Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1880-09-01

Never fowl of ill-omened species hatched |
out a more numerous or more vicious brood |
of chickens than that political party of the
north, the copperhead Democracy. If not |
as prolific in point of numbers as some,
certainly more vicious in point of instinct
were the offspring of that cultured member
of this obscene species, Edward j. Phelps
of Burlington. Many of the ill-begotten
progeny of this party long ago came home
to roost and to torment their unnatural au-
thors. The rearguard, the stragglers, have
have been wandering in during this search
ing campaign. The latest bantling of the
species that has returned to its native roost
to plague and outrage its sire, at a most un.
propitious moment, is the speech delivered
by Mr.. Phelps in 1864 before the Democratic
club of Burlington, just before the close Of
the war. This speech is reproduced from
stenographic report of it made at the time
it was delivered, and published in full in a
recent number of the Rutland Herald. Yer.
monters, "read much and inwardly digest "
the sentiments of this rebel peer Of Wade
Hampton-peer in traitorous sentiments but
not in the arduous greatness " of warike
deeds. This man this author of senti.
ments and enunciator of principles that
shock and disgust every human, every patri-
otto, every philanthropic instinct, the De
mocracy have exhumed aud set up to receive
the highest honor the citizens of Vermont,
the descendants of old Ethan Allen, can
confer on one of their fellow citizens. The
vigorous means employed in the primitive
days of the Green Mountain Boys, the ia
nous beech seal " to incucate respect for
the rights of fellow men, would be the most
fitting response to make to the effrontery Of
this contemner of human rights. In lieu of
that primitive method of dealing with such
obdurate offenders, voters of the Green
Mountain state, let Candidate Phelps feel the
weight on election day of the heaviest ma
jority you ever gave.
You can remember as well as | how long
ago it was when there used to be set OF
long-hared, miserable creatures around the
country peddling what they called abolition
QaughteD, and dirty little set they were,
as you all know. (Renewed laughter J
They would come around the country, and
stick up their dirty little hand-bils, and have
meeting. Well, they would have a good
time if they could get rid of the boys but
they would throw rotten eggs, and they
U0uld ride one of them out of town once in
while on rail, and then there would be
an awful row about free speech being in.
vaded, etc. Still, we did not hear much
about it. We heard about as much about il
as you do now of " womans rights" But
in process of time this thing was taken up by
set of politicians in the state of New
York, who had the sagacity to see that by
diligently working away they might make
something out of this. 1t began to insinuatt
itself into certain class of pulpits and into
certain kind of religion-such as it was
and by and by certain set of political man
ayers began to say We must conciliat.
these fellows; we must have their vote
Said the Wings We must conciliate thes,
fellows or the Democrats will get their vote
Said the Democrats We must conciliat,
them or the Wings will get their vote. Lett
pass some sinking resolution, or pass som,
unconstitutional liberty bill through tn,
legislature, and humor them in that way
Time and again some men would remon
strate. They saw that on any subject in tn
world when you desert your principles VOL
are lost, but they were overruled. Well
gentlemen, it came to pass that, in disregard
of the very warning TO which | referred
little while ago, the last words of Washing
ton, to beware of sectional controversy
which is kind of fire that once starred vol
cannot stop, disregarding that the last pres
dental election saw great party arrayed
and saw it succeed, too, in electing pres
dent by the votes of the northern states ex
clusively against every individual vote cas-
south OF Mason and Dixons line We sa,
party successful and putting into the sea
of Washington and Jefferson man who wa
hostile to their institutions. which they ha
no authority to NEEDLE with at all. Well, eve
then when Abraham Lincoln, this twentieth
rate back-country attorney applause an
laughter)-the man imposed upon peopl
who did not know him by set of polit
clans who did know him, without one sill
gle qualification for statesman, not ON
not one-when he was inaugurated and stoo
there on the capitol steps, and received th
oath OF Office at the hands of the venerab
chief justice, it was not too late then, eve
though the people of the south, excite,
alarmed, were looking this way and tina
and each one asking his neighbor what
going to be done? Even then it was not tc
late. This whole nation hung with paint
solicitude on the 9TH of March, 1861, to hei
the language of that inaugural address, fro
which they expected to augur either pea,
or war. There was the time for state
man, or an honest man even. There wi
the time for him to have poured oil upc
those waters Well, many saw, thoug
and claimed that he had. His words we
of that pointno-point description that al
man could interpret about as he please
Everybody said," It's all right; we shar
have any trouble after all" Southern I'M
even congratulated each other. Well, ,