The Charlotte journal. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1835-1851, 1850-05-01
lumber go.

The mode IN which that authority is Ia ba
used, and the jusi restraints 10 be laid upoo
it,
have not made these remarks bcc use I
suppose that they will produce conviction IN.
on The minds al gentlemen who take opposite
views; nor d" suppose that such convection
can be produced; bul wish ihose eentlen en-
10 understand that we do not stand in The lioht
ol hagran, robbers and oppressors, who have
no apparent reason and Justification for our
conduct. To my mind the Iawfulness Of this
institution, in The Christian point Of view. il
clear, demonstrable, demonstrated, Genfle.
men may say - We do not agree: We bavs
ils iao' Eat 'hr. rraa, i.w az charity which
says, do unto others as you would thai OH.
eTs should do unt" you, for bids YOU to hold a
slave. lie who gave that law of charity
under the O d Testament, ard S. ho expla;ned
and enforced il under the new, did not de.
clare such Judgment; and therefore what
! want TO deduce and enforce from it is, ,ha,
the utmost that can be said by our northern
friends is, that this Is a case not free of diff.
Guilty, in which difference Of opinion may,
without just rfrnce, be entertained; and
hence that no unkind feeling, no prejudice
should result, because we take view of this
subject which does no, meet their appreciation.
Mr. Pres dent, in these excited times. il is
very d'fhcu' to &c, cain and quiet consid.
Grafton OF anything connected with this sub.
Ject. My attention is almost daily arrested
by misrepresentation with regard 10 legal
enaclmens subslsting in the southern States
Of this Union, and with regard to the motives
which have dictated these enac,men,s. II
| yUDuIu If
by the Impulses growing out of this ari.a.
ting subject, that they lose all charitable con.
sideIatlon tor the motives Of others, and even
prompt to suppose that whatever is done is
done for wrong end, or under wrong i'm.
pulse Now, deem il proper-,housh at
times such matters would not be worthy of
any conslderation-o notice ono or two mis-.
representations with regard to my own State.
of whose laws happen to know something,
as well as Of the habits and character of her
Inhabitants. do this because everything
which 'mpresses upon the general mind Of
our northern fellow citizens that we are a
heafliess, exac'Ing, unjust, mercess race Of
people, has most unhappy effect upon ;heir
disposition aud feelings towards US, which
react upon our minds and this is continual.
| y iomen'lng and increasing these sources of
dsquiei AID alienation, which every patriot
must regret and should desire to remove.
lsaw the other day, accidentally, intakinp
up newspaper, a note appended to speech
delivered in another place. In this note
found these passages:
"NoTE BY Nh MANN-On repairing to
was right in regard to the above differences
"t opinion, the second book opened contain.
ed at least three cases where The courts were
authorized 10 sentence slave 10 be transpor.
Wifi Wifi tthe commission Of an offence for which
(See North Carolinhae he guncondi,ionally hung.
H., $ sc, 81, 39.) OF courss,9l til. chap.
of this difference is the pecuniary value oil
he slave. Hung, he would be worthless;
transported to Cuba, he might bring five
hundred dollars"
"But laws which punish six or eight or
eight or ten, or any other number of offences
with death, when committed by slaves, while
The same offence receives milder penalty
when committed by whites, or laws denying
he bene6, Of clergy (where that relic Of bar
barism still prevails) TO slave, while 1t is
granted to white man, are surely among
the creates, atrocities recorded 10 the history
OF the race"
Now sir, | would no. be willing to suppose
the gentleman who penned these paragraphs
capable Of willingly misrepresenling an in.
div dua, much less the whole people OF q
State of the Union; but so carried away is
he by this subject, that he does not perceive
thai his " of course" in the passage, manifest
most uncharitabls deduction; and he does
not perceive that what he says in the Sc.
cond paragraph is in direct conflict and in.
consistency with the first. If the Legisa.
lure Of southern State permits slave to be
transported for an offence for which white
man is put TO death, "Oh," it is said, I" here
is detes,abe avarice, sacrificing justice 10
money" And if the slave is put TO death,
and not the white man, Here is an instance
of The greatest atrocities that ever disgraced
the legislation of mankind" Now, with re.
gard to this " of course" do not choose that
my State shall lie under the imputation Of
, being Influenced in affixing punishment by
, the mere value Of the slave as property
The offences referred to in the statute cited
in this note, are conspiracies, rebelions, in-
f surrec,ions. The law Of North Carolina, as
, | suppose the law of every other country,
. carefully avoids, in regard to offences which
. ordinarialiy imphcaio 'diso humoea Vi su'
, diyiduals, the horrid spectacle Of indiscriu,-
mate slaughter, and therefore authorizes the
cour, there to afiix either the punishment Of
death or transportation. If the gentleman
0 had been solci,ous, before making this grave
. charge of sacrificing the principles Of justice
! to the base calculations Of pelf, he would have
| looked little further into the origin Of this
law, and he would have discovered that. in
d the preamble Of the original law, omitted in
\ the revisal, the motive is set out, which 10,