Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1861-02-07

against the Echhppiug OF their own etisens, ani
slave law Is i divine ma blessed eh6ctmshf Bu
a The same time, the people of the North vii
opey % the letter every provision Of the Cohgti
tuition, Ana they Will pfrinit nc law 70 remain o.
their ftet1te books IN violation az IT, commands
They Will protect the people Of the South IN thei
right 20 hold slaves upon their own soil and Il
every respect obey the laws Of the land. Bu
tley never can nor viii go hFthefi and he VIII
attempts 70 speak for our party, and Offers NOR
than this, to appease the clamof Of discomfort
/ ed section in my Judgment, misrepresents TIN
wishes Of the people, and in time viii and II ou
Isay this in no aplrit OF vain Boosting, or ian.
aeolsmation, bat With a solemn sense of its truth
1 " n the history Of nation there comes tinil
when b Do IsgAt brings civil war or bloodshed a
panios; when commerce d Fprostraied-famili
Tuined-labOreut thrown out Of employ, and gEuIi
famine stalks through the land-oetter 20, than =
sacrihce honor, conscience, dignity, manhood
\ md All that makes life generous and noble.
have read Of time In our country'S history when
/ hundred dollau OF federal money would scarce
j y euy breakfast for hungry hmily-wheh
wealthy wee men became hoRfless I and Eith shoel {.
on their toilsome. Way--wben patriots ald'dowh
their lives with cheerful zeal and their wives and
children thanked God they had done AL they
that could penetrate that gloom--no heartso bold
that did not at times falter in the struggle, But
! out OF that darkness came great light From
the ruins Of that wreck Of hopes and hearts
cause it was founded on the eternal principles Of
right and Justice Let us remember that God still
reims over the affairs of men. 'i.. 49,
True, We have reached an alarming crisis in the
history Of our government But let US not de-
oelve ourselves as to its ceuse or be led astBy by
false opinions, or the neisy complaints Of men,
whose ambition, ignorance or Wickedness leads
them 20 attempt the destruction Of the noblest
and best government that ever came from the
hands Of men
It Is time, high time, that the voice Of the peb-
pie should be heard upon these questions The
late election was not held exclusively by a lead
ing merchants or union-saving orators. Fortu
nately, Others were interested IN the matter, and
when their great voice Is heard booming In thun-
derinA tones over the land the penny whistles OF
such Union. savers must be drowned nithe echo
The telegraph NAV send its fiery greetings all
over the land, that the patriots Of Fillmore Hunt
ketcl1m, and amiable BrookseS, and the Rev
Hawkes., have met in solemn convention, and are
saving the Union they loves dearly. The psople
smile 1t in d0rision. They know that such "a
tliots have been the greatest stumbling blocks in
the way Of liberty, and have done more 10 sus
tain the South in her course of Wilful injustice
toward the NOrth-misreprese the 6entimeut Of
its people, and destroy confidence in theif- GOOD
faith toward our Southern brethren, than any
class of men living. If the Union is TO be saved.
or perpetuated only upon the platform of the
BroOkses, or the Bennetts, Of the NORTH then
must the love of liberty be eNtinguished, the
memories Of our fathers forgotten, the Puritan
blood must rebel against its source and stagna-
tion must seize upon the nerves and hearts Of
men.
1 propose to show that the election of Mr.. Lm-
coin, which the South claim to be the overt act of
aggression UUon their rights, Is only seized upon
as z pr4e1t for dissolution, and the foundation
stone on which to erect Southern COnfederaey
For years their minds have dwelt lovingly upon
hope of erecting great Southern dynasty-R
kingdom which should compel the world to bow
al its feet, and do homage at its shrine Cotton
should be king, Every nook and corner Of the
soil should be covered with this golden fabric Il
Argosies Of slaves should be landed upon its
shores and at prices so cheap that white labor
should be unknown. Wealth would flow IN upon
IT, from all quarters Of the globe and its harbors
be whitened with sails from every nation and
every cline. The burdens of an oppressive tariff
should be known no more, but free trade should
be the high priest VorshipPed at the tables Of the
rich AMI poor. The North should be treated
with as a favored nation, - but this new kingdom
would compel her to come Is a suppliant for fa-
vor, and then g only upon clnditiOn of her Civ
ing indemnity for the past, and security tor the
future"
The great mass Of the people, at present poor,
and held afar of from all offices of trust aud
profit, feel that no change can come that wiz not
be TO their advantage They hear their orators
tell Of this new Arcadia, md theirmihds are daz-
zled with visions of wealth and glory. In their
minds eye, they already see their humble cabins
sWeHed into costly mansions-their little farms
grown into vast plantations. and slaves sleek and
supple, waiting TO do their bidding. 77iey are in
earnest In their falth-they wait for the golden
shower impatiently, and hold all as enemies who
They know nothing Of the Republican party ex-
cept that il seeks TO keep from them all these bles
sings, and compel them to remain poor and hum
Bile. No wonder hiey hate 20 despise it. O..
