Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1860-03-09
Correspondence Of the Free Press.
LETTER FROM NEW YORK.


Msssrs Editors:
Last night Hon. Abraham Lincoln Of Illinois
Long Abs, as he is fa1ilitrly called-addressed
the Republicans Of New York at the Cooper In
stituto The audience numbered over two thou
sand, and the rush at, the opening Of the doors
was tremendous. | never had the fortune-or
misfortune-to be in such rush in my life.
Though was one Of the very frs and before the
struggle to reach the ticket Offices had fairly
menced, WIS fairly f1neasf against the WALL
and must have taken an impre.si sion of every seam
in it my bach
Mr.. Lincoln was introduced with a few perti-
nent remarks, by ". C. Bryant OF the Evsuing
Post, and the applause that greeted his appearance
was thunderous He is singular looking man,
verv tall, square shouldered his face cadaverous
with hollow cheeks and high cheek bones,-his
manner exceedingly awkward, his voice shrill and
his tones uumodulated-but perhaps that was
owing to the effort he felt obliged te make to ell
that large hall You get no graces of speech from
him little polish of rhetoric; but for hard straight
forward blows for weighty argument, have new
/
and rarely equalled. The effect of many Of his
sentences was heightened by the contortions of his
| mobile face.
The text Of his discourse sentence from
Douglas speech at Columbus, Ohio, last fall: Our
fathers who framed the constitution under which
we live, understood this question just as well and,
even better than we do now" He considered the
fathers meant, were the thrty-nine who signed
the original instrumentin the first place, and the
.eventy-six members of the Congress that added
the amendments thereto; and he showed by thei r
votes on the direct question, that clear majority
of the thirty nine thought that ''no line dividing
local (lokil-he pronounced i) from Federal au-
thorty, anything in the Constitution, properly
forbade Congress to prohibit slavery in the federal
territory,-a sentence that he brought down like
sedge hammer at the close of every period. And
the text asserts that they understood the question
better than we do now. He then showed that the
Congress that added the amendments to the Con-
stitution, the identical Congress that passed
the act enforcing the Ordinance of 81 and had the
amendments under consideration during the whole
time that act was under consideration. And is 1t
not impudently absurd to assert that these two
things are inconsistent, while yet our fathers un-
derstood this question better than we" Let him
who believes that proper division Of local and
federal authority, any part of the Constitution
forbids the Federal government to control slavery
in the territories say so, but not mislead others
into the belief that 'our fathers" thought so too;
and let him brave the responsibility of asserting
that he understands "our fathers" principles bet
ter than they did. Let all who believe that "our
fathers understood this question better than we
do", act as they acted, speak as they spoke. This
is all republicans ask, in relation to slavery.
| Mr.. Lincoln went or to say what he would be
| glad to say to the South.-if they would
listen. They call US sectional because we get no
votes at the South. That is fact of their max
ing, not of ours and if they will abide by it, they
shall find this very year that we have ceased to be-
sectional. They call themselves conservative and
us destructive; stick to the identical old poll
cy which was adopted by 'our fathers who framed
the constitution under which we livo"-they re-
ect and spit upon it. They charge US with stir
ring up insurrection,-the proofs, John Brown
Harpers Ferry Though they have failed to i'm :
plcate single republican, in that enterprise they