Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1861-02-22
THE BORDER STATE C0NVEN-
TON, TYLER CAUCUS, PEACE
CONGRESS,

Or whatever II can most properly be named,
has pipped its shell, and though the chicken
is not yet fairly on its legs before the world
enough Of il is seen to show what sort o. .
blrd it is. We looked upon the con'en
ct first as a scheme to bring an e1u
and IRREGULAR influence % bear on Oons
If nossihle. IN break down, beforenAnu'
meaning administration and secure d ne"
and stronger grant of political power - 'ne
olirarch7 which has cursed the COUNTY, y
i. mile so long, and which now, bya depth
sns extent Of treachery TO Official duty OF
uh;ob the world never before saw the like is
;nvolvine the nation in 3 fearful struggle for
its very life. The Convention placed at It's
head JOIN Tyler Of Virginia, a name which
for twenty years has been q synonym Tor
political treachery, and voted to have Its
meetings in secret conclGuo-two things which
were enough to damn it at the outset In the
ewes Of the American people generally. The
uresentiment which It's beginnings awakened
has been justified to the fullest extent ny
what thus far appears OF its dOings.
The Convention, after It's prelImInaTles
were settled, appointed q committee OF one
ron each State to receive all the propositions
which members might offer, and out Of the
whole digest, with such additions
As they should provide, q resul t for the
whole body to consider. The committee was,
Of course, to sit with closed doors. Mean
while the other members were left 10 amuse
themselves ss they could, and talk over with
each other, privately, matters and things II
general. After about q fortnight's work
the committee brought out their report
which gave the free States nothing, and the
slave States every thing-which, in short,
under the pretense Of a compromise, proposes
70 concede TO the slave power more than ii
has ever dared to claIm-to put a more gal
ing yoke on the neck OF the nation than it
now has, and what Is worse, 10 Tiret 1t on by
means Of amendments TO the Constitution,
50 that it can nsver be got of. The rumor Is
that, 10 their Infinite shame,a majority Of the
Commissioners from Rhode Island, New Jer-
sey, Pennsylvania, ONO and Illinois are
ready to vote for the adoption Of the CON-
nittee's report, but we hope that will turn
out 10 be an exaggeration. Some Of the slave
state Commissioners oppose it because il
does not 60 far enough. What more they
could wish for we hardly sec.
JOIN TYLER, the report IL, gives the case
up in despair, and says Virginia must get
ready 10 =" secede." =" Secede " in welcome.
say We to Virginia, and to every other State
that is not wiling to live quietly under the
United States Constitution as ii Is, with such
chances as al the rest Of the Nation has for
future amendments, in the manner already
provided for in the Constitution itself, and
as time and experience shall show TO be
necessary and proper. The Nation may as
well have the whole batch Of secession
to deal with 1t once. and buckle on lis har-
ness for the work accordingly. Giving up
ones arms to q man who Is halfway or more
your enemy, and who threatens to be wholly
80 if you 90 not, in the hope that if you do,
he will consent to be your friend, is a policy
we do not believe il. If we have got to die
in g strife. We prefer to die ar freemen, not
as slsves-least Of all as slave. because We
make ourselves so.