The weekly Anglo-African., 1860-01-14
THE "IRREpREssIBLE CONFLICT

Whether William Ill. Seward shall
reach the Presidency de jure or not, he
stands forth already as one-nay, as the
king of the hour-more discussed, more
hated, more feared, more loved, than any
other living man among the American peo-
pie. From the political throne on which
he sits by right Of his astute and sagacious
intellect, he issues sedicts which are listened
to and obeyed as implicitly as if he was a
crowned king, backed by hereditary au-
thority and an immense standing army.
Nay, his sayings go forth with an authority
which kings seldom exercise, and which
belongs rather to the category OF the ora
cles of old, which were SO potent, especial
ly in Greece Looking back to the say
ings of our great political masters, Jefer-
son, the AdamSes, Jackson, Webster, and
Calhoun, we find no short, terse sayings OF
theirs which have arrested the public at
tention and passed at once into common
language in like manner as the Higher
Law" and "Irrepressible Conflict" Of MIR.
Seward. And the reason seems to be that
while the sayings of others are either par
tizan or, at most, but part of the truth, the
utterances of Mr.. Seward are beyond the
limits and the aspirations of party, and
embrace the whole truth firmly spoken.
For an acknowledged aspirant for the Pre-
sidency, while the canvass had scarcely
begun, to announce the two sayings We
have quoted, was an act as daring as the
seizure Of Harper's Ferry; and as these
phrases pass from lip to lip and ear to ear
throughout the land, there passes along
with them all the excitement and not a lit
tie of the admiration which men involunta-
rily render to heroic daring.
The '-irrepressible conflict" is going on,
not only in high places but in the by-ways,
in the North as well as in the South And
earnestly as mere politicians, in their short
sightedneSs, may endeavor to isolate John
Brown from VIM. III. Seward, the endeaY-
or is as vain as would be the attempt to
Seperate lightning from the thunder-bolt
The "irrepressible conflict is producing
strange contrarieties in legislation. In Mas
sachusetts Gov. Banks has just vetoed a
bill to organize black regiment in that
State, while in Virginia the Legislature is
about to introduce bill to organize a regi-
ment of free blacks to protect the State
against Abolition emissaries. These free
blacks are to have the privilege of testify
ing in coarts of Law against such acliteS as
they mey accuse of Abolitionism. Virgi-
MIA evidently knows where to find her best
men. We earnestly hope the law will
pass. We regard it as of infinitely greater
Importance that there shall be well-drill-
ed and efficient black regiment in Virginia
than in Massachusetts,, and we would add
"Wen done, John Brown p if we did not
fear such exclamation would prevent the
passage of the bill.
The 'irrepressible conflict" has reached
even the remote district Of the United
States called Long Island, hitherto distin-
guished mostly for the production of Car
thaginian brethren denominated "rooty."
We are indebted for the following Except
the swearing part to the distinguishedpas
tor of Shiloh Church, in this city: A mem
Der of that church, native of North Car
olina, having missed the cars at Jamaica,
started thence on foot for Brooklyn. On
his way he was obligingly taken up by an
Irishman, who was driving large empty
wagon. In the wagon was another man,
who proved to be an American. The Irish
man sat in the middle, and the others at
either side of him. The road was heavy
with mud AS in every other case where
three men have been thrown together "pro-
miscuously," John Brown became the sub
ject of conversation, which was nearly as
follows:
LriShmdn-"Sure, and | think John
Brown was right. He was noble and
glorious old man to risk his life and his
sons lives to give liberty to the slaves: and
he suffered martyrdom like an old hero as
he was"
White Anericdpe-"I think so too; and
it was an act of cowardly fear on the part
of Virginia to take the life of one of the
best and purest patriots, after Washington,
that America has ever produced.
Black AmeyIcan-"Well gentlemen, l
must differ from you both. know that
slavery is great evil, but law is law, and
l don t think that John Brown had any
right to go down with arms and violate the
law
FIfhn