The Buchanan County guardian. (Independence, Buchanan County, Iowa) 1858-1864, 1860-10-16

life."
And well might he say so, for the pro
position whispered into the ears of tn,
fairest of our kind by the serpent of Par
adise was hardly more infamous and in
fernal than the proposition Douglas whis
pered in the ears of the present genera.
ton.
Where did Mr.. Douglas learn these
doctrines ? He has been in Europe
Unable TO comprehend the means by
which liberty is to be preserved in this
country, he seems to have studied the
means by which people are enslaved
there. Not in England but in France
and Russia, he found much to admire
Il don't know whether he visited Aus.
lria and Naples.) He basked in the
sunshine of the smiles of the Gear Mich.
olas. The smiles of despot sank deep
ly into his heart, and this conspiracy
bill grew out of it.
And this is your greatest of living
statesmen. If this is the ruling states
manship of our days, then good night
dearly bought Liberties good night
bright American republic 7! good night
great beacon of struggling humanity
If it is craftsmanship to subvert the prin.
ciples OF the Constitution, undermine the
liberties of the people, to place the secu.
rity of the individual at the mercy of the
centralized Government, then, indeed
he is one of the greatest, and his statue
deserves to be erected side by side with
that Of the llustrious Cataline of Rome
and the patriotic Strafford of England
| do not fear that the man who made the
infamous attempt will be elevated to the
highest trust in this republic, for JUS
fate was already irrevocably decreed
against him but | do fear that there
may be thousands of men who will not
have spirit enough to stigmatize him
with their reputation. l appeal to you
American freeman. Your hearts cannot
harbor the sincere feeling of gratitude
for the heroes and sages who gave liber,
ty TO this land, if yon do not harbor a
curse for the man who attempts to des.
troy il with his insidious schemes.
Let me proceed: 1t would seem thai
the policy of n man who introduces and
advocates such measures, must spring
either from the profoundest ignorance o.
the principles upon which the liberty o
men is maintained, or an innate love o
the principles by which the liberty o
men is subvertcd Ii will, therefore
surprise you little when l tell you that
Douglass system of policy rests upon
the basis of profound philosophical
doctrine concerning the only sale foun-
dation upon which human liberty rests
1t has always struck me as very remark
able, and it may have occurred to a
great many of you, that Mr.. Doug las i
mind, with all its acuteness and fertility
and resources. is exceedingly berren in
original conception. All the speeches
he has delivered since 1854 carry the
peculiar flavor of staleness about them
They contain nothing but some stereo.
typed and somewhat commonplace ideas
played in sonorous mellow swell o
language which derives its principal
charm from the animal vigor and ener.
gy with which it is pu fed out.
And here permit me to say, by the
way, that in my humble judgment | con
slider him one Of the most overestimated
men in the country. But his speeches
do contain one original idea, and tel
YOU that is bright one il belongs al
to him nobody ever advocated il be-
fore. and nobody will hereafter. We
have been laboring under the impress.
ion that Douglas did not care whether Sla
very be voted up or down but we must
beg his pardon-it turns out that he
does care (; for the only original idea he
can boast of is that Slavery must neces.
sarily exist for the sake of-pariety
Don't laugh, | pray you-it is very
serious maiter-it is the fundamental
principle upon which Mr.. Douglas {
whole craftsmanship rests +; and as he is
the greatest statesman alive il certainly
deserves a serious consideration. He
tells us that it is the very issue upon
which he conducted the canvass in Iii.
nois 10 l858-it is the very ground up
on which he placed the necessity Of his
Conspiracy bill. and he has peddled il
all over the Union in numberless speech.
es.
The original idea, as expressed in his
own language, is simply this: :" as
sert." said he. in his speech opening the
canvass Of 1853. "that the great funda'
mental principle which underlies oul
complex system of State and Fedora
governments. which implies diversity
and dissimiarity in local institutions
and domestic affairs of each and every
State then in the Union, or thereafter &c
be admitted. therefore conceive thai
Mr.. Lincoln has totally misapprehended
the great principles upon which oul
Government rests Uniformity in local
and domestic affairs would be destrue
tive of States rights, of States soyer-
eignly-of personal liberty and persona
freedom. Wherever the doctrine Of uni
formity is proclaimed that all the States
mast be free or Stare: that oil the iabo,
mast be ,chite or Mack, that all the citizens
Of the different States must have the
same privileges, or must be ruled by the
same regulations, you hare destroyed III.
greatest safeguards Which our institution!
hare Gsrotrn around the rights Of The CHI