'I It:
SPEECH
RON. JOHN B. ALLEY,
ON THE
PRINCIPLES AND PURPOSES OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.,
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Delivered in the House of Representatives of the United States, Monday, April 30, 1860.
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SPEECH.
Mr. ALLEY! Mr. Chairman, in the remarks which I shall submit to the consideration of the
committee at this time, I propose to discuss the principles and purposes of the Republican party,
the causes which led to, and the necessity of, its organization, the inevitable tendency of its doc trines, and the final result of its action.
Slavery has been, to a greater or less extent, a disturbing element in our national politics ever
since the organization of the Government; in fact.,political differences were occasioned by jt, and
sectional prejudices grew out of it, at a period long anterior to the formation of the Federal com pact.  The establishment, encouragement, and perpetuity of the African slave trade, on the part
of Great Britain,.against tlheremonstrance of somni of the colonies, was among the causes which led
to the rm e.i."rolutin:'When the: Constitution was framed and adopted, slavery existed
in all~ theS ~.tes'a,v. one, And to her gte.ct gl.:wy be it spoke  that State was Massachusetts   The
manner in which slavery was abolished in Massachusetts in 1780, seven years before the Federal
Constitution was framed, is as honorable to the historic fame of her judiciary as it was to the
patriotism and sense of justice of her people. It was not abolished by legislative enactment, butf
simply by the decision of her supreme court, tht slavery was incompatible with the principles of
her constitution, and the declaration of sentiment in its preamble. Thus it was that slavery ceased
forever within her borders.  A,nd AIassachusetts, ever true to this doctrine of her constitution,
stands forti:['a~ witt;o. liw p'n h.r^statufbook it "'ooscriptioun:a6 thun'rtunate African,
except it a'bi  oice: to  ht is beteved'to'be              hig'*r ia*W 6f thenastikiti n'of the
Union.
The almost universal sentiment of the North is, that slavery is a great moral, social, and political
evil; productive of no good, but much of-evil-to tie -masTer, as well as to the slave; and to hold
him as a chattel is in violation of every precept of Christianity, of every axiom of liberty, of every
sentiment of justice, of every feeling of humanity.  While they hold it to be a duty to oppose
its fur.r evenioin, tbeye   do-' unot reggad'ri:em'elves,'' a's:.i   olificall':reponsible fdr'it'.existene
and perpetuity in the States.  So long as many of the most enlightened and gifted men of the South,
who were statesmen and patriots, regarded it as an evil, and deplored its existence, and agreed
with theN.orth.that.it.ough.t not to be.extended,. and.declared, also, that it could not be defended
upon an-y'othei r groound than that of u'ncontrollable necessity, the North were satisfied to be quiet
and content.  But when it was discovered that it was the determined purpose of the South, in violation of all law and precedent, to force slavery everywhere, the people. of the North became
aroused, and now stand ready, with a unanimity proportioned to their conviction of the purposes
and designs of the South, to declare "thus far, but no further"- not another inch ofrlave territory.
Upon this question of the extension of slavery, the South has been gradually growing desperate;
until now it openly announces its treasonable purpose to dissolve this Union, if not permitted to
use the whole force of this government to extend and protect slavery in all the national Territories.
