Farmers' gazette, and Cheraw advertiser. [volume], June 07, 1842, Page 322, Image 2

About Farmers' gazette, and Cheraw advertiser. [volume] (Cheraw, S.C.) 1839-1843

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b"r<a, ought not to 'jrj received" All ah- I
oh.ion petitions are - disrespectful and!
insulting to cv.^v placeholder, hw! to tlio
JNpresentalivtu* ol every slnv<;hohling I
community on this floor. Whether so j
expressed, o;- not, they all based upon j
the most injurious assumption*. flow i
can you roorj ofVectually insult the RepTrsentr-tiyt?
s of the slave-holding S'ates
than hy Ye^rescntinjj our constituents hod
ouridws to he in the daily and and consltftt
!?ej- pet ration of "a crimo tlr.l in?st
brs-n^ jovvu tins just judgments m Uul :
upor hs?"
?ut perhaps wo should he tolerant to
tCfne. abolitionists, and, although tne *-21st |
rule is c< nstilutiunal, a grew to receive and J
refer theii petitions. We have lrvxjucntly
l)pftn t?<hi ihot tiiey are philanthropists,
who nave wo intent on to excite our staves
to- insurrection, hut only to convince
? - * * - t*
their masters trial it ij? meir mm 10 uoer- ;
ate ami admit them Jo the privileges of'
cifizeus. This argument inav do very
well fur a philanthropist of the abolition
school, hut certainly not fur a statesman.
J/et us inquire, if it he possible to do so i
.seriously, what would be the consequence i
of adopting o bright a scheme ! Eri- |
dently, the extermination of the African;
or European race in the present slave, j
holding States, or a vile amalgamation
that would conveit our population into a j
drove of mulattues. Let the philunthro- j
pists who can sec no distinction in color,
thus, if they think proper, stain their pos j
teritv; but the morals of {\\Z Svl'.t;". r.i'u
formed ot different materials, and Southem
phidc vvdl never stoop to this. No,
sir ; rather let u& endure the horrors of a :
m'rvilQ War, urged on hy British cmissa- i
A murii.iir? fr?nnlir\i? rather let
urs ti mi .nii&nvun ,
the plains of the South he drenched in '
blond; rather let her villages and cities >
and farm-houses smoke in ruins, with
'heir present hnpnv population buried !>o- ;
neuth them ; in short, rather let the negro J
race rule from the Susquehanna to the |
Sabine, than submit to so foul a degradation.
Hut why do I draw this picture?:
(t can never he realized. There is one
question, and one only, which lies at the
bottom of this subject, and (hat is, tlio j
dissolution of the Union. And tn relation
to ihat, I say, rather let the Union he
dissolved, even if with it the last hope of
political liberty should pciish from the j
luce of the eai tli !
To a casual observer it must appear
ludicrous to treat the movements of these
wild enthusiasts with serious notice. Let
fhom nluiie, say some wcii-meanrng gentlemen
on this floor. Do not allow them '
to strengthen their cause by involving it
with the right of petition, and the flame
which they have enkindled will soon ex. i
pire of its own accord. Lot their peti- i
lions* he received and debated, and their
impracticable projects will vanish before
the light of reason as the mists of the
morning before ihc full-orhod sun.
Have von read history, Mr. Chairman,
with so little observation as to listen for a
i ." i : : ? ti. ? :. i
T-,?, lMCXMvr ,?< (t'nmtvu ;
torv of all ages shows that reason is no
rualdii for fanaticism. Fanaticism is a ;
fury, lashing with the whip of scorpions,
the passions, fears, and terror str.cki n
consciences of her devotees. 1i reason
was a match for fanaticism, where would [
he the absurdities with which humanity !
is outraged ? where would he the false
idolatrous worship with which the world !
is filled? where would he the Moody car
of Juggernaut?the Cirand [anna of;
Thibet?the American Ami slavery sou.
elv, or its advocates here !
