Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1860-10-26

an must participate in the Government. :
al must be educated. They believed thg
every man should own the land he cultivated
ana 1t ls my belief said the speaker. Cha
ne should cultivate the land he owns. Tbi
experiment of the obliteration of old forms
ana the establishment of free goyernmen
was not conducted without struggle. Col
ONES always are wont to initiate the motbe
country. Royal officials make ranks an.
aIlstocracles, and it was not till they threw
Oh allegiance to the British Crown that the,
could Tree themselves from these accountant
m9nts OF colonial dependence.
ron much OF this struggle with tn,
oid arlstoerau2 forms, Vermont was free
Our State never vac a colony. MOI
IN condition ofterrtorial dependence-sh she
can cay as Paul said Il was free horn;
never was in bondage TO any man TAp-
| piause. There was, 1t is true, a little con
| trorerSy as to whether the boy should be-
/ long 70 New York or New Hampshire; but
before Il mad fairly begun, the boy was a
man, springing forth full-grown, like Min
erva from the head Of Jove.
The Declaration Of Independence uas
adopted, and then began the more perfect
realization of the New England idea. But
we are told by Judge Taney (not by the
Supreme Court that that document did not
include and apply to black men. Lawyers
knew the value Of fcontemporaneous construc-
ton in such questions Of Interpretation, and
1t happens that Vermont was the first tG put
on record her significant construction Of the
Declaration. Vermont formed the first State
constitution in this Union. Its date was
July 2i, III, two days short Of year after
the Declaration of Independence. The Bill
OF Rights of that constitution declares in its
first article that d" all men are born equally
Tree and lndepeniant, and have certain nat
ural inherent and inalienable rights, among
which are the enjoying and defending life
and liberty, acquiring, forming and pro-
tecung property. and pursuing and obtain
iEg happiness and safety" These are the
ideas and nearly the language of the Declar-
alton OF Independence. The question IS, did
this include black men, slaves Vermont
SAID it did, for that article adds, "therefOre
no male person, born ia this country. or
brought from orer sea, ought to be holden by
law to serve any person as servant, STARE or
apprentice. after he arrives to the age Of p
years,n female in like manner, after she AZ
rIyes to age of Is years, unless they are
u such an age, or are bound bv law for,the
payment Of debts, fines or the like Vermont
--ld free and equal did include 'spers0us
brought from beyond the sea- ''slavts,'
and for Vermont at least we NAV say that
rAat question Is settled. Under that Cunsti
tuition we have gone On and we see the effects
Mr. Collamer depicted the results of free in
,c.IiScnt labor as cxempUGod IN Vt, decar-
~H O. s.l..-
for its distribution Of wealth, intelligence
and comfort, its equal cannot be 70 uni
among the same number Of people elsewhere
on the earth. and he asked if it was strange
chat those who had thus experienced the ben
ef-s Of free labor should seek to make those
benefits national
lie proceeded eloquently to describe the
march oi free institutions across the c0nti-
neut. The course OF Empire had ever been
toward the west, seeking fav red land BE-
yond-tiU the globe had been rounded, and
on this Continent, il ever, must the expecta-
ton be realized. The ancient migrations Of
the old world swept onward carrying desJla-
ton with them. The leader Of one Of them
was called "the scourge Of God" Not such
the rolling ON Of the great human tide from
New England across AmerIca,-it armies
led forth not to be the scourge Of God but
To make the desert blossom like the rose.
Some Of US, he said, can remember when
they went "way west 70 Gsnesse and the
Holland purchase then to Ohio and the
Great Lakes, and now they have passed the
Mississippi and oyerstepped the estern
Mountains The great characteristic Of
this majestic march is that it is the progress
of all that we hold dear. 1t goes carrying
our schools. our churches, our court houses,
our free homes: and the wilderness reioices
as it sweeps on.
But beyond the Mississippi the tide of
free institutions has come in contact with
different system of society
Associated with us is a portion Of our
country where slavery prevails. There the
master owns not only the labor but the la
borcr. The necessary result and condition
of this is an aristocracy, an oligarchy. For
this Mr.. Collamer did not ask his audience
to take his word but quoted to them MIR.
Calhoun's statement:
The Southern States, are an aggregate, in fact,
Of communities, not Of individuals. Every plan
tation is a little community, with the master at
its head, who concentrates in himself the united
interests of capital and labor, Of which he is the
common representative. These small communities
a ggrea ated make tho State"
What is this but an oligarchy? The Ia
borers are annihilated in this reckoning. The
poor whites have no position or influence, and
the owners aggregated "make the State.
Of course when the system of free labor
comes in contact with such system as this,
one or the other must give way. | do not !
say, said Mr. Collamer. that they cannot |
exist IN separate parts Of the land but side |
by side in the same State, they cannot exist.
Free labor is degraded by contact with slave
labor. Free Institutions avoid the places where |
Slavery prevails; and hence Slave Territory |
will make a Slave State. That contest III |
our Western territories is now in progress, |
and it forms the issue Of the time. He did |
not envy those who thought that we had no |
interest in the struggle in which our broth |
ers were engaged, il 1t 3cas a thousand miles |
away; and Gs for the son of Vermont who |
in such a contest cared not whether Slavery !
went up or down, be could only say that if |
he had SO far departed from the Fathers, 1t |
was no wonder he could not find his mother. |
daughter and applause.)
The speaker alluded next to the respect |
for our equal laws which are now the sole
protection Of the weak against the strong, |
the regard for compacts and for the Consti-
tuition, and the determination to regard the |
rights Oi others as much as to guard over
our own, which is a leading feature in the |
character of the people of this State. lie
had received petitions that Congress would
prohibit the slave trade between the Estates.
But hedid not see how that could be done, ,ex-
cept under that clause Of the Constitution
which gives to Congress the power to regu-
lateCommerce-and then only by recogniz-
ing the negroes as articles of commerce.
Grant this and how shall we answer our
Southern brethren who claim that slaves are
property under the Constitution. Moreover
if the power to regulate this interstate
Slave trade lies with Congress, it cannot
rest with the States. But the Supreme Court
has already decided that the State may pro-
hibit the transportation of Slaves from other
States-and the Constitutions OF cur own
and other States contain clauses to that eff
feet. Again grant of power is of necessl-
tv absolute A right to regulate is right
TO permit or destroy. Are we ready to own
that Congress may permit the importation
If Slaves into our own State? Still again,
the SUPREME Court has decided that the i'm
nortation from abroad of articles Of trade, as
LIQUORS in the original package, cannot be
,,ravente6 bv State Legislation. Concede