The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1850-06-06

To Tie Editor of the Catholic Telegraph.
Rev. AND DEAR SIR In your brief editorial of
the 18th instant, (Apri Introductory to the letter
from the Faculty of the University of Notre Dame
du Lac, addressed to the honorable Henry Clay,
you say that ait may be reg 'rded as a strong in
dcation that the Catholic population of the United
States are in favor of compromising, on principles
honorable and just to all sections of the Union the
present unhappy sectional controversy which dis
tracts the country
As one of that " Catholic population sincerely
and warmly devoted to our pure and holy religion,
which has been so much evil spoken of in this
country, | beg to enter my earnest and solemn
disclaimer to the sentiment conveyed in the above
extract, and to express my firm belief that our
Catholic brethren in truth so friendly to civil
liberty, that they are opposed to all compromises
with slavery Can there be such thing as COM
promise, on honorable and just principles, with
crime ?-and such slavery has always been re-
garded by the church. AS is we'll known, it has
been again and again formally condemned by the
Head of the Church--by Pope Plus ii, as long ago
as l462, and subsequently by Paul iii by Urban
VIII, by Benedict XIV, by Plus VII, and still
more recently, 80 late as in December, 1889, by
Pope Gregory XVI, who "admonishes, by his
apostolic authority, all Christians, of whatever
condition. that none henceforth dare to subject to
slavery nssrses uthcr slasses nf man, be as-
cessory TO others in 30 doingn He furthermore
denounces as an " inhuman traffic that by which
negroes are reduced to slavery as if they were
not men, but automatic or chattels, and sold IN de-
fance of all The lars Of justice and humanuyn What
| would ask, is "the present unhappy sectional
controversy" about, and what is meant by " COM
promise in the case We have recently acquired
from Mexico an immense territory now free no
slavery exists there. Now, all that the friends
of freedom ask is simply that this territory should
be kept free, unpolluted by slavery. The slave
holders, on the other hand, claim that they have
the right to introduce slavery into any and every
territory owned by the United States, and threat
en- all manner of violence even the dissolution Of
the Union, if they are prohibited from exercising
this right they call it, of extending this blight
ing curse. That is the unhappy sectional contro-
versy. Then comes the cry Of compromise +"
which means, that slavery shall be allowed to d.
vide that territory with freedom; to occupy a
portion of it under the positive sanction, or, at
least silent connivance of the General Govern
ment. | should be sorry, indeed to believe that
the Catholic population Of the United States was
80 recrean to the cause of civil liberty as TO be in
favor Of any such thing it certainly is not the
case here. We cannot compromise with crime-of
course not with slavery, which we abhor as deeply
as ever did the "Liberator of Ireland, with whom
we would denounce it as the most heinous crime
that ever stained humanity There is but one
way of settling the slave question: and that is by
doing right Let all extension of slavery be pro-
hibited, and all connection Of the Federal Gov
eminent with the institution be dissolved, leaving
il to the States in which it exists to manage there
for themselves and the unhappy controversy will
be settled, and peacefully settled too.
Believe me, reverend sir, to be very respectfully
yours, JAMES KELLY.