Mr. CM in tracing the rise and progress
of the Anti-SIuvery Society in this,
country, and in glancing at the agitation I
on the Missouri question, loo If occasion
to condemn the compromise which was.
nf last adopted on that subject as uncun. j
stitutional, and so far as the slaveholdmg '
Stales were concerned unjust. Unconstitutional
because Congress lias no
authority to refuse to a .Stale applying .
for admission into the Union, filer M^ht;,
to incorporate in her constitution any J
institution authorized by the Constitution
of the United States, or enjoyed by any
of the State*. Unjust, so far as the South
is concerned, because it proposes to ,
'confine slavery within particular limits.
thus not only piospectiveiv to.wea-11
ketslhe relative iufiuence of the slaveholding
States in the national councils, ,
but in tffenJ denies to their citizens who
may be slaveholders the privilege of'<
emigrating with their property to any of i
the Territories of the United States north <
of a certain degree of latitude* I
Mr. ('. also alluded to the impulse .
which the Aoti Slavery society received |
in this country from the British W est |
India emancipation acts, which had not <
only prostrated the r*f the West ,
India planters rendered the m-,J fertile j
colonies on the face of the earth COM- 1
paratjvclv unproductive, and conferred !
' O -,.1... O i .
incalculable evil on trie siavo*
\\ho, released from the control of their I
masters, better for them than the control <
of the law, are retrograding in morals j ,
and civilization ; but is represented upon j
tin; authority of the Iiritish Review, I
already rpu>tcd. as having doubled the (
African slave trade ii> extent, and uuadru- ' <
pled n in horrors. 1 j
This respectable Review is not onlv i
one of the ablest periodicals in the world, j |
but it is also one ?.l the altlcsi supporters |
<?f the principles* of tho Reel Administra- (
iron. And although tlie present .Ministry I <
inav find it impracticable to restore ! t
England to the condition from which she , t
?
has been reduced by the unwise moasuics ,
of their predecesso s, which has. not only j !
destroyed lior most valuable colonics, uui i \
nurtured a s[mr t mnon<r the masses at , |
home, bcoe.ttiii w huso-iuiluence her t<me-i t
honored institution;* iunv ultimale!\* fall. <
He l?o|)ed they would tu!ve warning from
the example, and at once renounce doe- .?
frines u loch,' however thev may sound in
(heoiv. when inconsiderately introduced : j
?.W.' " " I 'Miwum
intn prartiee, never f.iil to produco disastrous
cflects.
Hmr what Napoleon, a rnnn whose
fame has filled the world, and of whom it
was on 'e trulv said, "that at his approach
competition tied us Iroin the approach ol
destiny," has said on an analogous subject:
4* Had any of vour philosophic Liberals
come out to Kgvpt to proclaim liberty
to the blacks or the Arabs, I would have
bun;; hitn up to the masthead. In the
West Indies similar enthusiasts have delivered
over the whites to the ferocity
of the blacks, and yet they complain of
the victims of such madness hein^discontented.
How is it possible to give liberty
to Africans, when they are destitute of
anv species of civilization, and ignorant
even of what a colony or a mother conn
iry is [ L'<i you suppose that, nau they
lit fii aware of what they were doing;, they
would have given liberty to the blacks?
Certainly not. But few persons at that
tiirie were sufficiently tar sighted to
foresee ttie results; and feelings of humanity
are ever powerful with excited
imaginations. But now, after the experience
we have had, to maintain the same
principles cannot he done in good faith ;
it can he the result only of overweening
self-confidence or hypocrisy,"
Mr, C. spoke of the insignificance of
the Anti-Slavery society, at its first
organization, ten or twelve years ago*
which, at its first meeting, scarcely
numbered a score of men, \voir\en, and
hoys Combined. lumbers were, however,
stimulated by the zeal of mad
enthusiasm, and finding their sentiments
uncongenial with the people of this
country, they sought for and obtained a
foreign influence. They sent their agents
to Kngland, who travelled the kingdom
and denounced in the most unmeasured
terms, and with the vilest epithets, not
the American slaveholders only, hut the
American Colonization Society. And
hero he would mention an Incident,
strongly illustrative of the influence of
these two societies in promoting their
professed ohjec's. 't here resided in his
neighborhood a respectable old bachelor,
(if an old bachelor can he respectable,)
a conscientious good man. who, by a long
life of industry and frugality, had accumulated
considerable property. This
cnntlomnn wn*. fho tuvnpr of nlitvit fortv
o - - -- ^
slaves, nil of* whom, under (he auspices of
the Colonization Society, he liberated
and sent to Liberia ; where, so far as he
was informed, they are still, living happily
and extending the influence of riviiization
and religion in the land of their
fathers. But, mark the change which
took place in the sentiments of this good
man! A few years afterwards tho antislavery
society was organized and commenced
spreading its incendiarv publications.
Meetings were called at the
South. Slavery, as it exists among us,
wan discussed in all its relations. T o^e
who felt uncomfortable as slaveholders,
hid liieir compunctions removed; and
this very gent einan, who had liherated all
his slaves, again purchased same
description of property to the number of
about twenty; held them in bondage
while lie lived, and left them, by legacy,
to distant relations.
