The New York Herald Newspaper, July 20, 1856, Page 7

POLITICAL INTELLIGENCE. MARTIN VAN BUREN vs. MARTIN VAN BUREN. 1848 and 1856, ‘Tis there should such difference be *Twixt tweedie dum and tweedle-dee, 1848, MARTIN VAN BUREN’S LETTER ACCEPTING THE NOMINATION OF THE BUFFALO CONVENTION. Laxpanwatp, Aug. 22, 1848. Gxyriewex—I have had the honor to receive your lettor, giving me officiil in- formation the proceed- ings of the Buffalo Conven- tion, the comp»sition, ou, and the concessions ling, aud to some ex- also, on tent, opinions a whe t of i membors, which enabled them to ‘wite their exertions upon @ common, and to the coun- try, a vitally important question, snow it to have Deen guverned by a pure apd lonty patriotism, and demand from me 4 grateful ackvowledg ment tor the expression of confidence you have communicaied. My position, ia regard to the Presidential election, is @ peculiar one; and it is due to me that the knowledge of & should be coextensive with that of eve-y material step} take in the canvass. Tn 1844 ] announcer my de- termination to centinge in retirement for the rest of my life; snd my earnest desire to do so his been undimi ed and invaria- Die from that moment to the present. 1 deciined, respectfully but explicitly, Bumerons offers from friends in other States to promote Py omination at the Jate Baltimore Co vention: and in the same spire refused pormiasion to New York delegation to esent my name to that y, under apy circum stances whatsoever. ‘This refusal woud have Deen equally decisive, if it had been certain that they ‘would have had it in their Rw to carry their friend- wishes in'o effect. The York delegation to the ‘Utica Convention requested my opinions in regard to the obligations imposed up- on them by the timore Bominations, and the con- gtitutionality and expedien- ey of a prohibition, by Con- gress, of the introduction of slavery into Territories now free from it. They also asked my consent wo theuse of my name by the Conven- tion as its candidate for the Presidency. 1 cbeer- tully gave them the opi- Bious they desired, but declined last request absolutely. That they sin- cerely desired to re- t my regard, I have ne doubted. But the Conver tion were of opinion that the use of my pamewas ne- ceszary, as well to enable the democracy of New York to forward, with Feasousble, prospect of ul- Drinciple fo heen Shey efor “ as to sustain ‘ordinary position to which bad been driven by the injustice of others; and ‘that relations which had so long existed between us, gave them a right so to ‘use it, not only. without my consent, but against my known wishes. Entertain and principle we contend , a8 that in whose you have addressed me. Thaye examined and con- the adopted by the Buflaio Convention, as defining the polit creed of the “free demo- racy,’ with the attention due t the grave subjects which it embraces, and the uLuer * Presented. Tt breathes the right —_ apd presents a poll chart which, with the ex- plaxations I'am about to make, I can, in good faith ‘aud sustain, In regard to the chief topic of the re- solutions, it is not to be doubted ‘that the present unprecedented movement of tbe public mind in the non- slavebolding States, upon the subject of slavery, is caused mainly by an car- nest desire to uphold and euforce the policy in regard to it, established by the founders of the republic. That policy, in addition to the prospective prohibition: of the foreign siave trade, ed lst. Adequate, efficient nd certain security against the extension of slavery into Territories where it did not “slavery, tw the several States of this Union which recognise its existence, should depend lawe, whic recently, neutralise the injurious ten. dencies of an element of dis- cord more difficult to deal with than any to which our free institutions are expos. Bt ae oe present : } Sip tor the toture welthre, of our beloved country, a has been recent. Gonenby our brethren of phage | ‘States, in iret b , to tho ranch of this policy, #0 inadmissi- Die upon principle and so revolting to our feelings as to produce a rush of pub'ic sentiment towards the point of resistance, which, with @ Population so considerate and 60 staid as ours, is never seen, except when a conviction exists that the honor and safety of the country are at stake, and then, always. A frain of occurrences, all tending to the same general end, which have for afew years past followed each other in rapid euccession, bas raised this feeling to an elevation hitherto unknown, and pro- duced resolves which it is hot in the power of indi. vicuals to induce the people to recede from. The con- Stitutionality, the justice, the humanity and the ex- Neney of the ground they ve taken, are all so clear as to preclide the i ty of & continued diversity of opinion or action in the non slavebolding States The consequences that may result from this con- fiiet of opinion between us ani thoes who are, unhap- r opponente—if their ¢ persisted in y w that 6 of all 1956. MARTIN. VAN BUREN’S LETTER TO OLD TAM- MANY ON THE NOMI- NATION OF BUCHANAN, ALD, June 28, 1856. GxvtLeMEN—I feel myself honored by the invitation of the Tammany Society to unite with its members in the annual celebration of the anniversary of their adoption of the aration of Independence. There is no portion of my follow eitizens with whom it would give me more plea- sure to be associated on an occasion so dear to the American heart, because [ know of none who havo more faithfully adhered to the spirit of that immortal document. I therefore the more regret lam de prived of that gratification by advanced age and my distance from your place of meeting You have been pleased to bring to my notice the reunion of the two sections of the democratic party, and by necessary imp ica- tion, the objects to which theircombined energies are to be directed in the ap proaching Presidential elec. tion, The Committee of Ar- rangements for the mezt- ing lately held in your city to ratity tne Cincinnati nomi. nations, honored me with an invitation, Hoping that the notoriety of the fact that I had for several years declined to take part in poli tical meetings might, by friends whose indulgence I had so often experienced, be deemed sufficient ex cuse for the seeming dis courtesy, aud being, more over, earnestly desirous to avoid any participation in the partisan discussions of the day, I ventur- ed to allow their note to pass without @ reply. To leave a second invitation, of substantially the same im- port, and coming virtually from the same source, un- answered, might, I fear, in the estimation of those whose opinion Ican never cease to respect, expose me to the suspicion of being de- sirous to conceal my senti- ments upon the political questions before the coun- try. foe Baretcs, — a settled purpose