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The Great Southern Scheme: For The Signal Of Liberty

The Great Southern Scheme: For The Signal Of Liberty image
Parent Issue
Day
5
Month
September
Year
1846
Copyright
Public Domain
Letter to the Editor
OCR Text

ConeHufcf.But white lliis wholc scheme against the rights and liberties of Mexico, cannot but bc sadly calamitous in its results; yet somegood may be c volved by the "sober second thoughts" that will fol}ow. Among ollicr tlungs, tb is peoplc may i see more clcarly, than they have ever yet flone, the folly of placing coniïdence in the pledges of partios, whose object is only victory or triumph. They may see that they cannot trust any party, that is rot founded upon truth, and governed by principie. During the last canváss, the whig party, for the sake of gainingnorthern votes, and hestroying the Liberty party, thought it politie to take issue with its great rival. on Texas annexation.. lts orators, v. ith great apparent carnestnes?, opposed it, and denied most vehemently, that we needed more territory. They predictctl that war would be aq inevitablequcnce of anncxation, and depicted its evils most glowingly. Bat no sooner were the votes for President counted, thun their ardor cooled ofl amnzingly. - The Resolutions for anñexation were carricd in a Whig Sonate, wcro nloved n the IIousq, by a whig, and were ap)roved and íorwarded to Texas by a Presi-: dent M'ho had been electcd by the saifte tarfy. And now wlien Mr. Polk asks ippropriations to enablc him to get by he sword still more lerritory, the VVhigs voto, away millions without the murniur of a remonstrancc. Tliey are mum through the fear ofbcingcalleda "Pcace var hi."Even the personal friendsof Mr. Clay, do not now secm to Believo thaï he wos sir.ccroly opposed to annexation. Kccently the Hon. Mr. Hilliard, on the floor of Cungress "look occasion to pronuace q warm culogium on the cours'c of ,_ijrClay, as displaying an instdn.ee of the moral sublimé and exprésséd his belief thát, liad Mr. Clay been chosen President, Texas would slill lmvc been annexcd, hut without an.y consequent war." And tliis too, in' the face of his Raleigh letur.;, and bthers, v.iiich his Northern friend claimed, representad him so disposcd to do all in his power to keep Texus out. Mr. Webster, it is said encourages hi son Edward, in enlisting a conipany o soldiers to shoot the unoifending Mcxi can. Wliat consistency is there iu hi thus lending his influence to aidd anoth er wrong to those which he. so cloquen ly described in lu's many speeches beforlie elcction, as inflicted upon that peoplc ?hould the annexation schcmc succeed. Mr, C rittenden the forrner colleaguc, md personal fricnd of Mr. Clay, has ikewise obtained a captaincy for one of lis sons. Who could have been more loud in 1 lenunciation of the whole iniquity, than i assius M. Clay ? Who foresaw more ' :learly than he, that war would follow mnexation % And who was more petted ; lian ho, by the Whig party while he raised his namesake ? Yet, even he is villing to takc thc command of a 1 i.iny, to spend $0000 of his own rty in their equipment, to leave wife ' ,nd children, nnd his post of labor m l uilf of freedoin, and go to the seat of ( irar, to aid in grasping more territory l br the dominion of Southern slaveocrnls, nd that too, from a people, who have ( lared in favor of freedom, and rid their 8 hole country of slavery. 1 And what is more remarkable, uniche influence of thc cxample of his r r Whig?, hc will act thus, when but a ew mnnths pvcvious, befo re thousands of lis fellow citizens hc proclaimed that "n uch a war, according to tbc law of nations t is not only thc right, but the bounden luty of all christendom, tocóme in to thc ( iclp of Mexico, and reduce its to ásense rf cnmmon And in such a war, ivhen I shall bc called upon to rally to :he standard of my country inscribeó mth Seterkal slaveky, I amBold in the ■ivowal thnt I have no hcart for súch a jontest - I am a coward in suct a canse!" We shouldbe pleased to know if t'nis peech was road to Gen. Taylör, what position hc would assign Captain Clay - whether he woald place him in the front. or rcar ranks. Might ho not suspect him of Êeing an ally of the Mexicaan, as he comes from a part of the world that claims to belong to christendom.. Man 3' of your readers are acquainted with an individual, that wisliesto deserve well of his party, who bas manifested perhaps not less nconsistency. The ïlon. J. M. Howard of Detroit, could take an active part in a meeting gotten up in that city, for the purpose of responding to