Mr. C. also spoke of the (English emissaries
who had been sent to this country,
commencing with (he vagabond Thompson
and ending wifh the notorious Sturge;
all of them no doubt paid with Ktiglish
?old to sow the seeds of dissension among
us. He did not say that any of these
emissaries were secret agents of the
British (fovomment. He did not, indeed,
believe that they were. But still it was
not impossible ; for, notwithstanding her
admirable situation for a naval power, and
her present naval superiority, Unghind is
not blind to the growing importance of
tiie marine of this counh v, and many npprebend,
if this Union continues, that
the time is not distant wh^n we may
wrest from her grasp the trident which
she has so long borne over every sea.
He need net refer the reader of modern
. a A* __ r
history to the fact, that during a tune or
peace hot ween Kngland and Denmark,
Lord Nelson, acting under the sccrtt
orders of his Government, given in violatorn
of national faith,attacked and almost
entirely d ?stroved the navy of Denmark,
then lying at anchor in the port of her
capital. And v\ns it impossible, indeed
was it improbable, if actuated now by
similar counsels, that the British Government
may, from simitar motives, send
secret agents to this country for the
purpose of sowing tho seeds of dissension
among us. NVe know, at all events,
[hat tl?e abolitionists have within the last
Few months openly raised the standard of
disunion.
Does not the suggestion of n foreign
influence receive strong corroboration
From tho World's Convention, held a
ilttie more titan a vear ago at London, at
? ^
which presided Prince Albert, (lie hussand
of her Britannic Majesty, the King
:onsort of Lngland, and to which the
Ainer::-an A::1.: ifltivcry society sent dele*
^ates, who openly did all in their power
fo excite prejudice against their own
:ountry. Americans, said Mr. C., who
:an thus unite themselves with a foreign
niluence to overthtow our institutions,
ire not merely errorists in opinion and
. ana ties in religion, but tliey are enemies
o the Constitution, and traitors to the
munfrv ; and I call upon the patriotism
jf the North hs well as oi the South to
mite in checking this hydra treason in
O ?
he hud.
i><it leaving out of consideration for the
present tlie tieasonahle connexion which
[Iris society has formed with an inimical
Foreign inthience, I will proceed to show
hat some such rule as the one wnich the
renllemaii has denoiinccd us ririvin"
. ^
this Union to it* dissolution" is ncccs
iarv !'<>r it* jweservhliiju.
The Anti-Slavery Swicty which corn ic:i~eti
ten cr twelve years with ^
? -in > y? n .im ?
small, a beginning, we were informed bv
a gentleman from Geotgia, (Mr. King, at
the extra session, who read from aholition
publications.) numbered as early a-i
183S upwards of thirteen hundred auxiliry
societies in thirteen States, thirteen ol
I which were State societies. The gen!
tloman from Pennsylvania (Mr. C. J.
' Ingersoil) informed us a few days afterwards
that they probably amounted ?l
that time to two thousand. Let this,
however, he as it may, we know that it
; has tne command of funds to a great
extent, and that it regulates and control;
1 a press which issues more slander against
11ho South than is probably published in
: the entire South on all subjects whatever.
I Almost every mail brings intelligence
j sufficient to convince us that it has enlisted
not merely thousand- of the weafc
and i gnorant in an unholv crusade against
our i n Kill t hAnOfi nrlu *vP i txor
{ "ul wu, iiiMiioniiiiii ui uuici liiiiikt.
' spirits, who, reckless of consequences, ar*
; driving on to the accomplishment of then
'purposes; that it already has sufficient
influence not to throw the South only, hui
the whole Union into violent commotion
; that it is of sufficient importance to hi
| courted by a powerful political party ir
the non-slaveholding States; and that il
commands a fulcrum upon which it
wielded three of the most powerful &gonh
. in the conduct of human affairs-? fanatl
cism, -in(^ pi ess.
If we are true to ourselves, there ma)
be but little danger. If tho Rcpresenta
; lives of the South present an unhroker
phalanx, and determine that, come wca
come wo, the rights of their constituent!
! to hold their property shall not be discus
' i sed on this floor, there may be but little
' i danger. But if we are divided, we wil
I discourage our friends at the North, If r
! portion of us insist that we shall fold qui
I arms in indolent socurity, and depeni
upon our battles being fought by others
if wc allow this House to be convertet
info an auxiliary abolition society, undei
r the shsitt/w pretext th{\t all they want i.
