Litchfield enquirer., 1845-09-04

notice of the late disturbances a' 1e~''e'V"' V '
 ,h. rsn of Geo. D. Prentice, the able and indepen- don't editor of the Louisville Journal. Every good
 citizen f the United States will he gratied to read sucb sentiments from so distinguished and infiuen- tial source.
 The Ler;ngtOn Distw6ance.-The suppression orfbe ss True American" by the peorle of Lexing- ton and the surrounding country, and the manner in which it was effected, are acts of which we are compelled to disapprove. We never will sanction the exertion of mob power in any instance ours ;s . country of laws Freedom ofspeech and ac- tion are to be restrained only by law. Whenever the safe exercise of these privileges IS made to de- ,en mon the suerance of the populace, thelr Val- ue becomes insignificant, the majesty of the law ae graded and sooner or later. .centiousness VIII sup plant sound morals If, on account ot the absence of legal restriction, an ndVouai chooses .o pu's!e a corrse of action annoying to the community m which he dwels, we think it is better, temporarily, !, to suffer the evil, then to set the bad example ot taking its summary punishment into hands entitled to no legal power of restraint. The Lexington case, we know, is marked by great pecullarity, vet: we think, some other course would have been preieta, ble to that which was determined upon and pursued and that the last handbil of Mr. Clay and the as- surances of his friends, should have induced the people to withhold their hands from an unauthor- ized control of his private property. The manage ment of MT Clay's paper has been very lndiscreet' He has inflicted injury where he designed to do good His exertons have retarded a movement which he wished to accelerate. His nasty temper has involved him in personal quarrels, conducted through his paper and embarrassing the question with which he had connected his publication. lie did not assume the tone in which to address ms people with effect, or to awaken them to sense or their true interests upon the subject he proposed to discuss He seemed to have forgotten that slavery did not appear to every one as sin to be atoned for and to be abandoned at any and every sacrifice He became impatient at what he considered the of the people, and suffered h's temper to master all discretion in his use of language We think the editorial article in the last American, which spread such alarm and created such indigna- ton in the bosoms of the citizens, was, to say the least of it. foolish flourish of rhetorical fire among combustibles easy 10 be ignited by the application of just such means as Mir. Clay was thus recklessy using. That he meant to excite instruction, or to invite servile war, wo do not, cannot for one mo. ment believe. We believe him to be incapable of basencss, and in all manly qualities, far to exceed some who are most busy in denounclng him. But while we give credit to Mir. Clay by imputing to him no improper motives, we know that the con- duct of the slaves in Fayete is said to have chang ed since the publication of the True AmerIcan- We heard, while at Lexington, that the slaves Tn the factories and on the farms had refrans to worlds which they were singing daily to the praise of Cas- sius M. Clay, boasting that he was about to break the chains of their bondage, and would by the force of his character and influence, elevate them to an equality with their masters It was said that, nn- der this feeling, the slaves had lately become idle and insuent and in some instances, had refused to labor The people were alarmed for their security. The mother feared tor the lives of her children, and shs safety of her own person from negro violence. Such zoe knoD 10 have been the general feeling per- vading the community of Fayette, excusing in'their opinion, ,an immediate interference with the business of MT. Clay, and the suppression of publication lal.-. oE AI1 1ssV effects of which they so much dreaded. The peo- pie were led to believe that the continuance of the True American would involve the community in pers which, though forseen, could not be avoided.
 We are disposed to believe that the meeting pas- sed their resolutions and acted under the sense of great and imminent danger. The leaders were cool, determined, and deliberate in the formation and eX- ecution of their purposes. There was no resist ance offered to them, and therefore no wanton mischief was perpetrated. The people acted through committee, who entered the office, pack ed up the press and materials, and shipped the property to Cincinnati. That no blood was shed in the execution of the will of this meeting was, without doubt, owing to the illness of Mir. Clay, who was confined to his bed by fever, and pro. nounced by his physicians in danger of losing his life. Had he been in health, we have no idea he would, unresstingly, have suffered his property to be removed without his consent, and his attempt to protect it, would probably have cost the lives of
 
 only is our State saved from the disgrace of having blood split by the hands of popular assembly !- Reecting men will disapprove of the temper of MT. Clay and the tone of the American 1; but they will say that his concessions and promise of better temper and spirit should have disarmed the com. mittee, and. especially, when it asserted that, 1.-the meeting would permit the property to remain untouched, the publication should cease. 3 a.'
 This meeting set precedent which we hope we may not live to see initiated here or elsewhere. To exhibit the error committed, let US look for mo. ment to the effect. In the free States interested demagogues will seize upon this transaction to in- flame the minds of the multitude against savehold. ers Political abolition will make capital from this occurrence to swell the number of its infatuated supporters. We shall hear the right of discussion proclaimed, and this affair held up as an evidence of it's suppression in Kentucky. We are at no loss to determine the effect of the disturbance at Lex- ington upon the feeling in Kentucky. Few will go farther than to disapprove, as we do, few will openly and violently denounce the Fayette people under all the circumstances of the case and few will fully approve of all that was done. But the rational and temperate discussion of ultimate eman- cipaton will not be checked even by this popular outbreak Many of the best minds of the State are engaged with the question, and they tvW express freely their opinions, and act freely upon them.- We must make Up our mindstO meet tat question tOr n0 hum0B p0scer c0n st0pM We hope earn. estly that the discussion will be conducted every where temperately, that every plan to rid Ken lucky of slavery will be examined cautiously and with judgment. that public opinion will be fairly elicited so as best to promote the public good. We do not believe that Kentucky can yet have reached that point at which men should be afraid to speak, write, and publish touching the disposition of our slave population. We have ever looked forward to day when Kentucky should hold within her boun- dary no bondman and we hope to live to see the light of such day. live have tallen upon times when the freedom ofspeech and of the press should be shackled lest servile war enspe. the sooner we adopt measures to remove an evil which disturbs our peace, destroys confidence in our security, and