Selections

Extrae, fiom an Addtess of the Whhj Convention of thc Fourth Senatorial District. Prcscntcd by líon. H. W. Taylor, and adoptcd by the Convention.TO THE LIBERTY PARTY. TothcThinl Party- to which we wiliinr ly accord their ovvn chosen name, 'the Liberi ty I arty -we offer a few remarks for consideration. To you we ascribe no selfish, do unworthy motives of action. For the pur pose of our present argument, we are willinnto aiJow that the politica], moral and social evils cf Which you complain, are evcry way as great as yon represent them (1). And hfivingr made this concession, we honestly ; aek, Are you wise in the course you are puri suing? It is surely not possible for you, intelI ligent and patriotic as we know many of vou to be, to shut your eyes to the fact, that there are other interests of a national and state character of overshadowing magnitude, not to to say, as vitally important to us as those which you are nnwearied in sustaining (2J Is there one of you who does not feel a deep in ferest on one or the other side of the cunency question? Is there one of . you who does not feel a like interest for either a 'Protective Tanff.' or for 'Free Trade?' Is there one of you whose bosom does not swell with an overwhel.ritnsr interest ui the welfare of our ov:i Mate? We af-sutr.e that as men with us constituting the metnbers of onegreat and glonous republic, your hearts are all moved and ammated with a sincere desire to promote all the g-rent policies which are indissolublv linked with the welfare of our common country (3). Can you do it by perseverjng in the support ot an independent ticket? Admit what is projably correct, tl.at you mimber more supporters than you did one year ago. Adrnit if you please, a far more remóte and improbable contingency,that you can, namely, at some future eketion, carry the whole state of Michignn,atthe polls; will that avail anv thimr Let üs see. " b 'The 26 States of this Union consfitute ono republic; every alterotion of our fundamental lavv, must be accomplished oither by violence or by the same social and politica] consent, by wluch ït was originally framed. Nö snch alteration can ever be made without primarilv the assent of tvvo thirds of bot h Hbjifcglöf Congress, or two thirds of all the States of the Union, and finally, the aesent of three fourlhs of the States, after amendments shall have been proposed. Of the States, one half udhere with wcreas'mrr perÜHacity to this dcirrndmg feature of our social system. ís if, then, within the reach of human probabilities that this sore tipon the body politie, ncknowledo-ed to be of the most formidable and threatenW aspect, can be cured by peaceable means and n the consiitutional manner, within the next fifty ycars?- or before a period when the chances brouht upon us by nn overrulinrr rovidence will render any interference of ours, or our childreirs a work ofsupererroraion? (4.) Perhaps yon imagine that hy perseverence you may finally triumph 'm a majority of both iouses of Congress, and tlius secure the enactment of such jusf. and salutary laws as will ívéntúate in the final overthrow of slavery 3ut have you counted the cost? Do yon anieipate a revolution so complete and so as■ounding in the political worid, as that Slave States will send anti-slavery senators to Conyress? - and without this what can you do? n any controvevsy merely political, relat ingo slavery, yon have to begin witli the hostiliy of the 13 southern States in one solid, unbroken and immovnble phalanx (5)- and does the hïstory of this subject fórthe last halfcentury encourage you to hope that for fifty years to come, those States cannot command a forcc snfficiently large from their natural nllies' at the north, to defeat any movement vou mav make (G)?But to the subject nearerhome. Admit again, if you please, for the argument j sake, that Mr. Clay will be ono oandïdate, and ! wliat is alniost as certain, that John C. Calhoun will be the other, of the two great parties, for the PreskJency. Is tbere any inteJligent man in a)l Michigan, who believfts, that with these two candidatos in the field,in f844, Mr. Birney, estimable as he is ndmitted to be, can command a sinirle vote in tiie olectorul ! college? Nay more; - is there a sane man wlio believcH that, ópori an independent ticket, one abolitioniSít can obtain a scat in our state or national lcgisiature? Most assurcdly not. Is it not, then, unwiáe for you to fritter "away the strength wBicfi you reaüy posses, (7) in an impossible and hopeless efTort of patriotism, wl)5ii you may at no distanl day hold the bal anee èvery where throughout tlie northern States, and by casting your vofes where every vote will count, you may give e characirr, instinct with the purest principies of humnn libprty to our legislation, bolh at home umi at Washington! 