The voice of freedom. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1839-1848, 1839-02-02

i What monosyllable ever pronounced by man II
any day, in any place, was so big with destruction
to all the precious hopes of man! Yes, before
this high decree, the slave and the freeman, the
sovereign state, and an American Congress, all a
like, stood speechless. This was despotsm in its
most solemn form, which orders the victim to be
SILENT which it intends for sacrifice If the victim
lhe Constitution, could have sp6ken through its
friends and plead against her own violation, hel
brightest jewel would not have been ravished from
her in silehce.
Open the black and Bloody pages of despotism
recorded in the annals Of past ages, and let us see
whether ever in one day, Nero, Caligua, Domi.
tian, Dionysus, Aurelian, Bazaze Robespierre, and
Bonaparte, these fails of Almighty God, did roll
back the car frighted with the most precious inter-
ests and hopes of man, as far into the night of
barbarism and blood as these members of Congress,
who, on the 2lst December, 1887, said AYE" to
the Patton slave resolution.
The amazing criminaty of this transaction ap-
pears more dreadful, when it is considered that this
resolution barred the only avenue of the wretched
slaves or their friends to the District of Column
bla, and denied all access to the slave territories,
it cut off the hopes of the humane from the hope
of abolishing the internal slavetrade, and implied
ly forbid our protesting against the annexation Of
that stranded mass of Williams the cuttings of the
worlds PRISONS Texas.
The very reason urged by the South for her
counting five of her slaves the same as three of
our citizens was, that it might form a counterpoise
to that power, given by the Constitution to Con-
gress "to regulate foreign commerce, commerce
between the states and the Indian tribes" The
South contending that the North, only being in
terested in commerce, would regulate it to the in
jury of the South, whether foreign or domestic,
and that the South must have an additional num-
Der of representatives, in Congress, by counting
their slaves, to counterya the action of the North
on questions of foreign and internal commerce.
Under the power to regulate foreign commerce,
we abolished the old African savetrave. Under
the power to regulate internal commerce between
the states, we petition Congress to abolish the in
tenal slavetrade between the states. Now the
South denies that Congress has the constitutional
power to regulate commerce between the states so
as to confine the slaves to the staes where they
now are. Yes, after we have purchased this pow
er so dearly of the South, (Which gives the South
twenty eight additional mernbers) we now find the
South denying its very existence in fact, the very
consideration money, if | may SO speak, for the |
privilege of couning five slaves as three free per-
sons is denied
Why do the South deny it? Because it is the
great door to the slave Base, left in the side of
the constitutional temple, which, when we have
power to abolish it in the District of Columbus we
shall have, the same day, power to enact law,
that no slave shall be taken or removed, or sold
rom one state 10 another, under the penalty of
perpetual imprisonment or death. What is to be |
he effect of such law on slavery? First, to
,onhne the slaves to the states, where they are on
he day OF the enactment of the law. The state
81 Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and
he western parts of the Carolinas have, for twen-
y years past, maintained themselves by selling
heir surplus slaves to the states of Georgia, Al
'bama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas, and
not by selling the productions of slaves, but by
selling slaves themselves, as the great article of
to the great cotton and sugar districts
Of the far South. Now if these slave growing
states, in the north end of the slave section of
he country, were unable to sell slaves the master
md slave conld not live together, the slaves of
Maryland and Virginia would eat up their mas
ers, and the masters must emancipate in self-de-
ence, to save themselves from destruction. A.
gain, the states of Alabama, Louisiana Mississippi
u and Others if they could not import slaves from
he north end of the slave region, there is such
havoc annually by death, among the slaves of the
great planters, by the unheathiness of the climate
llu TIE cruel treatment OIL OVerSeerS IMAM IN less
han seven years, if no slave could be imported, S
nto those southern regions, one half of the plant
tons would lie unculhvated for want of slaves,
This power, to regulate commerce between the t
tates, is one of the mighty powers of the confeda
racy which has lain hitherto, in great degree, I
Dormant, altho' purchased at such cruel and bit 5
er expense now amounting to twenty-eight men, |
ers of Congress; yet itmay,if properly welded,
ecome the great battering ram to knock down the &
of slavery. The power to regulate {
0reign commerce was the battle-axe with which &
We sundered the neck of the old African slave. J
rade, in six successive cuts, of Congress, enac- {
ed at different periods from 1903 to 1924. |
Let no one say that the word REGULATE" as u.s. i
in the Constitution, may not mean to alter, y
hange, destroy, abolish, or annihilatc That .
uestion has been settled in favor of the above
e6nitions by every department of the government
y both Houses of Congress, the President, yes,
nd several times by the Supreme Court of the $
United States These questions of regulation" S
nder the Constitutions have been up for consid- v
ration, by our Senate, in forming treaties of p
eace declarations of war by Congress, embar- n
oes, non-intercourse acts-ths word "to regulate /
reign commerce, and commerce between the tt
ates, has drawn forth an immense amount of in "
enious reasoning to restrict the word in its mean
40 b,,+ H. $780, Ha,,~I IS RI