Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1861-02-22
s.EhirlY.SiX ThirtY.O

MR. MAHIN:-in your weekly issue OF
Friday, 18th inst, find brief editorial
under the above caption, couched in language
which seems to me to require some explana-
ton. As the time has come when it behooves
he laboring masses of the North to see that
the organs through which their sentiments |
are supposed to be expressed make no false
impressions, you will excuse me for frankly |
acknowledging that the first conclusion
arrived at on reading the article above alluded
to was that you designed it as kind Of
''feeler," the reception of which by the Re-
publicans Of this county would enable you to
judge how far it would be safe to 60 with the
keloggs, the Weeds, and perhaps the
Stewards, too, whose moral cowardicc seems
to have forced them to the conclusion that the
preservation of this Government, the main
tenance of the inherent rights Of the people,
depends entirely upon the alacrity with which
the Republican party repudates the Chicago
platform, and, ON Bonded knee, begs pardon
of the Southern taskmaster for having dared
to question the divinity of the peculiarly
patriarchal institutions of the South. This
conclusion, however, may be, and l sincerely
hope is, erroneous.
Having traced the cold Missouri compro-
mise line"-360 3V-from the Atlantic to the
Pacific, you say: son the south of this line,
there are about 800, 900 square miles, includ-
ing Indian reservations; while, on the North,
there are abou: l, 100000 square miles," Are
we to understand you to give this as reason
why the $780, 900 square miles, an area almost
SIX times as large as the State of Iowa, should
be passed over to satisfy the Unsuitable greed
of a system of despotism more abhorrent to
true patriotism and humanity tn2n any other
81 on which the sun Of heaven now shines?
d You say: "Of the 800, 900 square miles
south of $50 so, there is not the slightest
0 probability that there could be carved out
9 more than one slave State" Would not this
a one State, then, be made to include the entirt
D 800, 900 square miles? You say: "All New
: Mexico, containing about 100000 square
4 |
j from the fact that it is not adapted to slave
e labor. 1t produces neither cotton nor cane.
l. Does the existence of slavery In Delaware
e Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri, o.
e even in Tennessee and North Carolina
e depend on the production Of cotton and cane
II Has not New Mexico given ample evidence o
/ tob1 ;tor
S recently demonstrated beyond the possibiht,
r of doubt that slave labor is as well adapted
S to mining as to any other pursuit, if not ia
If better? Do you wish the Northern freeman
|. as he "de!ves for the shining ore" that h
J, may provide the comforts of home for hi
+ family, to co so on the Level Of, and in Gem
It petition with, the Southern slave?
II You say "North Of that line, thou 3
T. slavery were legalzed, 1t could never exist.
Are we to understand you to be tryin.5 t
outstrip even Crittenden and Bigler in effort
to secure to the South the privilege of carryin
e their slaves wherever the stars and stripe
y wave, whether they choose to exercise thu
% privilege Or not?
And, finally, do you wish our Senators an
= Representatives in Congress, whose firm
9 digrifed and manly defense of the Constitu
y ton, as 1T IS, has secured the appreciation c
every true Republican in Iowa, to come to tn
o utterly tnlse conclusion that their constituent
e are beginning to falter, and preparing t
Il approve a compromise?
t Please let us hear from you, friend Mahin
n let US hear from you again. j. NJ. SMITH.
II The article referred to was not origina
5 with US, but slipped in accidentally as edit
J orial. We think, however, that it may b
: more properly construed as rejecting upo,
the folly of the South than as showing
q disposition on our part to compromise. l
). the territory south Of SO 30 is as lily
f adapted to slave labor as represented by Mr.
e Seward, (Which we have not seen contra
J. dicted,) the South is certainly unwise il
). endeavoring to extend slavery over it, as wei
e as criminal in breaking up the Union for So
f barren privilege We wish it distinctly
= understood that we are not in favor of com.
e promising principle on the Crittenden
: Guthrie, or any other similar plan. We
e have so stated our position repeatedly, and
D in the defiant words of Fitzjames to RLoderick
e Dhu,
-"T This rock shall fly
From its firm base soon l p