Semi-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1853-18??, 1860-01-28

sion of publications directed to that end Its first
fruits were seen in its influences on women, preach
ers teachers and professors persons of lively SEN
sibilities generally, not so much accustomed to deal
with matters of fact more easily deluded by cum
nngly-devised sophisms and more frequently acting
from the influence of feelings. Soon abolition sen
timents appeared in books of education; got pos
session of schools, colleges, and churches As its
powers increased, its efforts multiplied, until
tcoyered the land with its publications Some twelve
months ago, it was stated in the newspapers that
one of the antislavery organizations had resolved to
circulate during the following year. in the State of
New York. one million of its tracts. Can such an
amount of printed matter this, consisting, as it
does of ngeniously written Misrepresentation and
falsehoods fail to produce some effect? Remember
that this is repeated from year to year. and aided by
hired and voluntary lecturers speakers, and preach
Abolitionism to a great extent, pervades the
literature of the free States. So strong is the feel
ing against slavery there that the writers of novels
and plays to secure the public patronage, exercise
their wits in imagining all that be conceived as
worst in human nature, and represent it as true
type of the state of society in the South The bulk Of
the newspaper press too, in the North is antisave
ry Such is the character of the entire press of the
dominant party there and Of large portion of the
neutral and religious papers; while part even Of
the minority, or Democratic press avoids the SUBJ
ject as much as possible, instead of attempting to
stem the current. Though Northern city papers are
much read in the South, on the contrary, our pa
pers have little no circulation in the North If
they had the efforts of the antisavery party would
to some extent be counteractcd. The cities of New
York and Philadelphia, for example, are not aboii-
tionzed and this is attributed by some to the fact
that they are engaged largely in Southern trade
But the mechanics of Massachusetts, just as
much interested, and yet they are intensely anti
slavery in their feelings The true solution Think
will be found in the fact that these cities the
sort of so many Southerners; that state of So
ciety is thereby better understood and cannot be so
successfully detamed The same reason applies to
the free States on the borders of the Saveholding
country 1t is not, as the abolitonists aege that
their conscences much blunted that they cannot
appreciate the evils of slavery; but simply because
they do understand it, that they cannot be imposed
upon by the falsehoods of the anti-savery writers
In addition to this reason the western States have
large influx of Southern emigrants. While YER
mont is intensely abolitonized, New Hampshire, adj
joining it, is less so. This may be accounted for
from the fact that New Hampshire originally
strongly Democratic, and its press resisted there
fore, to some extent the statements of the aboli-
tionists. Had not New Hampshire been small
State and surrounded with adverse influences, she
would probably not have been over-powered.
The anti-slavery movement has gone on with in
creasing strength, until it has educated large por-
tion of the northern people to entertain feelings of
hostility to slavery and the southern States The
movement has progressed independently of political
occurrences but it has occasionally been accelerated
or retarded by them For example: in 1850 it was
weakened somewhat, partly by the great discussion
at that time, which enlightened somewhat the popu-
lar mind, and also by the peculiar character of the
legislation of the period. California was admitted
as free State, with boundaries reaching far south
of the Missouri line, and giving the North the ma
jorty in this body while the principle of non-nter-
vention applied to Utah and New Mexico, re-
garded ruitleSs abstraction the general opinion
prevailing that, to use the words Of Mr. Webster,
the law of God had excluded slavery from them
AS to the fugitive slave law it seen that it could
practically like its predecessor the act of 1893 be
rendered nulty by State action and individual re-
SiStance. 1t is great mistake to suppose that the
repeal of the Missouri restriction in 1854 produced
the present anti-savery organization. In 1877 and
lS4S, the House ofRepresentatives by large MAORI
ties repeatedly passed the Wilmot provso; and
this was understood to have been done in accordance
with the wishes of their constituents. Prior to 1850
most of the churches had been divided by this ISSUE
From year to year the anti-savery sentiment &C
quired more and more political influence and in
1913 it took possession Of the greater portion of the
Wing party in the free States. No one was inlu-
entail in efecting this result as the Senator from
New York. In speech delivered during that year
in Ohio the object in part of which was to induce
the anti-slavery to join the Wing party rather
than the Buffalo platform FreeSolers he uses such
expressions these. call the attention of Sena-
tors particularly to them, because shall have occa-
sion to refer to them again presently:
THE party OF freedom seeks complete and univer-
sal emancipation"
Slavery is the sin of not some of the States only,
but of them all of not one nation only but of all
nations. 1t perverted and corrupted the moral sense
humankind deeply and universally and this corrup-
ton became universal habit. Habits of thought
become fixed principles. No American State has
yet delivered itself entirely from these habits. We
in New York. are guilty of slavery still by withhold
ing the right of suffrage from the race we have eman-
cipated. You, in Ohio arc guilty in the same way
by system of black laws still more aristocratic and
odious. 1t is written in the Constitution of the
United States that five slaves shall count equal to
three freemen basis of representation; and it is
written Also in violation of Divine law that we shall
surrender the fugitive slave who takes refuge at our
fireside from his relentless pursucr. You blush not
at these things, because they have become as fam-
lar as household words; and your pretended Free
Soil allies claim peculiar merit for maintaining these
miscalcd guarantees of slavery which they find in
the national compact. Does not all this prove that
the Wing party have kept up with the spirit of the
age? that it is as true and faithful to human free
dom as the inert conscience of the American people
will permit it to be? What then, you say, can no.
thing be done for freedom because the public con-
science remains inert? Yes, much can be DONE
everything can be done. Slavery can be limited to
its present bounds. 1t can be amelorated 1t can
be and must be abolished and YOU and can and
must do it. The task is simple and easy, its con-
summation will be benefcent and its rewards gori-
1t requires only to follow this simple rule of
action: To do everywhere and on every occasion
what we can, and not to neglect refuse to do what
we can at any time because at that precise time and
on that particular occasion we cannot do more.
circumstances determine possibilities" x
But we must begin deeper and lower than the
composition and combination of factions parties
wherein the strength and security of slavery lie
You answer that 1t lies in the Constitution of the
United States and the constitutions and laws of
slaveholding States Not at all. 1t is in the erro-
neous sentiment of the American people Consttu-
lions and laws can no more rise above the virtue of
the people than the limpid stream can climb above
its native spring Inclcate the love of freedom and
the equal of man under the paternal roof see