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DELIVERED AUGUST 10, 1858, BEFORE THE PHILOMATIIESIAN SOCIETY
OF MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE, VERMONT.                      ~ &
BY HON. WM. At! OWARD
OF DETRLOIT, ICIHB.
As the traveler works his way through a
country, he becomes impressed with certain
great leading  features  of the  "landscape"
which, to him, serve as a measure of distances
during his progress, and in all of his after recollections they are the indices of the several
parts and the chief emblems of the whole.Thus the mountains, the rivers, the lakes, the
plains, the cities, the ruins, of the country,
not less than state lines, attract the attention
of the most superficial observer.  So the islands that lift themselves up from the bed of
the sea, form paths and way-marks for the otherwise trackless ocean.  And  they that go
down in ships to do business on great waters, thus divide and mark the parts of their
journeys.
In like manner, all history is divided by
great and important events into epochs or periods, distinctly marked, and not less indicative of convulsions in society and concussions
in the moral elements than are theImountains
and the broken crust of the  earth  of the
mighty agencies that produced them.
Prophesy, too, but dimly shadowed forth
certain great features of coming.events.  And
those holy men whose lips were touched with'
fire, and who  spake as they were moved by
the spirit of inspiration, instead of describing
all the developments of the future, did but
point out some of the distant mountain peaks
that mark the way, and a few of the winding
gorges through which the path should lead.
The stream of time, instead of rolling over
the smooth surface of the plain, winds in the
valleys and through the deep gorges of the
mountains, now well nigh lost in the bogs and
marshes, and then it comes forth and sends its
rainbow hues across the heavens as it leaps the
cataract,  and in eternal thunder shouts to
Heaven that it is free and will be free forever.
And man, the choicest freight on its bosom,
too, shall come forth free, all radiant with light
and glory, when he shall have ceased to learn
war and oppression any more, and shall no
more wander amidst the marshes  and bogs
and quicksands of sin and uncleanness. Then, too, shall he be free indeed.
Time is marked by the creation, the- fall of
man, the deluge, the advent of the Messiah,
the rise   and fall    of emp ire s, w ars, pe stilence,
and other prominent events. While each na tion in its turn has had its birth, growth, ma  turity, and too many of them, alas, their de  cline and destruction. /
The birth and rise of each nation is marked
by certain great -events that in after years be  come memorials and household words, and
their recital rouses the patriotism, fires the
zeal, and nerves the arms of her sons to no
ble daring fo r he r d efense  and her progress.No  nation ever long flourished  wit hout the se
mementoes, and    in proportion to   their vigor
in each  case, other things  being equal, has  th e
progress been marked and the power invincible.
But it is not necessary to my purpose to
dwell upon the incidents of national greatness
or to state with fullness or philosophical accuracy the  prominent divisions of the world's
history andd —progress. It comports with my
present design" however, to state that the discovery of this continent not only formed a
new era, but presented a greatly enlarged field
of effort, and gave promise of more rapid progress and a higher civilization. Perhaps the
most marked feature in the discovery and his.
tory of this continent thus far is the clear in dications of the care, wisdom and goodness of
an overruling Providence in each transpiring
event from the birth of Columbus to the pre sent time.  This is true not only of our own
rise and progress as a nation, but true of all
the circumstances attendant upon the discove ry and early settlement of the continent, and
even of the events of the Old World.
The very convulsions of Europe were made
the means of throwing upon these shores the
right material at the right time. Their perse cutions for conscience sake, instead of crush ing out the spirit of civil and religious liberty,
caused it to glow with intense heat until it be came a living fire in the very bones of the
men and women who were to raise its standard
and sow its seed broadcast in the New World.
Surely
aGod moves    in  a mys  terious w ay
His            wonders to perform."
To my mind, the existence  of  this  contin ent
does not more certainly show the hand   o f th e
Creator, t han does its history the   c are, wisdom
and  purpose of  a  superintending Providence
at every step  of       the p rocess.    I say purpose,
for although it  does  not ye t a ppear precisely
what we  shall be, he   must be blind indeed  who
fails to see that thattis    is  to be  the thea tre of
great events in the physical, intelleetual  and
moral world. That physical science is here to
achieve higher triumphs than the world has
ever seen is being every day demonstrated.
The most powerful agencies in nature are
yoked to man's car, and are doing his work at
a rapid rate. The most subtle elements are
subjected to his will. He not only sports with
the lightnings of Heaven, but they are become
his swift-winged messengers.
That there is to be a higher degree of intel lectual development may be inferred from the
abundance and cheapness of educational facil ities, the general diffusion of knowledge, and
On the Amer3Lcan Continen.t.
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the fact that knowledge is fast becoming the
law of man's being, not less than of his pro  gress.  That Christianity is to make this the
field of yet more lofty display of the benefi cence and divinity of her sacred mission, may
be more than inferred from the ways of Prov idence and the words of prophesy.   But still,
humanly  speaking, much may depend upon
the men of this generation, much  upon the
scholars,  much  upon  the teachers.   Who
knows what mission ice this great drama ourw
Alma Mater may yet have to perform?  Who
knows what interests of the race may yet clus ter around her  sacred enclosure?  Who of
you young gentlemen shall yet stand in the
deadly breach-who shall wield an empire? Perhaps none.  But this know, that, however
humble your sphere, your efforts can never be
unimportant in the great drama of life.  May
God give you the wisdom to perceive, and the
nerve, the courage and the strength to act
your parts without guile, and with unflinching
fidelity.
The college we all owe so much, and, I trust,
all love so well, has been greatly distinguished
in her. career thus far for the practical charac ter of her training, and the beneficial results
to the church and the world.
If rival Seminaries have  sometimes ques tioned her philosophy, none have doubted her
Z~se.fulness.   If we consider                        her age   and limited endowments, she stands prominent.  Like Cornelia of
old, she has had her jewels, to whom she could
point with pride in all the professions in every
department of civilization and religious effort.
