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15v GEO. w. iiow)i,i \. NEW SERIES. SPEECH OF Ei-COVERKOR BIGLER, OF PENNSYLVANIA, DELIVERED AT HARTFORD, CONN. /V/ow Citizens of Connecticut: —Tijis is mv jir>t visit to the New England States, and I should do injustice to mv feelings, uere I not to express to you the gratification excited by the hank hospitality of the people, and by the ■ evidences of general prosperity and comfort which I have met at every point. Your coun ts, naturally rugged, has yielded to the influ ences of industry and art, until its exterior is beautiful, and its productions abundant. Your manufacturing establishments, in great variety, the evidences of industry, are found interspers ; i with the school-house, the church, and the asvium, emblems ol intelligence, religiun, and charity. 1 must beg you to believe that I have come amongst vou in no spirit of vanity. I do not be ;.eve 1 can tell you anything which you have not heard before, or tell it better. My pre sence is rather to manifest the deep solicitude which the Democracy of the old Keystone feel jrthe late of their brethien of Connecticut, icst now engaged in a struggle with the com mon enemy. 1 would aid the Democracy if I had the power. I would certainly persuade vou to join that party, and maintain its princi ples. 1 am, besid-'s, persuaded that intercourse of this kind, between the people of the several j States, seidom fails to exercise a most salutaiv influence upon our social and political relations. Its certain tendency is to remove error and pre judice, and to unite us in bonds of-imperishable fraternity. Why should it be otherwise ? The in.aginary lines dividing the Slates do not mark the limits of a people strangers to each other : nor are they high walls or deep chasms, that thev may nut be passed. We are mainly the li-scendaiits of the same parentage; heirs ton common inheritance, actuated by similar motives and impulses, and protected by the same gener- al laws. 1 am gratified to find so many of the Demo crats of Connecticut in council on this occa shn. It rs\h" right of Ireemen, it is a cherish ed feature wf our republican system that has made such counselling together proper and ne cessary. The elective franchise, the medium of >dt-govrrnment, makes each citizen a compo nent part of the government, vested with privi ; gesand prerogatives, and clothed with respon siC'iti-s. Jt rs not only yutir privilege to vote, but it is your duty to do so, and to understand, j a.< la' as practicable, the consequences of the i.ffrage you are about to cast. A- an advocate of the Democratic party, I set out with the general proposition, that the best interests of the nation require the ascendency ! it- principles and policy, and the entire pros trn'ion of the tKindescript opposition. The De mocratic. parti is not only tile oldest, but it is the purest ami most patriotic political organization : '.at !lv ever existed in the Country. It is the < njy party now in existence, maintaining prin ciple ami a policy applicable to all parts of the ' " on. The scene before us is a beautiful il i i>:rati'>n of its nationality. One of your guests tins occasion, Colonel Orr, is from South Carolina, an original State on the Southern : undary. Another, Senator Weller, is from faiifiirnia, the* youngest member of the family. 'r. the shores of the I'acihc, distant three thou sand n.ih-s or more; and myself, from the Key stone of the arch, where the Declaration of In ' -pemlence was adopted, and the Constitution bamed; and yet, our principles and doctrines a.-" in perf, ct haimonv <HI eveiy topic, and ' ive been enthusiastically embraced by the ibtiKKracy ol New England. In all past strug gles, though occasionally suffering defeat, in the end ds policy has been sustained by experience and popular will. The opposing pailv, by whatever name known, has been as uniformly Wrong. Whatever they did when in power lad to be undone whatever they objected to has proved to he wise and proper foe-the conn try. Now. we common-sense people think hiai, for these reasons alone, the Democratic fatty isentilled to the confidence and palron ■'—** ( 'i the people. We never employ the me viianic or artist a second time, who has ruined 'he business the first; and the rule is just as 2 r >>d when applied to the science of government. ' '-se. gentlemen, have always failed. They >' in ii.v State, and in your State, and in * whole nation ; and now they have the bold to ask another opportunity. This should not "granted. The lessons of experience are not 1 ' -e trifled with in this way. I>tfl !