The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1861-02-13

prospered so WELL l hope that civil "ar,
and carnage, and bloodshed, and disaster, so
eloquently portrayed by the Senator from
Virginia, may never come; but that Senator,
and his colleagues on that side of the Cham
Der, may drag it on themselves by violating
the fundamental policy on which all our laws
rest--the right of maj ,rity to rule.
Nor do believe as an individual, (and |
sp, ak only for myself,) that the people of
the free States of the North, and the awak-
ening patriotism of the people of the South,
will suffer you to consummate that fearful
act. Senators sometimes talk as if they sup
posed that the destinics of This country were
in the hands of politicians and diplomatists
alone and they have occasionally denounced
citizens who take an interest in politics,
whose avocations were different from their
own. Yes, sir, religious people are some
times denounced for dabblng in politics
for taking an interest in the perpetuity of
this great Government.
Let me say here, Mr.. President, that the
hopes of the Christian world rest on the pre-
servation of this Union. In the very quar-
ter from which you expect peace, you will
meet with the most fearful opposition. What
does this Government secure to all our peo-
pie? The right to worship God according
to the dictates of their own consciences-a
right that they have not elsewhere in any
large district of country on the face of the
globe. In some countries dissenters are tol-
Grated but here there are no dssenters-or
all may be dissenters, for all enjoy absolute
religious freedom. believe that no mem-
Der of that nation, or people, 50 wonderful
in the worlds history, from which the Sena-
tor from Louisiana Mr.. Benjamin. descends,
could enjoy the rights that he enjoys here in
any other civilized country on earth. He,
too, rises here to give his council in favor Of
the destruction of the Government--the only
one that allows freedom of conscience to his
own people Divide this country between
! the slave States and the free States, and the
great fear which at once overwhelms the re-
ligious world is that it will then break into
many fragments; that petty despotisms will
be set up; that freedom of conscience, as
well as freedom of speech and freedom of the
press, will be trampled under foot, as the
latter are now trampled under foot in the
slave States. And with the fear OF the loss
of the right to worship the Almighty under
their own vine and fig tree, where none dare
molest or make afraid, are you prepared to
estimate the sacrifices they will not make to
defeat your plans? You ought to know
what know-that no earthly consideration
could turn them fiom their purpose. Sena-
tors would do well to pause and read again
the history Of the prosecutions and of the In
QUESTION, if they would properly understand
what men will endure for conscience sake
You love your Government, because it guar.
antics civil freedom; the religious world be-
cause it is Government under whose shad-
ow the prosecuted from every land may Sc
cure safe retreat. By your mad schemes
you put this mighty interest in jeopardy,
and touch chord that will vbrate in the
heart of every intelligent Christian through
out the nation and the world. The man who
promotes the adoption of the policy which
you are proposing, assumes fearful respon
sibility. The Senator from Virginia describ-
ed some of the consequences eloquently; and
painted possible disaster with master hand.
I therefore entreat him to stay his steps be-
fore the awful plunge is made. ..-
What, then, does the Republican party
propose? What do they demand? They
demand that you shall obey the Constitution
of the United States, just as your fathers
made it, without the crossing of a t, or the
dotting of an i. They demand that you
shall acquiesce in the compromises of 1850,
which you extorted from that part Of the Re.
public in which they live. As was well said
by the honorable Senator from Illinois, Mr..
Trumbull, on yesterday, the people Of the
North, believe as one man, will say: IRE
store the laws as they existed in 1854, letter
for letter, and word for word, and then abide
Uy tue compromise Vi looo
You may feign fear that we will interfere
with your institutions in the slave States
Time at last will develop the fact that al
those fears are groundless, and they are now
based on the false charges of our political
opponents. have always thought it but
fair to take the principles of man or par
ty fr'm the man or the party and not from
enemies. You receive, as the principles c!
our party, what its enemies say Of it, and
draw conclusions from the ISLANDERS to which
you, on the stump, have lent countenance'
: If any will read the speeches and the letters
of the President Of the United States elect
he can come to no other conclusion than that
he will administer the Government, so far as
he has power, precisely on the policy origin.
ally proposed by Henry Clay, who partici-
pated so largely IN securing the compromise
measures to which have alluded. Why
not consent to this? Why attempt the fear
ful experiment Of destroying this Govern.
ment, which has stood the test of time Sc
well, under the vain hope of forming bet.
ter? But il you must do something to raise
a smoke under which to retire from your
unenviable position, admit the Territories as
States, and thus end the controversy forever
If this proposition is acceptable to the Re-
publicans, surely it ought to be acceptable