Her sons have gone forth with a practical
knowledge of the world as it is, and a correct
standard  of what  it should be.  Taking a
practical view of -the world as the great field
of effort, their philosophy has seldom rejected
anything because it is useful, or adopted it
alone because it seemed expedient.  Everywhere her sons have grappled with the realities of life, and acting with "zealous prudence
and prudent zeal," have taught their philosophy by example.   Should these views  com-'
mand your assent, you may not deem some
observations upon the MISSION OF FREE LABOR
TPON TIlS CONTINENT altogether inappropriate
to the occasion.
If my theme be deemed deficient in cl.issical elegance and literary susceptibility, it is at
least important.  Considered  in relation  to
physical development and progress, it is the
question of the age.  It has been  said that
"civilization is earth's central stream, and all
literature, arts and sciences, philosophies and
religions are but tributaries to swell its tide
and increase its current."  If this be so, then
the stream and each and all of the tributaries
have their physical  conditions, connections.
and necessities.
A cheap and adequate Supply of the necessaries of life form not only the law of population, but is an essential element of or necessary
condition of civilization, art, science, philoso.
phy, freedom and religion.  Nothing can be
done without bread-bread for the many.   A
nation of pabtpers cannot be a nation of freemen.  Nature has indeed been bountiful.  The
resources of this continent are almost past
conception.
And I adop~ filIsy the eloquent language of
one of oar own s tatesmen and mos t gifted ora  tors, where  he so  grap hically describe s the
wonderful processes of nature in his reply too
the scepticism of Hume:   "Did this philoso ph er," says he, "ever contempla te the  land -s
cape at the   close  of t      he year, when seeds,
grains and fruits have ripened, and stalks have
withered, and leaves have  fallen, and winter
~has forced her icy curb even into the roaring
-jaws of Niagara, and sheeted half a continent
with her glittering shroud, and all this teeming
vegetation and organized life are locked in
cold and marble obstruction, and, after week
upon week, and month  upon month, have
swept with sleet and chilly rain and howling
storm over the earth, and riveted their bolts
upon the doors of nature's sepulchre; when
the sun at length begins to wheel in higher
circles through the sky, and softer winds
breathe over the melting snows-did he ever
behold the long-hidden earth at length appear,
and soon the timid grass peep forth, and anon
the autumnal wheat begin to paint the field,
and velvet leaflets to burst from purple beds,
through the reviving forests, and then the
mellow soil to open its fruitful bosom to every
grain and seed dropped from the planter's
hand, buried but to spring up again, clothed
with a new, mysterious being; and then, as
fervid suns inflame the air, and softer showers
distill from the clouds, and gentle dews set
their pearls on twig and tendril-did he ever
watch the ripening grain and fruit, pendent
from stock and vine and tree, the mneadow,
the field, the pasture, and grove, each after its
kind, arrayed in myriad-tinted garments, in stinct with circulating life; seven millions of
counted leaves on a single tree, each of which
is a system whose exquisite complication puts
to shame the shrewdest cunning of the human
hand; every planted seed  and grain which
had been loaned to the earth compounding its
pious usury thirty, sixty, a hundred fbld-all
harmoniously adapted to the sustenance of
iving nature-the bread of a hungry world;
here a cornfield whose yellow blades are nodding with the food of man; there an unplanted wilderness-the great Father's farm —where
He I who hears the raven's cry' has cultivated
with His own hand His merciful crop of berries, and nuts, and acorns, and seeds, for the
humbler families of animated nature-the solemn elephant, the browsing deer, the wild pigeon, whose fluttering caravan darkens the
sky; the merry squirrel, who bounds from
branch to branch, in the joy of his life;
has he seen all this-does he see it every
year, month and day —does he live, and move
and think in this atmosphere of wonder-himself the greatest wonder of all, whose smallest
fibre and faintest pulsation is as much a mnystery as the blazing glories of Orion's beltand does he still maintain that a miracle is
contrary to experience? If he has, and if he
does, then let him go, in the name of Heavren,
and say it is contrary to experience that the
augfust Power which turns the clods of the
earth into the daily bread of a thousand million of souls could feed five thousand in the
wilderness."
Alike graphic and truthful. But still the
stern decree remains, " In the sweat of thy
face shalt thou eat bread."
If wit consider the bsou,:~ties of nature, as
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kind has never been found in any territory
possessed by a single nation."
We are invited to "be just and fear not."
Providence calls us to live, and learn, and labor and prosper.
Did time permit me  in the second place to
enumerate our "civil advantages," they would
be found not less marked than our natural resources.  Providence,  through  our fathers,
wrought out for and bequeathed to us the
richest legacy in this respect  the world has
te ever seen.  The protection of equal laws, ensuring to every man his civil rights; the power to make our own laws; the voice that every man has in making, altering and amending
the laws he is required to respect and obey,
ar e  all elements of power  and  greatness.The equality of rank we enjoy opens to each
citizen every path to distinction, wealth and
usefulness which his disposition and talents
prompt him to pursue.
The powers of the individual  are never
wasted in an uncongenial and forced pursuit
to which he is doomed  by the accident of
birth, but the energies of the whole are stimulated by the certainty that each shall receive
his just reward.   The equal distribution of
estates insured by custom as well as law pre vents that accumulation of wealth in the hands
of individuals which would lead to repose and
indolence, while it secures to the many a sufciency to stimulate them to activity
The simplicity and economy of our system
of government; the absence of a large standing army and an overgrown navy; our free
dom from national debt, the result of the wars
and follies of age, which   so  heavily oppress
other nations, save  us  from oppressive taxation, and enable us to appropriate the hundreds of millions which are thus wrung from
others to the increase of our wealth.
Our public domain constitutes at once a  vast
fund for public improvement, and a boundless
field for individual effort. It invites to intelligent labor; and in return for tha t  hi gh state
of  cultivation whi c     h freemen al one can pro duce, promises to yield a bountiful support for
a thousand millions of happy people.  But to
do this it must be worked, and not skimcrmed;
neither must it be poisoned by the tread of any
slave, nor bediewed by the reluctant sweat and
the scalding tears of unrequited toil.