letter, as it is the first, shall also be my last apprarance in the canvass, save only at the ballot box to deposi: my vote, give you my views upon the subjects referred to without reserve. Iam happy to receive ‘our assurance that the too dissevered sections of ‘he democratic party in this State have, upon th ciples you’ describe, which I full; pact bod ” Nofree pact body.”” No free couv- try can ever be without political ‘ties, and among the de’ mere fac- tions there has never been one more sinister and de- ceptive in its character and ob, than the no party ery which is ever and = pre from Law itical stage. That y which we have all been movements, use per- fection dees not appertain to man or to associations of men. But, with this quali Aeation, { think 1 ventare nothing in saying, the political par. ties which have arisen in this or any other coun try, there has not beon another in the formation and history of which there have beea such exciusive regard and devotion to the maintenance of behalf the republican system to Preserve the fruits of our revoli struggle, by Preventing the federal con stitution being per. Verted to pul neither contemplated by those who framed it, or anticipated by those who ratified it, but aera the ey blican iple upon which it was Rranded. “ft has for more than haif jury employ: ed itself ingly and suscessfully in resisting tho revival of heresies w! it had defeated in th stages of its existence, aad in maintaining the sanctity of written constitutions, without which oar form of ion and a mockery. Almost unaided by its po- litical rival it carried our country through the war of 1812, the results of which contributed more to elevate our pational character and to increase our power than Any other measure, or series of measures, since the re cognition of our indepen. deuce. It has, after a pro tractod and severe struggie, no only relieved the coun try from the incubus of na tional bauka, but fore or exploded the idea of the keoping of the public mo nies an‘ the performance of duties for which a national bank was claimed to be in dixpensabie; this system, after baving been the lead: ing object of the flercot pune assaults, having by salutary action won not merely the acquiesrence but the positive favor of all par. ties, a result which it may with trath be said has not ‘been realized by any other public measure that en. counterad similar partiaan hostility since the adoption of the constitution, tut the limits of a letter ‘Will not admit of an enume ration, much less an ex amination, of the advan. tages secered to the coantry by the rise and progress of domocrave party. To restore and preserve the onity of a party which can boast of such « history, may very properly be re. garded as « matter of na tional concern, especial : in ree pect 10 the Influence it is, when antted, capable of ex erting in @ to which has been conceded the bigh honor of having, by ite un. examplod exertions and complete success, secured the republican triumph in the civil revolution of 1800—which has on # ent oorasions rescued the jemocracy of the nation from impending defeat by Interposing in ite favor a vote which no other State could give, and without the support of which no man has yet reached the Presi- dential office. It needed not our recent experience to show that oc. cagional disruptions of party ties are unavoidable in re- pect to all political associa tions, While they continue, discom{iture and hamilation ‘are the of the dis jointed sections. Of these a] have, on both sides, id your full shares, and Justice to yourselves as well as to the general Interest, required that you should put an end to them by & reunion, that gould be socomplished } whenever | « omniscient fund kind Prov- devce which bas hitherto protected ovr country and its institutions from the daa- gers which bave threstemed them. ‘The claim set up by our Southern brethren is a de- parture trom th platform raised by our common an- cestors, at @ period when the chain of our Union was the brightest, and the fra ternal feeling between the States that composed it the stropgest, It comes upon the back of a series of events well calculated to awaken at the North that deep, and, as itrespects our- selves,overwhelming senza- tion in the public mind, to which Ibave referred. A Moment so critical, cannot tail to be useful. The future condition of the respective States, in re- gard w the probable con- Unuance or abolition of slavery, was correctly fore- seen at the formation of the government. Those of the old thirteen which are now exempt from it, acted un- der a confident unticipation that they would soon be- come 80; while those of the number where slavery still exists, could not look for- ward to an equally favora- Die result iu regard to them- selves, It was, therefore, Well understood at the adop. tion of the constitution, that although a large and highly respectable portion of the members of the conied- eracy would prooably for a long, certainly for an in- deiinite period, remain slaveholding States, a ma jonty of the States would pon-tlavebolding; and that a constitutional pre- ponderance in the federal government would be thus secured to the later. To make assurance of this result coubly sure, the slavebolding Suites them. selves were prominently tive in a meacure—the nance of 1i87—by whic’ Bix Dew Stal vere firat de- fignes 1 be and five actu- ally were, arrayed on the saiue vide. These, added to the seven in which slavery had been, or was expected to be abolished, would make the oivision, in this regard, twelse tosix. Theevidence we possess of the circum- stances and dispositions of the times, warrauts us in assuming that DO one, at that day, anticipated that this difference in the respec- lve conditions of the States in regurd to slavery, woula ever be overcome or neu- tralized, by the accession to the confederacy of new slavebolding States. Yet, in the brief periot which has elapsed—we may well say brief, when viewed in connection with such great results—we have witnessed the addition of nine slave- holding, and only three non- slavehoiding States to the copiederacy, beyond those which were provided for be- fore the aduption of the constitution, making them to stand fifteen to fifteen. The preponderance original- ly secured to the non-slave- holding States, and with the knowledge of which they assisted In investing the in- stitution of slavery in the States, with the privileges apd guarantees of the con- ‘titution, bas thus been an- nihilated. These facts can- not be controverted or con- cealed, and when once fully understood and appreciated by the people of the non- slaveholding States, they must have a controlling in- fiuence over their future course. The emotions they Lave already excited ought not to surprise intelligent and