life had anything to do with an anti-Slavery party until after Fort Sumter fell, you will understand that I am no old time anti-Slavery fanatic, undertaking to harangue you this afternoon. I am telling you the sober truth when I say to you, that nothing on earth is assailing your country this hour but the institution of Southern Slavery. When, then, you hear any one talk about the "damned Abolitionists," you may know that he is a traitor or Copperhead.

And now the question is, whether we shall suffer Slavery to destroy our Constitution and our Union, or whether we shall destroy it? For my part, I say he deserves double damnation who hesitates one moment on that point. And now, when you go home, put your finger on every beggarly politician who attempts to convince people that the "damned Abolitionists" have got up this war, and just wipe him out, so that he will never be heard of again as long as you live, or he lives either. You will find such scattered about all through the loyal States. The Lord only knows how many there are in this crowd; for I am very sure that they have too much impudence to have accepted my invitation to leave the premises before I began to talk about them. Look at their complexion. It is not that of a white man. It is not that of a poor negro. It is copper, copper, copper all over! They belong to the meanest class of reptiles that crawl in the woods-the Copperhead. And I have a strong notion, that if we could institute a full investigation into the history of the case, we should find that it was one of them that betrayed our mother Eve in the garden of

Eden. And now I'll tell you what to do with such. To use a homely phrase, "scotch him!" That is, take a forked stick, and pin him with it by the neck to the ground, and leave him there to lash his tail about, as much as he pleases. His fangs will be of no use any

more.

But that is only half your work. It is what you have to do here at home. But there is a greater work than that to be done in the South; and it calls for all the power, all the energy, all the resources, all the bravery, and all the constancy of the American people, from this time forth, until the jubilee shall sound for a nation triumphant over its intestine foes. And I am sure you will do that work.

There has been talk about Northern men resisting a draft, if one should be ordered. I tell those men who dream of such resistance, that whenever the Conscription law is put into execution, and they attempt to resist it, it were better for them that they had never been born. It has taken the Northern people a long time to be educated up to the demands of this terrible exigency; but in the face of defeat and disaster-in the face of the Copperhead election triumphs that disgraced some Northern States last year-in the face of every discouragement, the sentiment of the American people for the preservation of their Union and Government, at every hazard and every sacrifice, is now far in advance of what it has ever been at any time since the outbreak of the rebellion. And it is marching on, glory, and to the utter

marching on, to victory and to destruction of all who stand in its way.

But every man must become a man of iron. Away with your puling nonsense about Conservatism ! What patriot wants conservatism, in this day, of anything but that glorious flag, and the mighty nationality it represents? Do you think that your noble Constitution has no innate power to maintain itself, that Copperheads must become its conservators? All that I have to say to you is, that when you go, in your way, to spending your energies in conservatism of the Constitution, you are spending them in the conservation of this damnable rebellion. We want no such help in maintaining the Constitution; nor do we want such men as you at the helm of the ship of State in these stormy days. We want iron men; and not men of cold iron either; but men of hot iron, burning bright with patriotism, and fired with every impulse that can give strength, force, and elevation to the American character. And we will have them. We want no more men to manage public affairs, who are so desperately afraid of hurting Slavery, or offending its advocates. We want no politicians, looking to the time of the Union's restoration, and wondering if they can't then get the Southern vote to help them along in something, and commend themselves to Southern lordlings, by being able to say, “Oh, I never was a Radical against you-I was always a Conservative."

For my part, I reject and despise every impulse of that kind, and every man that entertains it. He and I stand the antipodes of each other-I wrapped around, from head to foot, with my country's flag; he cover

ing half his face with his country's flag, and half with the flag of rebeldom. We want no such men. We want in every position men of true and earnest stamp. We want locomotive men, not stage-coach men. We want men with go-ahead in them. We want men who have the fire burning within them. We want men who have steam-power at their command. We want, when we strike, that every blow shall be a blow that tells-every movement a movement that crushes rebels. Woe betide the man that holds back one single atom from consecrating himself and his all to his country's good! Woe to that politician who trifles with the great interests of this nation for the sake of his party! Woe to him who would dishonor himself with any emotion of his heart, or movement of his hand, in favor of the rebellion which has so deeply cursed us!

Let us be all that Let us not fail to carry

deepest conviction, that fight in this rebellion is

Let us, my friends, improve this auspicious occasion. Let us be, here, what we ought to be everywhere, and what I doubt not the great mass of you are, living and earnest patriots. our country demands of us. with us, on all occasions, the the only enemy we have to the institution of SLAVERY. When the whole people shall come to understand this great truth,-when every man shall see that every other man is fully imbued with it, then will come our day of deliverance. Then, too, a halo of glory will encircle the Continent, which shall be seen brightly glowing in the long vista of future ages.

IMMEDIATE EMANCIPATION

IN MISSOURI.*

Mr. DRAKE introduced into the Convention the following resolution :

"Resolved, That it is expedient that an ordinance should be passed by this Convention, providing as follows:

"First. For the emancipation of all slaves in this State on the first day of January, A. D. 1864:

"Second. For the perpetual prohibition of negro Slavery in this State, from and after that date :

"Third. For a system of apprenticeship of the slaves so emancipated, for such period as may be sufficient to avoid any serious inconvenience to those interests with which slave labor is now connected, and to prepare the emancipated blacks for complete freedom:

"Fourth. For submitting said ordinance to a vote of the people for their ratification or rejection, on the first Monday of August next."

Upon this resolution Mr. DRAKE spoke as follows: The intention of presenting this resolution is to ascertain, as soon as practicable, the sense of this body

*A speech delivered in the Missouri State Convention, June 16, 1863.