The existence of this nation has commen ced at a time when the sciences of legislation
and political economy are better understood
than at any period of the world's history. The
former teaches how the rights and interests
of communities may be secured, the other how
their labor may be made productive, and their
wealth may be augmented.  " The  result of
the world's experience on these subjects has
been collected and digested —from these facts
principles have been deduced and established,
and the knowledge of themn is beginning to be
widely diifused. For lack of this knowledge,
anl nations have been for centuries retarded in
their improvement, and some have been utter ly crushed under the weight of intolerable
evils which they had imnposed upon them selves."' "We are," says a writer on these
?ubjects, "like the mariner who commtences
his voyage with all the charts collected from
the experience, often fatal to themnselves, of
displayed in the creation of this continent, we
shall see that "the progress of other nations
is not the standard by which we are to meas ure our own advancement." "We are a pe culiar people in almost every respect, in the
era,               the cause s and  the circumstances of our
origin, and the rapidity of our increase,  the
extent a     nd g   eneral fe rtility of our soil,      the
early       and unprecedented  achievement of our
liberties,       the principles and organiz atio n   of
our G-o vernment, and theisolation of our p      o    si tion." Reason teaches us toExpect greater
and  far d     ifferent results from those which have
been witnessed    in other times  and in other
countries.  "The wi ld i m     agi nings  of our fath ers at the  establishment of o ur indc  ep en       dence
were ta     e rr th  an the realities          w    e now behold."
Tim         e  will not permit            me to mention, much
;    les s to dwell                  u    pon,   the sure data  of our fu ture p rogres s, drawn not from  view of the
omnusty past, but from the livilng present.
In passing, I wi    ll   indica   t    e a few    of them  on ly, and           that  by c la sses rather than in            detail.
F    i rst.  Our                          b      aatural advantages.  The ex.
tent       of ou  r         t e rrit ory, computed in acres, stags  gers     ou r powers of enumeration. In  miles it
swells to a size we can scarcely grasp in our
con        cepti on.  W e  m ea sure it by           degrees, and
bound it         by  ocea ns and zones. Less than one third of it is sufficiently reclaimed from the
wildern ess t o ad mit  th e    o     rganization of State
G     ove      rnments upon it, while              the portion alrea dy se      t tled and cultivated could advantageously
sust a      in a    population ten times as dense as that
by which it is now occupied.
No equal porti on o f t h e      ea rth   present s less
l         and unimpr ovabl e  by t he h a      nd          of man. "Even             the mountains which are dotted over it
enhance its value." They contai n beneath
their rugge        d           rocks inexhaustible stores of min eral wealth, and thus combine with the variety
of soil and diversity of climate to furnish fa cilities fbr every species of manufacture, and
invite to diversified and skillful labor. Our
rivers, which intersect every, district, and inter lock the limbs of our confederacy, are une qualed for numberrs, extent and magnificence
by the streams of the Old World. The Mis souri river,although reckoned as one of the trib utaries of the Mississippi, is navigable for 2, 750 miles. These great continental arteries
present natural channels of intercommunica tion which invite and foster commerce, and
which bring our inland valleys into proximity
to the seaboard. Our coasts, stretching thou sands of miles, indented with numberless bays
and commodious harbors,. seem formed by
the hand of Providence for the use of a peo  ple who were to traffic with the whole world
upon the exuberance of the resources of this
continent as developed by our own handi  craft.
"'Our isolated position is another singular
natural advantage which we enjoy." "We
are far removed by intervening oceans from
those Powerful nations who, by disturbing our
borders, appropriating our possessions, or
threatening our liberties, might divert a per tionm of our efforts anld resources firomn the ad vancement of our wealth to the defence of oulr
territory."
" Natural advantages formn the basis of per  Ilnanenlt national wealth and power."?  i'And
such a uniors of important advalntages of this'.
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earlier navigators.  With these we can steer a
more direct and less dangerous course."
3. Kntowledge.-" There must be knowledge
and the general diffusion of knowledge to enable any nation to avail itself of its resouices."
Natural advantages and civil privileges
would be, to an ignorant people, what sunlight is to the blind or music to the deaf.  It
has been well said that "knowledge is the
divining rod which points to the hidden mines
of wealth; it is the key which unlocks the
treasures of darkness."   "Mankind have as
yet attained comparatively little mastery over
the powers of nature, simply because they but
recently set themselves diligently to inquire
into her secrets."  The result of future discoveries in the arts and sciences upon the increase
of our national wealth, and power will be, if
we may judge from the past,truly incalculable.
Present discoveries  are already  producing
wonderful results.  Popular education and the
cheap and general diffusion of useful knowledge will lead to other and importat discoveries.  Both these agents exist, and are in progress towards higher perfection and greater
achievement in the usful arts than have yet
been produced.
4. The spirit of enterprise which characterizes our people is not less marked than are our
natural advantages, our civil privileges, or our
educational facilities.  This characteristic has
drawn forth the highest encomiums from the
statesmen and philosophers of other countries.
If its future triumphs are to be measured by
its past success, we have the strongest guaranty of the future.  The rapid strides of our
infancy in arts, agriculture, roads, canals, railroads, telegraphs, manufactures and commerce,
furnish the strongest guaranties for the ultimate full development of all our resources.
The trade of two western cities increased in
16 years of their infancy ending 1835, from
two thousand tons, to one million one hundred
and eighty-seven thousand seven hundred and
sixty tons. Twenty-five years has sufficed to
spread a complete net work of railroads over
the old States and they are now stretching out
their iron tendrils to all the new States and
Territories, gad another decade will find the
continent bound fast in iron ba nds fr om ocean
to ocean.
The commerce of Asia and the Chinese seas
mingling with the golden harvests of the Pacific slope, shall meet the products of eastern
skill and handicraft midway on the continent.