Many far seeing and sagacious people at the North have predicted for a long time this design of the
South, but were unable to make the mass of the people believe it.  But "whom the gods wish to
destroy, they first make mad."  The South have proclaimed it in unmistakable language; and the
anti-slavery sentiment of the country will niow take possession of the national Government. It
cannot be averted.  The South may r e and howl as much as it pleases; it must be done; and let
me say to the South, these chosen Republican leaders will so administer the Government that every
interest will be protected; that exact and equal justice will be done to the North as well as to the
South, to the East and to the West. I am sorry to see, on the part of some, a disposition to apologize for the.position and action of the Republican party, and claiming that the organization is a
purely defens-ye one.  It is well enough to state, what is the fact, that had it not been for the madness of to South upon this question, the Republican party would never have obtainel its present
gigantic   po'rtions.'But this party needs no apology.  It asks for nothing that is not clearly
and e#n5tit ttonally right;' and apology for its action is as much out of place as an apology for
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the views and actions of Washington. Henry, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Webster, gand Clay, upon
this question of slavery and,its extension.  It,stands where they stood, condemning slavery a-d
opposed to its further extension; and,. like them, disclaiuing any purpose or authority to interfere
with its existen.e in the States.  Its! fault, if. any, is what theirs was, in being too conservative to
satisfy the anti-slavery sentiment of the country.>
General Washington~wrote to Robert Morris, as.follows:    -.-.-..: -
"I can only say that there is not a man living who wishes more sincerely thtan tI do to-see a
plan adopted for the abolition of it; but there is only one proper amnd effectual mode by which it
can be accomplished,- and that is, by legislative authority.. And this, as far as my suffrage will
go, shall not,be wanting.-".-        -         -- A:
,  Should not this testimony of the immortal- "Father of his (Country," in favor of our principle
and action, justify our position to the country and the-world?:               -.    - -
Mr. Jefferson declared it to be the sincere wish of his heart to see slavery-abolished;- for, saidhe,
"I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, and htis justice cannjot sleep forever.!
And, alluding to its violent overthrow, he declared:  "The Almighty has no attribute which can
take side with us in such a contest."
Patrick Henry declared: "That he honored the noble effort to abolishl slavery."  i. 
-Mr. Eadison said that slavery found no justification in the laws of justice and right, and its ex~
tension should be resisted. 
-  Mr. Monroe was equally emphatic in his denunciation of slavery; and in his speech in the Vir   ginia convention, he said:                         -             -                -.     -
"We have found that this evil has preyed upon the very vitals of the Union, and has been pre   judicial to all the States in which it has existed."   -
Mr. Webster declared "that his right arm should be severed from its socket sooner  than it
should cast a vote favoring the extension of slavery."
Mr. Clay declared " slavery to be a great moral, social, and political" evil; and he advocated
with great earnestness and power, at every period of his life, the gradual emancipation of the
blacks.
These illustrious characters and eminent statesmen, if living to-day, with these-opinions of theirs
standing upon the enduring records of the nation's history, could not receive the smallest commits   sion for public service at the hands of this national Administration-an Administration which will
remain in all coming time as a standing monument of usurpation and crime.
The Republican party reflects every shade of opinion upon the question of slavery.  The organi  zation contains within its limits the most ultra conservative men, and the most zealous anti-slave  ry advocates, agreeing only upon one object, namely, the determination to prevent the Further ex  tension of slavery.
The Democratic party contains within its folds the rankest secessionists or disunionists and the
mildest conservatives, but all equally bent, at least so far as the organization is concerned, upon
extending and perpetuating human slavery. - But neither of the extremes of these two wings i8
destined to be immediately successful in obtaining possession of the national Government.  The
disunionists of the South could no more succeed in placing a representative of their ideas in the
Presidential chair than the Abolitionists of the North can elect one of their number to that high
position.  But the anti-slavery sentiment of the North is thoroughly arouLsed; and, acting in con  junction with the conservatism of the whole country, it will place in the Presidential chairs on the
4th of March, 1861, a Republican President of conservative tendencies, but firm convictions  and
whether he be the distinguished Senator of New York or any one else, he will be sustained by the
whole people of the North and the patriotic men of the South.   You may as well make  up your
mind to it; you must submit to it.
These threats of dissolution of the Union are as the idle wind.  The great body of the people at
the South are not so deficient in understanding and intelligence as not to know that they could
not live a moment, and maintain "'their peculiar institution," outside of the Union, in hostility to,
the North. I have no fear of any serious movement for dissolution on the part of the South.
"Barking dogs never bite." I confess I have some fears of the North, although I know they are a.-,
magnanimous and forbearing people; yet multitudes are beginning to feel that there is a point, be yond which "forbearance ceases to be a virtue."  When they consider that their commercial, their
manufacturing, and all their political interests, are neglected and sacrificed, and everything  made
subservient to the interests of slavery, as they have been for years past; I say, when  all this is
fully realized, as it soon must be, it is impossible to predict what the consequences will be.  Cer taim it is, that, first of all, they will rise in their might and demand their rights under the Consti tution and laws.  But let me tell gentlemen of the South, this Union will never be dissolved by
them; it will take a mightier arm than theirs to overthrow this Government.  If dissolved at all
it will be by the resistless will of the North.
