Monmouth weekly herald. [volume] (Freehold, N.J.) 1854-1860, 1860-01-05
THE SIGNS OF THE TIMFs.


We copy the following well-written commu-
nication from the Stese Gssttts q. Republican:
One of the egtsfin. q aEA common results Of
slavery is a fostered love ofauthorty and pow
er. There is nothing strange therefore, in the
slave-driving proclivitiesl so often exhibited in
Congress. The naughty bearing, the open
disrespect, the sneerS and imuendoes so com
mon toward those guilty Of no crime, but re-
sistance to the aggreSsions of slavery-the con-
temptuous filings at Northern mechanics as the
"mud-slls of society,"" and at Inall-hsted
farmers" as being only fit to associate with
gentfeman'S body servant" and all the rest
of that sort of stuff, are entirely natural and
legitimate And as magnanimity is wont to
extend special favors to those who seek to
conceal the evidences of conscious weakness
by sensitiyeness and buster, so the above
named discCurteses have been allowed to pass
almost without rebuke, and the use of even
the cudgel and pistol have been winked at
The clustering demand by the oligarchy to
dictate the policy Of the government has been
almost uniformly aeceded to- partly through
dongh-faeed rresolatioS a1da bbart4y in forbear-
ance. And the Cabinets, the leading commit
tees, and the national judiciary have long had
majorities in the interests of slavery.
Meanwhile the free have rapidly outstrpped
the slave States in population and general
prosperity. This towering mountain of North
ern development has cast q dark and lowering
shadow over the prospects of continued South
ern domination. Hence the increasing up.
heaviDgs of restlessness and jealousy. This
cannot be from any real fears of Northern in
reference with Southern rights. The history
of the past precludes that. 1t can only arise
from the prospects of losing the control of the
government and the spoiIs of Office. This will
be made to appear by glance at the last Sc
ries of sectional agitation
This series began with the acquisition of
Texas. This the whole Wing party resisted,
and much drilling and whipping in was neces-
sary to bring the masses of Northern demo-
Gratis to support the measure. But it was
carried, and e'er ions, q; Il spsced in. Next
came the demand 81 tie fF3 Slave Act1
The North was content to let the South alone,
but both her self-respect and conscience pro-
tested against her whole territory being con-
verified into the hunting grounds Of the slave
catcher, and each citizen being rendered liable
to be called on for aid, or else act against law
in refusing. This protest was general and
earnest, but after it became the law Of the
land, open opposition nearly subsidized. Upon
the very heel of this uprising, the Pierce ad-
ministration was ushered in by sweeping
popular verdict, which seemed to point sig
niGcant moral, viz: get your measure through
Congress, and it will be acquiesced in, no mat
ter how obnoxious it is. This conviction.
aided to the jealousy already referred to. led
to the abrogation of the "Missouri Compro-
MISE" for the purpose of opening our broad
domain to the spread of slavery. The specious
but deceptive plea of g Popular Sovereignty !"
was the watchword by which this revolving
measure was carried, without single petition
in its favor, and in -asSss4ees4ef innnlneFable
remonstrances This high-handed proceeding
aroused the storm-god, whose thunder seemed
for time to shake the very pillars of the ma
tion The prospect that free labor would thus
be cheated out of her own consecrated soil,
occasioned a vigorous, but real and legitimate
emigration to the now disputed territory. In
stead OF offsetting this by similar means, and
being determined not to lose coveted prize
that had cost the sacrifice of a nations faith
and honor, the border ruffian raids, illegal vo-
ting, ballot box stu1ing, employment of troops
to prevent real settlers frpm defending them
selves, reputation of State organization
formed on genuine popular sovereignty, and so
on to the end of the long, dark chapter, were
the appliances resorted to. Two springs
started these motions, the imperions necessity
for more slave states, as means of continued
ascendancy, and the growing confidence that
anything, sanctioned by forms of law, would
be acquiesced in.
In the mean time, the popular uprising Sc
cured the House aplassN Ssives to theSOp-
position, and nothing but the false cry of ,Ro-
manism, together with the unjust and desper-
ate effort to saddle the Republicans with sec
tional strifes, which the other side had set in
motion, and by which the timid and tme-serv-
ing were frightened out of their convictions,
led to the defeat Of Fremont Thus the pres
ent administration was raised to power by a,
mere plurality vote. This narrow escape from
being utterly routed. instead of teaching wis
dom, and leading to moderation, as was gener-
ally predicted, seems to have had just the OPP
posite effect. What thou doest do quickly"
prompted by the alternative. 'now or never"
has been the ruling motto since $50 Hence
the attempted Lecompton fraud, and the inhu-
man doctrine of the bred Scott decision,- I'll e
one seeking to enforce slavery upoa resisting