, t441lie right of petition," lhet'0 U danger th<
I most imminent.
What are the most prominent dangers
i First, from I he increasing influence o
this society, which may ere long contro
' the elections at the North, there isdangei
J to the Union,
Is there a man here with heart so deal
j as not to feel grateful that his lot ha;
.: been cast in this land of liberty ? Is then
j one hero with spirit so humble as not t(
feel proud that he is a citizen of a oountr)
whoso Government is the admiration
whose growth and prosperity are th<
wonder, of tlie world? whose stars anc
stripes are home in triumph over ever)
sen, and ensure respect to the American
name in the most distant parts of the
earth?-?a country which, great, and g!o.
rious. and powerful as she is. is, if tlii*
Union continues, but an infant Hercules
in the cradle.
Although it may not he wise in us tr
indulge the hop? ?lmt oar Republic wiT
he exempt from the common fate cJ
nations?although, itic unwel,
viciion mav force itself u}yin oui
' minds that our admirable system of Gov.
I eminent is destined ultimately to meel
j the fate of all other human institutions
I it is certainly legitimate to hope that,
t when ages vet to conic shall have rolled
' their course in the tide of time, the politi;
cal liberty and Union of these States will
! still continue.
j L;t our aspirations, however, for the
; Union he as fervent as they may, this is a
j question which we cannot yield, even il
; that greatest of all political evils except
j the loss of nnr liberty should he the certain
consequence?the dissolution of the
Union, No, s;r; let us difTer as we may
upon the subject of receiving abolition
petitions, every man who treads on Southt
ern soil is prepared to rally under the
standard of Southern lights; and, if the
t hour of trial should ever come, which
God grant it never may, no citizen of a
slaveholuing State can doubt his duty,
| and lie who does not endeavor to perform
it will he a coward or a traitor. If this
Government, which was intended for the
protection and henctit of all, should ever
unhappily be made thy channel through
which the institutions of the slnveholding
states are assailed, and the peace of our
firesides invaded, it is certainly nut necessary
to point out the course which self!
nrnonrf'jtlfin W ill 114 (ft J1 flont. If
| J/IUOUI * 'tliwii " in v?? | v *? ? ? ? * ??- |
j our Northern brethren shnil, ever by the
. habitual agitation of this question on this
i lloor, drive us from their embraces, the
South will turn to the South ; she will
j open her arms, and that young Republic,
now rising beyond our Southern border
i with institutions like our own, will rush
i into her embrace. And thus, instead of
; the supposed evil which the excited
imaginations of gentlemen have conjured
J1 this <lCW;ire, "of (he annexation
?f Texas to the Union," Texas will be
united to the Southern portion of the
| Union. How far this Southern Confed!
oracv mi?'ht he extended beyond the limits
!?r IVxas I will not undertake to estimate,
I because I will mako no estimato basod
iij)on the occurrence of an ovont so abhor,
rout to my feelings as a disruption in the
present farriilv of political sisters.
The next danger to which I w ill advert,
] from admission of abolition petitions by
this House, is one of a physical charac
I ter.
I heliovo that our slaves arc as light*
j hearted a race ??f beings as there u to be
| found on the face of the earth, They
are. I think, generally pretty well
; contented wills their condition, and will
I probably remain so until taught different;
ly hv the officious intermeddling of those
who, whcth'T i^norantly or hypocritically,
would most cruelly ppuv?:j?t into a galling
! yoke th <t servitude which they have
i hitherto borne with cheerfulness. Tim
slaves of the Sj^th in general appear to
I entertain for their masters and their fnmi- ' f
lies not only respect and esteem, hut c
, i sincere friendship. They, however, exist a
i among us a separate raec, and are capable , c
, I of being converted into our deadliest f
f I enemies. jt
It would, sir, he indelicate to alludeTo a |<
| danger to the brave constituency ropre- 1 1
! sen toil on this floor bv tlie gentlemen j '
I ] from the sluvoholding States, if the ' y
i ! 1
danger was one that could he repelled by j'
M ii_ 1. : 1,, 11, 1 r
g,l|ii!l>il V It noij iMinutci) uiu uj'wu
I enemy, hut the midnight murderer, of!*
' ! whom I speak. From generally concert- j <
led, extensive insurrections, we have!'
