The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1860-02-23
The Irrepressible Conflict
John BROWN. &c.

john BrOWn,s &c.
Mr.. EDITOR: 1t may be proper to make
some excuse for giving the resolutions allu-
ded to in my former letter the importance of
a single comment. l freely confess that the
charges therein contained are SO palpably
false, that thsy deserve to be treated only
with silent contempt. My excuse for mott
cling these resolutions is that in them is
Swallowed forth about the whole stock of dem
ocratic argument that will be used in the
canvass of 1860. They contain an epitome
Of the lessons Being taught by the wire pull
into the townships to foam and froth in Ia
borious attempts at eloquence. They are to
form the stock in trade of the very small fry,
who perch upon the fences, lean, against the
log cabins and loaf long the streets on store
boxes, during the warm sunny days of spring
and summer. They contain the refined es.
sence of the stuff that is to be hashed up by
democratic editors for the "dear people to
see proper to notice them. Here is the first
resolution of the Democracy of Wapello
county,, .......
| Resolved, That the Democracy Of wapelIe county
take this first opportunity to join their Democratic
brethren and the Constitutonloving Union of all
sections Of the country In entering their mosrsolemn
denuncaton aud adherence against the irreprcssibe
conflict doctrine of the Republican party, well
against its mischievous and diab"cal effects Illus
trated and carried out by John Brown and his
ciates in Virginia.
Now, sir, this resolution contains two cir
repressible'' fslseRoods, which should he
nipped in the bud. 1t is first absolutely false
that the Republicans have any such doctrine
as the irrepressibe conflict doctrine-and
hence, secondly, absolutely false that such
doctrine of the Republicans, in its "diaboli-
cal effects" was illustrated and carried out
by John Brown. I would ask these Demo-
Gratis what the irrepressible conflict doctrine
is, and when and where the Republican par
ty ever endorsed any such doctrine? Accus-
toned to follow after a. leader to whom you
leok for all your arguments stephen A.
Douglas you have become possessed with the
foolish idea that others should do likewise
Every man outside Of the-present Democratic
express his own convictions, and vote as
duty demands-hence people think as they
please, speak as they please and vote as they
piease without being responsible for the
opinionsof any one. Because one or two in
lividuals belonging to the Republican party
| EXPIRE sseH their opinions in regard to the ftr-
ture of slavery in this country, you seek to
make the Republican party responsible as
body for their opinions, after misconstrung
their words. The Republican party is not
responsible fer the, opinions of its individual
members, nor is any one man responsible for
the opinions of any other man in the party.
They have met and will continue to meet, to
fearlessly declare their principles. If they
are false you can confute them; if they are
true you must admit it, or resert to the con-
temptible trickery that these resolutions
show you to be engaged in. ...
So far as am, able to, learn you base your
charge that the Republicans are in favor of
what you in your wisdom call an 'irYepress-
ible conflict doctrine on two extracts cut
nent statesmen. Here they are, and first
from the Rochester speech of William II.
Seward.
cit is irrepressible conflict between opposing and
enduring forces aud it that the United States
must and will sooner later become either entirely
a slavehoding nation entI ely free labor nation
Either the cotton and rice fields of South Carolina
and the sugar plantations of Louisiana, will Ultimate
iy be titled by free labor and Charleston and New Or
( become IN lops
else the fields and wheat fields of Massachusetts
and New York must again be surreI dered by these
farmers to slave culture and to the production ofslaves
and Boston and New York become once more markets
tor trade in the bodies and souls of men,
The other is from speech of Hon. Abram
Lincoln:
'In my opinion it (the slavery agitatfonC will not
until crisis shah have been reached and pass
ed "A house divided against itself cannot stand
believe this government cannot endure permanently
half slave and half free do not expect the house to
fair but do expect II will to be divided II
will become all one thing or all the other. Either the
opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of
it, and place it where the public mind shall the
belief that In the of ultimate extinction
its advocates will push forward till it shall become
alike lawful in all the States old well new, North
as well as South"
Here you have, dear Democrats, all the au-
thoriry there is in the world for you to man.
ufacture that "diabolicar' irrep, essible con-
ffict doctrine out of! Here is the naked, I'M
adorned bugaboo, that makes your hair stand
on end, and your teeth chatter. Mr.. Seward
and Mr. Lincoln have a certain opinion of
what will some day be the fate Of slavery!
What wretches They should not dare to
have an opinion in regard to the matter, or
they should measure their opinions in dem
ocratic bushel before daring to express them
selves.
Denying that the Republican or any party
is bound by the opinions or surmises of one
or two men without endorsing those opinions,
claim that what Mr.. Seward and Mr.. Lin
coin have stated is true and incontrovertible.
There is an irrepressible conflict between
slavery and freedom, between slave labor
and free labor. They are as opposite as the
poles of the earth, and as antagonistic as fire
and water. Free white. laboring men will
not long suffer themselves to be placed Oh a
par with servile negro slave labor. Such
systems Of labor are too repulsive to each
other to be intermingled--one must crush
out the other, and which shall it be, Demo-
Gratis Shall slavery crush out freedom, and
the bright sun of liberty which has arisen in
| the east in this nineteenth century and is
now beaming brightly OH our fair country
sink back below the horizon from which it
so recently emerged, and night of despo-
A.. al, kl,a