Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1845-10-30

er means rather than the sling and stone of lit |
tie David; and, so too our proud and contemp-
tuous Nation would rather receive its death
wounds at the hands of any other nation than
that which she most despses.
But Mexico may not be alone in her war with
us. That war, i'll its possibly wide sweep of
consequences, may involve persons and nations
not few, Whether, however, this shall, or
shall not, be; certain it is, that America, going
to war under the black flag Of slavery would
command the respect Of no people and no nation
whose respect and sympathy are worth having.
1t may, perhaps, be objected to what we have
said of the possible pers of our nation, that it is
too young to be destroyed-too young to have ri
pened for destruction. 1t is young in years
but, is it not old in crimes? What Nation, E.
ven amongst those, which have filled up the
measures of their iniquity and persisted, has had
blacker crimes recorded against it than those
which, in the blaze of gospel light, we have per-
petrated upon the Indian and the African! But,
h0Wever we may compare in wickedness with
other Nations, the fact that we have already
committed such a crime as that for which God
alarm, and hurry us to repentance. We remem-
Der too, in this connection, that it was tor such
crime that the French power in St. Domingo
was destroyed. The Jewish Nation was des-
troyed for re-subjecting to bondage those, whom
it had proclaimed free. "And We we're now
turned" SAID God to it, "and had done right in
my sight, in proclaiming liberty every man to
his neighbor; and ye had made covenant be-
fore me in the house, which is called by my
name; But ye turned, and polluted my name,
and caused every man his servant, and every
man his handmade whom he had set at liber-
ty, at their pleasure, to return, and brought them
into subsection to be unto you for servants and
for handmaids Therefore, thus saith the Lord,
We have not hearkened unto me, IN proclaiming
liberty every one to his brother, and every man
to his neghbor; behold, proclaim Liberty for
you, saith the Lord, to the sword, to the pesti-
lence, and TO the famine; and | will make you
to be removed into all the kingdoms ofthe earth.
And will give the men, that have transgressed
my covenant, into the hand or their enemies, and
into the hand of them that seek their life and
their dead bodies shall be for meat unto the
fowls of heaven and to the beasts of the earth"
A moments recollection of the history of our
/ Nation will convince us ihat it is guilty of such
crime, as cost the life of the Jewish Nation.
1t is, at least, charitable supposition, that our
4 fathers, when, in the year l77G, they resolved
to break away from the expressions of the Brit
sh government, remembered the expressions, OF
which they were themselves guilty. 1t is, at
least, charitable suppositon, that a sense OF
their wrongs.at the hands Of that government in
spred them with sense of the infinitely deeper
wrongs, suffered at their own hands. The let
ter, if not the intent, ola virtual deed fmanu-
mission which they then wrote and published,
harmonizes with this suppostion The deed is
short-for it expresses the grant or concession
in five words. Short as it is however, it is COM
prehensive and clear: and such are the five
words, as to make it deed of universal eman-
cipaton GALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL
, are those words Of truth and mercy and power
1t is true, that our fathers could not enforce and
apply, the world over the doctrine Of this declar-
alton But they could do so within the limits
of their own Nation; and thus set before every
other beautiful and attractive example Of i'm
r partial and universal liberty.
1t is said, that this declaration ofhuman equal
ity was but stroke ofpolicy; and that the only
design of the Revolutionary patriots in it was tc
win for their cause the sympathy and help of tht
generous and true-heared whether in the Ole
world or the New! We do not deny that wher
these patriots inscribed upon their banners
I" ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL" they
foresaw with what great power these truthful
words would enter the hearts of men, We dc
not deny, that had the inscription been, insteaC
of "Libcrty to aH,' "LibCrty to some, ant
SlaUcry to Others" the LaFayettes aud DekaIb.
and other lovers of liberty who crossed the oceal
to help US on to victory, would have turned the
backs on our cause. "Let tyrants perish in the
grasp of tyrants" We do not deny, that oul
fathers could have chosen more successful
means for arousing the sympathies, and secu
ring the aid, of the wise and the good than thi;
acknowledgment of the equal rights Of men
than this deed of universal patlon-proyed
itself to be. But, we do deny that, in making
this choice, they were governed by a heartess
policy. We do deny, that they were insin-
cere in this constructive proclamation of liberty
to the slave Historical testimonies are worth
less, if they do not authorize the conclusion,
that our fathers fully believed theirs was the last
generation, which should see an American slave
But, whether they were or were not sincere in
thus conceding, in the ear Of the whole world,
the right of the bondman to liberty; the con-
cesson itself is indsputable And how sadly
true is it, that there is paraelism between the
Jewish Nation and this, as well on the point of
re-sujecting the bondman, as on that of declar-
ing his rightsto deliverance. The half million
of slaves, who our fathers said should be free,
land but for their saying which, and perhaps
also, but for their feelings which, our fathers
themselves could not have become iree,) had
their chains riveted anew And, now, instead
of that number, there are nearly three millions TO
testify nv their sirines and UrOans and tears that