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Show 14 for it to grow, but must have it now, else he loses his post. He takes the wolf by the ears ; and, if he lets go, the wolf eats him up: he must therefore lay hold where he can clinch fast and continue. If Mr. Sumner, in his place in the Senate, says what Massachusetts does not indorse, out goes Mr. Sumner. It is the same with the rest. All politicians are well aware of that fact. I have sometimes thought they forgot a great many other things; they very seldom forget that. See the proof of what I say. If you will go into any political meeting of Whigs or Democrats, you shall find the ablest men of the party on the platform,- the great Whigs, the great Democrats ; " the rest of mankind" will be on the floor. Now, watch the speeches. They do not propose an Idea, or appeal to a Sentiment that is in advance of the people. But, when you go into an antislavery meeting, you find that the platform is a great ways higher than the pews, uniformly so. Accordingly, when an African speaks (who is commonly supposed to be lower than "the rest of mankind") and says a very generous thing, there is a storm of hisses all round this hall. What does it show? That the antislavery platform which the African stands on is somewhat higher than the general level of the floor even in the city of New York. The politician on his platform often speaks to the bottom of the floor, and not to the top of the ceiling. So much for the political Reformers : I arn not speaking of political Hunkers. Now a word of the non-political Reformers. Their business is, first, to produce the Sentiment; next, the Idea; and, thirdly, to suggest the mode of Action. The antislavery non-political reformer is to raise the cotton, to spin it into thread, to weave it into web, to prescribe the pattern after which the dress is to be made; and then he is to pass over the cloth and the pattern to the political reformer, and say, " Now, sir, take your shears, and 15 cut it out, and make it up." You see how very inferior the business of the political reformer is, after all. The nonpolitical reformer is not restricted by any Law, any Constitution, any Man, nor by the People, because he is not to deal with institutions; he is to make the institutions better. If he do not like the Union, he is to say so; and, just as soon as he has gathered an audience inside of the Union that is a little too large for its limits, the Union will be taken down without much noise, and piled up, -just as this partition (alluding to the partition dividing the hall) has been taken down this morning,- and there will be a larger place. The non-political reformer can say, "Down with the Constitution! " but the political reformer has sworn to keep the Constitution. He is foreclosed from saying that to-day: by and by he can recant his oath, and say it when he gets ready. The non-political reformer is not restricted by fear of losing office. Wendell Phillips can say ju"t what he pleases anywhere: if men will not hear him in Faneuil Hall, they \vill, perhaps, in the Old South Meeting-house. If they will not hear him there, he can speak on the Common ; at any rate, in some little schoolhouse. The political reformer must have a majority with him, else he cannot do any thing; he has not carried his point or accomplished his end. But the non-political reformer has accomplished part of his end, if he has convinced one man out of a million ; for that one man will work to convince another, and by and by the whole will be convinced. A political reformer must get a majority ; a non-political reformer has done something if he has the very smallest minority, even if it is a minority of one. The politician needs bread: he goes, therefore, to the baker; and bread must be had to-day. He says, "I am starving; I can't wait." The baker says, " Go and raise the corn."" Why, bless you!" he replies, "it will take a year to do that; and I can't wait." The non-political reformer does not |