Dayton daily empire. [volume] (Dayton [Ohio]) 1850-1865, 1859-12-14

upon the came list.
To my mind the condition Of our aifsir, was
never more alarming. The crisis has, Gomez
the impending crisis " not merely " Of the
South" but Of the whole country. The heed,
lssS may laugh; but leyity is as much out Of
place, at such a moment as this, as "in The
chambers Of death" The danger is at our
door. We must look il 10 the face snd II
there is yet a ray Of hope, ii becomes Us all TO
make 6nAl stand for the Constitution Of our
county, and 10 hurl from their high places in
the North the corrupt and ianateal authors Of
our woes.
The danger that threatens is dissolution. An
old cry, to be sure. But have our merchants,
bankers, mechanics, ever ssyiOnsly contemplated
Whist il meAnsH II means an enemy over the
line. II means war, with all its bloodshed,
dangers and priyations; with all ia risks to
our property. our lives aud our families; with
all its enormous taNations and depressions
even for q victorious army. It's train will be
rapiue, murder, aud servile insurreclion to the
South; rapine, murder aud stdrDadOn to the
laboring class Of the North Perhaps | am
"netv Gus" But, my dear friend, all these ter
ribls evils are this day hanging over our dep
voted heads more imminent because so few Of
us seem to know it, The conflict between the
two sections is eliminating 1t began long ago,
but is now at its height. Have you forgotten
the heroic struggles Of the gallant Clay when
the "irrepressible conflict was then pushed TO
The verge Of destruclionH 1t required all his
immense power, seconded by patriot Wings
and backed by the alspoweriul Democratic
army. to check for a while the budding
growth Of sectionalsm. Il was but for a
time. 1t has steadily grown until it stands
to-day the tallest oak in the forest. Look at
our present Congress and you see an almost
united North warring upon perfectly united
South. Where is the Tariff, the National
Bank. the Internal Improvement policyH Swtl
lowed up in the heated "irrepressible couhict,'
Lost sight Of in the bitter struggle of section
against section; cast away in the dangerous
strife Of brother against brother. Are not
those persons rather prophetic than nervous
10 their temperament who foresee in all this
disunion, ultimately, and finally, civil war p
Would to God that could be persuaded that
mine are only idle fears; that danger does not
threaten, and that our glorious country is des>
tined to outlive generations of such demagogues
as triHe with her existence now.
am glad to see such men as the editor Of
the Commercial fully alive to the state of af,
fairs. They have done the deed. Let them
contemplate, like Macbeth, the blood upon
their hands.
1t must be fearful alternative that drives
Southern men to disunion. Yet the violence
Of their enemies will leave them no choice
They are never to be at peace Aggression as,
sumes a hundred shapes. Language is tor,
tured to heap insult upon them. Threatening
petitions are thrown into their faces by a fanat.
icsl constituency. Their homes are flooded
with reviling and incendiary abolition docu>
ments, stirring up strife and commotion. They
are threatened with the abolition Of slavery in
the District Of Columbia, and with an interdict
upon the slave trade between their own States.
The fugitive slave law is denounced; its repeal
demanded; and its enforcement, in many inA
stances, opposed by insult contumely aud
open violence. The territories, purch ased by
the common purse OF the common blood Of the
country, are to be closed to them, and reserved
for Northern speculaling aid societies The
basis OF representation, established in and by
the Constitution itself. is openly and violently
attacked to secure = more powerful majority for
the aggressions Of lhe North. The Supreme
Court is TO be re modelled and filed with Judges
more remarkable for fanulicism than legal at
tAinments. No more slave States are to be adj
mitted into the Union. Helpers book, the Of
spring Of wicked aud diabolical hate, brimful
OF treason Of the worst kind. isopenly endorsed
and purchased TO manufacture Northern seuti,
menL Brown, the robber and murderer, put
ting into quick practice the precepts of his
leaders, and backed by Northern gold and
Northern steel, invades the soil OF Virginia
that mother Of States. the nursery of Southern
conservatism and loyalty to the Uniou, aud
meets out death to her quiet citizens because
they dare own slaves, Aud to crown all, when
he is captured, and glories in his felony, ond
tTpiates his crimes upon a deserved gallows,
preachers, lawyers, pretended statesmen and
Christians hold him up to the world as a mars
tyTed saint aud hero, boldly denouncing The
ministers Of the law as murderers aud assas
aims; and cowardly sympathizers. give their
covert approval in indecent asss ults upon the
people he wronged SO foully, and wreak their
petty spite in the slang ridicule Of the day.
ls not all this enough for men having even
Jobs patencef Have not our Southern breth.
ren honor and sensibilily1 Can they stand
insult day by day, and aggression year by Year,
Half such insult or such aggression from a for
sign power would have involved US in dozen
bitter wars.
My dear friend, cast your eye over the po
litical arena, and you will see that the day and
the hour has come when all this must cease if
We hope to live as brethren in one common
country and in the bonds Of fellowship. There
is peace yet; but war threatens. The great
and the patriotic see it. The Republican
masses begin to realize what seemed only a
dream. 1t is PalpAble to all eyes. The alarm
Is spreading far and wide. ray Of the light
has penetrated even the obscured and blind |
vision of the sneering editor Of the Commercial, |
What hope have we in these days? For one |
have confidence in the masses of the people. |
But the people will be too late. The leaders
Of the North have gone too far to take any |
backward steps, The people OF the South are
too much outraged to submit in patienee.-
There is only one hope--if it be not too lale-
and that hope lies in the success Of your party, |
my friend, aud mine. 1t belongs 20 no SECTION,
and knows no law but the Constitution. 1t /
AOurishes in the hot climates of the e'south, and !
il vigorous. hardy plant 10 the extreme cold |