Gentlemen talk about the white people of the South as though they were the special objects of
God's providence; and they taunt the white laborers of the North with being slaves to the capital ists of the North. I heard a southern Senator declaim the other day upon the floor of the Senate,
and stigmatize the free States as servile States. Yes, sir, he repeated it-servile States; and I have
heard Representatives upon this floor talk about the white slaves of the North. Let me say to
those gentlemen that there are multitudes of laboring men in the district I have the honor to repro -
sent, as there are all over the North, who are the equals in mental and moral culture, in general in telligence, and in all the attributes that constitute a true manhood, 9f a large majority of the south
ern Representatives upon this floor. Why, sir, there are several mechanics who belong to a lit- t
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erary society in my own neighborhood, who are dependent upon their daily labor for support, that,
for learning and eloquence, are hardly surpassed by the distinguished Senator from Virginia whom
I heard make the remark. Labor at the North is respected; and it is only the idle and vicious that
are degraded and despised.  How is it at the South?  There labor is despised because of slavery;
and the average condition of the great body of the non-slaveholders of the South-and they con stitute four fifths of the whole-will not begin to compare favorably in education, general intelli gence, moral worth, and manly feeling, with the average of the native negro population of my own
State; and when I say this I say what I know from personal observation and knowledge; for I have
travelled extensively in the South, and know much of its institutions and people. The North have
no desire to disparage the people of the South, We feel that they need our sympathy and pity
more than they deserve our censured but their arrogance and braggadocio cannot but excite deri sion and contempt.                             
A distinguished foreigner remarked to me, some time ago, that he had been  travelling at the
South, and nothing amused him more than the affectation of superiority over the North which
many of the southern people assumed.   "Why," said he; "as a whole, they bear no better com parison with the North than a last year's almanac does with the finest edition of Washington Ir ving's works."
The South has been prolific in great men, and nearly all her eminent statesmen in the past have
borne their testimony against slavery, and opposed its extension; but the lesser lights of the pres ent have discovered that they were all in error. Their men of to-day pronounce slavery a bless ing, both to the master and the slave, to-onourished, eitended, and prioteted,' notwithstanding
they see all round them the evidences of blight, desolation, and decay, which every one outside of
the slave States can perceive is "'ascribable to the withering, blasting effects of slavery."  Take
Virginia, for example. Less than seventy years ago this State contained twice as many inhabi tants as New York, and her political power in Congress and the electoral' colleges was nearly
double that of the Empire State.  How is it to-day?  The population of New York is nearly three
times as great as that of Virginia, and her political power in Congress and the electoral colleges is
nearly three times as much as that of "the mother of Presidents."  How is it with -their material
resources? Seventy years ago New York exported about three million, and Virginia about four
million; to-day, the former State exports annually over one hundred million, and the latter less
than she did seventy years ago.
The productions and importations of the two States at that timrne and the present show a much
greater disparity in favor of the great northern State. The imports of this State amount to near
two hundred million per annum; while those of the other amount to less than one million per year.
The annual products of the Empire State amount to more than two hundred and fifty million,
while those of this great southern State amount to only about forty million per year.  When the
Constitution was adopted, only seventy years ago, New York was behind Virginia, both in pro ducts and importations. But a short time previous to that, this latter State was the first commer cial State in the Union-her commerce exceeded that of all New England, and was three times a,
great as that of New York.  Now, New York city alone is worth more than twice as much as the
whole State of Virginia, and contains more than half as many inhabitants. I do not speak of these
two States as exceptional cases; there is even more difference with some of the others than with
these.  I might take each and every one of the slave States, and compare them in detail with the
free States, in prosperity and progress, with ress favorable results for some of the slave States than
the comparison between New York and Virginia.
