Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1860-10-26

AAN
and water the three elements. Now, .
idea is, you might just as we'll bottle up t
air, and let rich men turn the key on it, al
then dole it out to us to breath, as to pla
the land in the hands of capitalists, to
given ont in little tracts at exorbitant rat
to the poor settlers. That is ultra, is it !?
1t is not ultra if it falls within the idea a,
design of Infinite Wisdom when He ma,
the world. and believe it does. Build Il
tanks and collect in them all the water the
is in the world, and then turn on your pip
ard dole it out to the people, will you +
Lock up this air that the Divine Faith
poured all over us, and then sell it to me
pnts as lean afford to pay for it That
not what God designed in making the cart
the air and the water. l do not care to
extreme, and perhaps you will think that
an extreme illustration; but my idea is tn,
this does not harmOnize with the origin
plan of the Creator when he made the worl,
and endowed it with its productive powe
1t was that man might cultive it, and nc
that he should be a subject for speculation
That is the idea of the Homestead bill
whether it falls within the original idea G
not. I think it based upon this principle
we propose to allow the actual settler to er
ter upon the possession Of cultivate, an
finally acquire title in fee simple to thes
unoccupied public lands. .4
But the government wants it. What make
the government? Who upholds the govern
ment2 Who are the ornament, the suppor
and the stability Of any and every govern
ment under heaven. unless it be that vsr,
middle class, as they are called, which w
propose to multiply, and which we woulG
encourage to pour in one broad. strong
wave of Christian civilization over these ter
ritores Is it not that middle class, re
peat, which always has been the support
the defense the ornament and the glory O
every nation? Take away the middle classes
from England, to day, leaving bloated
aristoceacy on one hand, and its antagonist
the immense mass of the laboring popula
tion on the other, and the government
would collapse into great ruin in less than
twelve months. Cheers.] So it was ir
Rome. When Rome had only an aristocracy
and n race of slaves, the Republic ceased tt
exist, its glory was extinguished, and the
long era of its decay only afforded theme
to the historian Gibbon to write the "De
cline and Fall of the Roman Empire" So
must it be any country.
Nations are built of men;
The mighty arms of that huge skeleton, the State
Govern we it by priest or potentate,
Is evermore the same
Flesh, sinews, blood and bones of living men
Nodded together and made one
By that tremendous charm, the mind,
nd ruled, if ruin we would shun,
By one great bond of brotherhood.
owayed to one object - human good"
That is the great purpose of governments.
Now in regard to the army-and will soon
pass away from this branch of the subject -
suppose there was an actual state of war
with any country under heaven suppose
any hostile footstep should ever dare pollute
our soil, or insult our flag, who would rally
for its defense ? The men paid eight dol
lars month to kill and be killed-mere
Never. 1t will be tbs very
class of yeomanry to whom we now propose
% give the unoccupicd public lands. They
would leave their homes and fresides, and
instead of shouldering these--what do you
,all this Wide Awake arrangement, laugh
;er these lamp poles, they will shoulder
and fight its battles as they always
;ongbt (Great applause.) They did it in
II; thoy did it the Mexican war they will
10 it in war that may hereafter occur in this
1t is the yeomanry, the voluntary
'oldiery, that will fight It's battles. A soldiery
made up by the intelligent freemen, who
,wn some part of the land, never can be
[Applause.]
THE NEGRO QUESTION.
Now, my friends, passing from the Home
stead bill, come to the ''interninable negro
question" And here at the outset,
IS the matter was alluded to by the
Gentleman who introduced me, will remark,
t is frequently sad III don't blame Mr.
Iovejoy for being ultra, lot saying hard
hiags about slavery. He has reason to do
t. will forgive him if he uses severe and
errific language, vehement and denuncia-
ory." And why ooh, he had brother
Killed, and if had had brother killed |
would say hard tlings about slavery, too"
ladies and gentlemen, do nat ask any in
lulgcnce on this grouad, have no right to
indulge in spirit Of retaliation or revenge
do not denounce slavery because brothers
blood mingles with the Mississippi as it flows
lown to the land of slavery. do not de-
he bloom of manhood, shot down like very
,east, while the mob cheercd over his pros
rate, lifeless body. [Sensation.] 1t is not
or that; it is because slavery is wrong
Great applause 1t is because slavery is q
;urse. lfthere is not enough in slavery to
move any human heart to the use of indignant
anguage, then I have no business to use
uch language.
Now, at the outset, | wish to call the at
ent!on of this audience, whom l thank for
heir kindness in meeting me:here in such
arge numbers and remaining SO quiet, to a
act which l have sometimes alluded to, both
within and without the halls of Congress -
allude to the "irrepressible conflict" only
section Of which we witness. This CON
lict has swept on from the commencement,
md will continue on down to the time when
reedom and righteousness shall triumph all
,ver the earth We only view section of
his irrepressible conflict; the conflict in
he American Republic is not between the
North and South The North has nothing
against the South the South has nothing
against the North. What and where is the
contest The contest is between freedom
md siavery-between liberty and despotism.
Loud applause.] That should be remem.
Dered. The South deprecatingly says -
Don't invade the rights of the South" I
am told that Mr.. Yancey says he don't want
to live in country that holds Sumner and
Lovejoy. Well, if he don't there are plenty
Of railroads leading out of the country,
laughter, and when he gets to the ocean
there are enough ocean steamers to
take him anywhere he wants to go. But
the conflict is not between the North and
South. We make no agressions upon the
South. No man ever heard me utter word
against the South. never did it. 1t is not
against the rights of the South, but against
the unspeakeable wrong Of Slavery that we
light There is the conflict loud ap-
plause.] wish that could be horne in mind.
They gain very much by imposing upon US
their names, by intiltrating into us their
idea and their Interpretation of the con-
stitutional rights of the South. Nobody
wants to invade them. Nobody wants to
take away one iota from the constitutional
rights of the South-never. But when you
talk of slavery that is another thing.