New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1860-12-04
Cushing on THE CRISIS.

Tho Hon. Caleb Gushing is at present occupied
in delivering, by instalments, speech, nominally
to bis fellow-citizens at NewburypOrt, but in
tended, no doubt, for the public generally In
the introduction 10 this speech, he informs his
auditors that the point at which he aims is to
discover and point out how, in existing emergen-
cies, the Union can be preserved. 1t is very
well that Mr. Gushing thus announces beforehand
the object he has in view, since, without this
forewaTniDg, one might have been driven to sup
pose, Grom the tenor Of that portion of the speech
as yet delivered, that, instead of seeking to pre-
serve the Union, the orator was doing his best
10 stimulate the spirit aud the passions, and to
Justify the misrepresentation in which the dis
union movement has its origin, and which are
relied upon as tho means OF carrying it into
practical effect.
So far rs Mr.. Gushing has yet gone, he has
devoted himself mainly to two topics These to-
pics are the doctrine of the - Irrepressibe Con-
- fiict' ascribed to Messrs. Lincoln and Seward
and some extracts from cOngratulatOry speech
of Senator Wilson on the triumph of the Repub-
lican party in the late Presidential Election.
In his remarks on the " Irepressble Con-
Gict," Mr.. Gushing quietly assumes that the
Constitution of the United States was based
upon the idea of the perpctuity of Slavery in the
Southern States, and that to suggest the opinion
that, in the presence of Free Labor and Demo
cratic institutions, Slavery must ultimately dlsap-
pear from the Union, is gross departure,
ON The part of us degenerate sons, from the
spirit anu ideas OF the patriotic fathers by whom
tie Federal Constitution was framed In this
view Of the case, il is little singular that the
Constitution sbolld have eyadcd all reference,
except ty an ambiguous perphrasis, to that
which, according to MIR. Gushing, was one of the
selected cOrnCr-stOnes upon the basis Of which
the Federal Government was forever to rest.
If The fathers expected Slavery to last rs long
as the Union did, why should they have been SO
very careful not to refer to il by name' Woald
the provision that only three-ffths of the slaves
shall DO counted in determining the ratio of rep
resCntatiOn have ever becn agreed to had it
been supposed that Slavery was to be
permanent institution Mr.. Gushing him.
self refers to Washington, Jefferson and
Madison three, at least, of the fathers"
to use his own words, "and who my
L" almost be deemed the fathers, par e1csllcnce,
4" rs, by birth, faith policy, and practice" a." re-
representatives., Gn any possible sense of the
/" word) of the power, influence and policy of
the flayeholding States" Bat will Mr..
Gushing presume to say that these three iustri-
Gus men, or either of them, held to the doctrine
Of the perpetuity Of Slavery as the chief corner
stone OF our federatiye form of Government
Is it not perfectly notorious that one and all,
they regarded Slavery as a moral, social, eeono-
mical, and political evil and anxOusy looked for
ward to the time when it would disappear from
the country They were, it il true, in practice,
shareholders, and continued so all their lives
their theoretical opinions
on this subject "A fact which might
have led Nh Gushing TO reflect that, in
holding TO the opinions Of these illustrioas Viz