ingenuous minds in any quarter. But this is not the only, nor even the most repulsive view which we are com- pelled to take of the present pretensions of our brethren of the slavebolding States. Slavery is now presented in a livery which it never wore before. On every previous occasion when there has been a conflict of opinion in rd to it, the question bas ouly been, how far the poli- cy of 1787 should be carried out by prohibiting or re- stricting the extension of slavery in territory which was, at the time, subject to its introduction. Most of the territory of the United States which was thus situated, tave the State of lowa, which was excepted by the Missouri compromise, has been converted into slave ‘States, and admitted into the Union as such. Now, for the Grst time, the tompt is made to perm the introduction of slavery into Territories which are now free from it--Territories from which it was expelled within the last fifteen or twenty years, by the ex- press and solemn act of their former government and people—a government ap) with whom, in respect to the attributes of freedom, ours could not brook a comparison Nor is this its only or ite worst fentore In aunexing to our Umon Texag, an ex tensive Slave State, cover ing an area capable of being formed into many more such States, we became in volved ina war with Mex co, which claimed cont- nued dominion over that State. The Territories in regard to which the ques ton if tow made are among the conquests of the war, It is, therefore, in effect, whatever may have inal objects of war, an appeal to the tuhabitants of the non slavehoiding States to sanc- tion the extersion, through our instrumentality, of sia- very into Territories which the $United States have fact hoquired by the swor but which others had reliev ed from Sigren vee a sropesttion need only be stated to insure ite prompt rejection by the non-slave- hokling States. Upon what grounds is ft attempted to sustain a prin. cple so repugnant to our in character, and so weil cal- culated, if successful, to cloud the glory of this great republic’ That there should be diversities of opinion and feeling upon the sub- ject of slavery between us and our sout brethren, is certainly natural The strength of Northern aversion to the institution has been recently very truly stated on the oor of the , by a very (is. tnguisbed Southern states man, The people of the North could not overcome thie aversion, if they would; and they cannot desire to do 80, because they reli- proves believe that the hest earthly interests of man are based on its per- Manepry and ultimate uni- vereality, Atthe South the feeling i* very diff rent, be- cause the culture of their minds and dispositions, and the force of habit, have had ‘an opposite tendency. This «nown, and for & season, at least, incurable diversity of opinion and fee ing should beget a spirit of concilia- tion, and inculeate mutual forbearance in and action. This duty doupt Jee@ been occasionally lost sight of, on both sides; but it cannot be denied that the departere from it hae been greatest on the part of our Southern brethren No one will venture to in t that it i8, at this da ther expedient or right to orig ery in Territo Without dishonor. There is no reason Wo goustion ribo good faith with whieh the conflicting opiuions that lay at the foundation of our divicions were entertained, and we would have been more than men if, in enforc- ing our respective views, iu moments of great excite- ment, there bad nes been faults on both sides, You have well decided to forget past collisions, and to enter upon a generous rivairy in the sacrifice of personal feel- ings upon the altar of har mony. This is the best, if not the only, way in whieh sach reunion can be made effectual. ‘The subject upon which we have differed is that which now furnishes the leading issue between the parties in the com- , and to which matters hive ba- come subordinate—that of slavery ip the Terr 5 My own course in w it has been one, che record of which I sh«'! al- ways be willmg to be judged, whenever and - ever the acts of an ini.vid- ual are deemed of suile nt importance to attract auon- tion. The same thing can, I doubt not, be said by those ef you who have differed from me; and there We must leave that matter. We canuot control each other's opinions when arga- ments fail to convince, and should pot desire to do so if we could. I have from the beginning preterred the mode of dealing with the subject of slavery in the Territories adopted at an carly day by the founders of the goverpmeat, and con- tinued to a receut periol, and have unitormly resisted @ departure trom ft. No man in the country can have ‘been more sincerely opposed to the repeal of the Misgouri Compromise. I was in- tormed of it under circum. aves calculated to r American most sen: ing el aif other acts from which he th there is reason to apprehend danger to the perpetuity of by the subjects and udvo. cates of despotic power. Deeply sensible of its injus tice, and foreseeing the ex tent to which the measure would re-open slavery agi tation—the deleterious ef fects of which tew were capable of appreciat 4g than myself—I did not hesitate to condemn the act. But the measure has been accomplished, and the ques- tion that presents itself to those who agreed with me im that condemnation ix, what is the best step to be next taken in the matter with reference simply to the public interest? propo sitions brought into view by principal varties in the apprenching election, con- sist of:—lst. The restora- tion of the Missouri Compro- mise; 2d. The settlement of questions relating to slavery in the Territories by the di- rect legislation of Congress; 8d. The immediate admis- sion of Kansas as a tree State under the Topeka Con- stitution; and 4th. The exo- cution of the Nebraska Kansas act, without regara to the latter movement. Upon each of these propo sitions I will say enough to possess you with my views in regard to them.