>r the evidence of some of these asser ;on;) 1 homas Jefferson was the author of our ■aitii, and our first leader. He had a great strng " u ''li Alexander Hamilton, the ablest leader w! .lie federal party, at the time the govern ment was first shaped. The latter was the ad ' ,( 7de of 3 system assimilating to a limited ■'3tgirchv he wanted a President for life, ami "tutors lor fife, and other features consistent "'til a powerful central system; he maintained '""•the lirAiish Government presented the best --ode} w or j f j ever seen; but the views ' JvlJerson prevailed, and hence our present ■•"Pi *-sent at ive system. Party lines Were not p " ar ! y drawn, however, until Adams became' - resident. His election w.jls a triumph of the * 'lemifs of Jeflersonian Democracy, The dis- acts of bis administration were the and iedit.irjn laws. Under the former it "quired fourteen years prohation to become a ! -'en oi the f nited Stales, and under the lat • a citizen was liable to be bshed, or banish- Iroin the country, for word*' spoken against f and other officers of the govern * ;,i - 1 nde.- this feature citizens of Berks ' ' jl - y, now the Gibralter of Democracy in 1 I "Unsylvanja, were punished. But when -Mr. • "rson came into the Presidential chair,these Were repealed. Were they in existence j at this time, some of the present enemies of the Democratic party would be hourly in danger of the penalty. Under Jefferson's administration the great contest was in reference to the acquisition of the j T erntory of Louisiana. The opposition de i nounced the purchase as a prodigal waste of the public money, and a reckless extension of the limits of our government. The press teemed with trash ot this kind; and the rostrum, and even the pulpit, echoed the notes of alarm. But the purchase was made, and who can count the value of this single feature of Democratic poli cy. Had the doctrines of the opposition pre vailed, the Mississippi river would now be in possession of France or England. The States of Louisiana, Missouri, Arkansas, lowa and the Territories of Nebraska, Kansas, and Minneso ta, would not be ours, but compose a part of a jealous, if not a hostile power. Their inhabi tants would not now enjoy the blessings of a free government; and who, at this day, will i dare to say that this measure of the Democracy was unwise,or who would ask to have so many flourishing States driven out of the Union. During the administration of Mr. Madison trie great issue was one ol war with England. When that insolent power claimed the right to search American vessels on the high seas, and ; press American citizens into the ranks of her servile army, the great heart of the nation re pelled the indignity. The enemies of the Dem ocratic party, in the main, were against the dec laration ol war. Some went so lar as to meet in your own State at Hartford, to plot resist ance, if rn>t treason. But war came and went, j and who will say now that it was nut the true policy of this nation to have it? In its prog ress and consequences it honored our flag, ele vated our character as a warlike people, fixed more firmly the position of our government as one of the family of nations, and sett led great rules of national intercourse and comity, which are now respected by all. Lite periods of the administrations of Mr. Monroe and the younger Adams were not s > re i ir.arkable for partizan issues and great results. I nder the former, the Territory of Florida, now a State, was acquired. Gen Jackson was • the next President, and during his term the question ola national bank was the great issue. The opposition held that such an institution w as indispensable to the business of the country— that we must have a great regulator of the cui rency, of exchanges and values. Lot when the (tank determined to regulate the jiolilics of the country, Jackson determined to regulate it : and when ils appliances had secured the pas sage of a re-charter through Congress,that man of iron will put his heel on it. The sensation I produced by the act was awful. The crv of mill onri tvrnnny u-ac hfdrl in -hi f-urls of I lie land. Old women and political hypochondri acs were in hysterics. Panic conr>mittees~were seen wending their way to the White House to remonstrate and implore. But all thev could get from the Old Hero was a firm declaration of wholesome truths, touching the future trade and commerce and currency of the country, e vincinga foresight on hispa 11 which I have ev er regarded as more wonderful than hi- act ieve mentson the field of battle. But now the bank is rated an obsolete idea ; its former adv.mates concede the* wisdom of the policy that termina ted its existence. Many other great things were done hv Jackson. When the French h