The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1860-03-09
rur NArIoyAL ExCrrEuEyr.

In coming forward among the political as.
trologers, il shall be an error Of judgement,
and not OF disposition, if my Interpretation
of the lcyerish dreams which are disturbing
the country shall tend to f0ment, rather than
10 allay, the national excitement. i shall
say nothing unnecessarily Of persons, because,
in our system, the public welfare and happi-
ness depend chiefly on institutions. and very
little on men. shall allude but briefly to
incidental topics, because they are ephemer-
al, and because, even in the midst of appeals
TO passion and prejudice, il is always safe to
submit solid truth to the deliberate consider
alton of an honest and enlightened people.
Ii will BE- an oyeraowins source of shame,
as well us Of sorrow, il we, thirty millions =
Europeans by extraction, Americans by birth
or discipline, and Christians in faith, and
meaning to be such in practicc-cannot 81
combine prudence with humanity, in our
conduct concerning the one disturbing sub
icct or slavery, Us not only to preserve our
nneoualed institutions Of freedom, but also
to enjoy their benefits with contcntment and
harmony.
nERE AND NOW.
Wherever guiltlcss slave exists, be he
Caucasian, American, Malay, or African, he
is the subject of two distinct and opposit,
ideas-one that he is wrongly, the other thai
he is rightly slave. The balance ofnum'
bers ON either side, however great, never
completely extinguishcs this difference oI
opinion, for there are always some defenders
of slavery outside, even il there are none in
side of a free State, while also there are al
WAYS outside, il there are not inside OF every
slave State, many who assert with Milton
that no man who knows aught can be 81
stupid as to deny that all men naturally were
born free. being the image and rcsenblanc,
of God himself, and were by privilege above
all the creatures, born to command and not
to obey" Ii often, perhaps generally hap
pens, however, that in considering the sub
iect of slavery, society seems TO overlook the
natural right, or personal interest of the
slave himself, and 10 act exclusively Tor the
welfare of the citizen. But this fact does
not materially affect ultimate results, for the
elementary question OF the rightiulneSs or
or wrongtulncss Of slavery inheres in every
form that discussion concerning ii assumes.
What is Just to one class Of men can never
be injurious TO another; and what is unjust
20 any condition of persons in state, is
necessarily injurious in some degree 10 the
whole community. An economical question
early arises out OF the subject of slavery-la-
boreither of frcemcn or Of slaves is the cardin-
al necessity Of society. Some States choose
the one kind, some the other. Hence two
municipal systems widely different arise
The slave State strikes down and affects to
oxtinguish the personality OF the laborer,
not only rs a member Of the political body,
but also us u parent, husband, child, neigh
Dor, or friend. lie thus becomes. IN polit
ical view, merely property without moral
capacity, and without domestic. moral, and
social relations, duties, rights. and remedies
IA chattel, an object Of harraip. sale. cift.
inheritance, or theft. His earnings are com.
penated and his wrongs atoned, not 10 him
self. but to his owner. The State protects
not the slave as a man, but the capital Of
another man, which he represents. On the
other hand. the State which rejects slavery
encourages and animates and inyigoratcs the
laborer by maintaining and developing hi,
natural personality in all the rights ana lac
ulties Of manhood, and generally with Tn
privileges Of citizenship. In the one cas-
capital invested in slaves becomes grca
political forcc, while in the other labor thus
elevated and enfranchised, becomes the dom
mating political power. IL thus happen
thatwe may, for convenience sake, and not
inaccurately, call slave States capital States
and free States labor States.
ruE QUESTION THAT ARISES.
So soon as a State feels the impulses o
commerce or enterprise or ambition. its citi
scns begin to study the effects ot these sys
tens vi capital and labor respectively on IL