The weekly north Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1857-1867, 1860-10-24

of the United States. The mission of this
Republican party, according to Mr.. Sew
ard, is to revolutionize this Government to
overtnrn those broad foundations upot1
which our fathers built it, and, by re-.
construction, to convert it into q thing
which our fathers would have repudiated:
They made this government for white peo.
pie, C'That's So" and loud cheers) It b
the white mans government, made by
white men for the benefit of white rnch,
and to be administered by white men, and
nobody else. (Applause.) Hence, I bold
that the Supreme Court of tho United
States decided right when they declared
that a negro is not citizen (hear, hear,)
but it does not follow, by any means, mere
ly because negro is not citizen, that
therefore he is not to have any rights. On
the contrary, it does follow that it is our
duty to give the negro all the rights, all the
immunitics and all the privileges which hS
can safely enjoy consistent with the good
of the society in which he lives; immunity
and christianity demand this much at our
hands. The question then arises, what arc
those rightsS What is the nature and ex.
tent Of the rights which negro is entitled
to enjoyy will tell you precisely and dis.
| tinctly that no man can misunderstood me:
They are just exactly what each State and
Territory shall decide for itself. (Cries Of
"good" and applause.) You people in
| Iowa take care Of your own negroes; pass
just such laws as you please, prescribing
the relations between the white man and
negro, and having done that, mind your
own business, and let your neighbors alone.
Laughter and Applause.) In Illinois, We
dot not allow the negro any political rights
whatever. In New York they allow him to
vote provided he owns two hundred and
fifty dollars worth of property, and not
without They think that q rich negro is
as good as poor white man (great laugh
teri, and that poor negro is no better than
horse (grcat laughter.) In Illinois, VIC
do not permit negro to come into tho
State. We tried slavery when we were a
territory, maintained it as long as we
thought it was to our good to have it, and
abolished it when we got tired of it. Hav-
ing found that, in our climate, with our
soil and our productions, slavery was not
profitable, we abolished it. Immediately
after doing so, we discovered that Kentuc-
ky and Missouri were emancipating their
old, worn out negroes and sending them
into Illinois, thus making a negro colony
of us. To prevent this, we put provision
in our new Constitution that a negro should
| not come into the State, whether free or
slave. Indiana has adopted that same pro-
vision. Now I do not care whether you
like it or dislike it, we like it, and with all
due respect to you, people Of Iowa, it is
none of your business. Uaughter) We
made the Constitution Of Illinois for our.
selves, and not for you. You make Con-
stitution for Iowa, and put just such pro-
visions as you please, and We will not in.
terfere or complain of you. (Cries Of
"good," and cheers.) So in reference tI
the Southern States; they do not deem it
safe and prudent to extend to the negro the
same privileges that you do in Iowa, or we
do in illinois. There may be reasons for
that-it may be entirely safe in Iowa where
you have very few negroes, to give them
rights and privileges which it would be un-
| safe and dangerous to give them in South
| Carolina, where the slaves outnumber the
| whites two to one-hence you must allow
the people of South Carolina to manage
their own affairs, regulate their own lnsti-
tutions, take care of their own negroes, and
mind their own business, and they must
let us alone CHEERS and laughter.) Ex-
tend that principle to the Territories, and
there will be entire peace between the diff
fercnt portions Of this Union.
Why not allow the people of Nebraska,
of Kansas, and of every other Territory,
to decide this question for themselves?-
Why. the Republicans answer, if you per-
NIT the people of Territory to decide this
question, they would certainly ruin them
selves by adopting slavery. Sincere friends
of the people they are! Laughter What
implicit confidence they hav in the Ame-
rican people, when they believe that they
would be sure to ruin themselves if they
only had the chance. That is the tyrants
plea the world over Cries Of good" and
''that's sou Go into any despotism of
the old world, and ask the reigning tyrant
why he does not allow the people to make
their own laws, and he will tell you they
would ruin themselves with bad laws if he
did. Laughter. Go and ask the Empcr-
or of Austria why he does not allow his
German subjects to have voice in making
the laws under which they live, and he will
reply that he would be glad to do so, bus
the Germans would only ruin themselves
by bad laws if he gave them PERMISSION
Laughter. Go into England, which beasts
of being the freest country upon the earth,
and ask why they abolished the Irish Par
lament, and deprived the Irish Of the priv
ileges of selfgovernmcnt, and the tories Of
England will tell you that the Irish would
have ruined themselves by bad laws if they
had given them the opportunity. (Renew-
cd laughter.) r-..
Then come to Republican America and
ask the modern Republican party why it
does not give the people Of territory the
privilege of governing themselves and it
will answer you that the people of the Ter
rtories would ruin themselves if they had
the chance. (Great laughtr and ap-
plause.) Well all have to say is that any
people who have not sense enough to save
themselves from being ruined by bad laws
are not fit for selfgovernment (Chee"s) 1t
is a fundamental principle Of free govern
ment that the people must determine for
themselves what laws are just and what
are unjust, what institutions are right and
what are wrong. Whenever you surren-
der to foreign power or permit anybody
else on earth than yourselves to determine
whether your own laws are good or bad /,
right or wrong you have forfeited the prvi-
lege Of self-government.
Then my friends why not Danish the
slavery question from the halls of Con.
gress, "a voice 1--WE will try it.'D What
good has its agitation done, (another voice
''only harm.") What benefit has it con.
ferred on the negro race? (Crics of none y
Has it emancipated one negro? (Cries Of
"never".) Have you driven slavery from
one inch of American soil by this agita-
ton? )"No.~ If it has not therefore
conferred any benefit upon the negro, what
service has it been to the white man? CA
voice mot bit") 1t has arrayed one sec
ton against the other. it has alienated faith
er from son and mother from daughter; it
has disturbed the peace of your legislature
assemblies. il has entered Congress- and