im itated to pav, Jackson sai l '-hv the Eternal," and the money came. W hen a sovereign State, dissatisfied with the revenue laws, threatened resistance, the same potent voice produced peace. Under the administration of Mr. Van Pureri, | the sub-treasury was made a leading issue. The purseand sword were notes ot alarm. But this issue has been settled in our favor. The insti i tut ion has worked well, and the sword has been j orderly. In 184-0 our opponents attained power once more. Coming in through a kind of political phrenzv, they had a long programme of rreas j ures oil hand. What did they do! Contrary I to their pledges thev attempted to fasten another ! bank upon the country. They did pass a bank- I rupt act, which in the short space ( ,f one year wiped out hundreds of millions of honest debts, and was then repealed in accordance with the ■ indignant voice of the nation. The issues on the question of the tariff, so prominent at that time, have all been settled in accordance with Democratic policy. The next great issue was the annexation of Texas. The measure was supported by the Democracy, and resisted by mo<t of the opposition. But who, among them now, will say that Texas ought not to be ours? Who regrets her admission into the Union, save only a few fanatics ? The opposition said war with Mexico would follow, arid it did follow. This was the only hit they had made tor a long time. War did commence by thy act of Mexi co, and what then ! VVhv the opposition press again teemed with denunciations against the President and his party. The war was denoun ced as unjust and aggressive on our part. The rostrum and the pulpit again echoed the alarm, and joined in defaming the government. Even members of Congress went so far as to sav that American soldiers in Mexico should he "wel comed with bloody hands to hospitable graves." But the great heart of the nation pulsated in unison with the government, and State after ! State, company after company, and man after man tendered their services to the President. The spectacle was a proud one, and astounded Great Britain and other jealous powers. The war was a brief and brilliant one, and peace was made on our terms. Had the policy of the opjiositiori prevailed, Texas, long pre this, would have been forced into an alliance with England and France, and California, th* richest State in the Union, so wonderful in her past growth, and promise for the future, would still be an integral part of the degraded republic of Mexico, and be inhabited by an ignorant and imbecile people. Had the Democracy no other 'claim to the favor of the people, this achieve ment alone should secure them many years of ascendancy and rule. But al! the old issues FRIDAY MORNING, BEDFORD, PA. MAY 9, 1856. have been settled in favor of tiie Democracy Indeed, had it not been the avowed purpose ol the opposition to be uniformly wrong on every question, whether of foreign relations or do mestic concern, of peace or war, they could not have succeeded so well. Of all the measures they ever proposed there is not now a vestige to he fouqd in the jiolicy of the country. One by one, in turn, their bobbies have fallen at the hand ol time ; been discarded by the people, and abandoned by their authors. U will be so with, those now pending. Not only are their hobbies gone, but soine ol the old parlies are gone also. It was the sagacious Webster wha wrote, that after ISS~ the Whig p3rtv woulii exist in history only, and we have the verifica tion of his prediction. Now, fellow-citizens, what I wish to impress upon your minds is this: That in this long his tory covering many important epochs, there never was a time w hen the Democratic party occupied a nobler position than just now. There never was a time when its ascendancy was more essential to the peace and the progress of the nation ; and I ain quite sure I have never seen ihe day when I was so proud of iny hum ble membership in it. In a distinct struggle for the constitutional rights of the States, anil the rights of the citizens ol each State, the vir tues of this old party are best reflected. My friend, Senator Weller,-ays, tliat the old oppo sition party was only intended to perform the otfices of a brake on the track. When Demo cratic locomotion got too high, tlie opposition answered f<r a brake. I have compared it to a dead weight on the skirts of progress. We are rapidly approaching a Presidential election which u iil involve vital issues. The Democracy will be arrayed on one side, and tbe combined elements of fanaticism ami bigotry on the other. Black Republicanism, alias Aboli tionism, will compose one wing of the enemy, and Know Nothingism the other : and notwith standing the striking dissimilarity in the char acter of these organizations and the doctrines they hold, 1 predict their united action against us in the Northern States. Had I not witness ed this humiliating union in my own State, and did I not see evidences of it in yours, i might hesitate to express this opinion. But as waj the effect in Pennsylvania, so 1 trust it will prove to he in Connecticut, and that a large number of the best men of the old Whig party w ill, by such means, be induced to join the De mocracy. Now, let us analyze the elements of these two parties lira moment,and see how far their union will be consistent with decency mon sense. The Abolitionists would ai re H; 4>* extension of slavery ; they would sever.ih. shackles of the slave; thej> v0<9,l ..... greater political ano social rights and opportu nities; all this they would do because tle-v sav it is humane and philanthropic. The Know- Nothings, on the other hand, 'ek to make birth place and religious belief a fe-t for civil office, and on these principles would humiliate this large class of white citizens hv sinking th* m below tiie condition ol their neighbors. The latter move in darkn*s> and in s-ciesv, whilst the Abolitionists 3ct in daylight, promulgating their sentiments everywhere with peculiar bold ness. Who would venture to predict that two such parties would fraternize? Imagine them in juxtaposition. With a shade ot white on one side, arid a shade of black on the other. The one seeking the elevation of the colored man, and th-* other concerned exceedingly for the humiliation of while people. The triumph of Abolitionism is the triumph of the colored race. The success of Know-Nothingism involves the degradation of a laig- class of white citizens! But, offensive as the spectacle may seem, vou are bound to witness it. I witnessed it in Pennsylvania in ]B4A, and again in 1855. At the ejection in the latter year, each of these parties had presented their candidate for Canal Commissioner, a Know-Nothing and Abolition ist or Republican, so that each voter might ex press his p-cußar views. But, on the eve of the election, the leaders withdrew the name? of these gentlettien and presented another in their stead ; the willing and embodiment of all the isms, and the mass of electors found themselves in a position w here they had to take the whole dose or nothing. The foreign horn or Catholic abolitionist or republican could not reflect his cherished vi-ws without, at the same lime, en dorsing the doctrines ol the Know-Nothings, which were intended to proscribe him from civil office. The Know-Nothing, on the other hand,however national in his views, could not declare his principles without speaking in a voice of Abolitionism also. The result of litis shameless attempt to prostitute the ballot-box was a Democratic triumph. A large element of the dissolving Whig party could not stand the whole dose at one time, and they came over to our ranks; and 1 doubt not such will he the result in Connecticut. But let us look at these parlies separately, and inquire what good thing each would do for the country. And we should not neglect to notice that they are the two parties against which Washington, with wonderful foresight, admon ished the people in his larewell address. For one i s a secret society, to accomplish political or partizan ends, and the other is clearly geo graphical in its organization. Read the address for yourselves, arid see how striking the .appli cation. First then, comes the Republican or Abolition party. It is certainly much older, it not much better than its compeer. Its move ments are associated with rry earliest recollec tions of political allairs. It has been diligent in its lamentations over the evils of slavery ; and his bewailed the unhappy condition of the colored race in this country tor a long time ; hut lias as long failed to present, lor the considera tion of the people, either a practical or legal remedy. When pressed to answer the ques tion, the most fanatical will admit, that as citi zens of a tree State, they have no legal right to interfere with the institution; that it is the clear constitutional right of each State to have it or not; will they claim that the States have Freedom of Thought and Opinion. \ failed to exercise this right. When the Con if st but ion was adopted, all the States, save one, y embraced slavery. Now we ha v.