New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1862-01-11
YuE GREAT AMERICAN QUESTION
TIRE VOICE OF AN HONEST ENGLISHMAA
A SPEECH BY JOHN BRIGHT.
a, RocsSale On Dec ., iSSt'

the gentlemen VINO lhNlltu NC ~ tus "hhNA N>''ie"
uoon me. felt their kindness very sincerely, ard
now am deeply grateful to my friends arouAd me,
and 10 you all for the abundant manifestations oil /
kindness by which have been received to-hi2ht
am, as you all know, at this moment surrounded by
my ne;ghtcrs and friends hear, hearI--and can
way, with the utmost truth, that | value the COCA
opinion Of those who now hear nay voice far BEYOND
the opinion of any equal number OF the inhabitahs OF
this country selected from any po',ionoft. loheeJ
You have by this great kindness that You have done
me given proof that in the main you do not Usat-
prove of my public SboIs cheers that at LEAST you
are willing 10 express the opinion that the mo'i'eSo y
which have been aoiuated have been hoh'sV anu
honorable TO myself; aud that that course has not
been entirely without service TO my country
tCheersl Coming 10 tbis meeting or TO any similar
meeting. always find that the subjects Of discussion
appear 20 be infinite and far than it Is possible
20 treat. Now, in these times in which we live, by
tbe inventions of the telegraph and the steamboat,
and the railroad, and the multiplication OF news
papers, we seem continually TO stand on the
TOD of an exceeding high mountain, from which We
behold all tie Kingdoms of the earth aud all the glo-
ries of them snd unhappy not only all their glores,
but their crimes and their foles and their c1ami-
ties. Seven years ago, our eyes were Turned win
anxious expectation to remote corner Of Europe,
where i've nations were cOntending in bloody stIie
for an obeo: which possibly hardly OF them c)ni-
prehended-en object, if they did comprehend IT. all
sensible men among them must have known to be
absolutely mpracticable. -Four years ago. looking
still further into the East, and we see there gg'n-
tic revolt in great dependency Of the British Crown,
arising mainly from grOss neglect ana rom The inca
paciiy Of England up to that moment TO govern a
country which it had known how to conquer. Two
wears ago, we looked south to the plains OF LON
hardy and saw strife there in WI ich every man IN
England took g strong interest, aud we have Wei
coined as the resll of that strife the ADDITION OF
new and great kingdom 10 the list Of European
States. Hear, bear. Now your eyes are turned
ia COZ trary diJectiOn and we look 10 the West anO
there we zee struggle nprogess OF the very highest
interest 20 England ard 10 humanity at large We see
there n patton which shall call the Transatlantic
English nation, the iuheror and paTaker OF the his
toric gories of this nation We see it torn with mics
tine brois and suffering from ealamllies from which
for than century Pastin iact, Tor nearly Two
centuries past-this country has teen exempt. Ina
ruee lie of especia intereftt us. We remember the
description which one OF our great poets gives OF
Rome III its condition Of decay. lie de-enbes
il az " Lone mother Of dead emlires' But England
is the living mother Of great nato1s on the American
and OH the Australian continents, and she promises
70 belt the world with her knowledge her clviliLa-
ton, and even something more than the freedom
that che hersef enjoys. Cheers, Eighty.ive
years ago or about the time when Of our Oldest
townsmen were very little children, there were on
the North American continent colonies mainly OF
Engshmen containing abolt three millions OF souis.
Those colonies have year ego constitute the
United States of North America, snd compr,inga pop
ulation of less than thirty millions OF souls. We
the exception OF tbs gIIed0 tuge Is no c61Itfy in
the world which may be placed III advance, with re-
gard TO those arts, of the United States. Vita
regard 10 inventions, believe that within the last
thirty years we have received more useful irveu-
tons from the United States Than we have received
from al the countries OF Europe. In that country
there are PROBABLY ten times rs many miles OF
Telegraph az there are IN tbis county There
are at least FIVE or Fix times as MANY miles nj
railways The tonnage of that nation, Of is ship
ping ID at least equal 10 ours if il does not exceed
eurs. The prisons Of that country--ior even in
countries the most favored far prisons needful
the prisons OF that country have been models for
the other nations Of Europe; and many EuroI can
nations and governments have seut comniss Ons be-
you'd tue lanic 70 inquire into the admirable sys
TEN Of eduea ion established universally in tbeir tree
schools throughout the free and Northern States IL
] were TO speak OF them in religious aspect.
sLoGld say that within that period OF time 10 which
their short history goes back, there is nothing VI the
face OF the earth, and never has been besides TO
equal tie magnificent arrangement OF churches and
MINISTERS and OF all the appliances which are thought
necessary for nation to teach morality and Christi
ani,y TO the people. Beside all this, when | state
that for many years pact the annual public eXpeudi-
ture OF the Government Of that country las been
somewhere between len and fifteen MILL Jns need
not, perhaps say further that there Lac existed in
that country, among all the people, an amount OF
comfort ana prosperity OF aiounding plenty, sucl as
believe no other country In the ord, in any age
has displayed. This is very fine, but sill very
true pietuIe, bat which hiss another side 10 which
must advert. There has been one prea; feature in
that co0ntry-0ne great contrast which has been
pointed TO by all men who have commented upou The
lfe1 CO "a f(afu nf III.
calculated 10 give pain. You have had ia that coun
.sry the utmost liberty TO the white 81, but bond
age aud deg aGalion TO the black man. Now fely
upon il, that, wherever Christianity lives and nouI-
ishes, there must grow up from il necessarily col
science which ID hosiile to any oppression and any
wrong; aud, therefore, from tie hour when tie
United Sales Constitution was formed 50 long as il
lett there this great evil, then comparatively small
bat now become great il left there The reeds of
that which an American statesman has so ably de-
scnbtd IN that irIepresslble conflict of which now
the whole world is witness. lCheers. IL has been
o common thing for men disposed to carp al the
American States to point at this blot upon their fair
fame, aud 10 compare with the boosted declaration
Of equality in their deed and Declaration of Indie.
Iendence; but We must recOlleet who sOyyed this
teed Of trouble, and how and by whom it has b. en-
cheri-hed. Wlthout dwelling upon this for more
than e inDmeDt, should like TO read you para.
graph hoG Instructions proposed 10 be given TO the
Virginia delegates to Congress ~ the month of
An3uet, IVA, and from the pen Of Mr. Jefferson
perhaps The ATTEST produced IN the United States
az the liuie, and actively engaged in It's AFFAIR." aud
who after ward, believe, for two periods presi-
dent Of the Republic. He writes this from Slave
State-from The State Of Virginia;
Tor the moe, irihng aud sometimes for con.
eeigable ut all he Majesty hss rejected oe
sautry nd-Dcy. The abolition OF domestic gayery IL ne
free, obec, OF desire Ia those colonies whese unhsrpy