of
any other position 4. / believe it will take
such position. 1t must do so in order to
preserve its distinctiveness, its vitality. If
it is not right, let AbolitionistS strive to
make it right. More can be accomplished
on the part of those who are right, by 60
ing into the party and renovating and rev.
authorizing it, than by standing outside
harping upon beautiful theory, but with
out the requisite machinery to crystalize it
into practical life. If slavery is to be vot-
ed down in this Republic, it becomes a
question of arithmetic We must look at
this question from the stand point of COM
mon sense, and the single rule. of three.
1t is my opinion, founded upon actual
observation, that the masses of the people
of the free States are prepared to act in
the right direction. / have just returned
from a lecturing tour of four weeks through
the Western part of this State and Yer
mont. What do find to be the fact ?
That the most radical utterances which es-
capped my lips were the most cordially re-
ceived and the most loudly applauded
Now, to those who reason from premise to
conclusion, this is a fact truly significant
fact which means something.
Let us, then, repeat it, state the issue
boldly. Let the people thoroughly under
stand it, and they will lead their leaders,
and lead them on to victory. We all
know that such are the dissimilarity and
consequent antagOnism existing between
liberty and slavery, that there never can
be reconciliation between them While
slavery is allowed to exist anywhere inthe
land, it tciu develope itself; it aoiH breathe
its pestilential breath into the nations
lungs; it aoiU cast its murky shadow across
the path of liberty. Such is its nature.
Just so with the spirit of liberty. 1t is
Jealous of its honor. The envenomed ha-
tired of its antagonist cannot fail to be most
cordially reciprocated. The two must be
in perpetual conflict, in conformity with