* fifteen slave ■- and sixteen tree Stales. Connecticut and Perm it xylvania have abolished it. Virginia and Ma ■s ryland have retained it. The people of the e latter States have no proper right to complain e against the action of those ot the former, and e 'luce versa. Nor will it do to sav that constant •, and bitter denunciation bv the people of one 0 Suite against the institutions of another, is no i r interference; barren as to practical results, it e is still fruitful of iil ieejing. The certain ten :> deiicy of which is to alienate the feelings oi the d people of the several States, and, at the same - time, defeat the end in view. Were the peo- I pie of Pennsylvania to indulge in unkind crifi s cisms of your institutions, I am sure the only - tendency would be to force you to cherish tiiein • the more c losely. Such haA been tbe only ef- ' / feet ol political Abolitionism. VV lien southern ' i* men, with Clay at their head, staited the Colo s nization Society, what did the Abolitionists do? • ! Did they second the movement ? By no means, r Nothing would satisfy them but immediate and - unconditional emancipation. Tl'teir lecturers i r commenced to harrangue the people, and their 1 coljiorteurs were sent into ail parts of the Un - ion with inflammatory documents, to accorri f plish this end. The consequence was, that the - southern people became alarmed and receded ! • from the posit ion they had taken. The oppor- ' - tunilies ol the slaves were restricted, their edu- I cation neglected, and the southern people con i strained to adhere to ther constitutional right to i have the institution with increased tenacity.— ! So much torthe lolly of interfering without a • proper right to do so. But suppose no consti- tutionai obstacle intervened, or that the South i should agree to emancipate the slaves at a stated - period, provided they were taken away or main , tained, what couid he done ? \\ iio would em ■ P'"y, clothe, and feed these helpless beings? - How many would Massachusetts take ? How f many would Cbio take ? And how rnanv would ! Pennsylvania and Connecticut take ? Not one! • But <t they could he brought North, in what particular will their condition be improved'? j ! \\ ill they five better? Will they have b>'tler ideas of civilization and Christianity? Will I they be elevated in the scale of moral being? • The answer to all these qm siions is, to a cer tain extent, furnished in the pitiable condition . ol the tree blacks. 1 rue, there are those who would he willing to give the negro equal, social. • and political condition with the Anglo-Saxon; but J am not on.* of those, and have no patience ■ to even discuss this offensive idea. What then ■ stroiiid those abolitionists do? VVhv, mind ci' r OU " ' Hl^ine:,s * That is generally profita are not accountable in any way for the wrongs of slavery. Nor should the people of New England Ifirget that lh-v had an agency in ■ propagating the institution. Their delegates , in the convention that made the present Con i stilntion, consented to the continuance of the i slave trade. Prior to that time this disgraceful ■ tratfic had been against by the States . of Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina.— AII the New England States voted for the clause • continuing the slave trade up to ISIS, whilst , \ irginia and Delaware voted against it. It i was this trade that first propagated the institu i tiou and regulated its growth. For the increase ■ during that long period, the New England States , are largely responsible, and this iact should at • I. Ast constrain them to a charitable view ot this f vexed question. The extent ol the institution is . nut to be measured by ttie Territory over which • i' may spread, but bv the number of beings in ' bondage. Where I a citizen of Kansas, I should i vote agains-t slavery ; but in doing so, I would i not feel tteat J vvas lessening the number of I slaves, or doing them a special kindness. Nor ■ would ilie restoration ol the southern slaves to ! the condition of their ancestors in Africa, bet - tr their condition. To change would reduce - them to the low est state ot barbarism, and the f act would be an outrage upon humanity. But I my object is only to suggest these ideas, not to - elaborate them. 1 have no doctrine to present on this point ol the subject. J only wish those i who are so constantly exercised on the question, • to point out their remedy ; to tell us what can • be done. Nor would a dissolution ol tiie Union . tree the slav es. The southern States would go - together, and of course retain the institution, so . long as it might he the pleasure of the people, i The fugitive slave law is one of the favorite - bobbies of the Republican party, and I desire ; to call your attention to the inevitable conse i qiiences of their doctrine, for a moment. This < is a question of obeying or disobeying tiie letter t of tbe Constitution, and the Republicans, or Afa ! olitionists, in the mam, lavor resistance. The 1 Constitution declares, that "no person held to • service or laiior in one State, under the Jaws ■ thereof, escaping into another, shall, in conse quence oi anv law or regulation th< rein, be dis ! charged from such service or labor, but shall be • delivered up on claim of the party to whom - such service or labor may be due." These are i very explicit teuns. They furnish a distinct - guarantee to the citizens ol the slave-holding - Slates', that the fugitive should be returned, and i made it the dear duty of Congress to devise - means to carry out the condition. The Union s is the offspring ot the Constitution. I h* two ! - are inseparable. The former could not survive ■ the destruction of the latter. Nor can the Con f slitution be maintained in part, and disregarded - in part. Jt must be respected as a whole.— ■ Those who re>ist the letter of any pait of the t Constitution, virtually repudiates the whole ; and those who do this, reh*-! against the I nion : • and, doing this, are reck less of the true welfare [ of both races, and of man kind generally. Those - who exclaim against the law with so much ve- I hemenc**, should remember jliat it is the crea • lure of the Constitution, and whilst it may not - be perfect it is not probable that it will do more than return all the fugitives . were it to do less, • it would not be what the Constitution intended. ■ The law of 1793, though very similar to that • now in existence, excited hut little resistance at j the time. It passed the Senate without a di i vision, and received 45 out of 50 votes in the House of Representatives. Massachusetts ca.-.t 6 votes faj it, and I against it. But now other councils prevail, and every man who says that this part of the Constitution must be carried out, is denouncd as a "negro driver." But I must speak of the question of slavery in , the Territories. This lias long been a topic of angry controversy in Congress. The qm-stion was regulated in what was known as the North western Territory, bv the on) in a pee of 1787, a kind of compact between the people of the Ter ; ritory, the State of Virginia, and the United States under the first conf**deracv. In the Lou isiana Territory it was disposed df by the adop tion of what is familiarly known as tbe Mis souri Compromise—an act of Congress, decla ring that slavery should not extend north of the parallel of 3fi degrees 39 minutes. When T<*x -1 as was acquired, the question was disposed of in the same way. The acquisition of new Terri tory from Mexico, at the close of the war, pre sented the question again. An effort vvas made to dispose of the controversy by extending the ■ Missouri line to the Pacific ocean, hut the prop osition was rejected, and mainly bv the votes of the North. 1 tie necessity tor some other mode ol adjustment was thus presented. Tiie party now complaining most of the Nebraska law, ; contributed to the creation of this necessity bv their hostility to the Missouri line. There I seemed to be no alternative left but to ret", r the whole question to the people of the Territories. Clav, Cass, \\ ebster, and others recognized this policy in the compromise acts of 1859, and it is ibr this principle that the Democratic party are now contending—the broad doctrine of non-in tervention by Congress, and the light of the peo ple in the Territories to decide the question for theniselve. on the principle of self-government. As a candidate before the people. 1 maintained this doctrine; I thought it sound in theory, and that it conid not fail in practice. I think so still. \\ ithout stopping to inquire how tar . ' Congress might legally interfere, I was convin ced that it was wise for Congress to forbear.— The principle of non-intervention, or popular sovereignty in the Territories, is in beautiful harmony with our whole Republican -vsiem.— Ihe inherent right of self-government, and the? capacity to exercise that right, are not deter mined bv geographical lines. A man is none the less competent because he resides in a Ter ritory, nor are his reserved rights under the ; Constitution less. Many of vour neighbors and j mine have gone to the Territories. Are th*-v less qualified to judge of their own interests than when they were citizens ot Connecticut or j Pennsylvania ? Certainly not ( Is U ,reason regulate the domestic institutions under which these men are to live? Suppose the men com posing this meeting had determined to go to Kansas, would thev consent that tho-e who re main in Connecticut, through their representa tives in Congress, should decide their local pol icy on anv question ? The proposition seftr.s absurd. The