the Presidcnt's war movements, and be a member of a Committee that reporled a resolution, "That whether righi or wrong, when the constituted authorities of the country enact and proclaim the of war, we deern it the duty of every good citizen, to suspend the censorship of individual opinión and unitedly support tho, government," &c., and that it is reconcilable with bis zeal before election, and with bis signinga circular, stating in substance that "the annexaiion of Texas if accomplished, would be a sufncient cause for disolving thc Union." Why, there is no worse war than the "constituted auïorities" of this country have for eenmes been waging against the three mili? onsofslaves in our own land. And will Mr. Howard have all good itizens suspend the censorship of indiidual against the sum of all villainics'? But I need notadd to these instances of nconsisioncy. In view of them, the ourse of the Liberty party must meet ie approval of all upright men. It alone ias exhibitcd a uniform oppösition to this cheme of wrong and oppression. Tlicse recent evonts may bring about nothcr good, by impressing the )eople 'ith the essential importance of being ight at the Polls. Pee, what has already )een done by one James K. Polk, of Coumbia, Tennessee, suddenly elevated to lie Chief Magistracy, although recciving only a minority of the votes of those whofvo interests he is bound to promote. In order tbsubseVye the plans of aclique öf Slavcholdcrs and schoming politiciansj he is wast ing tho treasuresof the nation, throwing awny many valuable lives among tho swamps and chapearais of Mexico, and inflicting an iiamènse injury up-. on the whole body of thc pcople by perpetrating beforo them, unimpeacheel, the most flagrant injustice and wrong. Now,n ; 11 this, t crumot be, contetidcd, that he representa the will of tho pcoplo over ivliom he pvcsrde3, nor even of the party ivho gave him their votes. Go through hc land, and how many would you find, ready f'or war, to sustain the tottcring sys!em of Slavery ï To the credit of tliis State, I may sayj that the first volunteer hfis not boen heai-d of. None but the Governor who obcys orders from Washington bas exhorted others to enlist. Whonow dares to arrest these highKanded measiires of our ininority President ? None, for all who are in office eringe before bis power. Whát tlien is the remcdy ? The Press may spoak in thvnder toncs- the pulpit may preach to exhaustion - denuncitüion may be uttered throughout the land, but this eiTcctsnothing aftér the votes are counted. The true remedy yiil bc found alone in votingfor men of sterling principio - men win may be relied on in all suchgencies - mcñ who will serve their counry and not afaction. And when. it is cnown that a largo proportion of the peoile will vote for such anly, nono othors A'ill be nominated. Again, this whole schsme may deepen he conviction that the Slave Interest in his land is ceasolessly endeavoring to trengthen its power and to extend its teritory. ín 1803 and 1800, this interest ( ;ecured appropriations for the j?urchase r )f Louisiana and Florida, ín 1820, by the aid of the "grëat romise" and hard struggling, it'gaincd ,; Missouri. Ever since it has been ng to wmst Texas from Moxico. And c iow, although, tlie 14 slaveholding states c ontain an areaof six hundred and eighjy housand square miles, and the fourteen r ree States together with íowa, and Wisonsin, only four hundred and íifty I( and square miles, $2,000,000 is asked to 5 'iirchase California. The clique that controls the President, s re ready to sacrifice every thing that ti hoy may gain more slave-breeding v ory. They very quietlyyield up all of( Dregon above 49 degrees, though they ■ íaveasserted our titlo to the whole tobe n :unquestionable." They rclínquish t Hit astruggio, a country, wtflclï they say s ours unquestionr.bly, and spend money, nd blood, to acquire a more southern country, to which we have never set up a shadow of a claim. And through thcir iníluence, the President ís induced to expend millions, to enlarge thé borders of. Texas, whilé he can see no nècessity of improving the harbors of our Lakes, and i f leáring our rivers of snags, and thus save hun7 dreds oflives annually sacrificed for the want of this improvement. (I should like to know if all the "goou citizens" who composed the Detroit meeting will "suspend the censorship of individual opinión, and unitedy support the Government" in this particular.) Only let our northern representativos acquit themselves like men, and say to this grasping spiri', "fhús far, and no farther," and it is at once checked.