Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1845-10-03
Letter from Harriet n. ToTrey.

nitude, there are but few, possessing the or
binary aggregate Of intelligence, who pre-
tend to deny. Aud whether we look upon
it with the views Of Statesmen or Philan-
thropists, whether we ponder its bearings
upon the political aspect Of our country, OF
upon our moral and social condition, we are
startled at the enormity of the evil, and ask,
with feelings Of mingled shame and appre-
hension-is there no proper and attainable
remedyl If there is no remedy, our condb
ton is indeed d~eplorable. Ii the letters of
the slave are the bonds which secure unto
US life, liberty, and the pursuit OF happiness
I'VE hold our tenure of the SANE at a fear
full price. For that life, that liberty, and
that pursuit of happiness is secured unto us
by the sacrifice OF all the attributes of hui
manity which God has given to more than
two millions and a half Of human beings,
varying in color, but possessing the same
physical organization, the same social feel
ings, though compelled to flow in an unnat-
ural channel, and the same claims to MINOR
tllity which we possess. We talk of our
| republican institutions, and boast Of our
country as the home Of the free, and the
.afuge of the oppressed; and if such was
actually the case, there would be more pro-
priety in our talk and Boosting; for it would
bear the impress of truth, and, therefore at
ford us a pretext for honest eXultation, But
truth, like murder, will out; and whatever
means may be employed to conceal the de-
formity, and prolong the existence of slave
ry, they all tend to give US a falrer view OF
its loathsome body Of corruption, and to
sharpen the axe which is to sever the multi
| piled cords of its existence. 1t seems
| strange to us that the trainers of the Con-
gtitutlon, possessing that tar-seeing sagacity
| which enabled them to lay the foundation
| of a government deriving its powers from
the consent of the governed, instead OF a
Monarch's will, should have parleyed with
an institution which was then in its swdd-
lings bands, and by granting it peculiar i'm
munities-secured its existence and fostered
its growth, until it has attained { y stat re Of
a grant, and now stands with one foot firmly
planted upon the shores of the Gulf of Mex
leo, and the other upon the northern lakes,
ruling its friends with despotic sway-bid-
ding defiance to its enemies-and deriding
their delicate efforts for its exterminatlon.-
How often has the assertion been made
repeated and reiterated, that the North has
nothing to do with slavery-that it is a
southern institution-entirely subServient to
southern interests, and essential to the pros
perity of that portion OF the Union; when
at the same time its subtle Influence was
coiling, like a venemous reptile, around the
very vltals of the North, whispering peace,
peace-in order to quiet its struggling victim
until it could fasten it with its deadly fangs.
1t is said that personal rights are the toun-
dation of all others. AS a nation, we claim
all other rights; therefore, we cannot but feel
some anxiety as to the nature and stability of
our foundakNsss as well as Of the superstruc-
49, ~ r. -, rooroJ imam 10 iihot 10,
primary elements were right; that the Dec
~laration of independence embodied these no.
BILE and comprehensive princiries which en-
anate from mans higher nature, and which
are calculated to bear him onward and up
ward t. a more perfect system of moral and
political equity-all seem to admit But
the Constitution reveals the presence of the
spirit of evil, and gives the lie direct to our
e~xulting boast of equal rights, and univer-
sal liberty. Like detormed statue upon a
chaste and beautiful pedestal, it ELECTS our
wonder by its incongruity. 1t is a curious
anamoly-but nc more curious than true
that while our forefathers were pouring out
their blood like water in order to secure
those rights which they could never obtain
while they acknowledged the divine right
of kings, they were preparing the way ioI
the establishment of a more cruel and re-
morseless despotism upon the soil ostensibly
consecrated to freedom. With one hand
they were v~aliantly battling for truth and
right; while with the other they were forg.
ing letters for the wronged and benighted
African. At the first glance, we are led tc
conclude that the American stakeholder pos
sesses more than the ordinary share of hui
man rights; because the rights of SO many
human beings are merged within his own
he repudiates the divine rights of kings; ye
he arrogates to himself the divine right L
control the souls as well as the bodies of hi
: fellow beings, thus divesting them of every
attribute of humanity, as we'll as of immor
tality. But, is the STAKEHOLDER, in reality
the all-suficient freeman that he imagine,
himself to bel Life is not, under any cir
culnstances, exempt from jeopardy by casu
a~lties, or by visitations of Providence. AnC
in the case of the STAKEHOLDER we look uT OF
those casualties as increased in a ~ten-folt
degree; for he is surrounded by those who
) from motives of vengeance, or from a deter
minatioH to possess their inalienable rights
aud stand forth unfettered an the image O
their Maker, would, opportunity and circum
stances being favorable, look upon the taking
of his life, not only as unsuitable, but as
~praiseworthy deed. Therefore, instead C
enjoying life like a freeman in the true sens,
of the word, he has to guard the same will
the utmost vigilance, and never possess tina
common feeling of security which pervade,
the non-Slaveholding States. The term lib
! erty, in its genuine Specification, means
great deal; and can never be demonstrated t
a Shareholder, only by theory; because hi
: experience has not qualified him for a cor
rect understanding Of the same. In the frs
place, his dependence %curtails his liberty
D for he is entirely dependent upon his slaves
, his food and raimeut are procured by thei
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