The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1861-02-02


Congress of the United States some forty years
ago, and was organized here by societies and
newspapers ten years later, has ever since been
fertile source of local disturbance and riots,
of family feuds and national discord, of the most
disgraceful scenes in the halls of Congress, to
say nothing of the public time being wasted for
weeks and months together, the minds of the
people engrossed by the pernicious agitation,
the proper objects Of legislation neglected, and
the general interests of the country injured and
mismanaged. Now that the fanaticism has
reached its eliminating point by driving six
States out Of the Union, to be followed, perhaps,
by the secession of six more, If not the whole
of the slaveholding communities, and 1t may
be by the horrors Of civil war; 1t is instructive
| to trace the rise and progress of the
| agitation, and mark from what small be-
ginnings and by what slow degrees
1t has attained its present formidable position,
sapping and mining beneath the walls Of the
| constitution, till breach has been effected at
last, and the enemy has gained possession of
the citadel, which he threatens soon to make a
| heap Of ruins.
| In another part Of this day g paper the reader
will find an interesting historical sketch Of this
political movement, which had its inception in
| the Puritanism Of Massachusetts, and spread
thence to the Northern States through the in
strumentality of the Boston Hberator, Of the
New York Journal of Commerce, established by
| the Tappans as the original anti-slavery organ
in this State, and of various other kindred jour
| nails and publications, down to "Uncle Toms
| Cabin" and the Republican Gospel according to
| Helper. 1t found active and efficient emissa
res in women Of morbid Imagination and ques-
tionable morals. But its most powerful auxili-
airy was the free soil element in the democratic
party of this State, led by Martin Van Buren,
With these allies and agencies it marched on
ward, "conquering and to conquer" till, from
the decentralization and decomposition of the
corrupt party lately in power it gained the as
| cendancy for the first time in the Presidential
election Of last fall, and, unless q bloody con-
fict prevents, will make its triumphal entry
| into the federal capital on the 4th Of March.
Under various forms and names its character
| and spirit have been ever the same. Whether
it was the anti-slavery society, the abolition
| party pure and simple, the liberty party, the
free soil party with its Wilmot Proviso and
Buffalo platform, or, last of all, the re-
| publican party, with its irrepressible
| conflict" and its Chicago resolutions,
its essential feature was still undying hostility to
negro slavery, and the confident expectation Of
its ultimate extinction" Aud such are the
words of the President elect, and such theh hope
| Of the party on whose shoulders he is borne
| into power To accomplish it the republican
leaders avow their willingness to wade through
| rivers of blood. And Mr. Seward himself, in
| his last speech, looks forward to civil war as
the final resort of the party rather than aban-
don their platform. But by strange abuse of
language and confusion of ideas, they claim to
be Union men and in favor of the constitution.
while the reckless, honest and bold represen-
tatives of the party, such as Garrison and Phil
lips-the men who originated itand know what
1t means-pronounce the constitution ''an
agreement with death and covenant with
hell"
The republican journals and orators, in
Guiding Mr.. Adams, whose speech we published
| yesterday, pretend that exclusion of slavery
from the Territories was the policy of the
fathers of the republic, and that it is for this,
therefore, they are contending, even to civil
war. Let us 60 back to the time OF the
fathers and see. In 1893, when the Mississippi
Territory was formed, the organizing act did
not prohibit slavery in the Territories. Mr..
Thatcher, of Massachusetts,, proposed to insert
a restriction against it. Mr. Rutledge, of South
Carolina, hoped such an absurd motion as this
would be withdrawn. Mr.. Otis, OF Massachu-
sets, hoped it would not be withdrawn, that
the world might see by the votes Of Northern
men how little disposed they felt to interfere
with the Southern States in their rights of pro-
perty. The question was taken and only
twelve persons voted for the proposition OF
Mr.. Thatcher Now, the men of 's7 were the
men Of '9s; and it is plain, therefore, that ex-
clusion Of slavery from the Territories was not
the policy of the founders Of the government
Are the leaders of the republican party wiser
than they In 1913 the freesoilers and abolition
lists could only muster twelve men in the House
of Representatives.
The anti-slavery crusades, both in England
and here, have hitherto produced results the
very opposite of those which have been anti
cipated by the agtators. The treaties against
the slave trade have resulted In death to thou
sands Of Africans, and horrible cruelty to all
the living cargoes Of the slavers, which would
not be the case had there been no treaties and
no laws to prevent the traffic. In spite of
the treaties and laws, the slave trade is still
vigorously carried on by our Northern ships.
And as far as 1t has been prevented, what is
really effected Merely to keep slaves in the
worst kind of slavery in Africa, and to leave
them savage cannibals and idolators, instead
Of cvilizing and Outstanding them by the
mild servitude Of Christian masters in America.
And what has been the result of Northern agita.