Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1860-08-24
Carl Schurx at st. Louis.
4 GREAT SPEECH.

! brIiilancy OF his reputation as an orator. ii
spoke at very great length, and IS fully report
cd in the Democrat We have room for onl
a few striking pessages. He opened the sui
ject as follows:
i Mr.. President AND GENTLENEN To dt
ny the existence Of an evil they do not mea
to remedy, to aseribe to paltry causes the OF
gin of great problems they do not mean t
solve, to charge those who define the nature 0
an existing difficulty, with having originate
it-these are the expedients which the opps
nents of reformatory movements have resorte
TO since mankind has had history. An appea
TO ignorance or ti1nidity Is their last hop.
when all resources OF logic and argument ar
exhausted. The old comedy is repeated agai
and again.
! The assertions that the great contest betwee
free and slave labor has no foundation in fact
that the origin OF the slavery controversy is Il
be found in the fanatcism of few Northern
Abolitionists, and that those who speak of al
'irrepressible conflict are to be made respon
! sihle for its existence these form the argu
mentatiFe staple of those who possess eilhe
not sagacity enough to discern, or not eourag,
! enough TO 10 state facts as they are.
Speaking OF
TEE IEREPREssIBLE zCoNFLICT, ---
he said
Your social system is founded upon forced
! labor. ours upon free labor. Slave labor can
not exist together with freedom of inquiry, ane
so you demand the restriction of that freedom
free labor cannot exist without it, aud so we
maintain its invioability Slave labor de
! Al, 81
individual liberty, for the purposes of uphold
ing subordination and protecting slave proper
! ty; free labor demands their preservation as
essential aud indispensable to its existence and
progressive development. Slavery demands
extension by an aggressive foreign policy free
labor demands an honorable peace and friendly
intercourse with the world abroad for its com
! merce, and peaceable and undisturbed devel
opment Of our resources at home for its agri-
. culture and industry: Slavery-dctnandse exten-
sion over national territories for the purpose
of gaining political power. Free labor de-
mands the national domain for working men,
for the purpose of spreading the blessings OF
liberty and civilization. Slavery therefore op-
poses all measures tending TO secure the soil
to the actual laborer; free labor, therefore rec
ognizes the right of the settler to the soil, and
demands measures protecting him against the
pressure Of speculation. Slavery demands the
absolute ascendency of The planting interest in
oar economical policy; free labor demands leg
is!ation tending TO develope all the resources Of
the land and to harmonize the agricultural,
commercial. and Industrial interests. Slavery
demands the control of The general government
for its special protection and the promotion Of
its peculiar interests free labor demands that
tiis genera gs,revunlent be aizpiassls2saS for
the purpose Of securing to all the blessing OF
liberty. and for the promotion of the general
welfare. (Tremendous app'ause.} Slavery
demands the recognition of its divine right +;
free labor recognizes no divine right but that
OF the liberty of all men, loud cheers.)
With one word, s}areay demands for ats pro-
tecfion and preparation, system Of poIscg
actteh IS utterly Incompatible t0th the principles
upon aehsct the organization Of free 3cdor So
ciety Tests. There is the antagonisn. That is
the essence OF the 'irrepressible conflict" 1t
is u conflict of principles undertaking interests
always the same, whether appearing as NOR
al, economical or political question. Mr..
Douglas hoasted that he could repress it with
police measures he might well try to fet-
TER the winds with rope. The South mean
to repress ii with decisions of the Supreme
Court they might as well, like Xerxes, try to
subdne the wares Of the ocean by throwing
chains into the water. (applause-)
CONSTRUCTION OF THE CONSTITUTION.
The predominance OF interests determines
the construction of the Constitution. So it
was and SO ii ever will be. Only those who
remained trae TO the original programme Of
the fathers, remained true to the original con-
siruction. Decide the contest Of principles un-
tlerlaying interests, and the conflict of consti-
tutional constructions will settle itself. This
may seems dangerous political theory. 1t is
not an article of my creed-not matter of
princip ple-but matter of experience, not a
doctrine, but fact.
Thus the all-prevailing antagonism stands
before US, gigantic in its dimensions, growing
every day in the awful proportions tits prob
lens, involving the character of our institu-
tions involving our relations with the world
abroad involving our peace, our rights and
liberties at home involving our growth and
prosperity involving our moral and political
existence as nation. As to
IGNORING THE IRREPREssIBLE CONFLICT.
There we encounter the so-called Union
party, with Bell and Everett, who tell US the
best way to settle the coufict is to ignore it.
[Laughter.1
Ignore it! Ignore it, when attempts are
made to plunge the country into war and dis
grace, for the purpose of slavery extension =
Ioooro II uban clevarv ond froo IaLor ,rao.o
their fierce war about the possession of the ma
tional domain Ignore it, when the liberties
of speech and the press are attacked! Ignore il
when the actual settler claims the virgin soil,
and the slaveholding capitalists claim it also !!
ignore it. when the planting interests seek to
establish and maintain its exclusive supremacy
in our economic al policy! Ignore it, indeed
Ignore the FIRE that consumes the corner posts
of your house Ignore the storm that breaks
the rudder and tears to tatters the sails of your
ship! Conjure the revolted elements with a
meek Mount Vernon lecture! Pour upon the
furious waves the placid oil of quotations from
Washington's farewell address Cheers and
laughter.
1t is true they tell us they will enforce The
laws and the constitution well enough But
what laws? Those that free labor demand, or
those that slavery give US? What constitu
ton? That of Washington and Madison, or
that of Slidel, Douglas and Taney? Loud
and long continued cheeringl
The conflict stands there with the stubborn
brutal force of reality. However severely it
may disturb the nerves of timid gentlemen,
there 1t stands and speaks the hard, stern lai-
guage Of fact | understand well that great
problems and responsibilities should be APP
preached with care and caution. But times
like these demand the firm action of men who
know what they will, and ucU it, not that
eunuch policy, which, conscious of its own un-
productiveness, invites us. blandy to settle
down into the imbecile contentment Of general
lmpotency. They cannot ignore the conflict
if they would, but have not nerve enough to