8). We beheve you to be mon of intplügence; but men of intelligence and poütical saeocity alwayp adnpt their meansto the end to beaccomplislied: but if there be one propoéition more indubilnbly true than ano.'her, it is that under the present constitulionul form of our government and the present condition of our social eys'.em, your energies are lost; and your politicnl aims by nny disfinct parly organizatinn, are as unattainable as a railroad to IJeavcn (fl). We cali upon you then as patriots, not fo permit yourselves to be made tho dupes of a ïqw designing men, ( 10) who are set to decoyyou away, hoping thus to weaken us, and secure the supremacy of Locofocoiem (12). We cali upon you, as fellow members of this great confederac}', equally interested in its prosperity and permancncy, to go with us in prostrating thn.t system of selfishncss, which dcmagogucs have constructed by artífice and fraud, at the expense of the prosperitv and happiness of all nlike (12,). (conclusión.) We cali upon all our fellow citizens, by whntsoever name they may hitherto have been designated, to shake off the trammels of party, and ia a rationa] exercise of their inestimable privilege of sclf-government, come forward to our aid, in placing the government of this our own commonwealth, in the hands of those who will exert their influence to restore us to the palmy days which preceded the iron reign sf Locofocoism, when the benign councils of wise and good men, shed the blessings of peace, prosperity and happiness, as wide as our country, and as impartial as the dcws of ' Heaven. ,1. Nothing more is here conceded than is truc. 2. That they are of magnitude, wcadmit; that (hey are as "vitally important," we deriy. 3. Liberty kmen aro patriota, and feel an interest in all the political mcasurcs in progress in their coumry. But they look beyond the success of a single measuro of either party. Let us explain our position. The slaveholders govern the slave States. They havo 25 votes in Congress on account of their slavcs. A very few siatesmen wield th e entire enorgies of the South, and by these 2ö votes in Congress- by having a slaveholder, or a devotee to slavery in the Presdential chair - by conlinual unanimity of aclion - and by throwing thoir influence, first for ono party, then ior the olher, as may beet promotc Southern inteiests, they govern both parties. and cause the great meaeuresof government to swing backvrarda and forwnrds like a pendulum. Both parties submit to this dominaiion. ond neithercan obtain or retain power without yielding to it. - Now, whnt we hold tois this - and we appeal to every candid and sensible man to pronounce on its corrècthess - that the country suffers more Trom the perpetual change and instnbility in the leading measures of its administraron, than i: would do from any system of finance which has yet been proposed. Free labor can and will accommodale itself to an? financial svstem. thatsliall be made permanent, and let alone. It can do well with er without a national bank, whh or without a protcclive tari ÍF. We do not sny that one of these wculd not bc bitter than the other: but we say thnt if made permanent, our laborers and capitalista would so arrange their aflairs as to thrive under either. Look at the present coridition of affaire. We now have a protective tariT, paesed by a majnrity of one in the Sonate, and two in the House, and signed whh hesitation by the President. But its eflects are all important. Manufactures and commerce wear a new face. Prices are rising- business is brisk- faetones are building and repairing. But the ink with which the President signed the act is scarcely dry, ere a hundred presses nre sounding the cry of "Repeal - Repeal!" - thus cnlling into new lifeandactivity the energies of a party devoied to its overtbrow - a party well disciplined, unscrupulous, untiring. - Should that party succeed - nn event not wholly improbable - in two or three years