If, then, we consider our natural advantages,
our wide territory, the extensive natural arteries running through it, our civil advantages,
the diffusion of knowledge, the boundless
spirit of enterprise that is still forming chains
of artificial intercommunication, and communicating intelligence from post to post on the
*wings of lightning, our perfect freedom of
trade with each other —" it is lnot unreasonable to conclude that the day is not far distant
when our internal commerce alone will equal
the present amount of commerce of the whole
world." Such, briefly, is the field, and if the
imperfect sketch so hastily given, has brought
it sufficiently before you for our present discussion,you will follow me to our main enquiry:
~Vhat system of labor shall occupy this field2
What system shall prove itself adequate to its
necessarily rapid anid comn lete develo~menlt?
Is it the voluntary or the involuntary system?
Can the unskillful, unrequited toil of the dec
graded African work out our destiny for us?
Or does it require the all-conquering energies
of the Anglo-Saxon race? Can the fear of
the lash upon minds degraded, and sensibilities blunted, move human muscles to:the accomplishment of t his gre at wo rk? Or does it
require the omnipresent, unceasing p  ower  of
hope? Capital and labor are  the  grea t  inst r uments, and int e lli gence the necessary direction
for s u ch  physica l pr ogres s.  In this sense
money and muscle move  the world!  Money
and muscle are  th e driving wheels that drag
o n  the car of progress. Motive  is the  fi re,
and  the  hope of reward is the  expansibility of 
the  steam.  Intel ligence with one h and upon
the  " valve," and  the oth er upon the " brakes,"
looks out sharply for " smash ups.-'
Let us briefly contrast  the two systems  with
reference to their powers of development  a nd
their adaptation  to the field before  us.  It is
no t  my  purpose  to discuss t he human i ta rian
view of the subject, nor  yet to enter upon tihe
highrer  fields  of i ts  moral and  religious relations. These have and   will  hereafter receive
abler treatment at other  hands  than  I could
give them, even did time permit me to enter
upon so  important  an en quir y.  It is  a s a question of Political   economy- an    elemen t o f
physical power  and development, I am to con sider it.  Let all section al  animosity  and  all
part y  prejudice  be laid as ide!  I have nothing
to say for or  against  an y section or any party!
I speak fo r a  continentq   I -se e k a   power ade-p
quate to a task, commensurate  with our destiny.
As mo ral and rel igious relation s are the mos t
essential elements of national and individual
prosperity, I readily admit that a much higher and stronger argument might   be drawn
from at   o e   tna that sourc e than any that I shall or can
present from  my l  ow         er field of enquiry.   But
my present purpose will be sufficiently accomplished by an examination of the principles
upon which the two conflicting systems rest,
and the practical results of their historical development.
First-The elements of the two systems.
The discussion of this subject has forced itself upon us, perhaps, prematurely, by the
vigorous struggle already commenced between
the two systems, for the possession of this
continent.  Practically they cannot mingle!
And therefore each would "crush the other
out."
Each demands expansion as a necessary element of its vigor. Each succeeding day increases the necessity for it. On the one side,
is enlisted two thousand millions of property,
so called, backed by the prejudices of caste
and race, and the habits of generation,s. On
the other side its involved free homes for the
millions and all that is necessary to their life,
or ennobling to their labor. In proportion as
experience has made it more certain that the
two systems could not mingle and work harmoniously and vigorously sifle by side, have
wise men foreseen that soonler or later a struggle must ensue. It is upon us sooner than the
-wisest could have a~nticipated. The first open
manifestation of the strife was ill Kansas= —
The "Lexington," the ";Bunker Hill" of the
contest. while the " Yorktown" mar lee ikr in
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suit from its being permitted to exist, however
Providence may over-rule it for his own glory
and the welfare of one or both of the races, it
is as certain to come to] an end  as the throne
of the Eternal is to continue forever,  and for
the same reason.  God will subdue all things
to himself.
Either the "Golden rule" must be repealed,
or all such systems of injustice must sooner or
later come to an end.  It is also in its very nature, as antagonistic to  the real freedom of
the State, as it is unjust and oppressive to its
immediate victims.  It tends directly to foster
privileged classes.  It would make — the State
an oligarchy.  Itis restless under its own inherent weakness and decrepitude.  It seizes what
it fondly dreamed was the cheapest system of
labor; and when it finds it the dearest of all
labor it attributes its want of success to all
causes except  the right one.   Outstriped in
the race of improvement it alternates between
Nullification and Disunion, but still fails to see
the cause of its failure.
The other system is based  upon  Heaven's
great law-that every man shall reap what he
sows;  every   man  receive  the result  of
his own  exertions-the reward of his own
toil.  Its policy is to have, as far as  may be"
every man own the soil he works, and every
man work the soil he owns.  This tends directly to make  all labor skillful, and to increase the productiveness of the soil.  This secures the competency essential to personal independence, and makes  every man who thus
enjoys the comforts of a home and the protection of his property and his civil rights, not
only a contented citizen, but a resolute defender of a just and free government that secures to him and all others such ample protection.
For purposes of defense, they are the best
of all soldiers.  They are thrice armed in that
they know their quarrel just, and  the cause is
their own.  Who ever heard of the freemen of
Vermont raving about nullification or disunion?
They are at once the freest and most conservative people on the globe.   Under such a
system we might expect to find our people
comparatively prosperous, contented and happy.  But we are not left to conjecture on the
subject.  If we look at the practical working
of the two systems, the contrast is everywhere
most striking.  It is apparent to the most superficial observer.  The traveler does not need
to be shown the State lines, or  to be told
where the one system begins or the other ends.
