The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1850-07-08

: Oh our Ieli0W-citlzens In any portion OF the
Union, desire such d stateof things. Ademand
! so unreasonable and the operation iof which
would be ,glaringly UNJUST, canneycr beiRade
by those who regard the rights, of others, or
properly estimate the greatobj ects Of the union
of the States. sises 4 IA IS 4 sossgpl lsTat;ss
The whole'of the difficulty i'm this vexed q,les-
ton seems to me to be the result of IA doubt
q which has arisen whether slaves be property nm
der the Constitution In these days of pro-
grcss, it seems TO have been discovered that they
are not TO be so regarded, and a philanthrop.c
crusade Is set foot to prevent what is deemed
the extension of a great. evil. So far as this
Government IL concerned, sir, 1t il a dry matter
! OF law, and not a subject of ,transcendcntal
! rodomontade. Gentlemen may indulge in the
recreation OF philanthropic defamation, either
! for their own or the editication Of others But,
surely, asccrtained and GUARANTEED rights are not
to be hlzarded or questioned upon any such
pretence. arraign no mans motives for his
,Iopinions the abstract question of slavery; it
is sufficient for me that am satisfied with an
institution which existed in my State before my
birth, and will continue long after my death--an
institution, the practical evils of which have not
been able to discern, to which Irefer much Of
the peculiar excellence of our Institutions, and
the absence of which would at once determine
n me in the choice Of residence. have never
lived and never expect to live, in any portion of
the United States where this Institution does not
4 xist. " $50 .4
II Such, sir, are my opinions \ 1t may be that
they are not the opinions Of Others. ] arraign
noman for his taste or his conscientious con-
i victions; but 1 have said thus much because l
think all rant and defamation on the general
subject OF slavery out Of place in this discussion.
Il Slaves We're regarded as property at the forina-
ton Of this Government, and have been SO re-
garded by Congress- whenever it was necessary
] TO raise money bya direct tax. ). Even Mr., Jus,
tce Mclean, whose authority has been invoked
! to prove that they arenot property, belonged to
j the Congress which passed the direct-tax law,
Immediately ut or about the close of the late
= war with Great Britain. j presume he voted
for that law, as there is no evidence to the con-
trary. Slaves are therein declared to be pro-
!, perry, ordered to be treated as such, taxed as
| such, and the tax declared to be lien ON the
! slave until paid. The marshal was authorized
}. to sell and convey the slave under a sale for
tixes Slaves are now and ever have been sold
b by the marshal undcrscxecutions at the instance
4 Of the United States, and no one has questioned
: the title thus acquired by the purchaser.
Whence, then, can the power arise, by which
Congress may forbid the settlement Of any of
j the citizens Of the United States on our com
| mon inheritance with that which is recognized
!, as property? s'3 ~N@ - -
/, With what show Of justice can determinations
be made IN favor of one species OF property and
, against another3 or how can right which looks
for It's origin to the exercise of State sovereignty,
unimpaired by, surrender TO the General Govern
ment be brought under the control Of Congress
Y Sir II is most serious, most responsible under
taking, 10 determine that any portion Of our fel
lowe citizens are to be excluded from the inherit
81 ance of their fathers. You ask much, indeed
+ from us when you require us 10 consent TO SCI
!. our children dsinherited--to register our appro
. baton of the decree which Nightmares them as
!, American citizens. Much more is asked thar
= will ever be granted. IL this reproach is to be
! upon U.S. must never be by eur own consent
The broad lands won BY our fathers Of right be
: long to us all. The Flood which flowed upon
IL the plains of every battlefield from Saratoga to
{ Camden, come from the wounds Of patriots who,
from the North and South, buckled on their ar
1 NOR to do battle for .liberty--whose bold and
! manly hearts were never under the influence OF
unpatriotic feelings--who sought no local or Sec
!, tional advantages, but regarded all this broad
= land as q common treasure TO enrich themselves
and their posterity. Happily for them, the delu
: sion Qf one) lasted long enough to save then
e honored faces from blush at our degeneracy
!, Happy was his lot who slept on the field of his
glory; thrice happy those who saw in the distance
i their countrys prosperity, and left the. world be-
fore dissensions and dstrust threatened to bring
distress where they looked for happiness, and
liishoDor where they looked for glory.
Let itnot be reserved for us. now that the family
\ on States has increased from thirteen to thirty
when Heaven has rained prosperity upon nus in
i golden showers--when the eyes of world strug-
4 CHING for their rights are turned to us with agonz
ing anxiety-when the consummation of our glory
and our power as people can scarcely be conceiv-
ed by the most vivid imagination--when the obe-
dient Lightning, ceursing along the wires Of COM
munication, will ere long place our kindred on the
Pacific and Atlantic shores again in the family
circle, and carry in amoment the tale of Joy or of
sorrow over rivers, and forests, and praires, and
ipains-when distance shall no longer forbid ASSOC
citation, and light and knowledge shall make their
aggressive advance on darkness and barbarism-
when the resources Of our territories, developed
under the creative energies of wonderful peo-
pie, shall, Year after year, greet us with the or
ganization Of a new State and the introduction of
new sister into, the family, bright with all the
paraphernalia of virgin sovereignty; let not, sin,
be reserved for us, in an unworthy struggle for
political ascendency, or more unworthy grasping
for exclusive privileges, founded on sectional
claims, to create and awake the elements of a
storm which shall sweep over our bright and hap
Ipy country, like the angel Of destruction, leaving
nothing but the wreck of liberty and the ruin of
social institutions; which shall show to the world
the tomb Of liberty, the fragments of its temples;
where the friends Of race shall weep, and the
lenemes of human advancement shall rejoice No,
sir; let more enlightened policy prevail, a more
let the heaven-born spirit influence us which in
fucnced the patriarchs, who, ascending to the
mountain top, agreed 10 divide their wealth and
divide their territories, the elder giving the younger
one the choice, for :. it was not meet for them to
differ, for they were brethren" Let the lines Of
the Missouri Compromise extend to the Pacific.
Take that invaluable territory, including the rich
est and the best which the sun shines upon: but
leave us our rights; shorn indeed Of much of their
extent; and although you hold in your hands the
sword Of the law to exclude us, we will place no
obstruction to emigration from your portion Of this
| great Republic.
/ Mr.. Chairman, ! present to the committee the
resolution Of the Baltimore Convention, which
denounces, in the strongest TERMS the interference
Of Congress with the institution Of slavery,
the taking Of incpent steps thereto. offer 10 our
Northern and Western brethren the, Missouri
4 Compromise, oncrous and exacting as it is upon
the South extending its provisions to the Pacific,
including the fine soil, the magnificent harbors,
and all the local advantages which nature has APP
propriated to these geographical limits. admit
the right Of the Inhabitants Of the territories to