@g It is worthy of remark that notwithstanding the seeming fitness of the forin of redress embraced in the first proposition, there has not from the be ginning been any thing like unanimity in opi- nion, on the part of those most opposed tw Bate, the length of time it must take te press the pot with a hope of its accom- plishment, and the weigtit Of influence the proposition must encounter, But other considerations have, I be lieve, contributed to this re sult. The ony Territories left for the Mieeouri Compro- mise to act upon, if it were restored, are those in Texas = ore The restora. no eompromise, if effected, might come tn sea son for the converston of the Texas Territory into a slave ‘Stave or States, but one can scarcely doubt that the Kao- ‘Bas question will have been settled before that of the restoration of the compre mise, with however muce energy the latier might be urged, ‘Uf the restoration, of the old mode of setting such ee I will speak here. r. mvened wit:i athority from despite of the will of the Territorial govern ment, which is re fs legitinate by Executive, sad even profens te did repre sent more than a part of the people af the Territory to Bot the objections to the admission of a new Stat into our confederacy, org: nized ander sach circum stances, are sought to be removed by the grave ebarges that the legislative branch of the existing Ter. ritorial government was not chosen by the people of the Territory, but by lawless, and. in some instances, armed, intruders from Mis souri, who interfered in the matter with a desiga tw make the a ‘Territory ‘Stale, against the wishes of a majority of the people thereof—that a redress of this grievance, through the instrumentality of the judi rial G.vernor appointed by hisn, desiring to promote the rey of the Missouri java |, Tefused to extend to the actual residents of the Territory the protectio. respect to the exercise uf the right of suffr tw which they were entitled under the organic law Ido not think it nece-#: ry, im the view I have taken of the subject, to enter ato a discussion + the truth of these charyes es the constitutional power to dispense with the protim) nary steps which hive usually been required for the admission & Site into the Union. But cons derate men will, 1 think admit that even assum ye these charges to be in the main well founded, Coo } y ought not to be asked act in 80 summary a Way, and upon so graves maiter, except as sort and fice every + pn pete sd = ler & peaceable and rega pag A organization have been exhausted. case before us has not yet, I think, arrived at that coudi tion; and this brings me to the consideration of the fourth p-oposition, via: the ing ont ot the Nebras im Ransas act. Tam free to confess that Thave for some time part regarded this act with more favor than I did when it was first presented to my consideration ae the instr ment by which the Mia Compromise wae thrown. This m arisen from the ries that are free from It, if it can be properly prevent- ed. But it is insisted that this cannot be done in the case under consideration, and in the form proposed, First, because the ‘onstitu tion does pot give Congress the power to prohibit sis- ‘very in the Territories; ant that, cousequently, | the reat Dumber of acte for at purpose which have been passed for the last sixty years, with genera assent, were but s0 many infractions of the Constita tion. All will remember the s0- lemnity and rapidity with which’ State after State, at the South, in succession, anneunred this doctrine, and the acrimonious vehe- mence with which their conventions denoanced po litical proseriptions, in the form of excluding from the offices of President and Vice President, all who refus- ed to adopt it. But it is al ready apparent that differ- ences of opinion upon this important subject cannot be settled by vVebement as- sump ions, nor conciliation, ‘in regard to it, promoted by denunciation Tn our coun. ed by the con- tion. For the rectitude uF motives, and the cor- Tectness of our conduct, we are responsible, on earth, to the opinions of the civil ized world, and hereafter to a Power that greater and wiser than all, stion of constitu. the gravest of all objections that can be made against a public measure, bas just passed through the oréeal of pudlic discuss on, and the doctrine in question geen so thoroughly re- bu spend words in cefuting it. Two cireumstances bave, however, occurred, whieh, though not ne its overthrow, give to that overthrow a sanction that entities them to notice. It bow appeare, that twenty eight years since, at the ‘ime .of the Missouri com promise, str. Monroe, then nt a siaveholder, eted froin @ slave- State, submitted holding this very qnestion, save only that’ it was then ap- plied to slave territory, to a cabinet composed, Cen | other gant reat men, of suc! intellects from the slaveholding States as Crawford, Calhoun and Wirt, the latter the law offi cer of the government; that they were unanimously of opinion that Congress did possess the power in ques- ton; and that the then lent, a man who was ‘on the scene of action when interes! are before the country, and every one will judge for himself of their claims to their opposition to the gene- ral measure. This branch It is further contended, that slaves are so far to be lend as as to authorize their owners to carry them into any of the Territories and to hold them there, notwithstand- ing any act which Con creas may pase upon the subject. If Congress have constitutional power to pro- hibit slavery iu the Terri- tories, its laws place the ubject on the came footing there as the State laws de in the States. As well, theretore, might the siave holder contend that he can ware te <a tuto = which probibits slavery as he can bring them in- to territories where sia. very is ibited by Con- gress, If his slave rune away, and enters one of the pon-slavehoiding States, he does not thereby become free, but shali be detiver- ed up upon the claim of the person entitled to his services. Dut thie is not in consequence of the re cognition of the right of pro- preperty, was, in reality, to tranport th. ir laws into the Territories. One has, opinions of the dispositions of the Northern are entertained by who think them capable of de- siring the degradation of any of the States of the confederacy, whether they be slavcholding or other. wise. They entertain too enlightened a sense of their own interests; they heve too jurt a conception of the true glory of the confede- trey and of the extent to which the humiliation of a part would tatnish the jus tre of the whole; and they are, above all, too national in their fe ge net te che ieitnde for of the have felt myself compelled to regard it ‘as the only at- tainable mode by waich the couitry can hope wo be relieved from the injurious and demoralizing effects of slavery agitation; or it may haye been prodvcad by the great unanimity with whi b i principles have beon adopted, in all parts of the country, by @ political par ty in Which I have been reared aud upoa the main twnance of which, in its wonted purity, 1 conse fen- tiously believe the future weitare of the Pw Ei will depend. | believ the people of the free States, when the resentment justly ‘excited by the repeal of the Missouri Compromise has subsided, and more espe- cwily when they shall have witnessed a tair and peace- able execution of the provi sions of that act, will gene- rally regard it as a mod for the settlement of sta’ ry questions, by which they will stand @ vetter chance to have their feelings and opinions upon tne sunject re- spected, and ave less expos- ed to