It is shown in the aggregate results, and in
every part of the details. At the close of each
decade, a new census speaks with increasing
emphasis.   It is shown in the relative population, in their comparative comfort and happiness, in the aggregate productions, in the educational statistics," but most of all in the appearance of the blighted fields.  Mother earth
cries out constantly and  mournfully against
this sacrilege. But this need not rest upon
mere statement or  upon interested or prejudiced winesses.  Let those love be summoned
to the stand who practice this expensive anud
inadequate system, and their testimony, even
before a jury of its supporters will demonstrate,
that its weakness andl imbecility is only equaled bJy its inherent wickedness.
the distance. Th        e       strug gle f or the pre sent
and perhaps for many years to come, may be
for our Territories alone, and  per    h ap    s th e Central Americ an        an d  M exican States.  Bu t so on er or later t      he ove rshadowing power of the
on        e must encroach upon t he ac tual occupations
of the other, and then will                       th e       struggle be  inev    itable, destructive in its progress                         and decisive in its results.
Meanwhile, the spirit of slavery has already
changed her   front. S   he n o  longer asks for
quarter as  a necessary and  temporary evil, but
'boldly claims to be one of the necessary elements of a higher civilization. She arrogates
to herself a Divine origin, and boldly makes
her appeal to the "Bible."
In proportion to her assumptions and her
arrogance, has her insolence towards the free
labor of the country increased, until she characterizes all laborers alike, black and white, as
the "mud-sills" of society.
Her arrogance, her assumptions, and her
bold appeal to the " Bible," may be alike the
result of her fears, or her supposed necessities, and not of her convictions or her choice.
Certainly
"The spirit of slavery never seeks refuge in
the Bible of its own accord. The horns of the
altar are its last resort-seized only in desperation, as it rushes from the terror of the avenger's arm. Like ether unclean spirits, it' hateth the lignt, neither cometh to the light, lest
its deeds should be reproved.'   Goaded to
frenzy in its'colaflicts with conscience and
common sense, defied all quarter, and hunted
romi every covert, it vaults over the sacred inclosure, and courses up and down the Bible,
seeking rest and finding none.   The  law of
love, glowing on every page, flashes around it
an  omnipresent  anguish  and despair.   It
shrinks from the hated light, and howls under
the consuming touch, as demons quailed before the Son of God, and shrieked;' Torment
us not.'   At  last, it shrinks away under the
types of the Mosaic system, and seels to burrow out of sight among their shadows. Vain
hope! Its asylum is its sepulchre; its city of
refuge, the city of destruction.   It flies from
light into the sun, from heat into devouring
fire, and from the voice of God into the thickest of his thunders." Slavery would make this
continent her trophy.  Perhaps she may find
it her tomb!
Never before has two conflicting systems
marshalled such transcendent power to contend
for so great a prize.  In proportion to the
magnitude of the interests involved and the
strength of the forces engaged, should be the
moderation, dignity, fairness and thoroughness
of the discussion. We should remember that
the southern people are our brethren, our
equals, and that our highest duty as citizens is
to preserve the inheritance bequeathed to us by
our' forefathers and to tfulfill every obligation
toward them with fidelity and kindness. But
we ought to feel, and in all proper waits, and
on all suitable occasions, to show, w~e are men,
not slaves, or traitors, or cowards —that w^Ie
kaow our rights and dare maintain them.
I have said that the twteo systems rest upon
entirely different principles. The one is a system of force. It is based on physical force
and power, and not on justice. ~lig~t, not
riqh~t lis its law.  And whatever ~oon( r < ~,A ~,~
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trate of South Carolina,  Governor Hammond,
before the South Carolina Institute, the following exposition:
"According to the best calculations which, in the absence of statistic facts, can be made, it is believed#that,
of the three hundred thousand  wthite inhabitants of
South Carolina, there are not less than fifty thousand
whose industry, such as it is, is not, in the present condition of things, and does not promise, hereafter, to be,
adequate to procure them, honestly, such a support as
every white person in this country is, and feels himself
entitled to.
" Some cannot be said to work at all. They obtain a
precarious subsistence by occasional jobs, by hunting, by
fishing, sometimes by plundering fields or folds, and too
often, by what is, in its effects, far worse-trading with
slaves, and seducing them to plunder for their benefit."
This  is  the  witness  who  talks  fiippantly
about the  "mud  sills" of society in  the Free
States;  and yet by  his own  testimony  it app     e      a     r      s       that not less than one-s  ixth of th e  white
inhabitants in his own State, are  from  necessity. either paupers or thieves.
DE Bow's Review says:
"It is too obvious to require extended illustration, that
the slow advance of our population mainly arises from
the impoverished condition of our lands.  As lands become exhausted, the returns are not only small and unremunerating, but crops become uncertain, from casualties and vicissitudes of season, subsistence more precarious, and obtained at greater cost.  The striking fact
that those districts possessing naturally the best soils are
almost stationary in population, while districts of inferior soils naturally are filling up, shows not only the exhausted state of the soil in the former, but proves that the
character of slave labor. and the system of cultivation
adopted, are unfriendly to density of population.
T"he exhaustion of our lands, above alluded to, is further evinced by the fact that, in the last thirty years,
they have remained generally stationary in price,                             and,
in many instances, have  actually  declined.  Another
fact, very significant of this truth, is the regularly increased amount of lands cultivated in different crops per 
hand, particularly in cotton, while the amount produced
is proportionably less."
And again, the business committee of the
South Carolina  Agricultural Society reported,
August 9, 1855: 
"Our old fields are enlarging, our homesteads have
beendecreasing fearfullyinnumber."    *   *   "We
are not only losing some of our most energetic and useful citizens to supply the bone and sinew of other States,
but we are losing our slave population, wh.ch is the true
wealth of the State; our stocks of hogs, horses, mules.
and cattle, are diminishing in size and decreasing in
number; and our purses are strained for the last cent to
supply their places from the northwestern States."
Before the revolutionary war, Georgia and
Virginia both made  it the  special  ground  of
complaint  against  "King  George,"  that  by
thrusting slaves upon the colonies, he had excluded free white laborers, and by checking in
this way the influx of laborers and mechanics,
prevented the  healthffl growth and prosperity so much desired.   Anid as late as  1832, in
a debate iii the Virg,inial Legislature, the  -lion.
