Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1848-08-11
From The NeV York Tribune.
Mr.. Calhoun on Slavery Extension
The True Issue.

VINO dares to look a great question fully in
,'e Iace, and not only state his whole demand
out meet every legitimate consequence of his
ooetflnes. " course, we like John G.. Cal
noun With unsurpassed ability, rare subtle
" ana lorce OF logic, and perfect frankness of
aVowal, he argues the question of Slavery
Extension with a thorough consciousness of
us overpowering importance and a stern reso-
lulon 10 gain his point by direct and truth
iul means. He is not the man to cheat the
rree States by representing the question in
dispute as a mere abslraction-a punctilio-
a matter of form and Precedent. On the con-
trary' he tells us frankly that he wants Slave
ry legalized in the new territories in order
'hat II shall be practically planted and eslab-
llshed there, thereby everything not merely
The fundamental law hitherto existing in those
terrItores but the spirit of a Jeifersonian Or
dlnance o f57, of the Missouri Compromise,
aud even OF the radical basis of the declara-
non Of independence. Surely, none can read
ms speech and not realize that the question
OF Slavery Extension is paramount TO all 9TH
ers which now divide the American people.
and cannot be dlsregarded by any without
eylncing indifference to vital principal and
gross dlreliction from duty. Most heartily
we do thank him for this new exhibition of
this candor and consistency.
In saying this we by no means admit that
he has fairly stated the questions at issue,
but only that he has not intentionally peryer-
ted them. The fault turks in obliquity of
vision, not in discrimination of purpose
Take the rreat FIRST nrincinja ba : : hhaIoLo,.
that ali men are created f,oa al 80,
What does il f,irIv assert NJ 9I,
that in poin, oC fact ali arc on bo,n' $50
all know that so,ne are horn % Ill. W.
ers to poyerlv some 70 state Irxnrn 81 A.
polic power. others IN begga,y hvrnor ID
yassalage. some IN ;n,oIiG
others 10 Ignorance and slsverv ~
Mr.. Jefferson and bis .osoon, c
never meant 10 disnute these no,orions go
nor vet that some are horn with na,nr,l 90
paciIies and nnali,ies far ennsr;,r % H.. -
others. Nobody has ever understood 49,
as contradictinO the uniform eYneriencs ana
common sense of mankind IN ,hese no;n,s
anv more Than az danvinr hot ~ -.
race are born male and female. Rut rba,
thew did assert. and have been understood :,
assert. is the enual moral riob, ~ ali no,
before the law-the natural rioh, of ali :,
| control their own persons. acts and nosses
sions, subject to any such local restriction,
are lust. equal and necessary n the nerfactio
of those social and political Institutes wbicI
their mutusl banniness reouiras
A law which dooms the forper or thief I,
Imprisonment does not contra vene tho natr,
al right of all men to liberty but one wbicI
would subject the felon's defendants tbrounI
several generations to share his nnnisbmen
clearly would. A law which enables tho ,icl
-.
poor neiUhbors can afford TO. does mt vioI, :,
the e%qnality asserted /; not so with = law far
biddinU the moor man to educate his cbildrer
at all.
may have scarcely any property. while
nv neighbor rolls in wealth. without infrin.
ring our riphtful equality: but let the law
step in to saw that Lazarus heinz moor and ig.
norant, shall work for. and be he chattel ri
his neighbor Dives, who is rich and knowing,
and that law plainly outrages the fundamen.
tai principle asserted. Mr.. Calhoun fiobts
as one who beateth the air. Admit that one
mans ignorance and vice NAV riphtfulIy de.
prive him of an equal voice in framing and
altering the laws of the land, and Won have
not the least ground for maintaining that those
laws may be shaped by the shrewd and pow
erfnl so as to perpetuate their ad ntares in
their class and enable them to make conven-
fences and chattels ofthose socially beneath
them.
The application to the case in hand can.
not be difficult. Now let us consider Mr..
Calhoun's idea of the inequality between the
North and the South, with this assertion that
the South require no legislation in the pre-
mises-ask only immunity from legislation.
Let us put this to the test of practice: A
Northern farmer sees fit to migrate, with his
children and movables, his hired laborers
and his live stock, to New-Mexico or Cali.
fornia. A Southern planter does the same,
with his slaves and other plumber. Very
well there is no law against all this, and
nobody proposes any, So far all is eoual a nd
smooth. Having arrived in the new terrific.
ry, the farmers and the planters shelp' work.
obey and live just as they always did. All
right stlil-nobody objects !; nobody asks any