| # ' la
nothing to Pear; hut the scene which was | y
, witnessed in Southampton, Virginia, in ' |
1 the district represented by my friend, Mr, j,
Wise, in 1831, is sufficient to convince !(
I us of the tragedies that may he perpotra-11
1 ted in particular neighborhoods hy a few j (
J deluded, bloodthirsty wretches. Upon i
r, that occasion there were less than fiftv i <
.
t i slaves engnfjed ; and in a single nijjht,! i
0 O ' O O ' j
t j in a sparsely-settled nc:ghborhoo l, there ;:
> were about fifty murders?the father, the I <
! j mother, and bain? being involved in an in1
j discriminate butchery, :
f} I will not insult the gentleman
j aOili Massachusetts, (Mr. Adams,) not. j I
: withstanding the inconsiderate cxpres- f i
' i ' i
j sions which he has more than once used I
r 1 on this floor, by asking if, in his estima-'s
. I tion, there is any attribute of the 1) ity, i
i j or any principle of humanity or religion,; i
I which would have impelled hint to have, |
? I aided these deluded wretches in pcrpetra-!
I ting this horrid massacre? or whether, if,;
; i in his power, lie would not have been I
' compelled, as a patriot, a man, and a [
1 j Christian, to have aided in suppressing h
J J thorn, and in asserting the supremacy of!
law ? I will not ask the gentleman to
j J reply. My own heart has already an- ?
r, swered for him. And yet ho must know
41 that a repetition of such scenes is one of;
, the nrobablo consequences which must :
' I ? 1
} result from the cruel delusions which |
? such incendiary expressions arc calculated '
f to produce on our slnvos, as well as from ^
I the consideration of abolition petitions
r hero,
1f, however, we believe the anti-slavery '
I advocates, they would not purchase the email-j
s cipalion of the blacks by the murder of the j
, whites. K'n'h tender.hearted gentlemen, !
} j pity it is that you 6hould be so misrepresen j
I led! 13ul in an account which was published '
{ some yea.a ago by the National Intelligencer '
' j of an attempt made by a slave in this city to !
' ( murder his own mistress, a .Mrs. Thornton,!
I 1 and who, all the lime that ho was engaged '
r | in his hellish attempt, was repeating a pub- ;
i j lication which lie had learned from an anti- j
, - slavery paper, and which by its appeals to I
' j hie passions had turned him frantic?ir; the (
j adJress which I he abolitionists have recently
' inade, not to the masters but to the slaves ot
' j the United States?and in resolutions which I
they have adopted at various of their meet>
ings, we have some evidence of the truth of
| this declaration. Vile slanderers of the citi-j
r; sen reputation of the South, we believe you J
not; but, in your hypocri'ioal Jtones, we recug|
nise the bay of the bloodhound titrating uur
own blood. |,
As a specimen of such meetings as have
t shrown off all reserve, I w ill quote a part of M
t the proceedings unanimously adopted li at a |'
meeting of the Liber y I'artv, lied December
| 'J9th, 1?41, at the town of Williamsburg, .
I Kings county, New York:" 11
* Whereas we believe that Arneuean s'av- (
1 ery is contrary to aii Divine law, and thai, lo j '
use the words of John West ley, it is the sum !
of all villany;' Therefore, j i
u Itesolved, That should the siaves at the I |
^ I South endeavor to gain their natural r glitn L
and liberty, peaceable if they can, forcibly if |
; ; they must, we should not feel hound to aid in t
J extinguishing the sacred 11.tine; but, in me ;
k | words of the nnble-heartcd Democrat, VVil-j y
, Jiam Leggot, 4we would pray that the bailie (
might go wjth the oppressed." | \
i "Whereas the slave power, by striking ( s
down rhe right of petition, lynching citizens r
of the free North, breaking ojien the mails,
! and passing inspection and other arbitrary
'laws, is making coniiiiuaj cricreaciiments j '
! upon the liberty of the Slates: Therefore,
u Revived, That it is high lime that these '
| things should cease, for the time is fast Hp. s
proachmg when slavery must be abolished, c
I by peaceable means, uR " ;
Because we refu e to allow resolutions and
pe itions of this character fo be received by jv
, fittf Hh'.i/Ct 18 \{ HQt monstrous that the gen- ! tlemen
from Massachusetts should endeavor '"
to excite the prejudices of our brethren of the f
nonslaveholding Slatesjagainst usjby constant- i <
ly declaring that the rights of the North are I J
-s I
; outraged, and that we are by the 4421st ru e I c
i driving this Union to its dissolution ?" How j
J much better would it become huR to use his i
great weight of chaiacter in endeavoring to i
soothe instead of exciting sectional prejudices |
I Why will he persist in agitating this subject, *
I when he has it in his power by a different I f
course to become almost the 44 second Saviour t
of hiJ country;" and, instead of being cxecra- j j
ted bv a portion, to have Ins memory em- j f
balmed in ..the grateful recollections of the I
i Peoole of :i!! the States, North and South?
