, 1860-01-20

But one thing he does tell you: ~ DO not
ea1etcAether slaeery il sote2 up Or do,oA." There
b then human heart that does not care!- Sir,
look oyer this broad land, where tue struggle
has ragged for years aud years; md across the
two oceans, Erouud the globe. to the point
where the far Vest meets the far East over
the teeming countries where the crndle Of man
kind stood; and oser the workshops Of ciriiiza-
ton in Europe, ani over those mysterious re-
g'ons under The tropical sun, which have not
emerged yet from the night Of barbarism to the
daylight Of ciyiized life and then tell n:e,
bic With mossal anguish OF exutaut joY as the
scalds Of human freedom or human bondage go
up cr down: Look over the history OF the
world. from the time when infant mankind felt
~ Its heart the first throbbngs Of aspiring dig
MY, down to our days when the right Of man
pton IN q gTeat and mighty republic =
where is the page that is not spotted with
blood and tears shed in that nil absorbing struc-
gle: where chapter which does not tell The
tale OF jab'lant triumph or heart breaking dis
tress, as the scales Of freedom or slavery went
up or down. Loud app!ause.l yus,o-day, in
the nsdst OF the nineteenth century, in repub-
lie whose programme was laid down in the
Declaration Of Independence. there comes 4
man to you, and tells you, with cynical cool
ness, that he does not care. And 5tea"se be
| do not care, he clains the confidence Of hjs
!
public: beeaase he does not care, be pretends
| 10 be the representative statesman Of this aye!
slr, always thought taat he can b. no true
statesman whose ideas and conceptions ase not
:ounded upon profound moral CONVICTIONS Of
right and wrong. Applause. What. then, shall
ference as U virtue: May We not drop the Discus
sion about his statesmauship and ask: What Is
hewoEth Us s,t,a.' Repeated chcvrs.1 Yes, he
mistakes the motive power which shapes the
events Of history. fud that in the life of free
nations mere legal disauisitious never turued d
The tide Of events, and mere constitutional con.
stfucslons neser determined the tendency Of an
aye. The logic Of things goes its steady way,
lnlnsovabls 10 c!oluencc and deaf to argument
1t shapes ansl changes laws and constitutions
accortiDg 10 its inluutabte rules, and those ad-
verse to It will prove no eiIectna! obstruction to
its onward march. In times Of great contl.cts,
the prom pti"gs ind dictates ef Tia AumaA con.
teit"te are more potent than all the inventive
Ingenuity Of the human brain. The conscience
Of q free people. when once fairl ruling the nc
tlon of the masses, will never fail to make new
laws. when those existing tse contrary 10 it:
upon thosc that are there Your dis9uslton.
and plauslb,lies may be used as weapons ant
stEatage rs in Ii fencing match Of contsoversiu,
parties, but power!ess as they are bcf0re III,
conscience Of man, posteEiiy will renleu,be1
them only as mere secondary lncideuts Of bat
| lac VI EteAt IttAIIp4eSs III "utCu Iue 3AI0uSeS
motive powers Of human nature were the tru,
conlbatants.
There is the slavery question not mere oc
casional quarrel between two sections Of cnun
try, divided by Il geographical line: not uler'
contest between t*o economical interests fo
the prepondcraucr; not mere wr:nE.e he
tween two FoIi:ica! PARTIES for power anil spo.!s
but the great struggle between the human con
science aul Il burning wrony. between u.!yanc
ing civilization and rctrcating barbari>m, b.
tween two aufa.unisfic systems Of sucia1 organ
izatiou. Cheers, In vain will our impoten
mock-giauis enteavor 10 mike the tess.luestio1
OF cur age turn on i ridiculous logical bubble
or paitry legal tecluica'itv tApp1auzei; il
vain will they invent small dojseS an
call them ''great principles; in vain viii
they attempt tn drlE down the al.ub<orb
ing contest to the level vi i mere pot hou~
quarrel between two rival can,!Iutcs 10
Presidential nomination. ,.appiause}.-
The wheel ot progressing eycnts will q u.h ilscu
to atoms rs it has crushed SO many abnorni.ies
Ichsers, uui i future generation will, perhaps
Eion: Here lies the queer SCR, ofa Statesman
"who. whc. tho great battle OF slavery wa
"fought. pretended to say that he did not c.r
whether s.aycry he voted up Or voted down.
{Chcers
But Us !on:, IS the moral sitality of this na,io
isuot entirely exhausted. Mr. Douglas aud HE
like hin. will in vain eaieavor IL reduce th
people tu that Disgusting state Of moral inliff=l
ence which lie himself is not as:,alnei to boss
Of. isolennfy protest that tile -An,et iean peopl
arc not ~ be measured by Mr. douglas 10,
moral standard. However degraded son. {
our politicians may be. the progress of tn
struggle will show that the popular eonscicnc
IL still ailvc, asd tsa. The pcorle no CARE
| Long continued applause.