Chas. J. Faulkner, then a member of that body
and  now  a  member  of Coles                 r         ongress from that
State, and one of tlic Strongest advocates of
making Kan sas a Slave  State,  in reference to
the eastern portion of that State sending their
slaves into its western portion, said:
"Uniformity in political views and feelings and inter
ests, in all parts of this widely extended State would, I
admit,         be extreme ly    desirable, but th at unifo rmri ty is pur chased at too deai a rate, when the bold and intrepid
fores t ier of the West must yield to the slothful and degraded African; and those hills and valleys which until now
have reechoed with the songs and industry of freemen,
shall have become converted into desolation and barren ness by the withering footsteps of slavery. Sir, it is to
avert any such possible consequcdnces to mly country, that
1, one of thle humblest, but not the least determined of
the Westernl delegation, have raised my voice for eman cipation. Sir, tax oulr lands —villify oulr country —carry
the sword of extermination through our defenceless X;illages, —but spare u1s, I implore youl, spare us the curse of
slavery, that bitterest drop from the chalice of thle destroyinlg angel."
In1 the same debate Mr. Mafrshall said.
" It is not for the sake of the slave, nom ameliorate
his condition, that abolition is dlesirabule. Wherefore
then object to slavery? Because it-is ruinous to the
whites —retards improvemnent-roots out an industrious
population —banishes the yeomanry of the country —deprives the spinner, the weaver, the smith, the shloe~mak; er th~e ca::pentler, of emp)loymen t and support.  sphere is
Labor of every species is disreputable. because performed by slaves. Our towns are stationary, our villages almost everywhere declining and the general aspect of the
country marks  t he  cur se of a    wasteful idle and reckless
population."
In the  same deba te            fr. Boling said -
"The system of slavery drives from us the laboring
man, the  honest  and    dustrious poor.  *  * *  The
small freeholdersare driven off also. *  * * * *  The
sparseness of the white population appears almost an in.
surmountable obstacle    in the   way  of the edu catio n of
their children. If we tur n our eyes to th at par t o f o ur
c      ount ry wh ich lies below the mountains, and particularly
below our   views,  it    seems as if some judgment of Hea ven
had  pas sed  over  it and   sear ed i t. Fields o nce cultivated
are  waste and     de       solate. The eye is no longer cheered by
the rich verdure that decked i t in other   days. No, sir
but fatigued by an interminable wilderness of worn-out,
gullied, piny old fields."
In the same discussion Mr. Brodnax said:
' That slavery in Virginia is an evil, and a transcendant evil, it would be idle, and more than idle for any human being to deny. Many of the finest portions of her
terrritory, originally, now  exhibit scenes  o f wi de spread
desola   tio n     an d d ecay.  Wh o can doubt that it is principally slavery that  is at the b ottom  of  it  all?"
Mr. Moore said:
" The very spot  whe re  our ancestors  landed about two
hundred years ago. appears to be    on the eve  of again becoming  the haunt of wi ld animals."
Mr. Bruce said:
"Our soil is almost everywhere         exhausted. Its character is writte in  in indelible letters, on every side,  in  the
commonweal th; he who  runs may read, and the traveler
needs  no int erpreter to  tell him th at all is  ba rrenness and
desolation."
Add re s sing  a Virginian audie   nce,  in a  late
speech, Gov. Wise, in language as          graphic  as
it is truthful, says:
" Commerce has long ago spread her sails and sailed
away from you. You have not as yet dug more than coal
enoughto warm yourselvesatyour own  he      arths.  You
have  s e t no tilt-hamnmer of Vulcan  to strike blows worthy of gods in your own iron foundries.  Yo u          have not
ye t   spun more than coarse cotton  enough, in the  way of
manufacture, to clothe your own slaves.  You have no
commerce, no mining, no manufoa,ures. You have relied
oni the single  powe r  of agricultfhe, a n d  8such  arichultare! Your sedge-patches outshine the sun. Your inattention to your only source of  wealth  has se a red the very
bosoma of mother earth.  Instea d of h av ing to feed cattle  upon  a thousand hills,  you have had to  chas e the
stump tailed steer through the  sedge-patches  to procure
a tough beef,.steak. The present state of things has existed too long in Virginia. The landlord has skinned the
tenant, and the tenant has skinned the land, until all
have grown poor~ together."
The Richmond Eyxaminer says:
"We haveCause to feel deeply for our situation. Philadelphia herself contains a population far greater than
the whole free population of eastern Virginia. The little
State of Massachusetts has an aggregate wealth exceeding that of Virginia by more than $126,000,000."
Twenty years earlier the elder Ritchie said:
" Something must be done, and it is the part of no honest man to deny it-ofno free press to conceal it. When
this dark population is growing upon us; when every
new census is but gathering its appalling numbers upon
us; when within a period equal to thatin which this
Federal Constitution has been in existence, these  numbers will increase to more than two millions within Virginia; when our sister States are closing their doors upon
our blacks for sale, and when our whites are moving
westwardly in greater numbers than we like to hear of;when this, the fairest land on all this continent for soil,
and climate, and situation, combined, might become a
sort of garden spot, if it were worked by the hands of
white men alone;-can w        e, ought we, to sit quietly down,
fold our arms and say to each other, well, well, this thing
will not come to the worst in our days- wewill leave it to
our children, and our  grand-children and great grand children, to take care of themselves and to brave the
storm! Is this to act like wise men? Means, sure, but
gradual, systemiiatic but discreet, ought to be adopted for
reducing the mass of evil which is pressing upon the
South, and will still more press upon her the longer it is
lput off. We say now, in the utmost sincerity  of our
hearts, that our wvisest men cannot give too much of their
attention to the subject, nor can they give it too soon."
I have purposely introduced none but the
testimony of' those interested, who use and still
sustain thle system, to avoid all appearance of
prejudice and ulnfairness in the discussion.
Thlus far, at least, in our inquiries, has "Northern tanatimisIm been silent, I might multiply these proofs to any extent, but time will not
p)ermit.
