Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, IA [i.e. Ind.]) 1839-1854, 1848-08-09


slaves 10 thar land! II was purchased be
the blood OF my sons" The aged parent
berefi Of his children, and the widow with
the family that remains, desire. to 90 there
10 better their fortunes, il il NAV bA. and
pointing To the graves Of husband and
children. exclaim: ''T'here-thcre was the
price paid for our proportion Of this terri.
,orv!" Is that trues II that coul1 be
! made out--if you dare put that upon yout
record-if you can assert that you hold
the country by the strong hand, then YOU
have right to go there with your slaves.
! Ii we Of the North have united with YOU OF
the South in this expedition of piracy. and
robbery. and murder, that oldes. lhw known
among men-''honor among thieves''-
requires US To divide il with YOU equally.
Laughter and subdued applause. Nay,
more: il is only fitting finale To that in
formal tragedy. that after having slaughter.
ed fifty thousand human beings. in order
to extend your authority over these one
hundred and fifty thousand. the murder
should be followed hy the slavery Of every
one that can be made subject 70 the Law Of
power! =;
Sir. il it be true that YOU bold this terri
tory by conquest. you hold it precisely by
the same right that the Virginian holds his
slave to-day, and BY NO other. You have
stolen the maR. and with the strong hand
torn, him form his own hCmc-part Of his
family YOU have killed, and tho rest YOU
have bound III chains and brought 10 Vir-
g,nia! Then. in accordance with the
brand which il seems the Almighty has
impressed upon poor woman-tarses sc.
9uikmr remtrnm-you condemn to Slavery.
to the re,notcst posterity. the offspring Of
your captive! II is the same, iigLl origin
ally ia both cases. This right of conquest
is the same AS that by which man may
hold another in bondage. You may make
il into a law if you please: you may enact
that it may be so: may be convenient To
do so: after pcrpetrating the original SIN, it
may be better TO do SO. but the case is
not altered; the source Of the right remains
unchanged. What is. the meaning OF The
old Roman word SerrMs! profess no
great skill in pathological learning. but I
can very well conceive how somebody,
looking into this thing. might understand
what was the law in those days. The
man 5 life was saved when has enemy con.
qucred him in battle. lie became sevrms
the man preserves! by his magnani,nous
foe; and perpetual slavery was then thought
to be boon preferable TO death. That
was the way in which Slavery began. Has
ybody found out on the face OF the earth
a man fool enough, to give himself up 10
another. aud beg him to make him his
slave! do not know Of one such instance
under Heaven. Yet it may be so. Still
think that not one man Of my complexion
OF the Caucasian race could be found quite
willing TO do that! [General laughter.1
This right, which you are now assert
ing to this country. exists in no. other
foundation than the law Of force, and that
was the original law, by which ono man ap-
propriatcd the services and will of an.
other to himself. Thus far we have been
brought after having fought or this coun,
try and conquered il. The solemn appeal
is made 10 us-''iiave we not mingled our
blood with yours in acquiring this coun.
try!' Sure, my brother! But did we
mingle our blood with yours for the .pur-
pose OF wrestling this country by force
from this people!-That is the Iquestion,
You did not say SO six months ago You
dare not say so now
You may say that il was purchased, as
Louisiana or as Florida was, with the
common treasure Of the country; and then
we come to the discussion Of another pro-
position: What right do you acquire to
establish Slavery there! But I was about
TO ask Of some gentleman Senator
from >. T.. for instance whose cye at
glance has comprehended almost the his
: tory Of the world. what he supposss will
! be the history Of this, our Mexican war,
and these our Mexican acquisitions, -if We
should give il the direction which he
desires! do not speak Of the pro1iiety
Of slave labor being carried anywhere. I
will waive that question entirely. What
/ is it of which the Senator from Vermont
has told us this morning. and Of which we
have heard SO much during the last three
weeksl Every gale that floats across the
Atlantic comes freighted with, the death
groans Of n King; every vessel thaffo3cKcs
your shores bears with her tidings that the
captives Of tho Old World are It last be-
coming frec-that they are seeking.
through blood and laiighter--b1indiyg and
rnadly, it may be-bui nevertheless rcso:
! lutcly-deliverance from the letters Eiat
have held them in bondage. Who. are
t,eyl The whole Of Europe. And il is
only about year ago. l believe. that
SWAY in Tunis, one Of the old slave mar
kets of the world. whose prisons formerly
received those Of our people taken upon
the high seas and made slaves 10 their
, capfors-announced to the world that
every body should there be free. And, il
E am not mistaken, twill be found that
! this magic line which the Senator from s
: c. believes has been drawn around fhe
5 globe which we inhabit, with the vicw o
: separating Freedom and Slavery-36
: 30, brings this very Tunis into that fe
= gion in which y the ordinance 81 God
= men are to be held in boodagcl AT oves
q the world the air is vocal with tho sl1psel
Of man made free WHAT docs y a
e mean! II means that they have been re
8 deemed from political seryi:qds; eng
q in Gods name ! ssks il i Do . boon. 4
n mankind 10 be free from Poa1 llqesvisude