question is admittedly one for the disposition of a sovereign State, and so it should ,be for the people of a Territory. When the. people of a Territory become a State, their will is to be omnipotent. Why should it be restrain ed during the existence of the Territorial gov ernment? Why not permit the full jjowerofj the people, under the Constitution, to operate ; at once? It will do its work in the end any how. But tills whole question is magnified by the opposition u itii the view to political capi tal. They speak of the action of Congress as . determining the policy of the people of the Territory forever. That is not the case. The people of a State may-change their policy as of ten as they please. Connecticut had the insti tution of slavery. She could have it again, and no power on earth dare interfere. Just so with j anv other State. Kansas, or anv other terriio- : ry coming into the Union as a free State, can afterward establish slavery, and vice versa.— Congressional control at most, therefore, can onlv operate during the territorial probation, and the whole controversy is reduced to this one point : as the people of a State can do as they pKas-eon a question of domestic policy, shall thev be permitted to do so while a territo ry. The Democratic party say yes. The Isms say no; and on this the issue is made. But it is diligently asserted that the Kansas law legis lates slavery into the territory. That is not true! The words are explicit : that it is the "true intent and meaning of this act not to leg-j islate slavery into any State or territnrv, nor to exclude it therefrom, but to leave the people thereof, perfectly tree to firm and regulate their domestic institutions in their own way. subject only to (lie Constitution of the United States." Under this provision it is true Kansas may he come a- slave State. It might have become such in the end, no matter what Congress might do in the premises. Specific action, as in the case of the Missouri line, if constitutional, would be binding on the people ol the terriloiy ; hut the shackles would fall off' so soon as they be -1 come a state. The laws of nature will more certainly shape the policy of the State than the laws ol Congress. If the climate and soil in vite the institution, it will he difficult to keep it ! out. Il'they are against it, no agenrv of Con gress can maintain it. For one, lam willing to leav** the question with tiie people, and re gard the question as finally settled in that vvav. But Democrats arerharge with iriconsislcncv for having, at one time, favored the Missouri line: I have already given a sufficient answer i to this allegation hv showing that the Aboli tionists forced the necessity for a new mode of adjus'ment. But how slands the case on the other side ? Wonderfully consistent ! When James Lanman, vour Senator in IK2O, voted for the Missouri lin*-. this party burnt him in effigy. When Isaac Toucey, in 1854, voted for its repeal, they served him in Hi*- same way., T he Republicans in Congress struggled tor two moths to make Mr. Banks Speaker, Ic-caused he is oppos-d to slavery, and for this they claim the TfiKJIS, 8 5 PEE VElit. VOL XXIV, NO. 3f>. j thanks of Anti-Slavery mfii in all parts of the country. Within two days thereafter, these i gentlemen turned around and ekctd Gen. Cui lum, oi Tennessee, a slaveholder, their Clerk and for this I bey may claim the thanks oi the other side. Hut you are told that the Territo ry oi Kansas has been invaded hv the people of Missouri, and the voice oi the Lunti Jide citizen bas been smothered. It is quite ciear to my mind that excesses were indulged at the elec tion: that the ballot hox has been abused; that men have voted who had no tight to vote.— Bitter conflict, if not actual violence, was the certain consequence of the circumstances sur ! rounding the organization. The attempt to cramp the Territories, on the one hand, and the coun teracting efforts on the other, could scarcely iarl to lead to abuse of the right of suffrage. But i this is not latai to the theory of the law, nor to its ultimate workings. All sides are being pledged to the piotec'ion of the ballot box in lulure— Southern men as well as ■Northern—and I think it may be safely assumed that the next eh-ciiori will he a fair one. That uncontrolled and luiawed, the voice ofthe bona fide citizens of the territory w ill be expressed. If the free Slate party aie in the majority, as is S J confi dently claimed, they will elect the next Legis lature and repeal the objectionable la ws, god shape the policy of the territory to sort them selves. 