Nor can I trespass upon your patience at
tlhis hotte hourl to enumerate the triumrtphs of
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Need I detain this audience to tell them what
free labor has achieved in your own beloved
New England?  Would you learn its triumphs,
look about you.   These mountains yield their
treasures to its magic touch!  Your hill-sides
are clothed in living green!  Behold  these
valleys!  I need not tire your ear with words.
Nor need  you  tax your  eyes with reading.
Rather  behold its triumphs in characters of
living light.  The lowing of your cattle and the
bleating of your flocks echo through all these
valleys and over all these hills! Your once bar   ren so.il in this comparatively severe climate,
now groans beneath the abundance it is forced,
to yield.  Shall I point you  to the Middle
States? or yet to the West?   The same re   sults are seen.   Indeed  I might  almost  say
there is no  west.   The west is only  an en  larged New  England.   Those monstrous iron
beasts that go screaming through the land de  vour up intervening distances, and "wed all
our distant cities."  They  take  up the very
bowels of western mountains,  the coal, the
iron, the copper, and quickly cast them into
the very fires of the New England furnaces.
The cattle of a thousand  hills travel'in their
stables at the rate of twenty miles an hour to  ward our city slaughter-houses, that a hungry
world may receive their "I meat in due season."
Western graneries empty their contents into
eastern storehouses.  While  all your manu  factories diffthse the products of their skill and
handicraft through all the veins and arteries of
the Republic.   The very lords of the involun  tary system are dependent upon  the skill of
our free artisans for most of their luxuries. A
southern writer has graphically described this
process:
"See him rise in the morning from a northern bed
and clothe himselfin northern apparel; see him walk
across the floor on a northern carpet, and perform his
ablutions out of a northern basin and ewer.  See him un cover a box of northern powder, and clean his teeth with
a northern brush: see him reflect his physiognomy in a
rorthern mirror, and arrange his hair with a northern
comb; see him dosing himself with medicaments of north ern quacks. and perfuming his handkerchief with north ern cologne; see him referring to the time in a northern
watch, and glancing at the news in a northern gazette;
seehimand his family sitting in northern chairs, and
singing and praying out of northern books  see him at
the breakfast table, saying grace over a northern plate,
eating with northern cutlery, and drinkingfrom northern
utensils; see him charmed with the melody of a northern
piano, or musing over the pages of a northern novel; see
him riding to his neighbor's in a northern carriage or
furrowing his lands with a northern plough; see him
lighting his cigar with a northern match, and flogging his
negroes with a northern lash; see him with northern pen
and ink, writing letters on northern paper and sending
them away in northern envelopes, sealed with northern
wax, and impressed with a northern seal."
Did time permit us to examine the actual sta tistics, the result of these two  systems minute ly, we should find that although that portion
of the country worked by involuntary labor
had the advantage in extent, variety and rich ness of soil-the advantage in climate and po sition-yet  she has contributed little to the
progress of the arts and sciences-little to the
cause of morality and religion.   And while she
is comparatively destitute of manufactories and
commerce, her yearly  agricultural products
faii  far below     th    ose produced by        her rival,upon
a more barren soil, and under a severer cli mnate. We are told that " Colton ist IEinc]."
The statistics show that (]ra~ss "its Sexte."
"There were in 1850, in the free States,
877,000 farms, containing 10S,000,000) acres,
valued at $82,143,000,000; being about ~;20
per acre. The products of these farmsa amount ede to more thlan  $860,(}00,000.  Thrtl-e were
in the s l ave States,  564,000 f arms, co ntaining
180,000,000 acres, valued at $1,117,000,000,
bein g about  $6 p er acre,  and   the products of
these pl anta tion s amoun ted to about $630,000,  000.   The farms of the  fre e  States  avera ge d
120 acres; the slave State plantations averaged
more  than 300 acres.   The   34,000 farms of
cold, steril   e M  assachusetts, averaging 99 acrese
each,  embracing w i,500,000 acres,  v alu e d  at
$32 50 per acre,  amounting    to  $112,o000,000;
the  3000000  plantations of South  Carolina, ave  raging 540 acres each, embracing 16,000,000 of
acres, valued at $5 08 per acre, amountin g to
$82,d00,000.  The farms o  f the  fr ee States are
cultivated by 2,500,000 persons, and yield a
production of nearly $8 per acre, and more
than $300 per head to each person; the plan  tations of the slave States are tilled by more
than 3,250,000 persons, and they yield a pro  duction of less than, $4 per acre, and less than
$200 per head to each person,
"Turning from the agriculture of the two
sections, let us glance at the manufactures.
Here the superiority of the North stands con  fessed. In 1850 the North had 94,000 estab
lishments; $430,000,000 of capital invested;
$465,000,000 of raw material were used; 780, 000 persons were employed; $196,000,000
were paid for labor, and $842,000,000 were
produced. The South had only 27,000 estab lishments; $95,000,000 of capital; used $86, 000,000 of raw material; employed 161,00
persons; paid $33,000,000 for labor, and pro duced $165,000,000. Massachusetts had 8,300
establishments; $83,000,000 of capital; used
$86,000,000 of raw material; employed 165, 000 persons; paid  $40,000,000 for labor, and
produced $151,000,000. South Carolina had
only 1,400 establishments; $7,000,000 capital;
used $4,900,000 of raw material; emploved
12,000 persons; paid',$2,300,000 for labor,
and produced $9,700,000. The wages of wo men are higher in the cotton mills of Massa chusetts than the wages of men in the iron
works of South Carolina. The productiv6 ins
dustry of Massachusetts, in manufactures and
the mechanic arts, has increased immensely
since 1850.  It now averages $280 per head.
The productive industry of South Carolina
according to De B3ow, is $62 per head."