Take also, for instance, Pennsylvania and South Carolina. The imports of foreign goods into
South Carolina a century ago were near three million dollars.  At present they are but little more
than half that amount; whereas, in Philadelphia alone, they are more than twelve times as much,
against a very trifling amount one hundred years ago.   The products of the manufacturing,
mining and mechanic arts, in Pennsylvania, amount to about two hundred million dollars per
annum, while in South Carolina they amount to less than ten million dollars per year.  Before the
v  Revolution, the "Palmetto State" was the second commercial province on the continent,
Look at Kentucky and Ohio. Kentucky was admitted into the Union ten years before Ohio, with
a finer climate, more' productive soil, and greater natural advantages; yet Ohio has outstripped her
in population, wealth, and enterprise, to an extent that renders any comparison between them, in
almost anything, absurd.  No one, whose judgment is not completely blinded, can fail to see that
all this is a race between freedom and slavery: a system of forced labor on the one side and voluntary industry on the other. When we look at these incontrovertible facts, may we not ask where
would this nation be to-day if it were not for the free States? If we were all slave States, no such
career of greatness and glory as we now witness in this infant Republic would have been presented
to the admiring gaze of an astonished world. On the contrary, if the South had abolished slavery
in the early days of our history, her territory would have been covered, in the language of another,
"with cities, and villages, and railroads; and the country, instead of thirty, would have had fifty
million people, who would have hailed the rising morn, exulting in republican liberty."
Virginia is much larger, territorially, than New York; with a finer climate, greater natural advantages of every kind. In fact, let her abolish slavery, and she would soon outstrip any State of
this Union in wealth and importance; but if she will cherish and perpetuate this curse within her
borders, she must remain imbecile and poverty-stricken, distinguished only for her slave-breedingliving upon reminiscences of the past, with no glory in the present, and without hope in the
future.
But in these comparisons I have not alluded to my own State of Massachusetts, so often reviled
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and so frequently calumniated upon this floor-a State which stands incomparably above them all,
not only in historic fame, but no less in present greatness and unrivalled achievement.  She needs
no eulogy from any of her sons.  "Her works praise her;" and slaveholding arrogance may dis  parage her merits, but she stands forth to-day, in the estimation of all enlightened men throughout
the world, as the model State of this Union. Her achievements in science, in literature, in arts, in
industrial pursuits, and in works of benevolence, and her intellectual and moral standard, are alto  gether unparalleled by any section of equal territorial extent upon this continent. Equally pre  eminent is her historic greatness; and so well settled is this by the general judgment of all man  kind, that no one whose opinion is worth quoting dares to deny her historic supremacy.
But we of the North are not only threatened with a dissolution of the UTnion, in the event of a
contingency, which I think is sure to happen, namely, the election of a Republican President, but
we are told that non-intercourse is to be established immediately with  the North, and the South
will purchase no more of her products.  This is, indeed, alarming; but let us inquire how this is
to be effected. Everything that the South has to sell her poverty compels her to sell for cash only,
while everything we dispose of to the South we give her a lieral credit upon.  The South to-day
cannot, in my opinion, pay its debts; and it has not property enough, in my judgment-not what
we of the North call property-to pay seventy-five cents on the dollar of what it owes. And shall
they talk of non-intercourse? Why, if you except the last few years, in which the South has been
remarkably prosperous, owing to the high price of her products-a state of things which it is im,possible should last-and the North has lost more money at the South, a great deal, than she has
ever made by the trade of the South, and there is scarcely a northern merchant who has not been
obliged to depend upon his profits from custom received from the middle and western States, to
meet his losses suffered in trade at the South.  I remember well that in the great commercial re vuiqsion that swept over this country like a tornado in 1837, every northern merchant that I knew
in all the northern cities that dealt exclusively with the South failed and was ruined.  The same
thing again occurred in 1842-the year in which the United States bankrupt law was passed, which
wiped out untold millions of southern indebtedness; more, in fact, than the profits of the whole
trade of the South would then amount to for half a score of years.  The only houses that survived
those two storms were those which had kept clear of trading with the South.  Some years ago  I
was published in several of the southern cities as one who was hostile to slavery-a merchant
whose store should be avoided and shunned, because I was a Free-Soiler; but I never discovered
it made any difference. I will only say that if non-intercourse with me had always been the prac tice on the part of the South, I should have more money to-day than I have now.  Taking into
view the poverty and dependent condition of the South, this talk about non-intercourse is simply
ridiculous-as much so as it would be for our wives and children, who are so dependent upon us
they could not live a week without us, to threaten us with dissolution and abandonment.
