Constitutional Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1824-1832, 1832-02-04

avert lfOm our land. III the people were To sur
render To one invasion of a plai1 right, other en-.
actions might soon follow. 70 give up little.
would only hold out aninvtoiion to demand the
remainder
Mr.. Speaker, in the course Of this discussion
many things have been said on both sides, the
expression oil which | sincerely regretted. Not
because they had their origin in uukind or iu-
proper feelings, but bccaHse, il thcy go forth
literally to the world, they may exert unfor-
tunate influence. and lead Ia ns conccplions
abroad, of the dispositions and motives of those
who uttered them. beg leave To advert To
few of those, before | proceed To exhibit the
sta ement have alluded IL, ef the measures
consider called for by cXising emergencies.
My warmhcarlcd and worthy friend from Rock
bulge, (Mr. Moore) in the ardor of debate.
allowed himself To a.lude to tue late glorious
struggle of he Poles for the freedom Of their
count y,-and the course OF the Parisians
IN their celebrated three days revolutions,
IN glowing terms of appreciation, and com
pared the cause in which they were engaged
with TINT which melted II scenes OF blood and
horror the actors in the late Southampton
massacre. | know, Sir, that the gentleman
from RockbrCgc is one of the last who would
willingly stand as ali ally by he side of such IN
ccndiaricS as Garrison * Waiker-& yet he has
used the very idea, and nrarly III the v.ry
rds, VIII ch Is coUspicIously emblaZor-
ci to our slaves by those cXccrab'e pumphl"-
tccTs. Surely tIc.c are not the ILLuMI-
MATT, To whom he gentleman would lock 70,
| that "hmht" which, he says, has come INTO the
| world on this delicate subject. My friend
from Brunswick, (Mr. Ghclson,I yesterday acted
on al idea which | feared, might lead to
misanprchcnson of the grounds which
we (ac!u;ling himsnlf) rest the defence ofthc
! rights We assert. IN an eloquent dissertation
| the Importance Of securing the right OF private
| property, he exclaimed
| ''Who takes that iom me on which life subsss
| flakes life itself"
| A sentiment which he ascribed to ssthe great Po-
ct of Nature" Bat my friend overlooked the
! fact, that Shakespeare has put this expression in
| the mouth of the gripping, coldhcatted, scared
feeling, sordld Shylock. I was gratrfed to OBJ
serve. that he gentleman subsequently, eSsayed
warmer and more generous strain, and assumed
a ground which | regard as much more import
ant. Sir, 1t is not so much the VALUE of the
property you would tear from US, wcghy as
is that consideration, as The PRINCIPLE involved
whlch we regard. Our people arc not sordid in
their feelings, or calculating i'll their habits, when
they do not apprchend wrong. 1t has often oc-
Cured, i'll the revolutions of the commercial
world and the fluctuations in price, to which or:
! staple agricultural productions are exposed, that
n sudden reduction in The value of the proceeds
ofthc labor of these very slavcs-and those pro-
ceeds const tutc the value of the slaves them
selvcs-has deprived their owners of half their
usual income. But who has heard complaint
from them on that acc Nnn'? Generous and dis
Interested, they had rather give YOU half they
POSSESS, than that the smallest portion should he
wrcstcd from them by law less violcuce or reck
less !Cgislat!on. "Millions for Defence but not a
cent for tribute" was noble sentiment, one
winch G'd honor 10 the patriot who uttered it.
and to The country which claimed him 1t is no
otherwise appi opriate to this subject, than as n
striking expression OF the paramount superior ty
OF importance, of principle, over mere money.
heard also, Mr. Speaker, with regret unfivor
able opinions of our brethren of other States ex
pressed perhaps with too mach force and dcnuu
cations lndulgcd III entirely too general, against
the ''YapHccs;' for instance, in consequence of
the Shameless conduct of some few miscrcants
among them, who have endeavored, by incendia-v
publications, to excite our slaves to insurrccton-
Shall we talk of war with our sister States be-
cause Il Garrison Walker may disgrace their
solti am sure gentlemen intended to eonline
their sweeping dcnunciations to the infamous in
dividuals alone who guilty, and who cannot he
viewed without indignation and horror. And |
have only advcrtod TO them, lest they might give
rise TO misaPprehcnsions abroad. Great Injustice
might be done in visiting censurc whole com
nunitics, for the acts of a few misguided fanatics
or vicious inccrdiarics who may happen to be
among them, and over whose conduct neither 90
| yernmcnt nor laws can exert any control. We
| have here in Old Virginia, many, whom all of us
would regret to see erected into standards by which
| Virginia character abroad was to be graduated and
determincd,-many, for whose conduct it would be
UNJUST IN the extreme to hold people collective
! ly csponslbe.-Evcry community will have in its
bosom some unworthy and disreputable members.
Even In that lit lc band of disciples, which our Sa-
vor himself, while earth, selected to follow him,
Il Judas lscarIot was found. | have been Gratificd
TO learn that the intelligent and the vtuous in the
Northern States, cordially deprecatc and con.
denim the excuses of these unprnciplsd ncenda.
rlcs-thosc moral Carbonari among them, as VIC
can do,-and it would he ungencrous rs unjust
TO breath out an indiscriminate anathcma against
II all. For several years, have remarked with in.
tcrcS and attention, on the state of feeling existing
between different sections of our common coun-
try. Strong and unfoundcd prejudiccs certainly
| have existed on both sides, between our mort hern
brethren and u.s. But am happy to have pcrceiv
ed that they gradually subsiding, as we ac-
| quire more intimate knowledge of each other;
and 1t certainly the duty of the virtuous and the
wisc on both sides, TO cndeavour to rcpress those
! which remain, rather than TO fomcnt and inhame
| tncm. We may indulge in that Irrational vanity" Of
which my friend spokc-wo may he as patriotic as
VIC please, and ardent in our admiration of orr
own State, its institutions, its manners and its
| people. But while we love ourselves more we
mccd not appreciate our more remote brethren less
| True charity has been beautifully assimilatcd to
the appearances which present themselves when a
stone has fallen into the bosom of some smooth
and tranquil lake. OF those numerous concen-
| tric circles which Immediately rise into waves,
those nearest the centre are certainly the
highest ana strongest; but these fol-
iowed by ripple after ripple, in more ex-
tended and successive undulations until the inn
preston is diituscd the whole cxpanse of the
waters For myself delight to sec these favorable
dispositions cultivated. Our northern brethren no
longer, as was inc case some years ago, look on
every virginia Shareholder, identified with a
! negro driver in the Mlurius, who forces them to
labor night and day, with scarcely an internission
ana keeps them up with y cart wlIp that they are
icd on cotton-Sccd, for the slightest offence cru
ely bastlnadoed while confined naked on their
pacHS %i'h Their eyes exposed to a scorch ng sun,
I \ ~ I,art, 81.