The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1860-02-16

4 SPEECH BY CARL SCHURZ.
- OF WISCONSIN,
IN HAMPDEN HALL, SPRINGFIELD, MASS,
JANUARY 4, 1860

When great political or social problems,
difficult TO solve and impossible to put aside.
are pressing upon the popular mind, IS 1t a
common thing to see a variety of theories
springing up. which purp6rt to be unfaIling
remedies, aud to effect a speedy cure. Men,
who look only at the surface OF things, will,
like bad physicians. pretend to remove disease
by palliating its most violent symptoms. and
will astonish the world by their inventive in
genuity. no less than By their amusing assur.
sncs. But close scrutiny will In most ca
ses show ths. the remedies offered are but
new forms Of old mistakes.
OF all the expedients which have been in
vented for the settlement OF the slavery ques-
ton, Mr.. Douglass doctrine Of popular SOW
ereignty is certainly the most remarkable, not
only by the apparent novelty of the thing,
but by the pompous assurance with which it
was offered to the nation as . perfect and
radical cure. Formerly, compromises were
made between the two conflicting systems OF
labor. by separating them By geographical
lines. These compromises did indeed pro
duce intervals of comparative repose, but the
war commenced again. with renewed acrimo-
ny as soon as new bone OF contention pre-
sented itself. The system of compromises as
a whole proved failure. Mr.. Douglass
doctrine OF popular sovereignty proposed TO
bring the two sntagonistic elements into I'm
mediate contact, and to let them struggle
hand to hand for supremacy on the same
ground. In this manner, he predicted the
slavery question would settle itself in the
smooth way Of ordinary business. He seem
cd to be confident Of success !; but hardly is
his doctrine. in the shape of a law for the
organization OF Territories. put upon the stat
nj yhon h.4 strt,un nla horC0r
than ever. and the difficulties ripen into cri-
sis. This does not disturb him. He sends
forth manifesto upon manifesto. AMI during
even the State campaign of last fall he
mounts the rostrum in Ohio. in order to show
what he can do: and. like . second Constan-
tine he points his finger to the great principle
Of popuier sovereignty. and says to his fol-
lowers: In this sign you will conquer
But the tendency of events appeared unwill-
ing to yield to his prophecy. There seemed
TO be no charm in his command there was
certainly no victory in his sign. He had
hardly defined his doctrine more elaborately
than ever before. when his friends were rout-
ed everywhere, and even his great party is
on the point Of falling to pieces. The failure
is magniicently complete.
There was certainly something in his the
ories that captivatsd the masses. l do not
speak Of those who joined their political for
tunes to his. because they saw in him man
who some day might be able to scatter IA
vors and plunder around him. But there we're
a great many, who. seduced by the plausible
sound Of the words popular sovereignty.
meant have found there some middle ground
on which the rights Of free labor might be
protected and secured. without exasperating
those interested in slave labor. They really
did think that two conflicting organizations
Of society. which are Incompatible by the ma
ture of things. might be made compatible by
legislative enactments. But this delusion
vanished. No sooner was the theory put 70
a practical test. when the construction Of the
Nebraska bill became no less matter o
fierce dispute than the construction of the
Constitution had been before Is this pro-
slavery or is ii anti slavery it was asked
The South found in it the right to plant slave
labor In the territories unconditionally, and
the North found In it the right to drive sa
very out of them. Each section of the coun
try endeavored TO appropriate the results o
the Nebraska bill to itself. and the same
measure, which was to transfer the struggle
from the halls of Congress into the Terrific
ries, transferred it from the Territories bacl
into Congress /; and there the Northern ano
Southern versions Of the Nebraska bill fgh
each other with the same fury with which ths
Southern and Northern versions Of the Con
stisution have fought each other before
What does the Constitution mean in regsrt
to slavery That question remains to bt
settled. What does the Nebraska bill mean
This question depends upon the settlement
of the former.
OF all men Mr.. Douglas ought to be tn,
first to know what the true intent and mean
ing Of the Nebraska bill and the principle O
populsr sovereignty is. He is presumed {
be a statesman, aud il must be presumed ths
his measure rests upon positive idea; 70
all true craftsmanship is founded upon pos
tive ideas.
In order to fud out Mr.. Douglass ow
definition of his own great principle we ar
obliged to pick up the most lucid Of his state
mants as We find them scattered about in nu
merous speeches and manites,oes. Ate
multifsrious cruisings upon the sea OF pla
forms and arguments. Mr. Douglas has at la.
landed at the following point: A slave say
he in his famous Harper Magazine article,
slave within the meaning of the Cons,itu
tion, is person held to service or labor
one State. 'Gsder the faes thereof NJ
under the Constitution of the United State
or under the laws thereof. nor by virtue ,
any Federal Authority whatever but d.
the laacs If ahe particular STATE tcaere s.c
Sc, rice or labor may be dae' This is Gle,
and with his eyes firmly fixed upon ,t
people Of the North, he goes on III. as NJ
Buchsnan asserts. Slavery exists in the TIE
.ritories by virtue of the Constitution Of Il
United States. then il becomes the imper
tive duty Of Congress. 10 the perfornax
ofIesiet erery member IS boxsd 81 has co,
science and his oatA. and from rAicA
consideration Of policy or erpedieacy c4
release Aim. to provide by law such ad
'quate and complete protection as is essenti
to the enjoyment Of an important right s
cured by the Constitution-in one word
enact general slave code flr the Terri,
RES But Mr.. Douglas is not satisfied wi
this. In order to strengthen his assumptio