But these threats about withdrawing from the North the trade of the South, to say nothing of
their futility and impotency, have a moral significance not unworthy of comment.  Such an appeal to the cupidity and avarice of the North-to stifle their honest convictions and suppress the
holiest impulses of their nature at the call of mammon-is an insult to our people; which not a few
northern miscreants, I regret to know, are equally with the South responsible for. But, thanks to
the integrity and moral heroism of the North, such an appeal will have but little effect. I need
only add, in confirmation of what I have already said, of the dependent condition of the South
upon the North, that notwithstanding the intensity of feeling on the part of the South, the violent
threats and vehement declarations about non-intercourse since the commencement of this session,
I do not know of a single merchant at the North, that I am acquainted with, who has been in the
habit of trading with the South-and I know of hosts of such in the Republican ranks-whose
trade has diminished.  On the contrary, I know of many, and some of them intense Republicans,
whose trade has increased in that quarter. All men of experience know that trade will seek the best
markets, either for buying or selling, in spite of popular clamor.
We have heard a great deal said about the Helper book, and some of our timid friends on this
side of the House have felt quite alarmed at the denunciations and abuse that have been heaped
upon those who recommended it.  Mr. Chairman, I am  not ashamed to confess that I read that
book, and recommended it, and contributed money to procure its publication for gratuitous circulation. And I think there is nothing incendiary in it; if I thought there was, I should regret its
publication, and would trample it under foot; for as much as I desire the overthrow of slavery, I
do not wish to see it removed by insurrection and bloodshed.  There are in it many'extravagant
declarations and foolish suggestions which I do not approve of; hut I never saw any book that
was written by an enthusiast that did not contain more or less extravagances.  There is in it a
great deal of useful statistical information which will do any one good to read; and if the South
would read it carefully and properly, I think it would do them no harm, and might do them
much good.
But we must remember that Helper is a southern man; therefore we should make allowance for
his ethusiasm and extravagance, for extravagance, both in sentiment and action, is indigenous to
southern soil. Well, indeed, may the South shrink from the exposure of its imbecility in that book.
The statistics which it presents, well authenticated as they are, show but too conclusively how
rapidly the South is deteriorating; while it is shown that the North, on the contrary, is progressing in intelligence, population, and wealth, with a rapidity unparalleled in the history of the
world. He says:
"Lees than. three quatters of a century ago, say in 1789-for that was about the average time of the abolition
of slavery tm tie northern States-the South} with advanteages int soils climate, rivers, harbors minerals, forests, and, 
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indeed, almost every other natural resource, began an even race;with the North in allI the important pursuits of
life; and now, in the brief period of scarce threescore years and ten, we finti her completely distanced, enervated,
dejected, and dishonored. Slave owners and slave drivers are the sole authtors of her disgrace; and as they have
sown, so let them reap.",
He shows by unmistakable data that the value of all the property il all the slave States of the
Union, exclusive of negroes, is not as much as that of one of the northern States.  He shows, also,
from the undisputed record of their views, that the great patriots of the South, in the days of the
Revolution, and in the early history of the Rebublic, whose memories they cherish with the deepest
reverence, were nearly all in favor of freedom and against slavery. No wonder itis distasteful
to them thus to be reminded by one of their own fellow-citizens of their mental degeneracy and
material decay.
