New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1861-01-21
TO MIR. JOHN L.. O'sULLIvAN.

nasty ana llcODslucTdlc Impulse vi III oAaspcI-
ated politician, not based on the assent Of your
reason and conscience to the vital principle OF
that Platform, but on irritation ut the rejection
of the Van Buren, delegation by the Baltimore
Democratic Convention of that year, puts wider
gulf between us than L had supposed to exist.
For my own part can only say that l have
ever held party associations and efforts subOrdi-
nate to my own moral and intellectual cOnvic-
tons. / was Wing, as / am now Republic
can, because i felt, rs 1 now feel, that my own
original, independent convictions with regard to
National policy and public duty could be best
subseryed in connection with such party organ
zation. Whenever my party ceases 80 to en-
body and give effect to my own paramount con-
victions on the leading issues Of the day, | hold
it my imperative duty to abandon that party and
find, or seek to form, another that will give en-
phasis in the main to my personal convictions.
And on the chief question now in controversy
allow me to say that was Free-SOer before
| was Wing, even, and expect to remain such
after the Republican party shall have passed
away. Though very young, l was deeply
interested observer of the Missouri struggle and
sympathised most feryently with the Northern
masses in their resistance to the Admission OF
Missouri as a Slave State. Had that resistance
not been ultimately broken down by the
insdOus wiles of Compromise there would
have been no need Of subsequent Com
promises, and no call now for anything of the
sort. Missouri would have had at least as many
inhabitants to-day as Illinois, and st. Louis
would have been already the third city in the
Union and not long hence the second. Others
may compromise who will; i can only compro-
mise to save territory from Sayery-never to
Weld any 10 that curse. / am ready to make
sacrifices, endure burdens or confront perils to
redeem or 10 preserve territory to Free Labor
never when the effect is to surrender even one
SQUARE mile to be blasted with the sweat of I'm
recompensed toll. To me, any concession of free
soil to Slavery is crime-fagrant, cowardly, In
excusable, atrocious crime-such as | dare not
commit to save q dozen Unions. Believing most
profoundly in God. and that He is q God who
loves justice and hates oppression, | cannot
imagine how eny but an Atheist can counsel
connivance at Slavery Extension under the hal
good, is thus TO be secured. II it be true that
God governs States as well as persons, and that
RIGHTEOUSNESS exalteth nation" then j say
that it is not possible for the Free States to
damage themselves by ever so determined and
unfinehiDg q resistance to Slavery Extension,
provided Sorery is prong. The whole contro-
yersy, to my mind, is summed up in the answers
4 Ia
"ruled by God OF Omnipotent justice and
els Slavery wIODg7 When these two ques-
tons are answered, as ] answer them, in the
affirmative there is no more TO be said. If you
concur with South Carolina in holding Slavery
essentially, radically right, or with Atheism in
holding the Universe to be q body without soul,
then it is idle for US to discuss our more Jun.
mediate grounds Of difference, until We settle
those which are fundamental.
And may here barely say that your account Of
the grounds on which you supported Van Buren,
and Adams in l646 must be understood as Of
only personal significance. The great majority q
think) of those who voted with you then have
just co6perated heartily in the election of Lin.
coin. They were Free-SOilers as you all pro-
claimed yourselves 10 AZ as well as 46: they
remain Free-Soilers still. st. Lawrence and
Jefferson, Onondaga and Cayuga, Herkimer
aud Otsego, Delaware and Allegany-all
Democratic in other days, all strongly Re-
publican nOw-tell their own story. They
supported the Buffalo Platform because they
believed in it; they believe in it now. If
so many years Of fidelity and devotion to it;
through good and through evil fortune, have not
assured you that they meant it, you are welcome
to try their coustancy through as many years
more. am sure that they will not falter
let your historic parallels go for what they
may be worth. 1t is somewhat trying to see the
nilestones and monuments Of the progress OF
Human Liberty perverted to the defense OF
Slavery; but let that pass. Every bad cause has
to be upheld in that way, so long as any shall
End or fancy it profitable to uphold it at all. To
deny such cause the aid of soPhiStry and per-
version is to silence it; aud stand for Free
Speech.
And now to your comments on the points
made against you in my former article:
/. deny to one State, or to dozen different
States, the right to dissolve this Union. Ii can
only be legally dissolved as it was formed-by
the free consent of all the parties concerned,
State enters the Union by compact to which
she on the one side and constitutional majority
in the Federal Councils on the other are the
parties. She can only go out BY like concurrence
OF BY revolution. II is anarchy even more to
admit the right of secession. 1t is to degrade
our Union into mere alliance, and insure its
speedy ruin.