There is a theory in England, believed perhaps by some, half believed
by many more, which is only consistent with original ignorance, or
complete subsequent forgetfulness, of all the antecedents of the
contest. There are people who tell us that, on the side of the North,
the question is not one of slavery at all. The North, it seems, have
no more objection to slavery than the South have. Their leaders never
say one word implying disapprobation of it. They are ready, on the
contrary, to give it new guarantees; to renounce all that they have
been contending for; to win back, if opportunity offers, the South to
the Union by surrendering the whole point.
If this be the true state of the case, what are the Southern chiefs
fighting about? Their apologists in England say that it is about
tariffs, and similar trumpery. _They_ say nothing of the kind. They
tell the world, and they told their own citizens when they wanted
their votes, that the object of the fight was slavery. Many years ago,
when General Jackson was President, South Carolina did nearly rebel
(she never was near separating) about a tariff; but no other State
abetted her, and a strong adverse demonstration from Virginia brought
the matter to a close.
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