Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1860-10-16

the soaDed pig and clutch with dett fist, at
full gallop, the fated goose tied alott by It's
foot relieving these sports, now ana then, by
bout of grinning through horse collar
which teats do prove agility, toughness, ana
other useful faculties in man, but not the high
est His opinion is that anybody who can
climb creased pole can make speech for
all mortas have a tongue, and carry on some
tumble, if not of thought, yet OF talk. when
one of these poe-climbers challenges the whole
population OF an English village TO beat INN at
that business, he finds few or none to respond
SO when Mr. Thayer challenges all Worcester
county to come upon the platform and put
questions to him, or answer his questions, II Is
no matter OF surprise that he fails to hnd a
toeman worthy of his peculiar proves. 50
! he struts round the stage and sounds the shrlll
clarion Of victory Nobody dares to meet me,
the Hon Eli Thayer! True; and nobody
dares to meet Lobbin Clout, the champion
| climber and goose. catcher OF the village OF
Pumpkinye Sound the trumpets beat the
drums! Chair the honorable member Who
can talk like him Who can climb like him
| propose to criticise, not to discuss; to REIN
force, if may, those who have to watch this
| agile master OF tongue-fence. That is all.
So much for preliminares. | proceed, in
the first place, to examine Mr.. Thayer's ethics.
Let us begin at the beginning Mr. Thayer's
votes have been wrong, and his speeches have
been absurd, because lie has started of with
bad set of principles. The key to his whole
! policy to his refusal to express by vote, any
disapprobation Of slavery in New Mexico, and
of polygamy in Utah, and of negro prOscrip-
ton in Oregon, is contained in the following
leading principle which he lays down in his
| first Worcester speech of this yoar =
Only opinion is, it is better Tor any political
community to do wrong by their own volun-
t9rV apf than tO bn ron,nnllpd IN do riollt "
any outside power"
And in the same vein, he said in his speech
| upon the territorial bills -
Does he Mr.. Gooch expect that if they
love slavery and hate freedom, he is going to
make them good christians and good freedom.
men by legislating that they shall never have
slaves You cannot legislate religion,
or temperance, or christianity, or heaven into
any people under the SUM-
Mr.. Thayers illustrations of this principle
| are almost too absurd for comment or quota
ton. For instance, what more pitiable speci
men OF iargon could there be than his attempt
to illustrate the propositions above stated, By
asking this question =
Would he propose, in respect to christian
| izing l1indostan, that the best method for the
missionary societies would be to send over and
steal their idols Would he make them chris
tians any sooner by legislating in Massachu-
Sclls, OF mere IN tle FEDERAL government against
idol worship in Hindostan ?'
| This is as bad as his town of Orange illus
tration, which Mr.. Aldrich disposed OF so hap
| PLY a man who can see any analogy be-
tween Massachusetts legisating against idol
! worship iii Hindostan, and the United States
! legisaing for one of its own territories, must
be hopelessy afflicted with intellectual strabs.
mus. All the analoges in nature, and history
and common sense, are on the side of inter.
CcntloH, and not of Indifference. dislike to
quote scripture, for Mr.. Thayers tedious habit
OF doing SO irresistby reminds one of Hoods
shrewd and witty observation, in his ode to
" lis not so plain as the old Hill of Howth
man has got his belly full OF meat
because he talks with victuals in his MOUTH
But his ausion to idol worship puts me in
mind OF 4 general statute on that subject which
was supposed TO be intended for HindOstau
and all other countries. | refer 10 the com.
mandment against idol worship, which may
| be found somewhere in the book of Exodus If
l remember correctly. Mr.. Thayer said at
Chicago, when trying to keep the language OF
the Declaration Of independence out OF the re-
publican platform, that "he believed in the ten
commandments, but did not want them i'll a
political platform" lie would have them in
The book Of Exodus, and perhaps would like
TO have the Tract Society print an edition OF
them for general circulation but to endeavor
to make them into statutes, Tor state or nation,
would be the height oi absurdity. Ii he had
been consulted by the Aim ghty before the
law was given to Moses, Chou shalt not kill, T."
81 Thou shalt not commit adultery" Thou
shalt not steal''-he would probably have re-
piled with the astonishing bit Of philosophy
which | have quoted, viz that 'it is better
for any political community to do wrong by
IF n hn ron IpI
to do right by amy outside power" Ii he had
had the framing Of the decalogue, he would
have said, Dear people, would advise you
not to kill, " Hadn't you better refrain from
adultery 3" 'Be good enough to take a vole,
and decide for yourselves whether larceny is
likely to be useful domestic institution 2"
This dogma OF noninterYentiOu, n0n-intertcr
ence, mind yOur-own business, strikes at the
root Of all law Is the decaogue sufficient
without statute against murder! Let Mr.
Ilayer's principles be carried out, and every
penal statute and every civil statute would be
erased from our code, and we should return to
Il state of nature and club law. There is i'll
PREVENTION everywhere. Our schools are al
Intervention against ignorance; ventilation is
an intervention against disease christianity is
an intervention against sin our penal law is
an Intervention against crime. Who then
shall intervene Why, Of course, those who
NAVE the ityW' lie Almighty makes laws
for the Whole human family. Every human
government makes laws for itself and its pos
sessions Massachusetts make laws for Wor-
cester, and the United States makes laws for
Kansas and New Mexico Those who deny
the right OF the United States to make laws
for these territories, or to make laws prohibit.
ing slavery, may vote against such laws, and
are obliged SO to do ; but Mr.. Thayef expressly
admits these rights. Yet he has a principle,
he says, against interference he stands on the
ridiculous dogma L have quoted-better go
wrong, voluntarily, than right, compulsory
1t is no matter of surprise, tlen that Il man
who starts off with a bad set of principles,
and with whip and spur drives ON 10 logical
conclusion, should be found giving wrong votes
and making vicious speeches. 1t is no won
der that he finds himself at issue with his re.
publican constituents, who hold no such prin-
cipies and desire to arrive at no such results.
The worst thing that can be said OF Mr.. Thay.
ers votes in congress on questions connected
with slavery is, that they are in the main, con-
siStent with his atrocious principles
In my next, shall show that Mr. Thayers
position is dramatically opposed to that OF
the republican party, and that without gross
inconsistency, no republican can support him.
l Shall follow this up with, chapter on Kan.
sas, and another on the Mexican slave code,
and other matters
Yours very truly,
WARRINGTON.
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