Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1859-03-03

w Vic va iNei't
America-and sparkles all through with thu
most pungent wit, and the livelicst humor. Il
is direct and straightforward throughout, ant
the sense is nowhere hidden under q mass Of
hlgh'sounding yerbiage. Mr.. Thompson belongs
to no active political organization, and his speech
Is entitled to greater wei hit as it cannot justly
be charged with being partisan in its character
Mr. I. says Of himself;
81 feel like one
Who treads alone
Some banquet hall deserted,
Whose lights fed,
Whose garlands dead
And all but he departed''
When was in politics, and may say, whom
was alive laughter. and old man Clay bat
tied against the Democratic party, lion hearted
as he was, like Richard Ceur de Lion himself,
when we went into the Holy Land to rescue it
from the custody of the Infdels, Mr.. Clay, with
lions heart, and his battle-ax uplifted, fought
to rescue what lie believed to be the Constitu-
ton and the rights of the country from the
Democratic party, that he thought was disloyal
and untrue to them; then, sir, thought and
felt like Field Marshal.
However, this gentlemanly old Wing has no
notion of making haste to follow in the foot
steps of Choatc. Fletcher, Webster and some
other once Wings. On this point he says;
Well, sir, as to the Democratic party, do
not know tlH1t lFcsulh very well join them I'M
less see little farther into them. could not
be a Locofoco anyway, and understand that
the discipline is extremely rigid. Laughter.
They muster their men with great severity, &C
cording to regular drill, and if a man does not
chalk up to the mark, overheard he goes and
the rule is, that it Is better to have an enemy
out of the camp than friend in the camp cut
ting capcrs and cutting shines. John Randolph
Of Virginia, said Of the Democratic party-but
will not say it of them--that all they wanted
was men of sense enough to lead, and fools
enough to follow laughter and if any man
could not subscribe to these principles. and
went into the party as u leader, who had not
sense enough to lead, he ought to be turned
ont. believe you did cashier one or two.
do not know what the severity Of the discipline
is. If | can get Il private conversation with
my friend from Illinois mfr. Douglas before
leave here, should like to know if he has not
learned so netting on that subject. daughter
wish, just privately and coniidentially, to know
from him il the discipline is not excessively
tight. If was to go in, do not know upon
what sort of probation or trial | should be put.
suppose it would be long enough to make them
certain that they had got all the old, genuine,
gentlemanly, Wing principles and feelings out
of me, and that really had the true religion,
and was converted. Then they might put me
in the kitchen of the household of the Locofocos
until they beloved was really Christian, and
showed it evidently. do not know how |
should he treated, think | shall look little
further before go In.
And here IS "a pleasant, yet none the less
sharp, rebuke of the spread-eagle ideas of many
nowadays; also, graphic picture of JOHN
Bull.
utterly condemn the rampant spirit and cry
for war. 1t is wrong cry; it is a wrong
teaching for the country and predict that, il
we get into canitous war with France and
with England on this account, we shall repent
it to the latest day Of our lives. Do not pass
this unnecessary bill, and insult neighbor by
this proposition, which is every way unadvised
and uncalled for When you get into war, you
will find that fighting John Bull is not talking.
When England sent men here in the last war,
and burned this sG, capitol it was mere by play
for her. She was unfolding all continental
Europe then, against the colloSsol power of Ma
poeon and yet she came here just as a by play,
and troubled us as she did. Our people think
we whipped England, and you hear them say
throughout the country that we whipped We'll
lington's invincible; and they believe that we
absolutely whipped the veteran who fought the
battle of Waterloo, although that battle was
not fought until the 18th of June after the 9Th
of January, when our battle of New Orleans
was fought. They are stuffed up in that way,
and infamcd with war spirit.
Old John Bull, as l said, is bloody old brui-
ser. If the Senator from Georgia was here, |
would ask him if he did not see how Spain and
Sardinia sent off their quota to the Crimean
war at the request of England, although they
had just about as much interest in it as had.
England Just said to them, elf you do not fight
on my side | will whip you" That is the whole
of it, They follow England in that kind Of
way. John Bull, If l may use familiar Illus
tration that will be understood in the country,
is like great unruly mastiff, a bulldog. Old
Bull goes providing about, hunting up lights
Along in his train follow Caesar and Pompey,
Jumper and Jupiter; and though the first two
are Romans Of high degree, and the last a god
they follow in his train with fear and trembling.
When he nails a dog they leg him, and nip him,
and down they get him until he is throttled to
death, and there is o nation blotted from the
map of the earth or if after worrying him
and crippling him, and wounding HIM, they
send him home, it is in pain to work the bal
ance of his days to pay the expenses of the
fight.
What we shall get with Cuba is thus plainly
stated:
Now, sir, we come to the Island Of Cuba, and
what are we toget? We get the public property
the Moro Castle, the jails and the Court
houses. We do not own the negroes we dc
not buy the land for ourselves; but it is a trade
simply for the sovereignty. Well, what does
that sovereignty amount to? 1t amounts tC
this that you are to protect the people of Gu.
ba that you are To extend over them the laws
of the Union; that you are to keep off pirates
that if they get auto q fight, you are to hell
them. OF coufae Va shall have to build w
their wharves; attend to their public wants.
The youngest child in the family of course will
be petted and how much you are to expend
to get her in proper trim, the Lord only knows
All the talk about Cuba being the key to the
Gulf of Mexico, Mr.. I. thus disposes Of:
Gentlemen talk about its being the key, ant
commanding the Gulf of Mexico, the queen o
the Antilles, a gem, and | hardly know wha
all All manner of things are said. Why
sir, does not any man know that outside of the
reefs of Florida there is passage enough for yes
sells, and that you cannot raise such works O
fertilization there as would interrupt the passage
Of vessels in the channel? So it is on the Cubs
side, where you go into the Caribbean Sea. II
is utterly impracticable. Suppose we had thu
Moro Castle, and there were eight or ten 74-gur
ships before it (; hoy loug do you suppose i
would stand There are many points on the is
land where soldiers could ha landed ENGLAND