The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1860-01-28

nnsllpA yasR e - ~
Thst4ondon Ibssatsd Hsta. D& San Glx
ThSexecuf Cspsa Brovn Ill msk xhe
comm nces g no3 RoFelANf agieE
1gai1 sla1 nnahas ecr het hStn known n
the Unitcd Stales. Il cannot be denied, even ~
the most sealous opponents Of the peculiar in
stitution,s that the project Of the unhappy man
was wild and hopeless from the beginning. Hav-
ing bsch defeated aud captured, his life WIS jnst
II forfeited to the outraged laws Of the State Of
Virginia Whether tie citizens Of that State.
and Of the whole south Of the Union do not them
selves more ilagrantly outrage the still higher law
Of God by degrading their fellow men to the
condition OF chattles and Of brute beasts, il 4
question which there Is no occasion ID argue. I'M
less it be for the purpose Of raising John Brown
from the rank Of criminal and d falon to that Of
a martyr. On this ground the question has been
and will continue to be raised; and, in 20 far as
it can be satisfaction or pride to his unfortll-
nate family and relatives, he has attained that
posthumous glory in the estimation Of all the
friends Of negro freedom in the United States
and in every other part Of the world It Is, ney-
ertheless, exceedingly unfortunate for the State
of Virginia, and for the whole Of the slave hold
ing South, that means of escape from the disa-
greeable necessity Of hanging this man were not
discovered; that some properly -instructed goaler
did not ssaccidently" leave bolt unfastcncd, or
that some sympathising friend was not admitted
into his dungeon to change clothes with him. or
by some other mode to facilitate his escape To
execute him was the very worst possible de-
noument for the slavcowners that could have
happened, and especially under circumstances
which betrayed an amount of terror On the part
Of the authorities but too suggestive Of the utter
rottenness Of southern society. The annual mes
sage of Governor Wise to the Legislature at
Richmond, delivered subsequently to the cxccu-
ton, makes the matter still worse, and exhibits
an amount of alarm as well rs Of vindictiveness
that will but encourage the Abolitionis.s Of the
North to make renewed onslaughts on the Gin
stitution." The message il direct provocative
to civil war; 1t speaks Of the spirit OF fanaticisln
which has maddened whole masses at the North,
and which enters into their religion, education,
politics, prayers courts Of justice, and legislation
and which has trained up three generations in
moral aud social habits Of hatred to the masters
of African slaves in the United States 1t de-
clares that unless the numerical majority shall
cease to violate the confederate faith and cease
to disturb the peace of the South, and to destroy
the lives and property Of slave owners, the South
will take up arms. And yet, while the Govern
or talks in this bellicose MANNER he asserts III The
very same message that there is no danger from
the slaves or colored people, The slaves captur-
ed by Brown refused to take arms, and the first
man killed wasa respectable free negro, who was
running away from the philanthropist who came
to liberate the black race It is difficult to rec
oncile the terror expressed in one part Of the
message with the boast of safety in the other; or
| to avoid coming to the conclusion that Governor
Wise is as unfortunate in his words, as in his
natl MI hat ha /, dan, tbn I,6
at heart by zeal utterly mtcmpered with discrc-
ton.
His threats Of rupture Of the Union are but
idle breath. The South knows its own inter-
ests too well to separate from the North. even il
the Middle and Western States would consent to
policy so suicidal The North has long been
growing weary of the "Nigger Question" Brown
the fanatic and the martyr of the cause-has
given it new vitality, less by his own daring,
great as that was than by the laundering inpolicy
Of the Virginians and their Governor 1t will be
many years ere the question falls back into the
safe state in which it lay when Brown took I'D
arms. The Governor states that other conycts
await execution, and will be executed unless the
General Assembly for Parliament of virginia)
orders otherwise We believe that the General
Assembly will order otherwise; that i. will CON
tent itself with the first mistake, and make no
more martyrs.
The London Morning Star Of the goth Decen,-
Der says:
There was no "bunkum" in Brown North
and South in the United States admit That there
was, to use favorite and expressive phrase, Of
their true grit in Brown. There was fine sand
| in his composition, sleekly and ignoinininnsly
sliding through the hour-glass Of life He was
| an angular bit of granite that kept its place on
the shore of eyents-though all the snrges Of
| the sea beat against it. He was gnarled oak,
| unbending before the tempest. In this place,
nor at this time, neither discuss his aims nor
his conflict; neither It's wisdom nor its conse-
quences; we have to do to-day with Il stern,
single-minded, God-fearing Puritan, who has died
for an idea, and tn II disinterested and generous
enc. We will not allow any opinion upon his
principles to jar with the rightfll estimate Of his
personal qualities. We do not treat him az mar
tyr, but as a man. The world is full enough of
those who, in supine ease, shrink from the dis
charge of tame dntics, and if unselfsh heroism
CLEANS ON the world from scaifold it should
not want acknowledgment
Ossawatomie Brown! 'sWhat name to fiji
the speaking trump Of famer He must be, in
way, man of genius to reconcile the fastidious
ears of Europe to such patranymic Yet for
the space Of six weeks that name has ce.ipsed all
others in the free press Of two worlds Orr
news columns have informed our readers of the
events of Harper's Ferrv--the subsequent cap
ture, trial and sentence of one JOHN Brown;
ottener called ''Old Brown" and better iistin-
guished as "Ossawattomic Brown" The last
American mail brought, as our readers of ycster-
day saw, particulars of his execution. Brown
was man moulded in hardship aud the Bible.
Baxter's Saints Everlasting Rest" and Bunyan's
''Pilgrim's Progress" did for him what Swift's
tale of o Tub" did for Cobbett. Cobbatt read
in Kew Gardens, Brown as he Law in churchyaris.
or following the troops Of his country engaged
in patriotic struggles. Brown had Puritan
mind He feared God, but evidently from his
youth upwards, feared nobody else. He was
what is sometimes denominated a square mans
with back bone perfectly straight Very
hrn men incline little from the perpendicular
Brown inclined none. He was no 'sstulnp ora
tor" His mental composition was Carlylesnue.
He acted; and stood by his acting. His country
men who did not syinpathize with his principles,
even those opposed to him, could not but f.el
gratfed at the American nerve lie displayed IN
finch;ngly to the end.
SOUTHERN VIEW or THE DorG.As CoyvEN-
rIoN IN ILLryols.-The Illinois Convention Which
nominated Mr.. Douglas for the Presidency passed
series ofresolutions, from which we NAV gather
the opinions of al.at il cailed TIE Democracy Of
that State in reference to the question of slavery
in the Territories. We may also inform ourselves
of the wide discrepancy between Democratic
principles as they are understood at the South
and Democratic principles as they are under
stood at the North. We shall see that If the
doctrines protested and insisted on in the South
are Democratic doctrines, the doctrines profassed
OvaIS ,-1,t nAo s,I Al 4.