Having, as I tnink,?Ui?cp$$fu"y shown that ^
the gentleman is wrong in his unqualified denunciation
of the 2lst rub*, I will now pro- u
j cevd to show th^t the prejudice so frequent- c
i i . ??,! r\tImrs fn ho OX. r
ily attempted uy inuwvi. ohm Vv..~,- , .
cited against tin* institution, upon tue ground (
that iris inconsistent with the principles of f
our Government, is equally unfounded.
That the expressions used in the Declaration
of I ndependoirco that ** all tnen are by
nature equal," Stc. when mlended to have no 1 '
reference whatever to our slave population, is 11
evident from the fact that slavery existed .n ' r
thia country at the lime that declaration was j
made; ami ?lU? fruia flic fact that I hope who (
adopted it wore themselves slaveholders.
The battles ?f the Uevolntion were no iqoro I,
, fought for our slaves, nor have I hey under j
j our Government any more political rights, i 1
: than they would have il still wander ng over!
| the burning plains of Jfrica, j r
So far from this institot on being urcongen- j
' ial with a Republican Government, it is more J |
useful in such a Govermu<'nt tiian in any other; ' j
for, as paradoxical as it ma v appear on a su- !
perticial view, it is nevertheless capable of j
j demonstration tint domestic slavery produces r
equality ami nurtures a spirit of liberty among i '
the citizen population of a r.ouiitry. Whore . I
domestic slavery'docs not exist, rn.etiial; s
and domestic offices are peiformed by :1 t
! portion of the poor among tl?c citizen pop- j.<j
j ulution, and this JcgruJufbu of a few uf- j I
ects the rc.spccfahilititv nf the en:ire
lass to which they belong. The pin>r
101I the rich thus bocomo divided into
dasses, and ?hc freohorn and Inhering
>oor, although perhaps more virtuous than
heir ?i?*l? neighbors, are treated as infcri>rs.
I know that this evil is less porcep.
ible in the notislavcholding States of this
Union thill) in any other jiart of the
voiId where this institution does not exist,
>ecause the duties of domestic servants
ire in ih*on performed to a great extent
>y colored people. I will, however, ask
he gentlemen of the iionslaveholding
Stales, it' (his inequality of classes does
lot exist even among them to an extent
.vliich precludes the poor farmer and laboring
mechanic oftho privilege of nsso
bating with the wealthy upon terms of
equality. ? Whether, in other words, the
joor are not only excluded upon tern s of
jquality at the tables and parlors of the
rich, hut whether, if in their hours of re.
rcation, t icy visit the premises of their
icli neighbors, they are not compelled to
tssociale with hostlers, cow wenches,
^tianitbcrinaids, and bootblack-.?
[? ' re several gentlemen from the non.
slavcholding States dissented.]
iMr. C. proceeded. This state of
things, it is true, may not exist in the
neighborhoods of particular gentlemen,
but it is to some extent the necessary
state of society where domestic slavery
Joes not exist; and I will ask if such a
state of society is congenial wtth the
principles of a Government based on the
broad foundation of equality in its citi
/.on population ?
Equality among its citizens!* the cornor-stonc
of a lie-public; si ml (ho spirit
nfindependence which equality produces
ami cherishes is Hie vestal that fans the
lire that burns on the alter of Liberty ?
And I defy contradiction when 1 say that
an entire exemption from the perform,
a nee ofmonial and degrading olfices pro.
duces equality, and nurtures a spirit o!
independence in the citizen population ol
a country. L Imund Burke, one of tin
most philosophic statesmen that tin
world has ever produced, when ndvocn
tin'r in the British Parliament, in 17To
~ w
a conciliatory course towards this conn,
try, made allusion to this tendenoy ol
domestic slavery. Ill speaking of its in
flue nee on "tiu? then Southern Ainericai
colonies, now the Southern States of the
glorious old thirteen, he said, "the haugh
tiness of domination comhines with th<
spirit of freedom, fortifies i', and render?
it invincible," It is this influence, s>
combined with another cause, which wr
have seen so fully exemplified in our owr
history, and which has so often sounded
the t?*eein in the sta velmMirtg Suites,
when the course ofeventshas threatened
danger to the Constitution through the
exercise of undelegated powers l?y the
Federal head.
