The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1850-03-06
the East as beautiful % his eye, and as inspiring to

the East beautiful 10 his eye, and inspiring TO
his hopes, as the star in the North.
Is the case of the Amistad forgotten, where a lew
ignorant, degraded wretches, fresh from the Jun
giles of benighted Africa herself, seized upon the
vessel in which they transported, and COM
PEELED the master, under peril OF his le TO steer
for the North star,-that light when GOO KIN
died in the heavens, and which he will as soon ex-
tinguish he will extinguish the love oil hoerty
which he has kindled in every human breastf
And will a slave, escaping TO Great Britain, or To
any of her colonial possessions, be reclaimable
Examine Somersett's case for an answer. No. sir.
Neither the third clause OF the second section OF the
fourth article Of the Constitution, nor the law OF
l793 will ever be extended over the Three King
doms their dependencies.
II surely is not beneath the dignity of the place
the occasion TO look at another OF those hazards
which the South are invoking. They are proud OF
their past history, and doubt not their rejecting
and patriotic men are at least reasonably socitous
of their future fame. When they meet in august
council TO inaugurate the great event of establish
ing independent confederacy of slave States, and
of dssolving the political bands which now connect
them with US, ga decent respect to the opinions oil
mankind" will "require them TO declare the causes
which had impelled them TO the separation" And
will they find model for their manifesto in that
glorious Declaration of American independence
which their own immortal jefferson prepared, and
To which many of the greatest Of all their historic
names subscribed? Alas, they will have to read
that Declaration, the devil reads Scripture
backwards know not what may be the rhetorical
terms aud phrases of the Declaration; but do
know that its historic form and substance cannot be
widely different from this;
eve hold these truths 10 be self evident, that
men not created equal; that they are not en-
dowed by their Creator with inalienable rights;
that white men, of the Anglo Saxon race, were born
TO rob, and tyrannze, and enjoy and black men,
of the African race, labor and suffer, and obey;
that man with a drop of African blood in his
veins has political rights, and therefore shall
never vote; that he has no pccuniary rights. and,
therefore, whatever he shall earn receive, belongs
tlutl h. ko. ,..nf
therefore he shall never be heard witness, to
redress wrong, or violence, robbery, committed
by white men upon him; that he has no parental
rights, and therefore his children may be torn
from his bosom, at the pleasure caprice OF his
owner; that he has marital rights and therefore
his wife may be lawfully sold away into distant
bondage violated before his eyes; that he has no
rights Of mind or of conscience, and therefore he
shall never be allowed TO read TO think, and all
his aspirations for improvement shall be extin-
guished; that he has religious rights, and there
fore he shall never read the Bible; that he has no
heaven descended g cd given rights offrcedom and
therefore he and his postery shall be slaves forever
we bold that governments were instituted among
to and fortify this ascendancy Of one
race over another; that this ascendancy has its
foundation in force ratified by law, and in igno-
rance and debasement inflicted by intelligence and
superiority; and when any people, with whom we
have been politically associated, would debar US
from propa eating our doctrines or extending our
domination into new realms and over free terrific
ries, it becomes our duty to separate from them,
and TO hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind,
friends when they make slaves, enemies when they
make freemen"
! say, sir, of whatever words and phrases the
southern "Magna Charta" may consist, this, or
something like this, must be Its substance and
reality.
So the preamble to their constitution must run
in this wise awe, the people of the United States
South in order to form a more perfect conspir-
acy against the rights OF the African race, estab
lish injustice, insure domestic slavery provide for
holding three millions of our fellow beings, with
all tue countless millions of their posterity, in
bondage, and TO secure TO ourselves and our pos
terity the enjoyment Of power and luxury and
sloth, do ordan and establish this constitution for
the United States South"
Sir, if civil should ensue between the
North and the South, (Which may God, in his
mercy, avert,) IN consequence OF an attempt to
dissolve. this Union, and the certain resistance
which would be made TO such an attempt, il would
be difficult to exaggerate tho immediate evils
which would beiall the interests of New England
and some other parts of the North. Our manu-
features and our commerce would suffer at least a
temporary arrangement. But we have boundless
resources in our enterprise and our intelligence.
knowledge and industry are recuperative energies
that can never long be baked in their quest of
prosperity. The people that bore the embargo of
1907, and the war of 1912, when all their capital
was embarked in commerce, can survive any
change that does not stop the revolution Of the
seasons or suspend the great laws of nature. And
when the day of peace again returns business will
standing any personal hostility, will be ready to
take northern gold as though il had come from the
English mint; and they will employ those first,
who will do their manufacturing or their CONNER
cial labor cheapest and best. Gold is a great pa
cihcator between nations; and, in this money
loving age, mutual interests will, in the end, sub
due mutual hostilities. Our share therefore of the
caamities of civil war, will be mainly of pecu-
mary nature. They will not be intolerabe. They
Will invade none of the securities of home; they
will not associate poison with our daily food nor
murder and confagration with our nightly repose;
nor black violation with the sanctitics Of our
daughters and wives
Even in a pecuniary point Of view, dissolution
Of our political ties would cause less immediate
and intense suffering at the North than at the South.
Our laws and institutions are all framed 80 "a TO
encourage the poor man, and by education, 10 ele
yate bis children above the condition of their pa
rents but their laws and institutions all tend TO
aggrandize the rich and 10 perpetuate power in
their hands. Were it not for the visions Of horror
and of bloodshed which southern threats have 80
intimately associated with this controversy
mar<able feature, which has hitherto been eclpsed,
would have been most conspicuous. With every
philanthropic northern man collateral motive
Tor keeping the Territories free, is, that they
may BE- land of hope and Of promise To the
poor man. 20 whichever Of all our States he may
belong. where he may go and find home and a
homestead and abundance. But the South, In at
tempting 20 open these Territories TO Shareholders
would give them 20 the rich alone would give
them 90 less than three hundred thousand persons,
Of the poorer classes at the South all demand free
territory, where they GO and rise at once 10 an
equality with their fcowci citizens, which they never
do At home. They are natural abotionists,
and unless blinded by ignorance, or oyerawed by
their social superiors, they will 30 declare them
selves Every intelligent and virtue. loving wife
mother at the South when she thinks Of her hus-
band and her sons, il forced to be an abolitionst
The attempt, therefore, 20 subje the Terrific
res 10 the law Of slavery il not made in the name
Of half Of the people Of the United States; il is
not made for the six millions more or lcss who ia.
habit the slave States; but IL is made for less than
three hundred thousand shareholders among more
than twenty millions Of people.
There j. one other "hazard," sir, which the South
inyokes and dehes. which, 70 her high. minded and
honor loving sons, should be formidable than
ALI the rest. She j. defying the Spirit Of the Age.
She is not only defying the judgment Of contempt
raries, bot invoking upon herself the eSecrations
Ofposterity. Mark the progress in the public sen
timent Of Christcndom within the last few centuries
the subject Of slavery and the rights Of man.
After the discovery 81 this continent by Columbus
the ecclesiastics Of Spain held councils 10 discuss
the question, whether the aborgncs Of this country
had or had not souls 10 be saved. They left this
question undecided; but they said, as II posi-
Die that The nations 81 tho New World might have
an immortal spirit, they would send them the Cos
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