the protective pnrt of the tariiFwill be ïepealed. and then down will go the factories, and the capital invested in manufactures, and general dUlress and stagnation of business will ensue. Wheiher that party will succeed, depends on a few planters of the South. Should they fancy thistaiifi'to be injurious to their interesis, it will be rcpealcd. There will be na help fop it. A very few southern votes will turn ihe scale. and sink or exalt eitlierty. Sü completely are wc subjected to tho wil of ihe slave power! Kuowiug thcso tbings, a largo share oí the Liberty Party have not thought it worth whiloto engage in conjunction with tlie iro-slavcry parties in carrying out the extreme mensures oí eitlier party, so long as the continuanee of those ineasuros depend on the caprice cfhalf a dozen slaveholders. Abolit ionisls, as a body. so íar as weknew, arcunanimousin the'support ofsuch a tarificas will replcnish the nacional treasury - o sijch protection as the dutjes necessary toaccomplish that rcsult, will aft'ord. There are niany who beüeve that free trade unfong all nations is the order of nature, but few who belieVe the sya tem practicable at present, nttended as it must be !y direct taxation. Mr. Tiiylor's assmnpt ion that wc aró inlcrcslcd in these matters of public policy, is correct; but it does not thereforelüv tlifit we niutt uniie oursclvcs to tlic pro-slavery partiea which advocate them, and become idcntified wiih them.4. We have severa! thinga to say of this argument. First, it assumes tliat notliingcnn bedone witliout an alteration of the natiorml cons'itution. Such is not the fact. Many thousand slaves are iiow held by authority of Congrcss: their liberation, and the express prohibiiion of the slave traffic on our coast, would e xert a tremendous moral influeiice on the slnve states. The slavebreedcrs are aware of this; and hence they have opposed all movements of the kind, at the threbhhold. - Sccondly, it assumes that we are already so cornpletcly subject to the slnve power, that nothing can be done, by ourselvcá or our childr en, to remove slavery from tbc nntion. It js conicsscd to bc "a degrading feature ofonr social systein" - and '' a sorc upon ihe body politie of the most formidable and threatening character," - but any "interference" with it is a "work of suporerrogation" - it must all bc left to an "overruling Providence" - it cannot be curcd "by peaceable meansin the next fifty years." Suuh is the doctrino of "the party most favorable to iiberty," as oflicially announced.' Rcmemberit. Thirdly, the argument derives all its force from assurning that all things vrïl go on for tbc next fifty years as they now do - that slavery wijl continue in every state - that the political parties willall bo pro-slavcry, and the liberty party willfien hnvc a few hundred votew, as at present, or u will be utterly extinct nnd forgotten. Taking these thingB for granted tobegin with, t mil bo easy enoügh to prove that nll our eflbrts will bo fruitless. But is that the proper way of viewing the subject? Great changes take place in human afiairs in fifty year?. In the last half century, how has the face of nations altcrecf! The governnitno of the most stable monarchies of Europa have been overturncd. and a gradual alteration has taken place in tlio characler of nations- in their arts, sciencca, institutione, laws and customs. In America, a considerable number of independent niriroi have sprung up. - In the last fifty years, millions of sla ves have been liberated - probably more than are now in the Uniied States- slavery bas been ftbolishcd in the freo States- and while all things elso chnnge- and change, on riie whole for ihe 'beller- shali southern barbaristn alone remain?' Shall moral midnight broud there while it is nuvrne frn'm m-oit,other portion of the earth? Of all the human race, wül the slaveholders alone be blind to thoir own peciiniary and moral intcrests? Wo think not; and though we should esteem it miraculous that anti-slavcry senatore should represent slavo States, yct we should think emancipation río' mom strange in Marylond, Delaware, and Kentucky, than in Ponnsylvania and New York, where slavery has been abolishcd by law. 5. JÍero again the perpetuaiion of the present stntc of things is taken for granted. Our contcst with slavery ia not "merdy politïcar_we have reason, conscience, the slaveholders' pecuniary