As I have said before, this slavery question has been a disturbing element in our national politics ever since the organization of the General Government;  and it will ever continue to be until
it is confined within the limits of the States, when the Federal Government will cease to have any
responsibility for its existence; for all are agreed, the South unanimously, and nineteen twentieths
of the North, that we have nothing to do with it in the States, and are no more responsible, politically, for its existence there, than we are for the serfdom of Russia.  Until the slavery question is
settled, by the national Government being relieved from all responsibility for its existence, such
is its aspect now, that it will continue to be the all-absorbing question upon the political arena.
I have watched the progress of the anti-slavery sentiment with great interes t from the_day that the
South, in its first act of madness, refu.sed torece6ive and reer:apprriate y, petitions praying Congress to inquire into the expediency of abolishing slavery in the District of Columbia. That venerable patriot and statesman, John Quincy Adams, whose large experience, eminent service, matchless ability, and unquestioned patriotism, entitled his opinions to more consideration than those of
any other man in Congrass, raised his warning voice of admonition and remonstrance.   le told
the South that he was opposed to granting the prayer of the petitioners; that he thought good
reasons could be given for his opinion;  and if the petitions were received, appropriately referred
and reported upon, the whole question would be consigned to the tomb of the Capulets. But he
warned them that if they trampled upon this great constitutional right-the sacred right of the
humblest citizen in the land-they would raise such a storm of just and holy indignation at the
North, that no power on earth could suppress it.  Who is there now so blind as not to see the
verification of that prediction? From that day to this the anti-slavery sentiment of the country
has been gradually strengthening as one after another of the demands of the South have been put
forth, until it has become in opposition to the further extension of slavery as resistless as the waves
of the ocean.
Mr. Calhoun said at that time that the South must prevent the entering wedge, by refusing  to
receive abolition petitions; for) said he, if you permit this sentiment of abolition to obtain  a foothold, by the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, although they do not pretend to have
any constitutional right to meddle with it in the States, yet the moral influence of such action will
procure its overthrow in the States. For, said he, Europe is now opposed to the institution of
slavery; and if the North are against es, the whole world would be against us, and the South could
not resist the moral influence of such combined opposition.
How fatal the delusion, and how futile the attempt to stifle the deep-rooted, conscientious, and
religious convictions of a great people, by the passage of a few resolutions, concocted by aspiring
politicians.  As the void man eloquent" told them, they were only adding fuel to the flame.
So it was with the passage of the fugitive slave act; a measure of no practical benefit to the South,
which can never be executed in many of the States of the North; a law which I believe to be, with
a vast majority of the people of my own State, one of the most wicked,  unconstitutional, and barbarous laws that was ever conceived by the human mind. I remember that at the time of its passage
I was travelling with a very intelligent gentleman, a slaveholder of South Carolina, an old friend of
mine, and he told me that he regarded it as the worst law for the interests of the South that ever
was enacted.  lie said it was proper and right enough in itself, but it could be of no practical service to the South, and would only serve to arouse, what he called, the prejudices and religious
fanaticism of the North, in opposition to the peace and interests of the South. And, said he, I know
enough of the people of the North to know that this sentiment of hostility to slavery is founded
upon a mistaken, but nevertheless conscientious religious conviction of its sinfulness and wrong;
therefore it is useless to talk about constitutional rights against religious convictions; for any man
or set of men, who believe themselves armed with the panoply of heaven, are ready to maintain a
warfare against the world.                      -
Th-e South again exhibited its madness and folly in the repeal of the Missouri compromise act-a
measure which has been productive of nothing but disaster and ruin to the interests of the South;
and they are now determined to force upon an unwilling people another act, of more supreme
folly-to characterize it by no harsher term-than either of the others, namely, the enactment of a
congressional slave code. Such an act will be the last nail in their coffin, if they should be permitted to drive it.
The necessity of the Republican organization is to be found in the occasion which has arisen to
resist the usurpations and aggressions of the slave power, so vastly multiplied of late, culminating
at last in the corruption of the supreme judiciary of the land —in the Dred Scott decision; although
in law, I think, that part of it which is of any value to the South may justly be considered, in legal
parlance, extra-judicial, and of no binding force; but it is nevertheless an indication of the inauguration of a policy which, if persisted in, must make the legislative department of the Government
entirely subservient to the judiciary, which will finally result, if not checked, in the overthrow of
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the liberties of tlie American people. It is an innovation and usurpation that must be resisted at
all hazards; and to me the                         result of the coming presidential election. has more  significance and
greater importance from its probable connection with the organzation of that court than from any
other cause.
