Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1864-01-27
An Aristocratie Rebellion,
From Cobdsns Speech at ROchdaIs. England.
Novenber 25. 1863

From Cobdsn.s Speech al ROehdaIs. England.
November 25, 1868.
..Is IL not astonishing that in the face
! of facts like these that any one should
have the temerity, with any regard TO de
cency and, self respect, TO get up in the
House of Commons and say that secession
/ has been upon a question Of free trade
and protectionl Laughter. Well, this
I is a war to perpetuate and extend human
slavery. II is a war not to defend slavery
as it was left by their ancestors,-I mean
la thing to be retained and TO be apollo
| gised fOr-it IS war to establish slave
empire, Tloud cheers. where slavery
shall be made the cornerstone Of the so
/ cial system.-wheTe il shall be defended
and justified on scriptural and on ethno-
! logical grounds. Wen. say. God pardon
| the men who, IN this year of grace 1868,
should think that such a project as that
could be crowned with success. Cheers. 7
Now. you know that have. from the
| first naYer believed it possible that the
South could succeed, and ! have not
! founded that faith merely upon moral in
| stincts which teach US to repUdiate the
very idea that anything 50 internal should
succeed. No. it Is because in this world
the virtues and the forces 60 together,
and the vices and the weaknesses are in
separable. Applause. 1t is therefore,
that felt certain that this project never
could succeed. For how is it? Here is
a community with nearly half of its popu-
lation slaves, and they were attempting
to fight another community where every
working man is a free man. It is as tho
Yorkshire and Lancashire were to enter
into conflict, and it was understood that
in the case of one, all the laborers who did
the muscular work of the country, wheth-
er in the field or in the factory, whether
in the roads or in the domestic establish
ments-ins the one case you would have
all the bone and muscle, the sinew OF the
country, eliminated from the fighting
population, and not only eliminated from
the fighting population, but ready to take
advantage of this war either to run away
or fight against you. How could a COM
munity 50 circumstanced fight against a
neighboring county where every working
man was fighting for his country-how
could the one have a chance if left to
physical force without the moral consid-
erations? That is the condition in which
these two sections of the United States
are now placed. In The one case you
have condition in which labor is held
honorable Have we not heard it used as
a reproach by some people who fancy
themselves in alliance with the aristocra-
cy-some of our writers who would lead
us to suppose they are Of the aristocratic
order? Now we hear it used as stigma
against the North that their president,
Mr. Lincoln, was ''raiI splitter But
wha; does that prove with regard to the
United States, but that labor is held in
honor in that country. Hear, hear.
And with such conflict going on, and
with such result as | feel no doubt will
follow, Is it fair TO speak of such contest
as that, and say that it IS struggle for
empire on. the one side, and for independ-
ence on the other? Loud applause. I
say il is an aristocratic rebellion against a
democratic government. [Cheers. That
is the title I would give it and in all his
tory when you have had the aristocracy
pitted against the people in physical
force contest, the sristocraey have always
gone down under the heavy blows of the
democracy" Cheers.