Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1859-12-06

less SAID Billings complies with the terms
required by the city.
Elbridge Aldrich, Lyman Bugbee, Elisha
Gale, and M. B. Green, were drawn as travere
jurors for the December term of the Superior
| Court which commences its session in this
| city on Monday next. j. Q. Adams was
| licensed as an inn holder at the Lincoln Square
| Hotel, Lincoln Square.
Both Boards adjourned for two weeks.
Another Lecture by George w. Curtis.
The last lecture of the independent course"
was given last evening by George w. Curtis
at Mechanics Hall. He was warmly welcom-
ed by an audience who had not forgotten his
late brilliant lecture on Modern Infdelity, "
and who were eager to listen to his words on
"The Present Aspect of Slavery" in this coun-
try.
The great mass of men, said Mr.. Curtis, are
moving always towards the moral and materi.
al improvement of the condition of labor, or
towards Its degradation they either confide in
secure principles and ideas or they believe in
cotton bales, bushel baskets, and nothing be-
yond. All history protests-but they do not
heed it-that nations have decayed because
ideas have died, and not citizens. Rome was
never so rich as in the days of her decline,
and when her great splendor was only pur-
pie bloat And on the other hand, William of
Orange the richest subject of Spain, was new
er SO loyal as when he had lost everything but
liberty, Our own history dates from Valley
Forge-that valley of the shadow of death,
through which men went with bleeding feet
with hunger, thirst, and cold logging their
steps, and with CHASTITY death glaring in their
fcces; yet they bore the faith and the ideas
which brought the Pilgrims over the pitiless
sea to pitiless shore. Ideas were food and
camp fires, and shoes, then. When we have
ruined ideas i'll the material mind, we may
have shrewd traders, sharp lawyers, and scrip
turai politicians, but we shall have lost men
and what constitutes State.
SO vast and INSCRIPTIONS have been the
misrepresentation Of history, both by the Su-
preme Court and by parties, that dull and
Ignorant man might forget that our govern
ment was formed upon great principles, by men
who expressly announced what they were.
The Revolution was not fought on preamble,
but on principle. Taxation was not the
cause; it was only the occasion. The princi-
pie of the Revolution was, that as liberty was
the natural right of man, every man has an
equal right and voice in the government.
There stood the fathers, and there stands to-
day the great party of human rights in this
country, fighting the battle to determine
whether. that government can endure. Mr..
Curtis proceeded from review Of the humane
sentiments which characterized the close of
the last century, and the general protest against
slavery, till, by the invention OF the cotton Gin,
slavery received new impulse, and became a
positive system and conscious political power
to startling picture Of the progress OF the
slave power, which, too sagacious to be sudden
moved like the hand on the dial to its figure no
pace was perceived. The recall of the Missouri
compromise, the Kansas outrage, the bred Scott
decision, are not illogical measures. Slavery
had no fear taking one step every few years.
If freedom will bear pinch, they said, it will
bear blow; if a blow, kick and if a kick,
we will soon cripple and throttle it. The bur-
glar entering house sees no reason why he
may not take one more step, and so he mounts
another and another no alarm, no noise but
at the last step the master of the house AVA
kens, springs to his feet, grasps his weapon,
aims, fires Doyou think he will sleep again J?
He gave description Of Mr. Calhoun-the
most sad severe pagan of our politics and of
Mr.. Clay, the great compromiser, who had the
compromise all ready, everything all right
the bushel basket of national prosperity full to
overlooking; then the bottom fell out! The
abolitionists were told to let slavery work out its
own destiny. The clergy said "our friends are
quite right, slavery is dreadful, but the only
way is to let it alone. Amen. The contribu-
ton will now be taken up to extend gospel
privileges" Mr.. Curtis spoke at length of the
Republican party which rests on the national
conscience.
The slave states allow no free discussion of
slavery. They misrepresent history, and de-
clare that our fathers did not mean what they
said. "Fiddle diddle, fiddle dddle," says
| the Supreme Court. "Negro don't count"
''Hit him again" "What are you going to do
about it O. Our reply is "Agitate! agitate p
like Otis and Adams Of old, till the Supreme
| Court has reversed its decision.
Mr.. Curtis lecture was very long, and we
make no illusions to some of its best passages.
lie closed with some words suggested by the
execution of John Brown. My friends, he
| said, we have just seen an historic day. We
seem to stand in the crisis of the great strug.
| gle. l believe the battle is won. Our oldest
state, in other years our first, carefully guards
her borders from men who believe in human
liberty and the Golden Rule. John Brown
has shown there can be no sense of social
security in a system of slavery. He is
not buried but planted He will spring
up a hundred fold. l do not wonder
at the solemn pomp Of his death. They
would have none but southern made rope to
hang him; but that rope had two ends
one round the neck Of man, the other
round the system. In taking life it has
conquered itself. To children of ours hang
ing over Plutarch's pages, we will tell that
| America had heroes, and that on the soil OF
Virginia John Brown died for the liberty OF
men,