New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1859-10-20
Nrtu1lurk Daily Gribn,re
TIE PRESENT ASPECT OF SLAVERY
LECTURE BY GEORGE ". CURTIS, ESQ

vss d-liv, red on Tuesday evening By MI Georse W.
Curtis III Piymou Church the Rev Henry "Ad
Beschers 20 large s1d,euce. Onenouceso.e festure
n this Of lectures is the fee music upon tue
organ before each ,e re- which serves very pleasant
j. to occupy the hour While wsiug for the speaker
Mr.. Cults received win greetings OF sppla1se
s. be entered the pvl,it.
Mr. Theodore Tl,or, in announcing the Lecturer,
sad that ne was happy 10 ntroiu,e him 20 81 aoti'
ence in which be would lot fsi 70 recognize Our
Best Society, and 20 pulpit in which they never
bad the preaching OF the Rev. Cream Cheese
Laughter
Mr. Curtis said, bs. the topic Of discussion sni the
welcome be received showed clearly that whatever
doubt there mg5, be in any mind IS 20 The bresdth
Of the Church which usually assembled in that house,
there could be 10 doubt shout tue Lyceum being
bIosd enough. lecture ca The Slavery ques'
tion, he ssid, necessarily political speech; who
speaks on the morsls and economy ct Slavery In
this country inevitably talks poilcs. lie should speak
in the psinest msorer regsrked persons, pracpes,
srd parties. bu hoped TO be neither unjast nor an
truthful. He repuosted the idea thst any question
involving any right OF any human being could be
cue tiCn o. mere Do itical expedeucy aud ory nj 10
be discussed in Caucuses snj bN.roo@s by pohtlcisns
and men who are Known not 10 believe whst tney say.
As the platform on which he stood rad not broken
down under that preaching which asserts tha, Al mep,
he inferred that l. would hot give way under lecture
upon thoee relations IN which we're interested alike
In human liberty al human society there can be but
ore true political phi'oeopby ana but two great pollu'
cal psres-ote party asserting the liberty and equality
OF human rights ana the Other under whatever came,
supporting the despo'ic principle thS men nsve no
ora rights but only such ~ society cho 10 con-
fer. There s, TO doubt third party, because there
are three ways Of looking az thing one In looking s
t. ore in locking away from II and third IN shutting
the eyes completely. Inc tao first ale positive po~-
ers; the last is mi resou'e, unsu osantis in body,
awsys poor in numbers, fesbe in policy, po~erless to-
dsv and ridiculous tomorrow. The two great parties
look al this great evil evil of the body " II is
cancer slowly consuming the substance OF life, says
cns :" moItsl disease that will end in hideous death
if il is not cured Cancer cancer saysthe other;
1T is 10 such thing; It IL ouly mere cutsneous
irritation only skin deep, ana only affecting certain
parts which il intended by Hesven 10 affect. The
tue course 70 leave the HE IN eacn part 10 itsef,
ard let each settle its affairs. Ii the great toe
Chico ses have the gout, what business IL OF the
stomach-if the stomach chooses NOT, need not have
it, Nyou ssy the whole system ls 50 connected that
the whole ot Settlers they sag that is pretty theory,
tu. fiction: they zee arms aud limbs, but no body
entire and the Creator intended there should be just
such harmony as a lame foot and souod head.
What is eli this noise about, says tue third psty
feeby with blinking eyes and brightly polished shoes;
we thought you pretended 20 be well sitter the con-
promise OF 1850; why don't you stsy cured; do try
TO look respectable aud keep qnet II You can
This party, Of course, is a mere barren sand bank,
always shifting and only important when 1t chokes
the channels OF noble streams. The great
mas of men, said Mr.. Curtis, act With
one or the other Of the two positive parties.
They are moving always toward the moral ana mate.
rial mprov OF the CONDITION OF aoor or toward
il, dee adaon; they either conide IN secure principles
and IDEAS or they believe in cotton bales bushe bas
kets and nothing beyond All history thev
DO not heed it--tbat nations have decayed because
ideas have died. ard not citizens. Rome " s. never
go ricb as in the days Of her decline, and when her
,ls nd
other hand William of Orange, the richest subject OF
Spain was never loyal as when he bad lost every
thug but liberty. Our history dIes from alley
Forge which was Ike tho Valley OF the SHADOW of
death, through which men went with bleeding feet,
with hunger thirst and cold dogging their steps, and
with gbaty death glazing in their faces; YET they pore
the faith ard the ideas which brought the flgnuis
over the pltess sesto ptess shore Ideas were ood
and csup. fires, and shoes then. When We have
ruined ide az in the national mind may have shrewd
traders, sharp lawyers and scnpurai politicians, but
we 81 all have lost and what constitutes Stste.
Any system of government which Is founied on tue
ignorance or disregard Of the great principles OF right,
has secured its destruction. The surface OF the
globe is the same, the seats OF old Empires remain
but the Empires have gone because their systems Of
society had false bases; not because corn did not
grow In sufficient quantities in Egypt but because the
Assyrian sword was not sharp AS aoy sword Gao be-
The difficulty with the old axiom, "thst God always
flights on the eide Of the strongest batalons, is that
il is not true gun loaded with idea is moro
fatal than the guns Of whole regiments tor 1t shoots
tyranny as vel Is the tyrant. thousand men,
lighting for four shilmgs day, have no chance
agsinst hundred, fighting for their lives and liberty
Empires rise and TALL and 80 1t is fact that farms
run out but It is only Argument against the far
mer; ard in like manner Empires decay, because
their Governments ignore the principles which
make sefrespectng, intelligent men, Didwe ac-
tualy believe popular morahty 10 be as necessary
10 our national permanence as the high price
OF cotton or corn, America, great, our glorious,
would die away hollow echo IN the West with
that vague murnur Of peristing empires when nus al
the East. No Government need fear when Keeps 10
right and Justice and sckno sedges the primary right OF
all right principles. BY looking az tue way In which
Slavery was REGARDED by the father, who formed oar
OWE Government, and II we can know their sentiments,
We can easily infer Whist sort OF Consultation they
made. But so vast and INSCRIPTIONS have been the
misre presents,Cns of history both by the Supreme
Court ard by parties, that dull ana ignorant man
might forget tha, cur Government was formed upon
great principles, by men who expressly announced
what ttey were lie sprug from the declaration that
every has rights, which exist and IS the OBJECT
Of Government 70 protect these rghsi but whenever
q Government trenches upon these Tight II endangers
tse ard they uoto be cODounded sth quesuons OF
political expedency. As is TIE object OF Govern
neut ard labor the prng of human society, any
System which Gegrsdes mat sno labor IS suicidal. on
Il at progrsme the Revolution was fought; II was not
uistske or struggle Of classes, as MI. Douglas as
ser.s but Of people. IL not fought prean bic,
but on q Dr. nciple. Taxation was not the canse 1t
was OILY the occasion Tie principle OF the Revou-
tion was that ~ liberty wae the hs,ufa risht vi 'n,
every man las al equal right and voice IN tue Govern
menf There stood the fathers, AID there stands to-
Gay the great party OF human rights in this country,
fchtrg the battle which is 10 determine whether that
Cover ueut can endure. There certain sentiments
which form the spir. of the ag At the close OF toe
lat century that spirit was essentially humane From
CARDINAL y N down 10 Cafkson and DIR. Cnamers,
philosophy, skeptcism and W.T. all protested against
the Gin Of Slavery Az eary 1905 Lord Holt declared
"here was no such thing slave by toe laws OF En-
Gland and Lord Mansfield forced % utter relu;-
.snt amen. Snail We believe Lord Mansfield, who