Vermont telegraph. [volume] (Brandon [Vt.]) 1828-1843, 1842-07-06
From the National A. s. Standard.
A sLAvEHOLDER,s ARGUMENT.

A SLAVEHOLDER'S ARGUMENT.
Did you ever hear how the Devil came to ST.
Dominick to stop his making any more books
against hIm9 and how st. Dominick made the
Devil hold candle for him to write by, till it
burned his fingers, and made him roar with pain?
Reader, did you ever attempt to hold an
argument with man, who tried to defend
slavery2 OF all the merry encounters OF
truth and falsehood, none is so farcical as
this. Falsehood knocks his head plump
against Truths shield, and while he stands
rubbing the bump, with woful contortions,
Truth watches him with dimpled ex-
preston of rdsuery, and asks plainly
enough, What on earth did you do that
for Z" Vexed at the dfollery of his own
position, he runs his head whack against
spear or shield. as if some evil spirit pro-
PEELED him; as indeed it does.
Those philosophers who can look at
things in the universal, who can penetrate
behind causes to the end from which
causes flow, have long seen that no idea,
grand or fantastic, absurd or sublime, of
fairy tinse!, or celestial splendor, can ever
enter into the mind of man. unless it has
its prototype, its real spiritual existence,
somewhere 10 the human soul. Forgive
me. if play too facetious y with this
sublime philosophy, and plunge its gram
deur into pitiful bathos, when | say, that
the Irishman never could have imagined
his famous Kilkenny cats, that "ate each
other up to the very tip of their tails,'
had there not previously existed such
things as pro-slavery arguments. ~
To convince you of The probability of
this assertion, will recapitulate CONVEX
sation [ have actually had with slavehold-
1ers. The only fiction there is about il is.
that all the remarks were not made by
one individual. -.--... ~. ..-..
Southerner. You have no business to
NEEDLE with our institutions. They are
taltogelher our own affair; we alone know
how to mana &c them; we want none OF
your help
! Northerner. We never proposed to
NEEDLE with your peculiar institutions,
except by discussion. To talk of letters
is quite a different thing from striking
them off.
Soatierner. We deny your right to do
either the one or the other. Slavery must
not be discussed. Gov. Nc Dufice was
fright, when he said that it was "a griev-
Gus wrong for one State to NEEDLE with
the institutions of another State, even BY
discussion" You profess to be actuated
by love for your country; but you are
TRAITORS; you are violating the laws and
the Constitution, every day of your lives.
4 suppose you consider yourself bound
by the Constitution Yet you say no
power could compel you to help in put
ling down an instruction. What if your
help is needed, and government orders it?
4 Northe'ner. I should reply, that the
South had told US thousand times, thai
we had nothing at all to do with her pc
culiar institution !; and she alone knew
how to manage it that took her at hel
word, and should leave her to manage it
Lam glad you eonstrue the Constitution
so strictly. suppose you are aware tina
honored instrument declares, that "Con
gress shall make no law, abridglng tn
t freedom of speech, or Of the pressP Blu
need not ask whether you recollect this
: for it is sufficiently obvious that the south
ern gag-rule in Congress is founded OF
this clause and that out of it legitimatel,
5 grows your doctrine that, "Slavery sha
S not be discussed" We at the North lk
this feature of the Constitution so well
that if Gov. McDutfie chooses to com
here and lecture IN favor of slavery, "
will all bid him welcome to overtime
our free institutions by as much discusslc
as he pleases. We have no standin
J. lynch committee to guard our institution
:, we wear no bowie-knives, inscribed 'dea
:. to shareholders nor would we, on sue
: an emergency, call a meeting of piol
CT church members to fog Gov. McDuffi
d in the public. square, as was done in ii
{ case of the meek and amiable Amt
Dresser:
s Southerner. Oh, you are always pu1
lie ing that stringl Forever talking abo
e. our 1ynchings! We dislike 20 resort
. such measures, as much as you do. b
: what can we do2 There we stand, up
e our necks in gun-powder. and you wi
!" persist ia throwing firebrands.$ There
re no Ian to reach you, and so we are Cor
a PEELED to lynch, in self defense.
:. Northerner. | thought you said ju
ie now. that we violated the Constitution al
laws. every day of our livesl 1t is I
20 odd corollary to this, that there is no la
to reach our continual offenses.
o. Soutterner, {red IN the faee.) If |
w aboIitionist comes on my plantation,
ed shall make no more of shooting him tn;
- would a raltlesnake.
" Northerner. thank you for the war
le. ing. Mr.. Preston has announced q
nd same thing in Congress, for which | lik
e. wise give him thanks hen you con
y among US, promise you that you shi
be shot with nothing except fair arg