Domestic slavery is not only denounced
as anii-rcpublican, hut it is also con.
donincd >s irreligious Not only has the
gentleman from Massachusetts pronoun,
ced it a "sin and a misfortune," hut I
have seen resolutions adopted at anlislavery
meetings, declaring that it was a
*' h I on Christianity to say that a slaveliolder
can he a Christian."
As I have already remarked, wo are
not sent here to convert this Ii<tII into a
hoologicaI seminary, or to discuss ques.
ions of rcl:gi??n an I morality; hut ns such
Vequent allusions have been made to the
4 st) of slavery." as it is called, with a
row, I presume, of alarming the cotisci:ncos
of our constituents, I will ask in
vhat ago of the world, in what state of
looietv, under what religions dispensation.
>r under what form of government, ha*
davcry not existed ? In every ago of
iio world, since our (wironts wi re driven
nit of the garden of M ien?in every state
>f society where man has made the lirst
dej) in the march of civilization?under
ivcrv form of government, patriarchal,
nonarcliical, aristocratic, or republican ?
inJcr every religious dispensation, Pafan,
Jewish, Mahomed in, or Christian?
irder the Jewish Theocracy in imperial
lonio, in democratic Creecc?undet the
lespotisms of Asia, the monarchies of
Europe, and the republics of North Amcri a,
domestic slavery has existed.
Domestic slavery not only existed, hut
t existed in its most absolute form, at the
ime and under the government that our
saviour was born, lived, and was cru :i
ied; tho master having not on'y the right
o the personal services of his slave, hut
he right to take his life, without any
orin of trial whatever: a right which was
icld so sacred, that it was uncontrollable
iven by the authority of the Roman Emicror,
and remained uncontrolled by hunan
law more than s'.xfy years arter the
:ommencement of the Clatstian era. when
ho inhuman practice of exposing slaves
o wild beasts, without permission first
ibtaincd from llic magistrate, was prohibcd.
Sac!) was slavery when our Saviour
iveij, and wlion his first apostles preachfd
his Gospel. Rut although frequently
ecognisod, it is nnwitore forbidden with
n tho lids of the Bible. Among other
hings, to covet your 4* neighbor's man
ervant or his maid servant" is forbidden,
mit slnvcrv now!,ere within (he lids of
he Bible,"
Do men profess to he the xvurkshippera
if the Ainvghtv, nucj to believe that he
ins in merey revealed fits wi(| to (ho Mien
rate of* Adam. and dar? to *ay t'lul il
s imperfectly done?
lint some may think I lint (ho ?fl'den
ule of "doin<; to others as we would that
hey should do unto us*' should he reduced
ileraily into practice. I will not ask
ucli persons t?? " lake the heam out of
heir own eye." I have, however, already
hown that the effects of eirnnorpt tinn at
he South would s;?ecil|!y terminate either
in the extinction of the European or Africa
ii race there. And now I will nak
these wise acres, whether lhc\r awppnae
that frocdo n would he a Jbnon that would
he accepted hv the infirm and old, whr>
in their present condition, are fed, and
' clothed, and sheltered and attended witli
as much care as the young nrnl nWe-bodieel?
Or from what source do they sop:
pose that the mister would he able to
. preserve the feeble and superamnted
i from starvation, if the young and activ?
were liWated? Tim obligations betwee*
the mister and slave are reciprocal a rut
every slave knows that he has as great a
right to demand from his master a ewns.
I or la hie support in his old age as the rooster
hus to demand from him a modcraW*
degree of labor in his youth.
To judge from the situation of the negro
race in Africa, as described by all
: travellers, no man of candid mind can
I doubt that our slaves have been benehltcd
I>y tho exchange. Tlmir situation is not
only better than that of tho nbjeet Afri?
ran negro in bis nntivo land, laboring
[ der tho most savage barbarism and jhfgra.