extraneaus ana im proper infiuences than bas been the case wita specitic Congressional legislatiog. bave pot the ieisure, if { deemed it necessary, to as- sign the reasons which nave Drongat my mind to wis conclusion, The points in regara to the measure it- self can be stated in a few words. The authority of Congress to transfer to the people of the Territories all the power it possesses un- der the constitution to legis- late for the Territories has, ag far as 1 Bnow, never been questioned. “It has been exercisea from the cominencement of the go- vernment, in respect to all the proper subjects of legis- Javon, from tae highest to the lowest. Not naving a copy ot the Neoraska-Kan. sas act, 4 take its provi- stons in regard to the au- chority it protesses to con- fer trom Mr. Buchanan's admirable letter of accept- ‘ance, where the subject 1s, [ oudt not, fairly presented. He thas describes it:— “This legislation is found- ed upon principles as an- cient as the government itself, and, in accordance with them,’has simply de- clared that the people of a Territory, like those of a State shall decide for them- selves whether slavery shall or shall not exist within their limits; * * declaring it to be ‘the true intent and meaning of this act not to legislate slavery ‘nto any Terri , nor to exclude it th ym, but to leave the people thereof perfectly free to form and regulate their domestic in- stitutions in their own way, subject only to the constitu tion of the United States.” From these terms it is too clear to admit of dispute orcavil, that it was the in- tention of to clothe the of the Territories ample ae, to exclude slavery within their respec- tive limits, as well while as in m 4 its exclusion from the State ‘that fang hd [ oy ° courte, ve Cae if the Kansaa-Nebraska a: had not recognised in term the subjection of the power It intended to grant in the cor trm but apirit during the single low be shall remain in office, to re store the same harmonv among the sister State which prevailed before the apple of discord, nothing ! Lj : | : i i #3 li , if Fee i / i i : : iff iB iE io , aes 1 uty the tive to see that “ the laws are faithfully exon ted,” and he is clothe yh adequate to its por Will Mr, Buchanan, ifele redeem his pledge i Fi #:3 he port bim. All that can b asked of him ts t do object In view, cause it will be rix do, as becmuse the: be reason to fear th existence of the govern ment itself may depen! upon his securing it. = much has been said © gard to the danwers + whieh the Union is thr ened as to require no incon siderable effort on the part Of an carnest man to tow!) upon the solemn theme for fear he might be suspect! Of a desire to prostitste it ty comparatively petty pur poses, But all mst admit it to be certain that there never Was a period in the history of this republic when sectional animaritirs wer rife, oF had, to <0 acy ‘that the euccess of this mea- bane would draw after it such graye consequences they would be among the last to uphold it. If i can have such a tendency it will certainly not be owing apy want of generality in its application, The restriction wil), of course, be obligatory on all who settle in the Territo Ties. from whatever State or country they may have emigrated. They will all, in this respect, stana upon an equal footing. If any inhabitant of any of the non- slaveholding States, who re moves to +e Territories has bis capital invested in busi- hess transactions which are Not permitted by the laws of the Territory, be must change the investment. If a slaveholder desires to re- move there, be must dis. pore of his slaves, and em- ploy free labor ag ‘bis coun- trymen and neighbors did, when they removed to dif- ferent portions of the nerth- western tercitory, and ip doing 80 made themac!ves: rosperous, contented and a py. Lat us for a moment look at the character ot this measure and compare it with others that have gone before it. It is a re-evact- ment of the ordinance of 1787, which probibitea the introduction of slavery into Territories which had been ceded by several of the States to the United States, The difference between the eflects of the two measures coprists cnly in the fact that the Terriory to which the ordinance of 87 was applied was, previous to its cession, subject to the introduction of slavery ; whilst the Territories ‘to which it is pow spught to be applied, had, at the time of the cession to us, deen already exempted from it by law, Who firet proclaimed the principle which triumphed in tbe enactment she ordi- nance of 1787’ Thomas Jef- ferzon, Who promoted and secured its passage through the Continental Congress ? NEW YORK HERALD, SUNDAY, JULY 20, 1856. strong enough to withstand these torrents of bitter waters, it will afford the best evidence that the Jove of union is as ony impressed upon the Ameri- can heart as its moat san- guine friends have imagined itto be. I see good grounds for hope that such be the happy issue out of our exept p< he condition, the prospect of Mr. Bu- chavan’s election, He is neither an untried mau nor ‘one of ordinary stamp. He has for a long time been favorably known tothe pub- lic service, and comes be- fore the country with a cha- ractor aircady formed, aad @ mind thoroughly tained in the schoot of experience. In regard to the future ue- my duty to arrest ite passage by the exercise of the veto power, " * * « lam, gentiemen, very re-spevtfully, Pes, VAN BUREN. Benjamin F. Botler, Joseph 1. White and Salmon P. Chase, Eaqrs., Committee of Buffalo Conyc ution, FREMONT MEETINGS. Fremont Meeting In the Eleventh Ward. SPEECHES BY J.C. UNDERWOOD, “THE EXILE FROM VIRGINIA,” AND OTHERS. A large and spirited meeting of the citizens of the Eleventh ward friendly to the election of Fremont, was held on Thursday evening at Manhattan Hall,Fourth street, between avenues Cand D. Despite the extreme heat of the weather, the hell was crewded to excess, and the pro- ceedings were characterized by the most marked and un- tion of such @ man, his con- fooure sud bope, but may ure and hope, but form positive opinions. He has established a foreign re- putation, in regard to which he cannot fail to be solicit- ous. He has, with charac- teristic good sense, relieved himself from the imputation of being influenced by a de- sire to conciiate any special or partial interest, with a view wa reelection, aud his acts from misconstruc- tions, which the suspicion of being so influenced might engender. mao with such antecedents, and occu- pying such a posit beg tien & matter of su terest to attract the - tion of the world, and in the c@ of a free and = ligent peop'e, among whom he was reared and expects to spend the evening of his life, can fkil to perform his entire duty when the path that leads to it {s so plain that “the wayfaring man, though a fool, conld