Year: 1863

The Despotism at Richmond.


The Government established at Rich
mond, is not only q novelty, but q preten-
tiOus anamaly and anachrOnism in the his
tory Of civilized States. Despotic and op-
pressive as many forms Of rule in the Old
World are, happily there is nothing in the
political system of Europe at all compare
BILE to the deliberate and resolute malignity
of this new Power, which is seeking to es-
tablish itself on the other side of the At
lantic. So far from protesting or attempt
ing to seek the good of the governed, this
Power is formed for the very purpose of
condemning large proportion Of the pop
ulation beneath its rule to the absolute
prey, the helpless victims, the instruments
and property of . tyrannical majority
Considerably more than q third of the
whole population of the Confederate States
is, by the very constitution of this new
Power, formally adjudged to a condition of
permanent and hopeless bondage. The
new Government is not only ostentatiously
founded on slavery, but it seeks to become
established for the avowed purpose of per-
petuatlng and extending this abomination.
1t is the first time in the history OF the
world that men have deliberately set them
selves to form State on this basis and tor


this object. It is in fact neither more nor
less than dark and daring compact
formed to protect artifcially, and propa-
gate by powerful organization, a system ;1
embodying the worst forms OF social evil
and individual wrong. Such a Confedera-


ton is of necessity fatal to all freedom and
enlightened advancement. Without sin


gle element of genuine hope, or q solitary


germ of rational progress, it is condemned
by it's own act to a condition of intellec-
t1al degradation, social corruption, and
moral death. In a word, it is, as it has
justly been described, q gigantic conspira-
cy against civilization, humanity and reli-
gion; and the very attempt to establish
such q power at this time OF day is an in
solent outrage against the reason and con-
science of mankind. .ta


men are now asked to assist, by their con-
tributions, in establishing. A loan is to be
negotiated on the English Exchange, for
the sole purpose Of rivetting the fetters Of
the slave and establishing the military su-
premacy of slaveholding oligarchy. It is
right to speak plainly about the true char
acter of this infamous project, this barefac-
ed attempt to convert the centre of English
commerceinto ave-drivers' auction mart
Those who commit themselves to it must
know what they are about, and must there
fore desire and intend to support q system
of audacious and unexampled wickedness.
No one of even ordinary information can
now pretend ignorance as to the true char
octer and designs of the Slave Power. That


NAL declarations and authoritative acts !;
those designs are not only avowed but glo-
ried in. The official representatives of the
Southern Government have declared sla-
very to be the cornerstone, the central
principle, the very life-blood Of the Confed-
Grafton. The Southern press has uniformly
held the same language. The public men
and public organs of the Confederation
have ridiculed and repudiated the apologies
for slavery made by their friends in this
country. For time the English patrons
of the South attempted to maintain that the
connection of the Southern Government
with slavery was accidental and tempo
rary, and that the progress Of the war
verse has happened. AS the war goes on
the South becomes more insolent and ag-;
gressive in its crusade against freedom In
every form-more truculent and blood
thirsty in the carrying out Of resolute and
vindictve slaveholding policy. The South
ern Congress has just passed an act author
izing the sale OF all captured persons of
color. whether they had ever been slaves or
not; In q word, has condemned'by State
ordinance multitude of free persons to
hopeless slavery.


While the Southern Legislature is thus
pursuing policy that reduces all persons
of color to servitude, the Southern press is
discussing the expedlency OF bringing the
lower classes OF whites into the same condl-
ton! The Rlcnmond enquirer, IN recent
article on the SUBJECT openly taxes this
ground:


3"UntlI recently the apologlsts ior slavery
took halfway GROUNDS. Ihey connned the
defence OF slavery TO negro slavery, thereby
giving up the slavery Prlnclpie, admlttlng
other forms OF slavery to be wrong.