interest and political odvantage-the spirit of the" age, and the influence of Christianity, all on our side. The writcr leaves these entirely out of view. C. Yes, and it secms the whigs have now joinbd tlietn. They are for letting elavery alone for' fifty years, to sec i Providence will not intcrfere! Women and chiWrcn ought to be aold at auction, by order of Congrees for filty years longer! This is icZtg doctrine! !7. Abolmorrsts are too intelligent not to know ihcir strength, and know, too, liow to use it. Tlicy know they can accomplish more by politica! concentratiqn than in nny pther wny. That it is notnow "PriUcrcd aicay" is evident from this very nddrees. Why did Henry W. Taylor prepare tliis elabonte nddress totbc Liberty party- wíiy vns it nrlopted by ths Senatorial Convention, and ordered to be prínted in all the whig papers in the District, in the Ingham Telegraph, and thè Detroit Advertiser? Why, because tho' leaven of politic.-l abolitioniam wa3 diffueing itself among (he people, !.nd a general effbrt must be made lo stay it.. The whig leaders see that it already tfireatens the overthrow of their party in this state as well as elsewhere. Do you ask how? Because so many aro leaving them that they will soon bein a continual minority; and when thejbecome uniformly in the minority, year after yenr, how mvcJt bciier will be íficir prospe:ts than tkose cfthc Lihcrtu partuf8. U this menns any thing, it snys to abolítionists, "vole for the Whiga, and they will do all you wnnt dono." We nro disposed to treat all men with condor and courtcsy, but we connot regard this hypoeriiicnl, deceptivc propoi.tion in' any other light than na an insult to us. The very persons who make the 6fier,knoW that it wou ld never be fulfiüecl. . More tlian that- therc is vd intención of fulfilling it. To prove this, suppose we take the whigs at their word. They promise fo carry out "the purest principies of human libeity at home and at Washington." Very well; supposo wc forsake our nomipatJons, and bestow our suffrages for whig cancJiiiates, H. B. Lathrop and J. Wright Gordon are the uomineesin thcirth District. Will they go for the extensión of the electivo franchise without distinction of color? Suppose we aek them. They will either give us a flat deninl, or leave the question unan3wered. . Neither would they support thothe principie m the Legislature. They will not. - that dure not cotne out openly in favor of thia "pure principie," Yet abolitionists are callcd on to vote for tbera as the advocates of thcir principies. Again, wc have Whig members to Congresa. . Havo thcy everadvocated "the pure principies of human liberty" there? Have they ever said a word respecting the slave markets lliere? Nay, havo they ever defended the rights of thcir constiuients, when they have boon tranipled on in. bolh fiouses? But it mny be thought thcy will dobetter in future. What guaranty have we for that? But to test this poin't thoroughly, let ua' apply to Mr. Taylor himself, the Viginator of thia' proposition. Stippose that ho is a candiJntc for CongrcöS, (an event not iiiipossible) ond we nsk him if ht will sustain "the pure princples of humarJ lióerty" as contended for by abolitionists,' and advoentod by Mr. Gidding.i. .Should tho case supposed occur, he would not dofend thoso principles'if clccled: nor woufd hepromisè to do' it boforo or aficr bis clection. How absurd, ihcn, yca, how insulting is it for whigs to cali onus for our votes, nnd endeavor to obtain them by nsinuations o( a support of prineiples, which whcnput to thc test, they would not defcnd, and Jare not openly avow! 9. Tliis is mero assertion. Our energies are not lost. [f they wcre, this address would not íave been written. 10. What dejigning mení Aró the prominent men of the Liberty party here mcant to be charicterized as knaves and hypoctiics7 Is this tho est wny to get our votes, by vilifying our nobleicarted friends? 11. Aye, thcre's tho rub. Unicsa thc Liberty arty can be broken up, iho Locos will succeed. So that we are called upon to disband for the exiress purpose of securing the supremaey of the' whigs. A very philanihropic object, no doubt! 12. What System of selHshness is here meant,' wc know not, but oonclude it must mean rióthinj ess than the overthrow of the locos. The strong torms in which thc suprcm'acy of the bluvo powor over the nation isaesurtcd. 'u (j.