not err therein,” is a consumma- tion that I am very certain can never be realized. I aap, very truly, yours, M. VAN BUREN, To Messrs. Murphy, Sbep- ard, Fowler, Kelly, Whee. lan, Purdy’ and ‘others, Committee of Arrange ments of the Tammany Society. All she distinguished and patriotic men who that year repres ted the Sslaveholding States in that body, without a solitary exception. Who gave to the mea sme his official sanction, by approving @ bill to carry it into effect. under the new government? George Wash- ington. the same enactment has peated, with the general concurrence of the Within the last sixty years, and down to 1838, been again and again re- thern membérs, and often through thelr particular instrumen- tality. A full fifth of # @ States of the Union have been organized as Territories under its restrictions. In respect to Obie, the oldest of them, conformity to this principle in the ordinance of ’87 was required, even”in the State constitution and government, and tne bill giving to the ordinance this & committee of which Wm. chairman, and John Rutledge, of ‘South member. teen to five, the respected names Georgia, Breckinridge Franklin and Stome of Tt wi ot oe, and Brown of forth — was reported by . Giles, of Virginia, was inn, a as inthe Senate by a vote ot six- od owl. the ayes will be found Baldwin and Jacksoa of Kentucky, Carolina, Stevens, Nicholas of Vir- in conformity to that ordinance have, in a very great ee, heen settled by emi ts from the siavebold- deg ing States. Thousands of 1 1g pioneers, many of them among the most respecta- ble of their fellow citizens, for a series of Aang cession, left their friends bolding States for what was panied by their yers and hardy and enterpri- ears ia suc- and neighbors in the slave- then the Far West, accom- benedictions; it never en. tering into the imagination of either, that in so doin they submitted to any personal or sectional reproac! or degradation. Prosperous and happy ia their new abode, they and their associates, and the great en terprite they accomplished, have mired by ail who witnessed ‘their success. honored and ad One of those very settlers, after assuming and for many years dis- charging the responsibility of enforcing the ordinance 1787, and after enjoying a large share of his country’s con! fidence and respect in and died in that exalted station. other forms, was tually éle- eacy. Another highly distinguished inhabitant of one of the Territories subject to the same restriction, after hav- tng avo, for a long series of years, borne the responsi vility of seeing to the execution of this now derided ordinance, as Governor of the Territory, is at present the favorite candidate for the same high office, of por- tions of the citizens of the siaveholding as well as of the otber States. Tn the face ai of it New York delegatsra ame jet, and was pot 2FEEFi He es g i! re ‘bia will tall of itself. reste will intervene, selves to labor for ite from a bill for the abolition Parti ti | that such « Congress upon the enbject, ence in allay srhich menaced in this the grounds for thie are, on the other, shee of facts like these, is wo = of this restriction ia can operate to the ¢ could net How give any assurance, for which the question is apprehension. slaration, in advance of would have a excitement, and warding off peace of the siaveholding States, | did not hesitate to maxe it. Whilst, on the one hand, all jon have passed away, we reatened epirit end character of our government, through the essful encroachments of the it possible @iat the New Mexico and any other notice, 1 am not apprised of them. that are tena- bie can, ii ‘The moasure is right in itself; be done ultimate safety. stand in the same relation these very extensive Torri- tories, in towards the Northwestern as they did, results not less redect such undy! will fol- + ey memories of Li The cain slavery in the District of Columbia: a gene- ralay of hen, aod the circumstances under ‘opinion of the Con which = bot of imme- ate action. philanthropic minds live m the hope that siavery abolished, not only the States also—in the Slate governments leaves exclusive ‘mer oy Congress. I see in the idence of an a Dson, }, that a di it, Oxint ed » and of aD oD) resolve pot to wufter 1! weaken the moral yower of their ubanimit the great question w abolish 4 i i = F Utica, 1 referred to my con Unued opposition to that measure. The subject was only incidentally introduced and there was, consequent ly, but litte care taken in d to the terms in which the suggestion waa made. The form of expression which I employed bas, it appears, led many honest and that the remark related, exclusively, intended ‘This intilligent men to os to the to convey my | present construction, h Hy i at s li E i f E ef ; sf at } ‘that Johabitants thein I must not, however, be understood, either by what Tyow sey, or by what wae solid in my letter to New York delegation at Utica, as rey vation that I would, if elect r the decla |, with| "s; approve! of slavery in the Ihstriet. | the reason that sion Was estly eptertained that there was danger of a servile war, in Consequence of the extent to which of thif question had been pressed. the Aghatign ) and believing ~~ action of utary influ the danger & subversion of the flave power. If, un a fer such circumstances, two branches of the pati. al legislature should decide that a due regard for the Public interest requires the passage of euch a law, J should not, if P nt, think it Within U¢ line of mistakable enthusiasm, The meeting was called to order by Mr. Edward C. Cook, who proposed for chairman Mr. William D. Hicks. The nomination was unanimously en- dorsed by the meeting, and three cheers were then called for and given for the Chairman, designated as the “Old War Horse”’ of the democracy in the Eleventh ward. After the introduction of resolutions by Mr. L. C. Lock wood, and their unanimous adoption by the meeting, Mr. Livcory, who announced himsel! as a deserter from Tammany Hall, then addressed the meeting for about half an hour, reviewing the history of the present ad- ministration, and urging the claims of the republican can didates to the suftrages of the independent freemen of the Norta. General Nye then made a epeech replete with wit and telling points, which was warmly applauded throughovt. ‘The rallying song was then sung, the audience joining in the chorus with great spirit. Mr. Wutiam K. Srroxc, of the Eighteenth ward, introduced Mr. J. C. Underwood, of Virginia, as an exile from his home in Virginia, be- cause he had in the exercise of the rights of an Ameri- can citizen declared himself at the Philadelphia Conyen- tion in favor of the republican nominations and the prin- ciples maintained by the s publican party. He said that Mr. Underwood had been obliged