1 shall now sp<-ok of the Know-Nothing or ganization. Tins is a party ol ba:i principles and worse practices. Tbe\ propose to make birth-place and religious belief a test for civil office, and to accomplish the end through the re gency of seciet anri oath-bound societies. At least such is their plan of Operations in mv Sfate. They profess to believe that our institutions are in danger from the influence oi' forcing born citizens and the power of tire <_h.:iiolic church. They fight under the motto, that "Americans must rule Anience." They cumpiaiu of great ev ris and then determine to practice them.— Fliey chiini to be peculiarly American, but maintain doctrines distinctly anti-American.— Professing deep concern tor the stability of our republican institutions, they make war on the noblest characteristics of our whole system, cu ll rights and reiigious freedom. Depreciating : secret and clannish movements in others, thev have adopted the practice themselves. Discai : ding, in terms of bitterness, Jesuitism in matters :oi religion, they have determined to try it in politics. Professing peculiar reverence tor the name ol Washington, they have chosen a plan j of political organization against which that good man admonished the people. Alarmed about the power of the Catholic fhurcb ! \\T>y,. according to /be \ye to over 'in,ooo Protestant ministers—thirty of the latter to one of the former. There is sure ly nn cause of alarm in such a state of facts, nor can there he any sincerity tu the pretension.— According to the same census, we have twenty three natives to one foieign born citizen. Is this startling? Can't twenty-three Yankees take care of one Irishman or Dutchman ? Hut I deny the premises and the conclusions. Our . institutions iie in danger from no such cause.— We have more to fear from elements longer in the country than the much dreaded foreigners. Hut who originated this new scheme, and j what is its nature ? It is "an old enemy in a new garb," one whose lone ears the lion's skin does not entirely conceal, as it goes about t-> scare people. The leading spirits in getting it up are the same who denounced the Democrat , ic candidate in lSjfl, as a bigoted Protestant, and attempted to prove it by a certificate signed by Whig Catholics in New Hampshire; the same who circulated the famous pictorial liog raphy of Gen. Scott, their candidate, display ing him in the midst of raw Irishmen, listening j to their complaints, and ministering to their wauls, and all this to prove that he was a gen erous man, who would not neglect the poor down-trodden'foreigner. It was tire candidate of" these Know-Nothing leaders who travelled j the country in the last Presidential contest to win tile votes of the foreign-born citizens by ridiculous twaddleabont the "rich lrir-ii brogue," and the 'sweet German accent." It was their candidate who proposed to interpolate a new plank in the platform, to tire effect thai any spe cies of humanity mustering in the army lor one year should have the right of suffrage. Not withstanding G.-n. Scott's identity with the Catholic church, these Know Nothings voted : for him, and thev would have done so had the Pope been his daily companion. But Scott was not elected. These much courted people voted as theretofore, some for the Democratic, and some (or the Whig candidate, thus vindicating themselves against the charge oi' clannishness now so freely made. But a change came over the views ol their former admirers, the Know- Nothings. The foreign accent lost its charms, and the groups of Irish with whom Scott had mingled, as uvll as the church with which he was identified, have been converted info hide ous monsters to alarm the weak and ignorant : ami hence Know Nothmgisni. But is it not unjust to disfranchise a man he cause of his place of birth ? He could not help it. Geography is not understood in the pre ex istent state. Birth a standard for office ! YVh v Hie idea is only woithy of ridicule. Birth is not a virtue, it is an accident or circumstance, it mav he a good thing to he bom in this favored countrv. but it would be better were it a matter of choice. It is the virtue of the animal. The buffalo and catamount have it. The Indian and tiie negro have it. Tiger-tail, the Indian chief, can boast a better title to it than the oldest of the Know-Nothings. It may be a God-send to political bankrupts to s> t up a standard of po litical virtue, which equalizes the meanest with (he best . bv which Mr. Hiss would out-rank Johfn Wesley, and Benedict Arnold would he preferred io Lafayette. Hut hone>t men will repudiate the idea. They wiil estimate the man hv a higher standard, the head, the heart, th<* soul. They will never consent to look he hind the swaddling clothes,or piv into the con-