East Saginaw courier. (East Saginaw, Mich.) 1859-18??, 1861-10-22
A PRESENT LESSON

y hl@DEN LEoOON.
Some lessons the people of the United
States must learn during the progress of
the war. Other lessone there arc which
may be deferred and lose none of their
salutariness; but certain ones will DO the
more salutary if they shall be taught in
the midst of the terrible events which are
chasing each other with wonderful rapid
ity.
In the year 1853 there was held at
buffalo, \. Y, convention of abOlition-
lists, of which Salmon r. Chase, Of Ohio,
then Senator of the United States, II W
Secretary of the Treasury, was a member.
lie was, also, the Chairman OF tho COM
mittee on resolutions, and, as such chair
man, reported a series OF res lutiols TO
the convention, among which was the
following
Res1loed, That we hereby give it to
he distinctly understood 10y this nation
and the world that, as abolitioniSts, con-
sidering that the strength of our cause
lies in It's righteousness, AID our hopes
for it in conformity to tho law of God
and our support OF tho rights of man, we
owe 10 the Sovereign Ruler of the Uni
verse, as proof of our allegiance to Him,
in all our civil relations and Offices,
whether as friends, citizens, or as public
functionarics, sworn To support the con-
stitution of the United States, to REGARD
and TREAT the third clause of the instru-
ment, whenever applied IN tie cause Of a
-ti1itios Stare, as UTTERLY NULL AND VOID
and consequently forming NO PART OF THE
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES
whenever we are called upon or sworn to
support it,"
We do not reproduce this resolution
for the purpose of subscribing partisan
ends, nor for the purpose OF weakening
the administration or creating popular
prejudice against Mr.. Chase. We much
prefer to strengthen the hands of the al
ninistration and Of every member Of il
than to weaken them, aud to stimulat,
popular confidence in Mr.. Chase than t.
destroy it. We reproduce the resolution
that the palpablc existing contrast ma,
he drawn by every reader between Mr.
Chase, the politician, and Mr.. Chase, The
cabinet minister. AS the politician, h
resolved to treat, and called upon hi
party to treat, q clause of the constitu
ton as a nullity. He proclaimed himsel
nullifyer, and called for recruits to joil
his standard of notification. As tn
cabinet minister he iindshimself compelle,
to uphold the fugitive slave clause of tn
constitution and the laws Of Congress en-
acted in pursuance of it. He finds him
self compelled to conduct war agaius
rebels who are doing nothing more tina
treating the constitution of the Unite,
States GAS UTTERLY NULL AND voID"-wh
are only just initiating the example h
set them nine years ago.
We trust Mr. Chase has repcntcd O
his treason. He certainly now appears t
be loyal man. But who can measur
the extent of his responsibility for til
present state Of things? Who can tie
how much of the notification and trea so
in the South has come of his nullfcatio
and that of his associates in the North.
The lesson which this history teache
is, that notification and rebellion are q
wicked in the North as in the South, an
that it was as unsafe to tolerate them i
of incipient rebellion that Daniel Wei
ster pronounced obstruction of the fug
tive slave law to be "treason-distinctl
treason" 1t is nothing more than OF
struction of the Federal laws now tina
Mr.. Chase pronounces treason. Ho,
much stronger would be the moral att
tude of Mr.. Chase before the country tc
day if he could hold up to the South III
stained hands.
Let the lesson Of this history sin
deep in The popular heart