It may seem to some who have great reverence for the judiciary, as somewhat harsh to charac    terize the recent action of the Supreme Court as corrupt.  But when we consider that this Court
has always carefully abstained from giving any decision upon any question of law or of fact, ex    cept where it was actually obliged to-and never either, except upon those points, in particular,
that it was imperative upon them to adjudicate-now for the Court to go out of its way to give
opinions, which under the circumstances it had no moral right to give, upon questions purely of a
political character, is not only corrupt but degrading.  No act of the executive, legislative, or ju   dicial department of the Government from its foundation, so shocked the public mind-both for
its meanness and atrocity-as did the Dred Scott decision.  The Court, in order to maintain its
decision in that case, that colored men, descendants of Africans who had been imported as slaves,
whether bond or free, were not citizens, within the meaning of the Constitution, was compelled to
falsify history and ignore every principle of justice and right.  The Court declares that at the time
of the Declaration of Independence the whole civilized world universally regarded them as "hav   ing no rights which the white man was bound to respect; and that the negro might justly and
lawfully be reduced to slavery for his benefit." This declaration is made in the face and eyes of
the facts, that Engiand's highest courts had decided, several years before our separation from
Great Britain, that the negroes had the same natural rights as the white man. And many of her
noblest and best citizens had declared the enslavement of the blacks to be a sin of the deepest dye,
and a crime of the greatest magnitude. In our bwn country at that time, the greatest statesmen,
patriots, and heroes, who guided our councils, led our armies, and conducted our diplomacy, dur  ing the revolutionary struggle, our Washingtons, Franklins, Adamses, Jeffersons, Shermans, Madi  sons, and a host of others, declared negro slavery to be irreconcilable with the precepts of the
Gospel, or the rights of man; and the framers of the Constitution would not permit the word slave
to pollute its pages.
Thus for the first time in the history of our Government has the Supreme Court stepped aside,
without the shadow of a pretext to justify it, and undertaken to interfere with the legitimate func  tions of Congress, by virtually pronouncing its opinion upon matters in controversy between the
two great political parties of the country.  Such interference-so dangerous in its character, so
monstrous in its action, and so terrible in its consequences-ought to be visited with indignation
and scorn by the American people.  Has it come to this, that that august tribunal-adorned as it
has been by a Jay, an Illsworth, a Rutledge, a Cushing, and a Marshall, with their illustrious as  sociates-has prostituted its high functions and pre-eminent authority to such base purposes, with
its venerable chief and his associates descending to political partisans? The fears of Mr. Jefferson,
in relation to that court, have at last been realized-fears which he so often expressed, that it would
usurp authority and power, which the framers of the Government never intended it should pos  sess; and while that illustrious statesman and sage lived, it was with him a matter of constant
jealousy and watchfulness.
Establish the Republican party in power, and it will place upon the bench of the Supreme Court,
as opportunity presents, those who will interpret the Constitution and laws, not as political parti sans, but as upright judges, holding the scales of justice even, whether they favor one side or the
other.  With this party in power, and not until then, our commercial, manufacturing, and agri cultural interests will be properly cared for.
But upon whom do the South rely? Upon the northern Democracy, drawn to their support, in the
language of Mr. Calhoun; "by the cohesive power of public plunder?" What a support! and where
is it always found, when  the national Treasury is in other hands?  Passing  ultra  anti-slavery
resolutions, and vieing with each other in making anti-slavery professions  to secure the offices and
emoluments of the State governments.  So it has always been in our State, and so it will ever be,
so long as Democrats are willing to sell themselves for a mess of pottage.  No abolition convention
ever passed stronger anti-slaveiy resolutions, or made stronger anti-slavery professions, than the
Democrats of Massachusetts have done when the Democracy have been out of power in the national
Governtent.  Their ablest leader-that statesman of national renown-Caleb Cushing, while he
was looking to Massachusetts for approbation and support, met every anti-slavery demand with an
alacrity that would have been truly commendable if it had only been sincere. No man ever uttered
on the floor of Congress nobler sentiments for freedom than he. No man ever denounced the aggressions of the South stonger than he did; and I am sorry to say it, for I respect his great abilities,
no son of Massachusetts ever debased himself so much to obtain favor with the South as Caleb
Cushing.