I ding superstitions thai ever felt|*f??l the
, imagination or corrupted the heart, but (
doubt if they do not constitute the best
provided for laboring class on the Pace of
: the en th, except only the white laboring
people < f o ir own country, where lands
are still happily so cheap that they are
easily procured by the frugal and indti*.
trious. Their situation will certainly
compare advantageously with that of the
starvmg country men of the Irish demagogue,
notwithstanding that he lias prn.
nouaced us "the felons of the human
race" for allowing this institution to exist
on o'jrsail. I do not know a slave that
. Hj pear- to he in want of tho sulvatantial
comforts of life, and I scarcely know on?
that does not appear to he contented with
, his cond lion. liv this institution they
; have been rescued from the dark cloud of
ignoranco and superstition which over.
i .-diudows hunightrd Africa. By it they
' have l>ecn converted from savages inlo
I civilised lutings; many of Ihnn from Pa*
t gnni.sm to Christianity; all of them from
t the grossest idolatry to a knowledge of
.; the true God, Cnn y<?u doubt that they
f have been hem fitted by the exchange?
I have never visited Europe, but I havo
j- s< c;i pictures <>f the distress, of the HufT-r.
ing co:id''?on of much of her population*
; that wou'd draw tears of omnpassioQ front
' our very slaves Wrinhaa not nwd, hy
' f evrrv arrival from Great B itain for th?
I i-1 v?ar, 'he most heart rending account*
:! of th< frightful distress prevai'ing amang
' the poor in her manufacturing district",
? where hundreds and thousands of out
f ilow creatures are suffering for the want
i of bread? In the language of their own
I papers. 44 The means of employment
, taken away, the doors of the workshop
| i closed in insolvency, and the gates of the
, [ factory chained fast by bankruptcy, star..
vaiion meets the fathers of ?!????
j they return to their hoinrs, and if they
I lly from the cries of their childrt n to seek,
relief abroad, there is (fought to greet
; them in the streets hut despair." * In many
I parts of the kingdo n, persons are said to
f he actually dving of starv r oi.
The uholi hoists of Great Britairi
m y unite wit i the abolitionisms or (hi*
I country in shading crocodile tears over
the funciod saffrinps of the A'ricnn race,
1 when I compare the si tint ion of our well.
; for1, contented slaves, with the furnishing
j coid t on of the millions of their country
men who are without employment or th?
means of support, it appears to me that
theio is much more occasion fur their
| sympathies at home. In view of tho
condition of thiifgs existing there, it ap.
Dears to me that a system in which th?
liw and humanity both combine to en.
j sure a comforlahlc support to the laborer
f when he is no longer able to work, is at
least as consonant with the principles of *
i justice and humanity as that which en\.
ploys iiiin for a hate subsistence as Ion#
: as his labor is profi able to the employer,
and (hen turns him out tu starve,
; 1 fed that ( owe seme apology to th?
1 committee for having occupied so much
I nFifu i.rrm m auswciinu incidental re
" *' ' o
ina'kaof the gentleman from Massachusetts
upon subject* no irrelevant to the
question before, ifi b^t remarks of the
1 same character have so Of<'qiiently been,
j made by the gentleman and ulhera wilb*
j out reply, that 1 determined oo k>Mge; t<X
I remain a silent spectator. Smue gentle*
| men may think that I have taken e.\treqrio
i positions; hut I have given to the subject
much consideration, and have said noth*
ng in the course of my remarks that I
would, if in my power, recall.
There are still other remarks of tho
gentlemin upon which [ am disposed Iq
j ton :h; but as several gentlemen are
| dently anxious to he heard in reply to
him, and as the debate must, under the
rule of the House, soon touuiivMe* I W>U
yield the floor to another. Defore I do ao^
i however, permit me to return my thank*
| to those patriotic gentlemen from the
! non-slaveholding States who have hither*.
; to done all in their powc to prevent this
I body being made the channel ofincendu
' M'i-sfn between the abolitionists of tliQ
: Xo' Ih and the slaves of the South. (
' 1 * -1 a in ifnll.dnirm.
OXIlfir^ UJKIJI 10 |i<.'iacv?;tc ,,, K--,g.
'i'lic permanency of the Tnion depends
l,|!pn WUr maintaining tii?> position which,
1 through their aid, vvc have been enabled *
j tu assipite,
; d\.-yr-There was a part of Mrx
! A da en's speech lowhj ?rli it was my intention
ta havw replied; hut in my unxicty
I not to occupy an undue fn>rtinn of the
f time qlloftcd by a resolution of the House
| to the debate, a nolo which J had taken
and upon which I intended to base the
replv, escaped my observation,
lie had stated in effect that, ** in the
event of any <?f the .*ilaveiiu|din^ State.*
f applying to t.engross to suppress msur,
1 ret lion, C'iiugress^wo.uid obtain full and
. ' ' I