to leave his farm and crops in Virginia under the charge ofa boy 13 years old, Decause of the threats made vy his neighbors, and be ‘was now exiled from his home, and this, too, in a land of liberty; but co longas he (the speaker) had a home, be would gladly share it with the exile and his family, (AD plause.) ° MR. UNDERWOOD'S SPEECH. After the applause which greete? his appearance had subsided, Mr. Usperwoop then addressed the meeting. After thanking them for the kind reception they had giv- en bim, he promised that he would not trespass long up- on their kindness, but would endeavor in as few words as possible to give the reasons why he was not permitted to-night to be at home upon his farm in Virginia, One of the earliest teachings which he was permitted to leara from the lips of his widowed mother was to give all honor to labor, and the very tirst lessons of bi« youth were in- tended to inculcate in his mind the dignity and im- portance which should ever be attached to him whostreve to cultivate and beautify the earth. (Applause,) He was taugbt in infancy to believe that of ali classes of society the industriour aud peaceful portion of the community which was far removed from what was termod fhe aris- tocracy was the most useful and powerful. Iie was carly instructed in the principles of Jefferson, to believe that freedom was right of every human being; and ope of the rst prayers he was ever taught was that the time might come when the sun, in his glorious circuit, should rise nor set upon a je master or slave. (Ap- plause.) In his boyhood he was permitted to sit at the table of Madison, and he well remembered in what ing terms that eloquent man used to lament the blighting and withering ellect of slavery upon the fair fields of Old Dominion. In bis boyhood, animated by those senti- ments of the rights of man, the dignity of and the Jorious mission of freedom, he made a image to lonticello, and as he stood under the grand oaks that spread their branches to heaven over the grave of Jetfer- son, he recalled to mind the words of the immortal statesman when he proclaimed eternal hostility vo every species of jon and slavery, and when he declared that the Almighty had no attribute that could take sides with oppressor. (Applause) It was in that early period of his life, too, that he made a visit to Mount Vernon; and as he looked’ upon the tomb epshbrining the ashes of the Father of his Country, he thought of hie noble life, devoted, in the camp and cabinet, to the cause of liberty and his country, and he thought, too, of the glorious and immortal crown of that lite—at tbat solemp moment, the making of his last will oe ane dee St Map-imoeaee teal ‘upon his. p! . (Apprause. wo, the precious legacy ‘whist ‘ashington had lett his coun- trymen, which seemed to him even more precious than his Farewell Address—more precious because it was writ- os ee ee ee and came fresh and warm from his own great which he wrote to his most intimate friend—a friend dear to heart, dear to the patriots of the Revolution, and the friends of Nberty throughout the world—the Mar- quis De Lafayette. (Applause.) in that letter, de- ploring the evils of slavery, he prescribed a reme- dy for them. What was the occasion for writing that letter? ‘They all remembered, doubtless, that aiter Lafayette bad fought the battles of freedom, and aided so —_— in secu! their national indepen- dence, enthusiastically inspired ye love of liberty he visited one of the French West India Islands, bought « Plantation, and not only emancipated the slaves upon it ut made a present of the plantation to them. He wrote to Washington informing lim what he had done; who, in reply, sald:—"My dear Marquis—The act you have done is like you. It does houor to your head and heart. Sla- very is a most blighting curse upon the Olé Dorainion, and I know of but one way of getting rid of it.” What was the way he preseribed for getting rid of slavery’ It ‘was not the prescription of Drs. Case, and Ba- chanan—it was not by squatter sovereignty—but it was, to use his own languagegby ‘legislative authority ;”’ (s plause) and he added, “so far as my vote shall go for that purpose, it shall bever be wanting.” (Applause.) There were the sentiments of Virginia in her earlier and better days. These were the sentiments in which he speaker) had been instructed, and which he had enter- tained thus far; and they were the sentiments which he intended to impress upon his children, and which he would carry to the grave with him. (Applanse) They might ask why those sentiments were no longer popular in Virginia, He would, in a few words some of the reasons which had produced this. wonderful change in the Old Dominion, knew that in 1808 a law was re enacted, foreign slave trade to be pire», It was expected by Madison and the great men of Virgi- nia, that this legal reprobvation of the slave trade would bave the moral effect of extinguishing slavery throughout the Union in afew years. But im thie view of the case uwy were mistaken. The result sbowed that it only ex- tinguished the foreign slave trade, and that it built up a domertic siave trade attended with horrors fully as great as Ay ever attended tbe African slavetrade. Not being able to obtain slaves abroad, the extreme Southern States turned to purchasing them tn the Northern slave States, wo and the cons that these States became slave. breeding ones. The result has been, that the number of between 20,000 slaves now annually sold in Virginia and 25, the; 0,000 en wpon the question of slavery in late years. lt owas far from bim to say anything that for be loved her, with = all ‘the says ‘80 horrible are slaves should rise in has no attribute that revere present reached Washington, and ty return to Virginia, his firet thoug!, he emyfoy in the service of send . Spin. ner, a member of Congress from the Herkimer diatribe of New York, a noble man, anda son of a German who ot hie } press anything like a manly sentiment without looking ‘over hie shoulders: see if somebody was not in hearing distance. Su: state of things showed more forcibly than almost thing else the state of freedom there, and the | tion which every man must expect yrnser to meet | the stand | of the West, which had been des 7 land of Washington and Ji EE ech 4 jeteaee, who dar@ they expressed, aud which they while hivmg. Ip this view of things, not tho a ge omnne om cordial and re- cognition ¢ spoke laboring men, desired to bring right home to them the condition ey they would be subjected W slavery should triumph in tho coming election. The object of hi neighbors in. Virginia was, as Mr. Wise said the ether day in a Buchanan rat cation meeting, Wo extend slavery Over the broad prair es to them and |» their children forever to be the al of happy treeme:.. They, at the