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Show WiUian1 A. Phillips. i he ? I it N}1poleon ITT.? To be i' llre he ·trewc1l Europe with the . wr<:c·k of' annie' last. ~ea so n . They lie uuJel' tltc grape vines- UJHlel' the trampled maize:- "There let them rot,- nmbition -honorcd fools . Y cs ! l1onor gilds the turf that wraps their clny. Yuin t:ophi::ltry- in these bd10ld the tool~, The brokc:n tools that tyrnn t::; east nwny." So f.iang 13yron of the wars of hi:; uncle. lie is only that uncle'· copyist, - of com--e he is not the man, - he i but a duplicate, in tile state of political affair,' I l1avc ju ' t attempted to de:'criu<·. \Vith the great Prote t tha t gives onr nge its life and purpose, menaced, - the idolatry of gold and slavery threatening our downf:lll, - a prophet wa!'l srnt. to (.,.ive nuothfr waruing. God has already poken to u' iu the di :-:parity of progrc~ · between the free aJHl lave States, as only Deity can speak. 13lind and besotted though we were, he IJa sent m; a more f.itartling les. on. An iron man of the old Puritan stock emerges from the struggl~ between Fr edom and Slave ry in lean a~. 'Vcak a- he was, in. pired ·with Clu·istian philanthropy and the Declaration of In<lqwndt•nc(', he makes war upon lavery, and g iv ·~ hi, li{e cheerfully a. a protest against th0 accuJ" (•d !")"Mcrn. Do not. let u · l>lind our ·eh·es to the mi:-; ·ion of old John Brown of o~awatomie. P erhnp you an(l I should he re ~ay that we disnpprove of the raid on IIarp •r's F erry. \Ve diu indeed. 'V e hasted to deprecate it when the telegraph fir 't brought us the news. Yet, aft<'r all, i ' it not vanity in u to condemn wl~at we were never equal to, even if we thought it right? L et u rather look calmly at it, and . ee what it means. It menn tl1at God's Ju ·ticc, Chri~tianity, Republicnn T)ibcrty- all the living fai th that i · lef'L in thi.' ngc of progJ·essi at eterual hostilily with Slavery and 'Yrong. I t is a les. on to u~, and a patriot's life went out to give i t. If all the Slati!S of the Union had been true to the spirit in which the go\'crnrncut was f(mnded, we woul<l not have needed it. If we r cacl William A. Phillips. 379 that lesson right now we still have the mcnns of a fi 1 peace n solu t!on, <'llluraeing all our national broth edwo<l.. Arc we afraid or the ta~k ? Let U"' quie tly and re~olut <!l)' underl ake it. There arc ·on!" ti tutional aml p(•acel'ul llH'aw to cany out - lhc g rea t Pro te~t or our governm 'nt. It is the .. pccial mission of our age and. race. L et us basely for~akc that mission, and as we lmYe g rown great in l cRs than two centuries while inspired with the purpo ·c, so will we peri.:ih without i; in less than one. Neither you not· I mean to excite servile in urrection . lloth you ancl I would prevent another '' Ilarpcr's F erry," if we could. Yet shall the timid and ·ouiless get up "Union " mec tin~., to d('nounee the o1J Puritan? - to JHT:-~uade the South that. th<'.'/ arc not J ohn Brown~ ? Imagine the d •risive laughter ~ud1 a . pcctaclc mn~t provok e. A man w110 h:t uot cnurap:e enough Lo say hi.;; ~oul is hi: own, or principle enough to adrnire the article when he :-; ·es it, i$ anxiuu , to pcr,:;uadc slan!-0\\'IH' r .., that he is not going to die a martyr to a great prin cipl e. Imagine a I.Jilliptrtian protes ting, 011 } 1 i~ honor, that he ·is uot IIc rculc~, or a <Tul'l pirate makin (Y aflida\ ·it that he 1·s not the generous Howard, and you ha v~ the picture. Thank Gotl, 1\an~ns has 1rot been guilty of :Illy sneh nonsen c. Sktll we veil our fa ces in ~!tame !-' or f'cd prot td th at the struggle for Ji·ecdom jn 1\an:-;as - the fir~t k·al' in its hi~tory - develop ·d J ohn Brown ancl his com pat riot. ? Virginia, in our dark days, sent a troop of p itljitl nnd pit il<·ss adventurer , to swell the invading ruffian horde of B uf())'(], and plant Slavery upon our soil. Tltey <'arricd on a !Jitter w:tr of in\'a ·ion while th ey could. One of tit em - Clay Pate- sun·<' JHlercd to the hero of Blark Jack, anti the 1\lissouri aud Virgin ia bandit · W<'re driven from the T errit ory. The uasc, slave ry-ridden power nt 'Yn~lringlon stood L>y Virginia ill\·auer:-; then. It put: its f(>ot promplly on nn invasion for Freed~m now. S urely we can undercitaud these things. |
