The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1860-05-23

according to their localities or according TO
their party affiliations. sg' ''i1..l -.
I beg you to believe that in thus designating
what I thus cali squatter sovereignty men, as
one wing of that great anti-slavery army, I
do it in no disrespect; only speak of the log
ical consequence derived from the position
that yon have admitted that slavery is wrong,
and are therefore in no position to defend it or
to claim to lead in its defence. How else has
this greatipower manifested itself? Look at
the religious corporators of the country as af-
fected by the conscience of the people; look
at the people whose daily business is prayer
that they may be so purified as to rise above
any temptation to do that which is recon-
mended to them as right-where are they? I
believe but one solitary church Of all the de-
nominations of the country yet keeps beyond
its pale all interference in this matter of slave
ry. All the rest have been disrupted and re-
solved into Northern churches and Southern
churches-two Gods, two affairs, two systems
of worship; not brothers, not sisters. Aye,
you do not, in many of the Northern churches,
admit the Southern man of God, who has for
years followed the Man of Sorrows, evidenced
by his meeknees, his humility, and the emf
nent success of his ministry; I say there are
many such men who cannot gain admission
into the Northern pulpit to pray. Now, what
does all this indicate to us
which L solemply assure you have produced
in the South speak by authority for Ala
bama, and / speak from assurances which be-
ilieve cannot be mistaken from other States
widespread and deep-seated conviction that
the South, with her institutions, is unsafe in
the Union. It is upon that basis, upon these
premises, that we proceed when we come here
when Alabama comes here and asks you to
consider well your position upon this subject;
to take new departure, if it is, even as you
say, new departure, if it is but the reafirm-
ance of an old truth. We ask you to re-af-
firm it in more distinct and unequivocal lam
guage, in order to reassure the Southern peo-
pie of safety in the party and in the Union,
and thus save both from disruption 'a- af
+ pass on with-I will not use so strong an
expression as 'fccntempt"- ] conceive that
I cannot afford to notice any of the speeious
defamation and partisan argum ents that have
been made here to-day. We come with the
Constitution in our hand and say to you, if we
have been wrong let us reason together and
see if we cannot be set right; if we have been
right, let us re-endorse that right in palmer
and less equivocal language. GApplause.]
And why? IF had come here, my country
men, as disunionist-if had come here as a
disruptionist-if had come here as faction
ist-I should come to you now with the Ala
adoption or section, without the dotting of
on 8i' or the crossing of "t." But say to
you frankly, while the majority platform is
not all that Alabama wants, it is.not even all
that Alabama asks; that while it falls short in
deed of what believe the highest policy of a
statesman should be, to arrest this great evil,
this cancer, which is not only eating into your
body, but into the body of the country at large
from desire to harmonize-from desire
to confer with Notwithstanding that you
represent all the sections of this vast and mag
nifeent Republic, we are willing to come to-
gether upon some such platform as you may
make which shall afford to US protection in the
South; and we think you can afford to yield
that to US, especially when it will bring to the
support of your platform united South; and
therefore it is that I intend to vote for the ma
jority platform, which if not giving us all, yet
provides for an active application of the prin-
ciples substantially involved in the Alabama
resolutions. We may therefore accept that
platform with honor, and continue our deliber-
ations with you.
Gentlemen, have thus shown to you that
there is conviction in our minds that We are
not safe in the Union, unless we can obtain
your unequivocal pledge to an administration
of this Government upon the plainly ayowed
constitutional, Congressional, as well as Execu-
tive and Judicial protection of our rights
You have objected that this is new feature
in Democracy. But I say you have taken ju-
risdiction of this question in years past. In
1874 you took jurisdiction Of the slavery
question, TO protect it from Abolition assaults.
In 184S you again took jurisdiction of the
slavery question, though to a limited extent.
In 1852 you did the same; and in 1856, when
the, Territorial issues were forced upon the
country by the Freesoilers, demanded that
the Democratic party should take one step
farther in advance, in order to be up with the
progress of the times, and with the march of
aggression, you added to these former plat
forms another plank, which it was then deem
ed would be sufficient to meet the issues then
urged. And what was that plank? 1t was
that Congress should intervene to abolish or
establish slavery in State or Territory. What
is the fair and just meaning of this PROPOSE
ton !? Lawyers and statesmen who are in the
habit of constituting laws and constitutions
by the light of experience, and the rules which
the great jurists in all ages have laid down for
their construction, know that, In order to de-
eide what law of doubtful import means,
you must look at the cause of its enactment,
yon must look at the evils it was designed to
correct, and the remedy it was designed to
give. 9@3yH 90 .
Now, then, by the light of these established
rules of construction, let us see what is the
meaning of this branch of the Cincinnati plat
FORM.
"a First What was the subject-matter upon
which it is based? 1t was the right of the
owner Of slaves to emigrate and settle and hold
slaves in the Territories of the United States.
Second. What was the cause of the passage
of that resolution? It was that the South was
restless and dissatisfied with the admission of
California under squatter sovereignty princi-
pless dissatisfied with the law forbidding
the internal slave trade between citizens of
slave States and the District of Columbia
and claimed perfect freedom to go with slaves
into any Territory of the United States, and to
hold them until forbid by constitution con
formed, and the admission of the
new State into the Union. The South claimed
The enactment Of that platform for her own
protection. It was not urged by Northern
men for utterance of squatter sovereignty views.
No such power was urged then by anybody,
md tho South alone had that platform made, |