The Oxford intelligencer., 1860-06-06
The Past and the Future.

can pontlcs. LOT the perlod winch mas elapsed
since the conclusion of peace with Great Bri-
tain in 1915, without perceiving that this his
tory has derived its tone and color almost
wholly from the operation of single underly-
ing cause.-the hostility, secret or ayowed, Of
one portion of the cenfederacy, to the indus
trial system provided by God and nature for
the well-being of the other. II is known of
all mankind, that hardly a single important
question mas divided political parties in this
country since the century began, in which.
on the whole, the North has not been on one
side and the South on the other. This ten
dency to sectional division became apparent
long before the period to which we have just
alluded. 1t was really at the bottom of the
great struggle between the democratic and
the now defunct federal party, which result
ted in the election of Thomas Jefferson to
the presidency in 1901. The North was for
Capitalization limited electoral franchise, alien
and sedition laws, and Adams the South was
for State sovereigntypopular equality, freedom
ofthe tongue and pen, and Jefferson. The same
difference shortly after manifested itself no
less strikingly, in connection with the war
measures of the succeeding administration.
The North espoused the cause of Great Bri-
tain, burned blue lights, and held her famous
Tor infamous) Hartford Convention. The
South demanded the freedom of the seas, pro-
lection for the persons of our seamen, and
the vindication of the honor of our flag against
the persistent insults of British arrogance.
It would require no very profound analysis
of the springs of human action, to trace these
early divisions between the North and South,
to the same cause which has manifestly pro-
duced those Of more recent origin-that is
to say, to the differing industrial systems of
the two sections. But if we descend the
current of history little further, the latent
element of discord comes TO the surface Of
itself, and speculation is unnecessary. The
question which arose on the admission of
Missouri to the Union in 1920, presented the
first point in which northern hostility to ne
gro slavery-an institution vital to the pros
perity of the South-found opportunity to
manifest itself in a form distinctly aggressive.
The South had come into the Union, with the
distinct stipulation, confirmed by written
constitution, that she should preserve unim-
paired, within the confedcracy, FL those rights
and powers which she might have enjoyed
out of it; with the sole exception of the few
specifically defined powers, which both North
and South consented equally to relinquish to
the general Government, for the common
good. One of these reserved rights was the
right to the unmolestcd enjoyment of her own
fayorite institutions at home. AS yet, this
has never been directly iDfringcd-nevcr at
least by any political organization. Another
was the right to carry with her, her institu-
tions, into any unoccupied territory to which
she had possessed previous title, or of which
she might become, with her sister States, sub
sequently, joint proprietor. 1t is in the at
tempt to exercise this right, in every respect
as clearly and as positively hers as the for
mer, that she has, for the last forty years, been
Systematically resisted at every point at which
resistance was practicable. The struggle
which arose over this question on the appli-
cation of Missouri for admission to the Union,
convulsed the country from one end to the 9th
er and well nigh severed the federal compact
atthe end ofthefrstthirty years ofits existence
Peace was at length purchased by an expedi-
ent, which, though attended with some imme-
diately happy results, our more recent and
sadly distracted history proves TO be elni-
nently ill-chosen. A mere conflict of inter-
ests may be settled and set at rest by com
promise but compromise involving prin-
ciple is not only a mistake in itself, but, as
means of ending controversy, is totally una
vailing. There are few men in the slavehold.
ing States to-day, who will not admit that it
would have been better, had the Union split
asunder inr 1920, than that the crevices in its
walls should have been repaired and slnoothed
over by the fair-showing but fragile cement
of compromise.
The immediate effect of the Missouri COM
promise was indeed to remove for the mo-
ment the agitation of questions touching sla-
very from the political field. But though the
North and the South were no longer avowedly
divided upon this particular matter, still the
North and the South continued to be divided.
protective tariff at one time or national
hank at another, might be the ostensible bone
of contention; but whatever happened to
constitute the momentary test Of party ale
glance, there always remained outstanding the
remarkable fact, that one side was invariably
regarded as the Southern side. and the other
the Northern.
1t was impossible, however, that the lurk-
ing feeling of hostility to the South constant
" cherished by northern politicians and by
the northern people, should long 60 on thus
working silently. 1t was ineTitable that it
should very shortly come to be known by its
right name That name is anti-slavery; /; and
under that name the feelino itself beOaD du- J