Many have listened with amazement to the disunion speeches upon the other side of the House;
at their cool effrontery and apparent sincerity. I say apparent sincerity, for they do appear to be in
earnest; and although I have as little regard for the judgment and good sense of mere talkers and
rhetoricians as. any one, and appreciate, I think, most fully their barrenness of either of these qualities, yet I am hardly prepared to believe in their sincerity at the expense of such a draft upon the
soundness of their judgment.
In fact, we have heard it intimated upon this floor, by the advocates of disunion, that these
threats have been often before made, with no purpose to execute them; but now they say they are
terribly in earnest. If gentlemen will consult the record of debates upon this floor, they will find
that twenty years ago the South was as denunciatory in tone, as belligerent in attitude, as brave 
8
in declaration, as prolific in threats of dissolution, as now. Eloquent gentlemen told us then that
the danger was imminent, the crisis was at hand, and unless this agitation of the slavery question
ceased, the Union must be dissolved. About that time, a very quiet gentleman in my own county,
with a few associates, believing that it was the duty of the North to absolve itself from all responsibility for the existence of slavery, proposed to let the South take care of itself; and therefore petitioned Congress to effect a peaceable dissolution of the Union.
The petition was presented by the venerable Mr. Adams, and such an exhibition of consternation, rage, and confusion, on the part of southern members, has seldom been witnessed on this
floor. Mr. Adams barely escaped a vote of censure for presenting the petition. Never since that
experience has the country had cause to believe that the South could be in earnest in its threats of
dissolution.
I remember that Mr. Webster and Mr. Choate, of my own State, were once engaged as opposing
counsel in a patent case, and Mr. Choate's client was endeavoring to prove-what was indispensable to his cause-that two sections of a machine that looked exactly alike were in reality entirely
different.  Mr. Choate addressed thejury with all that learning, eloquence, and zeal that characterized that gifted man, and such was his earnestness and power that the parties in interest on the
other side began to tremble, and feel that, after all, there might be a difference. Mr. Webster arose,
and said quietly to the jury: "All this learning and eloquence is very pleasant to listen to, but so
far as this case is concerned, it is all poetry and moonshine," and, holding up the machines, he
said,'"look at them, look at them; do you see any difference? Of course not; there is none. You see
it-you know it."  These few words dispelle            ~ltlft effie        r.                1o
Such is the power of truth.
So, here are the Constitution and the Union. Look at them, look at them, among the greatest
monuments of human genius the world has ever witnessed; look at the blood and treasure they
have cost; look at the mighty interests involved in their perpetuity, and then tell me if any parricidal arm shall ever be permitted to demolish them? Never I never I never!
PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN OF 1860.
REPUBLICAN EXECUTIVE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE.
HON. PRESTON KING, N.Y., Chairman,    HON. JOHN COVODE, PENN., Trea8urer,
" J. W. GRIMES, IOWA,                 " E. G. SPAULDING, N. Y.,
" L. F. S. FOSTER, CONN.,              "  J. B. ALLEY, MASS.,
On the part of the Senate.  "  DAVID KILGORE, INDIANA,
J.     L. N. STRATTON, N.J.,
" E. B. WASHBURNE, ILLINOIS,                    On the part of the Louse of Repa
The Committee are prepared to furnish all the Republican Speeches as delivered.
During the Presidential Campaign, Speeches and Documents will be supplied at the following
reduced prices: per I00-8 pages 50 cents, 16 pages $1, and larger documents in proportion.
Address either of the above Committee.
GEORGE  HARRINGTON, Socrtary.
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