The Lansing state Republican. [volume] (Lansing, Mich.) 1855-1874, 1860-06-13

same subject, is that warning weapon in
your hands against us. or in our hands
against you? Could Washington himself
speak. would be cast the blame of that sec.
tionalism upon US. who sustain his policy,
or upon you who repudiate it? We re-
spect that warning of Washington, and We
commend it to You. together with his ex-
ample pointing to the right application
of it.
but you say you are conservatiye-em
inent!y conservative-while We are revolu-
tionary, destructive or something of the sort.
What is conservatism Is it not adher.
ence to the old and tired. against the new
and untired We stick to, contend for,
the identical old policy on the point in con.
troversy which was adopted by our fathers
who framed the Government under which
We live; while you with one accord, reject
and scout. and spit upon that old policy,
and insist upon substituting something new
True. you disagree among yourselves as to
what that substitute shall be. You have
considerable variety of new propositions aud
plans, but you are unanimous in rejecting
and denouncing the old policy of the faith
ers. Some of you are for reviving the
foreign slave trade; some for Congress for
bidding the Territories to prohibit Slavery
within their limits, some for maintaining
Slavery in the Territories through the Ju-
dietary some are for the "grea, princi-
pie that if one man should enslave an.
other. no third man should object, fanas.
tically called " Popular Sovereignty" but
never man among you in favor Of federal
} prohibition of slavery in federal territories,
according to the practice of our fathers
who framed the Government under which
We live. Not one of all your various plans
can show precedent or an advocate in the
century within which our Government orig.
. mated Consider. then, whether your claim
of conservatism of yourselves. and your
charge of destructiveness against us, are
/ based on the most clear and stable founda.
tions.
, Again, you say We have made the slave.
J ry question more prominent than it former.
ly was. We deny it. We admit that it is
. more prominent, but We deny that we made
it 30. 1t was not We but you, who discar
t ded the policy of the fathers We resisted
: and still resist, your innovation and thence
. comes the greater prominence of the ques
ton. Would you have that question re
> duced to its former proportions! Go bach
t to that old policy. What has been will b
. again, under the same conditions. If 20,
, would have the peace of the old times, re
adopt the precepts and policy of the olt
times
: You charge that We stir up insurrection
' among your slaves. We deny it an(
what is your proof Harper's Ferry
r John Brown, John Brown was no Repub
+; lican; and you have failed to implicate
8 single Republican in his Harper's Ferry
r enterprise. If any member of our party i
u guilty in that matter you know it, or yo'
o do not know it. If you do know it, 20,
s are inexcuSable to assert it. and especiall
a to persist in the assertion after you hav
/. tried and failed to make the proof Yo,
n need not be told that persisting in a charg
b which one does not know to be true, j
!. simply malicious SANDER.
It Some of you admit that no Republica
l. designedly aided or encouraged the Hal
/. per's Ferry's affair; but still insist that ou
= doctrines and declarations necessarily lea
o to such results We do not believe il
We know we hold to no doctrine. an
n make no declarations, which were not hel
e to and made by our fathers who frame
the Government under which we live
j. You never dealt fairly by US in relation t
% this affair. When it occurred, some impol
tant State elections were near at hand. an
t. you were in evident glee with the belle
of that by charging the blame upon US. 20
II could get an advantage Of us in those ele,
r tiOns. The election came, and your expe'
le tations were not quite fulfilled. Ever
ot Republican man knew that. as to himse
sc at least, your charge was slander, and b
e. was not much inclined by it to cast his vol
Id in your favor. Republican doctrines ar
OF declarations are accompanied with col
,u tinual protest against any interference wha
~ ever with your slaves. Surely, this do
ID not encourage them to revolt. True, v
in do, in common with our fathers who frame
i'll the government under which We live, d
ly clare our belief that slavery is wrong b
is. the slaves do not hear US declare even thi
ur For anything We say or do. the slaves won
of scarce know there is Republican part
It. believe they would not, in fact. general
ms know it but for your Misrepresentation
by US, in their hearing. In your political CO
We test among yourselves. each faction cha
or ges the other with sympathy with Black X
IS publicanism and then. to give point
= the charge. defines Black Republicans
ur to simply be insurrection, blood aid thu
lc. der among the slaves.
~. Slave instructions are no more comm
en- now than they were before the Republic
al, party was organized. What induced t
as SOUTHAMPTON insurrection, twenty eight yca
of ago, in which at least three times as ma
,e, lives were lost as at Harper's Ferry !,
it You can scarcely stretch your very elias
be fancy to the conclusion that Southampt
al was got up by Black Republicans. In t
we present state Of things in the United Stat
ho | do not think general. or even a ve
we extensive slave insurrection is possib
it, The indispensable concert of action cant
cir be attained The slaves have no means
as rapid communication nor can incendia
a free men, black or white, supply it. I
explosive materials are everywhere in P