It has been far from any purpose of mine to
excite prejudice or hostility against the people of any portion of our common country. I
would have all citizens cherish fraternal feelings and relations. I would invoke you all to
live up to the letter and spirit of the " constitution " and the "Union."  But I am far from
being one of those who deem it necessary to
- save the Ugtion " at each session of Congress,
by some fresh violation of the principles upon
which it is based.
I have enduring faith in our institutions. I
have an abiding trust in Providence, who has
here raised up an army of skillfill, enterprising and self-relianlt laborers —at once the
apostles of liberty, and of progress in science
arnd the useful arts. Thle cavaliers had already
pitched their tents at Jamnestown, with their
chivalry and their dependants —in fact the elements of the involuntary system. Its roots
were striking deeply on the new continent.
Providence would mak~e this thse field of the
great strulggle, and of thew final triumph of the
onle systeml or the other. Thley are therefore
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to be permitted to grow, side by side, and that'
the lesson might be the more impressive, the
weaker system takes the better field, while her
rival is to take a colder climate and a more
barren field.
Humanly speaking, intensified thought governs the world.  Tyranny often destroys itself
by its excesses.
Often must the great actors in the drama of
life be schooled in affliction and persecution.
A few non-conformists could find no peace
in all England. They fled to Holland. T-Tn
able to enjoy that perfect freedom of worship
and conscience they so longed for, they turn
their eves to the New  World.  We  behold
them on the beach taking their last sad leave
of earthly friends, and embarking their little
all in a frail craft upon the stormy ocean.Their chief treasures were in Heaven.  But
their high resolve, their unalterable purpose,
and their undying love of civil and religious
liberty, contained the gems of a continent's
civilization and many of the most important
elements of a world's progress and history.
To them
"It was not all of life to live
Nor all of death to die."
Their little bark, although driven about by
the fierce winds and tossed for months, could
no more have been lost than the world could
have failed to be created.  In fact, though
well nigh empty of this word's goods, it con
tained more than all the world beside.  It had
a pure bible and the spirit of liberty impressed
upon the hearts of living men and women.
This precious freight is landed upon a barren
rock amidst the snows and ice of winter, in a
wilderness inhabited by savages.  First of all
the woods are made vocal with their lofty
hymn of praise, as it goes up mingling with
the moan  of the winds and the roar of the
ocean.  But precious as was this treasure, these
principles, they were not yet purified, refined,
and purged from all the dross of intolerence
and persecution.   They must be replanted
again and again, and cultivated and grown on
this new virgin soil, and generations must
come, and go for 150 years before they could
finally culminate in the birth of a great nation
to be founded on them.  And when the pe ri  od of gestation was passed and the time had
fully come, then appeared the immortal De  claration of Independence, embracing every
rightful element of a free and just govern  rnent and overthrowing the foundation of the
usurpations and tyrannies, the accumulation of
all ages.  Then came not grudgingly and with
-doubt and hesitation, but quickly, honestly,
firmly, the pledge of fortunes, lives, and sa  cred honor for its support, come what might,
weal or woe.  And  although they must en  counter the mightiest nation of earth, without
an army, without a navy, without arms, with   out money, without credit, without discipline,
yet there came from every hill and valley,
rolling through the whole land, the cry, the
inspiring cry, the all conquering cry, "Liber   ty or Death!" " Liberty or Death!! " To
them liberty was life.  To them submission
oae d     eath.
~And I repeat the care of Providence in the
~ettlement and early history of the continent
is as distinctly seen as is  His hand in the  creation.
Ineed not dwell upon the     events of the
Revolutionary struggle.  They are all familiar
as household  words.  Our v   ery children lisp
them. They  alter n   ately  retreated and  rallied and struggled and hoped on, but despaired never.  Neither could they be conquered.
If'they had no shoes they pathed the frozen
snow wi th  era fe,n mk      ed their bare feet, and marked their
course with their t rickli ng blood.  And when
their garments w er         e t attere d and worn,  and
-some of th em riddled with  ba lls, and the Government was too poor to supply them or even
pay them their wages,  God  raise d up patri oti c
women, who, without pay or   reward, or hope
of reward, by the labor of their own hands
supplied them with garments and with stock ings for their frozen feet.
But I will not dwell upon these things: I
would rather move you to present duties than
excite your sympathies by past sufferings.
Thus, whether we consider the field to be oc cupied, our natural advantages, the extent of
territory, our isolated position, our civil priv ileges, the general diffusion of knowledge, the
spirit of enterprise, the success that has at tended past efforts, the circumstances attend ing the settlement of the country our origin
or history all alike should inspire courage and
hope and excite to greater efforts.
When this system of involuntary servitude
shall disappear, when and by what means this
incubus shall be lifted off from the energies
of a continent, is known only to the future;
but sooner or later, and, as I believe, not re motely, the time of deliverance will come. One remarkable feature has marked our pro gress thus far.
Our population, under a steady increase
quadruples each half century, and the ratio
has been kept up as well since our numbers
have become large as when thev were small.
Should the present ratio continue, we should
have in the year 1900, one hundred millions of,
inhabitants, and the year 1950 would find 400,  000,000 of people within our present limits;
another fifty years still would produce 1,l600,  000,000, or nearly twice the present popula  tion of the globe. I do not say this number
will ever be attained. Whether it be physic
cally possible to support so many does not
now concern me to enquire. But before a
century can pass, before we shall have reached
one-quarter of this vast number, before we
have half what it is possible for the soil to
support, we shall cease to have room for ne  gro slaves, or the wasteful, thriftless slave cul  ture that now disfigures our landscape.  Be  fore that time, shall have come, he will indeed
be regarded as a benefactor "' who causes two
spears of grass to grow where but one grew
betore." Anld that system of labor will have
become intolerable which produces but one ear
of corn where ten ought to grow. It will
have  passed'away.  Free  labor -will have
achieved higher triumphs and entered upon
nobler fields. And our beroad land, dotted all
over with free and happy homes, and covered'
with teeming millions, will exhibit a higher
civilization, and disclose the ripening plans,!
and complete the chain of providences, and;
vindicate the ways of God to ]Ian.
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