New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1860-09-25
--7---.------------------------
sEwARp,s SPEECH.


| Mr.. Seward, whenever he makes public speech,
affects the oracular style. His speeches are all
studied-generally written beforehand, and often
| in print before they are delivered. Having none
Of the graces Of an orator about him-too cold
blooded, selfish ana heartlcss to become excited,
no matter what the provocaton--he seeks to enter
tain his audience with what he supposes to be new
discoveries in politics and morals and to impress
| them with sense of his profound wisdom by
| oraeular predictions of the future. His style is
| thoroughly artificial. Most public speakers feel
some little glow of excitement when addressing a
popular assembly-there is sert Of electric sym
pathy between the orator and the people. Seward,
on the contrary, is as cold as glacier from the
North Pole. He announces the irrepFessible con-
fliet with diabolical Indifference and calm as
surance that impresses you with the conviction
that he has not nerve or drop Of blood in his
body. He proclaims the speedy extinction Of
slavery, knowing that it can never be accomplished
without the sacrifice of thousands and tens OF thou
sands of lives, with an easy carelesness that is
quite apt to make the listener believe there never
| lived profounder philosopher, or one who could
see into the future so far, clearly and SO easily.
All this however is affected. 1t is put on for the
occasion. Seward has made study Of this sort Of
thing, and the ais eeldre aten is his in all its per
lection.
His latest harangue, a brief report whereof we
gave yesterday, is in the old style. He looked,n
we are informed g to the acquisition of British
America, Russian America, and Spanish Amer
ica-and declared that the man was born who
would live to see the American people come
to the harmonious understanding that this Is the
land Of freedom and free men-that it is the land Of
| the white man-and that whatever elements there
are to disturb its peace will, before long, pass
away without endangering this Union.'
/ Here is something new for Seward. Here we
| have him in the role Of lilibuster. He looks to
the acquisition Of British America, Russian Amer
lea, ana Spanish America. How this acquisition
| is to be made be does not inform US. He knows
well enough, though that it is next to impossible
to obtain any of these possessions by purchase or
treaty. But Seward is not, in his own proper per-
son, nor in his political faith, a f1lihuster. He
| merely assumes this role before the backwoods-
men Of Minnesota, as The boys say for grandeur
All that sort Of talk, coming from William H.
| Seward, is simply unadulterated humbug. Would
| Seward vote in the Senate for the confirmation of
| q treaty by which Spanish America, on honorable
terms, would be added to the possessions of the
United States? Hardly.
\ But this is the land Of the white man. he saws.
| So it is. But one would suppose, from the racket
he and his followers are making, that it was any
thing else but country for white men--that it
/ was designed for ringers" equally with Cauca-
sians-not in their own proper sphere of slaves but
on terms of political and social equality with all
others. If it be country for white men, why not
legislate for white men and their interests instead
Of seeking to destroy those interests in one-half
Of the Union Why not let slavery alone, instead
Of continually predicting its downfall, and deceiy-
ing the people by telling them that that downfall
will be accomplished in the lifetime of man
now BORN and by peaceable means too? Mr..
Seward, we are afraid that you are bit of a hum.
bug-that you know it yourself, and if you are not
particular, your followers will soon find it out too
But he is not afraid Of dissolution Of the Union
Oh, no! " Who's afraid?'' he braYely asks. And
then as if to reassure himself and prop up his sink
| ing courage, he responds, nobody is afraidn
The truth of the matter is Seward ishimself afraid
He trembles whenever he thinks of it. The man
| who, in tone of defiance, asks his companions,
who's afraid !. is generally quakng in his boots
at the very moment. Seward is apprehensiye that
the South ecM dissolve the Union-in which event
| his own occupation would not only be gone but a
| blow, the extent and damage of which he knows
how to calculate, would be given the material in
terests of his section of the country. One would
suppose that ifsiayery were such disgrace to the
| nation as Seward pretends to believe, he would be
glad to get rid of Union which recognises it. On
the contrary he is in daily dread of its dissolution
He wishes the Union preserved, first that he may
keep perpetually in power on the political capital
he makes out Of slavery, and, secondly, that the
Federal Government and the Northern people may
always have the South on hand, to plumber her of
her property, and impose upon her in respect Of
her political rights. That is all.