The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1873-06-07

Early AbolIIIonIsm IN tho Pam
Handle.

HFlIlbu W HAA' SH4Ao11AbA y ASSA-ss@ee.A-
pointed by meeting Of snti.SlHyery meI
held in GGLMoRE's barn, In this county
In 1914, appears in full In this paper, viii
The proceedings Of the meeting and reSo
iutionS adopted, and with letter from
Nr. BELL 10 whom We are indebted 10
the document. To these later times 1t pre-
SsntS nothing specially new in argument
The subject Of slavery and It's evils
especially Its injury to the political ByS
TEN Of the country, iS handled with
strong grasp. The solid argument.
sgainst 1t which were developed sc
powerfully q decade later arc strongly
stated, and there Is special presentation
OF the case as to the way the institution
In Virginia injuriously affected West Vir.
zInlS. This Is not new either, for Wes'
tern Virginia stAteSmen who were not
either the partissnS or subjects ot the
slGye.poWer Of the East always urged this
view. Yet Il We consider the early period
when this paper was drawn and the Rb.
ectness with which the public opinion ol
the whole country-scarcely lesS North
than sOuth-at that time submitted to the
arrogant pretenSlonS Of slavery-We can.
not but recognize the high intelligence and
the fidelity 10 principle which inspired
the writer, and likewise bis compStrlotS
who found Tree speech ina barn adjacent
70 the free soil Of Pennsylvania.
The history OF the last dozen years
shows that slavery was for at least q
quarter OF a century back the one momen.
,ous question Of American politics. Be-
tore the mighty throes that attended the
overthrow Of that institution, all other ag'
Itations for half century past shrink To
insigniHcance. The solution Of the slA-
very problem was postponed as long as
ltcould be by time.Seryipg politicians who
either did not understand or did not
choose to recognize, the ever increasing
gravity Of the problem. But there were
always a few conscientious and clear
sighted men, as far back as JEFFERSON,
who understood that this was the central
and vital question Of the future, and that
until It's solution all other issues were
comparatively trifling, Mr. CHASE was
me ofthese, and one Of the earliest Of the
older statesmen yet living to understand
this and make It tho steadlast basis Of his
political action. It was one Of the first
lessons he learned; and he never lost sight
of the impending though long deferred
crisis. There was Q limited number In
all the Northern States, and moro limi.
ted number In the slave states, who
shared these views and appreheDsiOns oil
evil. There was a period still earlier than
the one we speak oI when even in the
south slavery was recognized by her
statesmen as a temporary evil, 10 be got
rid Of as soon as might be; but In later
years the Institution grew In power and
tn pretensions, until decade or two be-
fore Its overthrow 1t became so intol-
Grant as to be intolerable, and
provoked iu own downfall. During
that period when Northern statesmen
like WEBSTER yielded their independence
and dignity to propiuate the Southern
monster which was all-potent In the max.
lux and unmRking Of Presidents, and when
Southern Wing statesmen like CLAY
were trying to patch up compromises,
which only served to postpone the cAlam'
Ity and made 1t all the greater when 1t
tell-sALNoN P. CHASE was the sturdy,
unfalterlpg champion Of free soil and free
utterance, the incorporating enemy Of
slavery. 1t was In such times as We
speak ol that he wrote the bravo words
Wsprint to-day. They are words that any
one may utter now by lips or types, In any
part Of Virginia, but then it had TO be
done In defiance oil terrorism that over
GWed men who could brave anything but
the penal statutes and tho public Senti.
ment they represented in regard to slave.
~. Here In this city and county we do
not need to go back to 1874 to find times
when men could hold anti.slaVery meet.
IDgs only BY stealth. The argument ot
the mob was potent here, we believe, as
late as 1856.
WehGVe been 50 long smAncipated from
the terrorism oI those earlier times that
Il Is not easy to realize what baleful In.
duence slRYeFy exercised overIthe minds
Of the people. It Is not the blacks alone
that have been freed; and deplorable as
their condition was, 1t was not more Ab'
ject than the thralldom that iettered the
tongues and debased the minds Of the
white people, who could speak Of the
privileged Institution only with bated
breath II at all.
The remote consequence Of these be-
gInnings Of abolition may be Infinitely
greater than most people conceive. II
vas the iree.soIl sentiment in Northwest
stn Virginia that saved Western Viz
sluIA irum the clutches Of the rebellion;
Andh Is the opinion OF eminent men, mil
ItIty as we'll as civil, that the possession
HWeatern Virginia was Of immsasurable
value to The Union cause, II not absolute
ythe turning point Of the war. We be
lieTe the ant.slayery movement in Wes!
ep VirginIA has not been fully appre-
cllted as q chapter OF American history
We believe ii will be better appreciated a