The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1859-04-28
A LETTER FROM GOV. WISE.

A letter from Gov. Wise has recently made
its appearance in the newspapers, addressed to
the Hon. David Hubbard of Alabama 1t is
dated January 3. The following passages are
particularly worthy of note. 1t will be seen
that the author insists on the duty of Congress
to protect Slavery in the Territories, PROPOSE
ton which we last week conceded to him the
the credit of originating. He says;
80 | am sorry to be informed that the South
IS ,.Ow oido,1.' A widow is forlorn being,
aud demands all my sympathy. 1t is true that
| am a married man already, and can't tender
the lady in weeds my true and gallant de-
votion as husband And were in state
of single blessedness, it would still be against
nature for me TO tender my hand TO the South
in holy wedlock, for | claim to be born of her
womb, and to be as loyal son as ever sucked
the milk of his mother, and TO be ready to pro-
tect her in veal or woe against every enemy
and every evil, according to the best ability with
which God and her nursing have endowed me.
Protect her Az, if | do not, may my right
hand forget its cunning! From what? From
Abolitionists and Protectionists, and land job
| bers and Treasury robbers Yes as | always
! tried to do, much to my own cost. And from
the treachery of sons of her own, and from the
| folly of her sincere friends, too, mean to try
TO protect her, as / have tried of late in vain
/ lcOuld protect her from the authors Of Kansas
| Nebraska bills from the Free. Solisn OF
Badger standardization The effects Of repeal
ing ldtcs establishing and protecting Slavery IA,
Teyritories-,frOm the false protection OF nO1l-iR,
terUention, withdrawing all pretenSion 10 protect
all persons and property equally and alike on
! the common territory Of JOINT Standardization
| Lecompton policy, that had not the wisdom even
| of Rsops cock in the fable--from the compro-
misses of English bills, which stripped us of every
| particle of prestige We had left-from the wick
edness of force and fraud, and the folly of a
minority attempting to establish a rule of fas
ant netds in the face of an INSCRIPTIONS major
| ity. We were strong on the moral ground OF
equality. We relinquished that in attempting
TO assume more than equality, and we lost all
character for justice"
The following extract will show his estimate
of the free white laboring classes of the North
ave have tried to play the same game OF
Snatch as snatch can, with the most snatching
snatchers in the world. We have challenged a
competition of settlement, with thin, slave
holding, agricultural population on our part
against a ma Ority host of commercial, trading
free-white, Free-Soil people, who have not al
homes, and who are keeping a sharp lookout
for them, and who can use Sharpes rifles pu
into their hands by fanaticism to acquire them
All they ask is for the rule to be once fixed tina
you can take all you can, and hold all you car
take. and that no power of Congress or othe
power is to interfere to hinder the strongest il
taking and holding al"
The following extracts may be regarded as
general indictment against the Administration
T embracing half a dozen or more counts, eacl
one of which charges capital offence. III
says:
"Ay-and is Democracy as well as the Soutl
to have no outSpoken, honest counsellor? AR
we to be given over to the Federal gods of Pa
chic railroads? Are we to out Pdz0O IdzOO
To out-Adams Adams, in putting internal i'm
provements by the General Government on tn
most omnipOtent and indefinitely stretchin
power of all powers of the Federal Government
tie scdr po1oerl Are we to abolish ad valoren
and adopt specific duties, to supply a tariff 70
revenue, the standard of which is already eighty
one millions of expenditure on three hundre,
and twenty-one millions as the average rat
of impoFtati0ps? Are We to increase eighty
one millions of expenditure to the unknown
limitless amount required for railroads acros
this continent; for Post Office that don't pa
expenses; for pensions unheard of in char
acter and amount; for a land office which give
away three acres for every one sold, and bring
us in debt; for increase of standing army, sue
"a our frontiers, and Indian wars, and protect
crate of foreign territory, propose; and for sue
navy as Isthnian wars with no less tina
eight Powers of the earth, England, Spain
France, Mexico Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Ne'
Granada, and Paraguay, demand, if threatene
J only? Is protection to be turned into prohib