Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1847-12-10
Mr.. Clay and Slavery.

iuC nOole SldIu ldhpn ny IitnIl tIdN III
his Lexington Speech will do more Than ten
thousand abolition lecturers TO help iofwa ard
the glorious era Of emancipation.
The reused spirit of kentucky will not rest
until the good work is accomplished in that
state, and what sign can he more cheering 10
the friends OF universal freedom than that
Slavery is denounced on its own soil, by the
most influential man in the Union, in the pre-
sence ola multitude OF shareholders, who
unanimously echo the spirit and language
of the sold man eloquent "-Clcrcland Her
aid.
Such being the opinion Of the Herald, as
to that part of Mr.. Clay's speech which re-
lates to slavery, it is well for Us to take a
birds eye view oft. What are the positions
of Mr.. Clay!
l.. lie says slavery is an evil.
,. That it is unjust TO the enslaved, but
''for the present an irremediable wrong"
3. That the condition of The slaves is bet
ter here than it would be, had slaves never
been brought from Africa!
4. That slavery is one of those evils, in
the existence ofwhich we must acquiesce "as
a less evil than the frighiful Consequences
which might ensue from the vain endeavoTs
10 remove it,"
8. That although slavery is unjust, iti s not
the duty Of those pmcticing in this injustice
now to stop it.
&. That his opinion on The subject remains
unchanged, and of course his speech Of 80
speaks his sentiments to-day.
These then are the views of Mr.. Clay as
proclaimed by himself; and these views says
the Herald "wilI do more than ten thousand
abolition lecturers to help forward the glori-
Gus era of emancipation" We should like
] - lnau, Inv. l., ,.ba, yy,y oro 49,, -
to help emancipation! Would any siavehol-
der practicing them free his slaves! Help
emancipation! They will not even enamel
pate the slaves in Mr.. Clay's own family
No stakeholder praciicing them would ever
free a slave. God pity the poor slaves, if
they have got TO wait till these views eman-
cipate them.
The Herald says-Mr. Clay ~"denouuced"
slavery. How denounced it 1t is true he
said it was an evil; and what Shareholder will
not say sol None except the Calhoun school.
But what good does it do. for a man to call
slavery an evil, at the same time he practices
it himself, and tells those who practice it,
that al present ii is irremediQble. Good ! 1t
does just about as much good as it does for
the Editor of the Herald to denounce the
traffic in liquor at the same time he adrerii-
scs IL To sell.
For Mr.. Clay to admit that slavery is un-
just, and AT the same time continue 10 hold
slaves and Justify the holding them, shows
an ineXcusabIe blindness or hardness upon a
great moral principle. And upon what ground
does he do this Why, he says, that ait is
not always safe, practicable, or possible in
the great movement of the state and public
atfairs Of nations, to remedy or repair the in
f~lictions of previous injustice" Well, sup
pose 1t is not, suppose they cannot repair
previous injustice, cannot they S'op doing in
justice? Because | cannot repair the injury
| have done a man, must | continue 10 do the
injuryl But why talk about States and Ma
tons! 1t is indiriduah that hold slaves, that
continue slavery. Suppose States and Ma
tons cannot repair the injuries they have
done, cannot individuals stop doing wrong 7
Cannot Mr.. Clay free his slaves! Must le
continue to get his bread from the sweat of
their brows We have no patience TO cx-
pose such sophiStry. so far from Mr.. Claws
speech being calculated 10 forward the cause
of emancipation, we should like 10 know
what he could have said that he has not said
to retard that caual' Has he not justified
the continuance OF .iavcry! Has he not pro-
claimed that it must exist a century and a
halfl Has he NO. condemned the move
ments OF anli-slavofv menl Has he not pro-
claimed that the White and black race, can
not live free together And yet we are told
by the Herald, that this 81 'ch Is to do gIo.
rious things for emancipation! There is no
a poor, Ignorant, runaway negro slave, bu
what could teach the Herald better.
When we saw the resolutions Of Mr.. Clay
we were satisfied. Hope then died within
us. When we read the notice that he wa.
to make a speech, We INDUCED some eXpec
tation, faint 1t is true, and foolish we sup
pose, arising from our former tolls, and la
bors, aud sacrifices IN his behalf. that h
would put forth demanded by III,
crisis Of the times-that he would proclaim
that Congress had no power to eSiQbiish slave
rs in a free territory, that slavery is an evil
and that some plan should be immedidtel,
adopted for its removal, that satisfied of tn
injustice Of It's longer continuance and chan
ged in heart as he has been by the consecn
ton of himself to righteousness, he woul,
now give freedom TO his slaves as one of tn,
first fruits of repentance. Mr.. Clay has dom
right in denOuncIng the war, he has sIet
daylight upon the constitutions power ofcon
gress TO control and stop II, has portrayed III,
evils of the conquest and annexation Of Mex.
leo in a clear, simple and eloquent manner
None could do it better. But on the sub
lect Of slavery, he is where he was in 'S9
deep IN a morass, and surrounded on all side,
by darkness. The ''Sldr IN the West" which
Till il cam to this. shone brightly and cast
out rays full Of hriIliancy and hope, now be,
came dim, and is destined to set in cloud.
aud darkness. The glory of emancipation
not for Mr.. Clay. Ii is reserved for anoth
er. Ia his last days he has been "weighe,
in the balance and found waniing."-I,u
Democrat.