Year: 1863




We make thu following extracts from
the speech of John Van Buren,, delivered
at the Cooper Institute, New York, on
Friday evening last:


Without stopping to discuss disputed
propositions-that would be, of no avail
there is no doubt that there has been,
for great length of time, a large num-
Der Of politicians in the South who have
been determined to extend Slavery to
the free territory of the United States,
They endeavored to use the organization
of the Democratic party for that purpose,
and, in lS4S, they assumed such a posi-
tion in regard to it as to force what
considered the regular Democracy of the
State of New York out of the Demo
cratic party. Applause. The cleo
tions of '4S and 50 and Sc came to
pass. The election of 1860 was the next
that transpired, and in the meantime
this disposition was manifested by va
rious efforts to force Slavery into Kan
Sas, and other measures that it is not
now necessary to discuss, and to which
l was always opposed In 1860, in the
Democratic Convention, they declared
that the platform of the Convention
should contain a recognition of the
legality of Slavery in all the Territories
of the United States, and they declared
in addition that Slavery should be pro-
tected by the General Government in all
the Territories belonging to the Union.
The Democracy of the North refused to
agree to that, and the Convention broke
up. 1t re-assembled at Baltimore and
again broke up, and the election Of 1860
came on, the Southern men having
candidate Of their own, and the Northern
and Western Democracy supporting Mr..
Douglas, and large number supporting
Mr.. Lincoln, resulting in the election of
the latter. [Applause,l In that con-
test l took no part. l voted, but l did
nothing more. No man ever heard me,
in public or in private, express any opin-
ion in regard to it, except when the cleo
ton came off, l deposited my vote in
opposition to Mr.. Lincoln. Voices
"Good. After that election Congress
assembled. Mr.. Lincolns message de-
clared in the fullest manner his unwil-
ingness to interfere with Slavery in the
States. 1t recognized, in the fullest ex-
tent, the right of the different States to
have Slavery if they chose, and his en-
tire indisposition to interfere with it,
Notwithstanding several States seeded
from the Union as they said They held
a convention and resolved themselves
out Their representatives abandoned
their seats in Congress, although they
had control of the Senate and House of
Representatives, and the Supreme Court
of the United States. They went fur
ther, and set up Government of their
own, or said they did.


Now you all remember the debates be-
tween Webster and hayne upon that sub
ject, of the right to secede from the I'M
ion. Mr. Webster told Hayne what has
since proven true-that that was mere
rebellion, and when they put it in opera
ton, they would see that in order to carry
out what they assumed to be the right of
peaceful secession and notification, they
must use force and be met by force, and
the law of bayonots must decide the
controversy. Applause This occur
red. They assumed 10 set up Govern
ment under the right which they claimed
to destroy the Union. They formed a
Congress and elected a President. But
they were not content with this. They
seized the property of the United States
they seized its forts, its ships, its treas
ure. They fred upon the flag of the
United States at Fort Sumter and claim
ed the right to exercise the power of
sovereign Government Now, you will
bear in mind-every fair minded man in
the United States will bear in mind
that up to this moment not one hair of
their heads had been injured. No right
of any Southern man had been invaded.
History will record that the world never
witnessed rebellion against a govern
mental authority before, where the rebels
could not lay their finger upon thing
to show that either their property, THEN
liberty, or their rights had been, in the
slightest particular, invaded. Great ap-
plause. This being the fact, the city of
New York sent forth $4,000 men to quell
this rebellion. Her capitalists advanced
$300,00o,000 to put down this rebellion
The State of New York sent 100000
men, and l am to argue. in the face of
these facts and past history of this con-
test, that the rebellion is atrociously un-
just, and that the war in which we have
engaged with the South is rightfully
prosecuted by us in vindication of the
Constitution and the Union Ap-
plause. Now, what is the condition of
this contest2 They were not satisfied
with what l have te Q led, but they an
nounced that they were going to estab-