Alas, that these bright visions are doomed to
fade away before the stern reaiities Of unVar
nisned truth. Alas, that so many castles IN the
air must be demolished, and so many hearts
brought back TO the cold desolatiOn of " hope de-
terred" Alas, that the golden glories Of the
summer sunset must fade into the eheerIessness of
midnight, darkness and gloom. az
For years, then, have the leading politicians
been preparing the people of the cotton StnDes
for dissolution. systematically and with delibe-
rate purpose have they been at work TO destroy
the government. Every circumstance that could
be exaggerated and tortured into comp iaint
against the North, has been eagerly seized upon.
bitter feeling has been fOstered between the
south and the North, and year after year fuel
has been artfullv. and with cool and malicious
calculation, added to the flame. To stir up hate
instead of lOve-to pull down rather than build
up-to make dissensiOns and chickering's, has been
the aim Of these disunions and TO these ends
all that skill and learning, talent and craft could
do, has been done to blind the people of the
South to their real interests and force upon them
the conviction that the people Of tie North were
unfriendly 20 them as q class, and only waited
the favorable moment to destroy and crush out
their rights as people,
Every reading man knows that the disunionists
broke up and destroyed the Charleston and Bal
iTnore Conventions Pierce and Buchanan had
both been elected on the doctrine of noninter-
vention by Congress with slavery in the Terrific
ries. Nearly all the Southern States had incor-
porated this plank into their local platforms and
it had become the expressed and dearly cherished
principle of the Democratic party. But the dis
unionists, under pretense of projecting Southern
rights, demanded Gslave code by Congress for the
Territories doctrine that would have been
laughed to sc9rn by the founders Of our COnsti
tuition, and treated with absolute contempt Thev
knew this demand could not be conceded. aud if
Il had, they would have regretted the asking
Upon its refusal they oroke up the conventions
and at one blow destroyed the Democratic party
Think you they had not measured the effect of
this blow upon the countrYR They knew that TO
divide the Democratic party was 70 elect the Re
publican candidate They knew that between
these two divisions the Republican President
would wax 10 the White House, "a easilyas Mo
ses and his hosts walked through the Red Sea
when the waters parted hither and thitherrat
the command of Jehovah. THIS was the cOusum
nation devoutly to be wished, for when that was
done, then the election OF Lincoln could be
claimed as sectional act-a triumph of the enc
mics ofthe South against the conservative men
Of all parties The disunionists made certain
our victory which before was doubtful, that they
might the better achieve their ends The result
has proved their wisdom and sagacity.
With all these facts staring US In the face
known and admitted By every intelligent person
10 is enough to make one sick with disgust at see
ing the Oppos ton press daily attack The Repub-
lican party, and day after day sing the same old
song, that g we are the enemies of the Union''-
that We are g warning on the rights Of the South
that the election Of Lincoln Is but the forerun-
ner of =" speedy attack on Southern institutions
land that . the power of the Government IS TO
be used to destroy slavery in the States y Such
stuff Is the daily food Of the Democratic press.
and so long as II is tolerated BY Northern people
Just so long will 1t be impossible to heal the dl
cuites with our Southern brethren. 1t tpqsses be
lief that Northern men who love their country,
and really love the Union, viii for partisan psiy
poses, consent 70 pub ish these infamous slanders
thus becoming the plant tools of the traitors
and aiders and aOettOrs Of their treason
The platform of our party was laid down at
Chicago. It's principles in regard to slavery are
as old as the time when the morning stars sang
together over the birth Of our infant Republic
There is not word there in regard to slavery that
Washington, Jefferson and Madison would not
and have not sanctioned, and ne word breathes
hostility to any constitutional right enjoyed by
the humblest citizen. / believe that but for the
gross aid wicked aid given BY portion of the
Northern press secession Wonld not have dared
to raise its head, and the spirit of dissolution
would have skunk abashed before the look Of an
Indignant people.
pass by the tariff, the bounty laws, and the
ship building grievances charged against us,
without notice, and come to the personal liberty
bills OF the States, and the Fugitive. Slave law.
It must be admitted here, that the people Of the
uIo