Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1860-10-16
extent of "A, 200 square miles, arc ali complete
ly and irretrieyably lost


Of religious or political opinions He had not
a word TO say against the conduct of any poll
tician. He wanted to speak only of principles |
The great work of humanity on this continent
was the organization OF nation. Within the (
last two years they had incorporated two new
states, and within the next ten years they
would incorporate four more. 1t vas practi |
cally of DO importance to any one Of all those
who heard him whether slavery was voted up
or voted down but to their posterity it was Of
as much consequence, as the attainment OF in.
dependence was. They were all ambitious,
however, that the nation which they would
leave 10 their posterlty should Be as great, rs
glorious, as ever the sun shOne upOn-a nation
in which every man should live safely. There
could be no actual free repubiicanism i'll the
world where all the members of society were
not free. He showed the necessity of an emf
grafton of free men in building up a nation
and asked what would be the result if such en-
igrati0n were prevented. Foreign nations
would send their convirts here as they had
formerly done. What kind of labor would
they have then ?-such labor as their ances-
tors had in South Carolina and Georgia They
would have African Iaborers, brought here by
Boston and New York merchants They had
got this free emigration, because in 1881 their
fathers declared that neither slavery nor in
voluntary Servitude should ever exist in the
territory of Michigan. Was there man now
in this state who would wish TO have a slave
here (Cries of"No, no.") Slavery and free
dom cannot exist in the same state they are
incompatible; there is an 'irrepressible con-
tflct" between them. Introduce slavery, and
you eXpel freedom, introduce freedom and
slavery will sooner or later die. 1t has been
always my policy to take care that every new
init Il, ~ L., E,... l 7
long as | can, within the limits of constitutions
al action, the decrease and dimnution Of Atri-
can slavery in all the states (Applause.)
This is the whole question If | am wrong,
then am egregiously wrong, and you may
abandon me and my alternatives. If | am
wrong in pronouncing slavery inexpedient
yon will of course accept it. When did you
ever see or read Of a state peopled exclusively
by ircemen, that was in any danger at home
or abroad Never. Is there a slave state, or
Il state that ever was slave state on the con.
tlnent OF America, and which still retains any
vestige of slavery, that does not to day CON
tess itself to be in danger of domestic in
surrection Not one. "A handful of madmen
meeting in Chatham, and going with few
pixies and spikes and spears, alarm and terrify
the oldest and proudest, and once the greatest
and leading state in the federal Union, with
the panic Of Instruction and civil war. 1t
comes back to you in every state. Kentucky
eXpcls the free man who defends freedom
within her limits, and Tennessee subjects to
the stake and tago, the slave who aspires to
freedom. Not from feelings of cruelty, but
from alarm tor the safely of the state; and
what do we hear from Texas new but that
that new state, still newer than Michigan, but
having, IS she thought, tenold the elements
of wealth and strength and prosperity, is con,
vulsed with panic because Of slavery being
brought into debaet among a portion of her
citizens.
But you will ask me, what haze you to do
with this why interfere in that subject
why not adopt the opposite policy of no:I-
intervention, and let those who like slavery
have it, and those who like freedom have
freedom? l will answer you very simply.
You maintain now a standing army of about
fifteen thousand men, and Il standing navy
which is very large, though not very efficient
Can any man tell me " hat we maintain them
for DO we maintain them to keep peace in
the state Of Michigan, or New York, or Mas
sachusettS DO we maintain an army and
navy to keep out civil war among ourselves
in the free states Not at all. DO we MAIN
tain this army and navy to defend us against
foreign states! There is not nation ON the
face OF the earth that dare attack any one of
these free states if they were all separated
and disunited from the Union. Not one.
(Applause.) There is no such thing, then, as
danger, and yet we are keeping an army and
navy, for what! In order that slaves may
not escape from the slave states into the free,
and that freed or emancipAted negroes in tie
free states may not enter and Introduce civil
war into the slave states, and because that if
we provoke a foreign enemy, the southern
frontier is exposed to invasion from England,
France, and Spain That is the whole object
OF our army and navy. Have | not, then
right 10 say, thet | would rather have no army
than no nayyl That | would vather not wiring
from the lreemen of the United States money
to sustain the army and navy, which in their
very influences corrupt public virtue Ger
tainy that is my duty as patriot. What,
then, are my limits Simply these The
constitution Of the United States makes YOU
and me Soveregns over the territories of the
United States for their good and for the well
fare OF the whole people. They are vacant.
unoccnpied, mimproved and if they are left
exposed to the cupidty Of the slave master
and the slave merchant before free men can
reach there IN numbers to cover the land with
the civilization of the white man. the slave,
holders would enter the territories and colo.
nize them with Shareholders and slaves. The
smallest possible INFUSION of Siarelv into a state
has been enough arrays to demorai-e its tohole
people, and, strange TO say, it turns them all
INTO apologIsts and eXcuserS and defenders
OF slavery,-a principle which, am ashamed
to confess, las been the rule Of action among
the American people for forty years Ii
is that we do 50 love peace, that we do so
love harmony, that wc do SO love fraternity
with our tellowcitizens, that when they will
not give up an error we become silent, in
order to keep peace (Appause.) If General
Lass mad been able, at the time he tailed in
supporting the great policy of Michigan, to
have introduced one thousand slaves into the
circuit around me, Michigan would have been
a slave st Ite for forty years to come That is
what has done the mischief in Texas Texas
was open TO you and me. We left Texas to
be taken by shareholders and slaves, and for
the sake OF peace we agreed to let them have
nVe slave states there, while we thought to
save one free state in Kansas. There is no yir
tue among us-no reliance or good or morality,
or truth, or justice that is equal to our patriot
ism, our Willingness to surrender everything
else, under the threat that if we do not rive m
right, truth, justice, liberty and everything
else, tins great temple Of liberty will be set on
tre and consumed. have no hope OF the people
OF the United States unless as it grows and is
inspired by sympathles with such people as you
are. A man cannot be free man. and can
not appreciate the interest OF his state, unless
he owns his own land.
What is that man fit for as a citizen of n free
country who is willing that another man sbal
own him You may say there is no man so
base as that. am sorry to say that there are
great many but have such confdinp trust
IN human nature that if you bring the matter
fairly home to any right,minded man he would
much rather say that you might make a slave
OF HIM rather than fix your manacles on anv
man within his protection and under his care.
ina, the talk, 1t is, therefore, a matter of
the highest consequence whether slavery is
voted up or voted down. BE sure. therefore.