South, said their object was to slavery there, that the black and white man jabor there, side by side, while at the North it was claimed that tho territory of the West was solemnly dedicated to free- dom, That was the difference between the republican and the selfstyled democratic of this country. What was there in slavery that should make the North willing to be thus subdued by the South? He would ask what were the influences of slavery upon the white man ? and upon this subject he could not hel more for his own countrymen than for the poor children of Africa. He hac white Ieborers sround him in Vir; i lies of tight poor white men—sober and industrious tenants. He had employed them because be preferred them to slaves, He could have inherited slaves if he had but said the word; but upon his first reflections he had re- solved ‘hat the eweat of no slave should moister his fields. (Great applause.) What did they think were the wage of laboring men in Virginia? They only received tromy eight to ten dolars a month, with the exception of a lit- Ue time in harvest—some fifty cents a day; and the fire ed to them was fir inferior in every respect to that ‘Lished by the farmers or the North to their laboring ‘ihe white laborers in Virginia were not invited to the great house to tak» their meals, but they must take them under the shade of a tree, sometimes in the samo group with the slaves, and sometimes in a lite group by Themselver. The white lab wer at the South ait not get from his employer tea, colfee, sugar, butter, wheab bread, or apything of this kind, for his support. He would tell them seme of the other disadvantages under which the white laborers in Virginia were placed. They Were net permitted to enjay the advantages of district schools. It wax true, there Was a small fund for common school education, but before any man could be allowed to have a participation in it for the benefit of his children he must be willing to acknowledge himself a pauper, and ask for his share of the fund upon the ground of his po- verty. They all bad heard the waxim that pride anc pauperiem walked together, and the poor white men of Virginia were too proud to accept of the fund upon such terms, and the result was that there were seve five thousand men and women in Virginia unable to read and write. These were some of the consequences resulting to the white laborers at the South from the infhuences of slavery; and the question for Northern laboring men to decite was,, whether such in- fluences shouid be extended over the territories of the great West whether the white men who go there shall fare like the slave laborers of the South, or whether, like the white laborers of New York, they shall be per- mitted to enjoy the rights of freemen, the right of educa- tion for their children, and @ reasonable compensation for their labor? (Applause. ) Mr. Underwood then closed his speech by an earnest appeal to his fellow citizens present to rally a8 one man io yee — election w the support of the republican cket. After ringing by a Glee Club, and speeches from several other gentlemen, the meeting ad, about half past eleven o’clock, the enthusiasm which marked the remaining in f the mecting tiheskee The Spirit of the Campaign ef 1840 in the ‘West, INDIANA RATIFICATION OF FREMONT AND DAYTON AT INDIANAPOLIS—- IMMENSE GATHERING OF THE PEOPLE- GREAT ENTHUSIASM. [Correspoudence of the Cincinnati Gazette.) InpiaxaPous, July % 1856. ‘This day—the day of the Indiana State ri ‘meeting—was uahered in with the of cannon and ober demoustrations. About 9 o’clock the extra trains began to po@r ‘n their thousands. One train on the La- fayette road was drawn by three locomotives, and bed seventy fivecars. Ths is only a fair sample of a number of others op other roads. At 10 o’clock the streets were full of Fremont men, moving towards the State House square, where the pro- cession was formed, under the 1g officers:— GRAND MARSHAL, owning, They marched up Now York hag Hang thence to East: street (eight squares), thence down to Washington, and thence along Washington to the State House square, ‘The procession was from four to six deep, very close. and they returned to the court house before the counties were done forming in ranks. byt? of the dele- gations got it for their tarn in the Procession, When these met and started off in pia ae, the large procesaion, or each r as they frequently did ere | completely filled the wide streets. About 12 o'clock the city presented a curious of streets Billed with processions moving in all directions. ‘The Indianapolis ¢e egation Off in the procession. The pumber of bands of music, decorated cars, of ban- hers and transparencies, | attempted to cagnt—but gave up in despair. 1 can notice only a few of them. Jo the Indianapolis delegation, was a c by In el was acar drawn by six white horses and containing 82 girls dressed ja whi with garlands around their heads, representing the 3: States and Kansas. The inscription on the car was “* sition to old Rachelors.’’ Kansas was repesented by a fair haired iw © girl, sitting in the extreme end of the car, and with her white dress draped with black orape. ar weaeane Presented a beautiful spectacie, with ther bi goxeamer dresses—bare arms: They were ali shaded by ents Sten erg cence sun sl u her neck and arms.” et TUK CAR OF PERRY TOwManr, ‘This was drawn by twenty-two horses, two abreast, and contained I don't know many people. RANNEKS AND DECORATIONS. Some of the banners were very large and beautiful. The white stripes in many of them were stained with bloed; nother, Buchanan renouncing his and becoming the 'm; another, Douglas “We will subdue you.’? The Indianapolin delegation ‘rolled. in dol rol an immense some eighteen feet in diameter, through or was fixed on ap axle, and drawn along okt hand Gre engines. Ia surface was jocomotive and train of cars, and with se “We are rolling on,” “Kansas must ree.” ware in » with decoratons and trantyarencies, wiih mowoee ints German language. Teapnot attempt to estimate this immense crowd. The Thad intended to give some account of the ne tl arrived at Union ‘but they came thick one might as we'l undertake to of a swarming hive. Beside, they arrived — oe iu every <a oye so that fs me ve anything like « de! gations. : the estimates are in thoueand. oeonrnran ete A ORDER ROFPA ). A rather novel spectacle, which has bean exiiintory all the principal streets of the city this a%ern- tent ng t's, cate, with it, two « ° hundred of the fun loving determined to get oe i = termed border ruffian procession”) Tiny ingly din the streets about four o'clock made a decided ‘ sensation." Tthink it was Dr. Johnson who detiond hie gledy as ‘a miscellaneous conglomeration « neovs matter,” and th fo them with & good de nition will ¢ ’ Many of them weep