The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1850-08-02

4
which assumed at the opening OF this Congress
They elected much anidmadversion from the
press of the North, and some from people at the
South who are among us, but not OF us. de-
sire here, again, to reaffirm them. shall stand
by them; ii their maintenance by the South
costs the Union, it is your fault, not ours. Our
lives, our property, our constitutional privileges
are all really involved in the issue Your posi-
ton offers us the fate Of Hayti, or, at best, of
jamaica, or resistance to lawless rule. trust
there is nothing in our past history which ought
TO induce You TO doubt which alternative we
shall accept. Though the Union may perish,
though slavery may perish, warn my country
men never to surrender their right to an equal
participation in the common property of the re-
public, nor their right to full and ample protec-
ton OF their property from their own govern
ment. The day they do this deed " their fall
will be like that Of Lucifer, never to rise again
/ This general duty Of Government to protect
the property of the people is so obviously just
that it is usually admitted with the qualification
OF excepting slave property. This very excep-
ton Is but asserting in more odious form hos
tility to our rights. The principle upon which
the exception is pretended to b, based is, that
slavery is peculiar institution and is against
the common law of mankind Ii slavery is q
|
Government is peculiar government, and our
Constitution a peculiar constitution, for have
already shown that both the Government and the
Constitution are impregnated with the pecul-
arity. "The common law Of mankind is al
best but an uncertain term. 1t wants many oil
the essential ingredients of goodlaw 1t is dit:
icult OF ascertainment, and more difficult to en-
force. l take its best exponent to be the prac.
| tce OF mankind. Tested by this rule the po
sition OF our opponents is untenable. There is
no period in the history of the human race in
which slavery has not existed in great portion
OF the earth. 1t was the universal practice Of
mankind from the days of Abraham until the
formation Of our Constitution. IL was expressly
authorized and sanctioned by the successor Of
st Peter in the sixteenth century, and was at that
time the general law of Chrstendom. At the
formation Of our Constitution property in slaves
was recognized and protected in some form BY
every civilized government in the world If oul
constitutional rights to the protection of oul
slave property is to be subjected to this new test
this new invention of our opponents, 8" the com
mon law of mankind we claim to stand upor
the law as it stood when the compact was made
tits the legal and just rule of constituting private
contracts: it is equally just when applied to the
exposition of public compacts. II is the only
mode OF arriving at the true sense and meaning
OF the parties to the compact in relation to the
test applied. &5& as
At that day slavery was lawful in every
country in the world where il was not prohibited
by law. The dictum of Lord Mansfield to the
contrary in Somersetts case, in l772, was out
side OF the crse before him, against the express
decision of Lord Hardwicke and other eminent
English iurists on the precise point, and was
disavowed fifty years afterwards in Judicial
decision by Lord StOwel, one of the most able
learned, and accomplished of England's judges
That such was the common law of these colo
MES, Lord Mansfield himself in the ease referred
to, expressly affirmed; and that such was the
understanding of the law by the States who
Horned our Constitution is conclusively proved
by the fact that emancipation, where it has taken
place. has been effected in every instance but
one by express prohibition and it is further
shown by the uniform protection which this
Government, from its foundation, has given to
property in slaves without inquiry into its origin
This Government has no power to declare what
shall or what shall not be property, or to regu.
late the manner or places of its enjoyment, cx.
cept in the cases of patent rights and copyrights
This power belongs to the State governments
to the extent that it exists anywhere. What
ever any of the States recognize as property, il
| is the duty Of this Government to protect
When it places itself in hostility to property
thus secured, it becomes an enemy to the pco-
ole, and ought to be corrected or subverted.
This is question which affects the rights Of all
the States at
| This is the only rule which can preserve the
| harmony of the Union, and enable the General
Government to perform impartially its duties to
States having different interests and institutions
| We have no right to complain, and we do not
complain of any policy which our confederates
may impose upon their own citizens, in relation
to slavery within their own limits nor do we
complain of the opinions Of individuals in refer
ence to it. Massachusetts can send Abolition
lists here if she chooses and she makes free
use Of the right. What we have the right to
demand, and what we do demand, is, that they
shall not impress theiranti-slavery opinions upon
the legislation of this Government We neither
desire to force our policy upon her, nor will we
submit to have hers forced upon us. We offer
her the power and resources of the republic to
protect her property. We require the same for
ourselves What object Of material wealth,
animate or inanimate, recognized by the laws of
the Northern States, have we ever failed to pro-
tect? None. When have we ever attempted,
by legislation or otherwise, to war upon her
domestic policy! Never. We have not only
protected her wealth, when created or acquired,
but we have done more--we have aided her, by
our Legislation, to create it. BY our navigation
laws we have given her the monopoly of our
coasting trade BY discriminating tariffs we
have invigorated and stimulated the arm Of her
industry We have followed with our laws her
ships freightcd with her property, and her hardy
seamen in pursuit of wealth, over the trackless
ocean, to the uttermost parts of the world
They have traversed every ocean, they have
stood upon every-isle Of the sea and upon every
continent of the earth, securely pursuing the ac-
QUESTION of wealth, under that emblem Of our
nationaiity--the stars and stripes.
We have withheld no part Of the price--neither
Of blood nor treasure-of winning for that flag
name and renown which makes it so ompipo-
tent to shield the persons and property Of Ameri-
can citizens. The sight Of the flag Of England
once caused every Anglo Saxon heart on this con-
tinent to leap with joy and gladness. Then the
power which it represented was used to shield
and protect them. Foolish tyrants made it the
emblem Of degradation. Loyalty converted
into hate-the rest is history. Profit by its teach
mgs. | demand to-day that protection for my
constituents which we have never withheld from