Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1850-05-16

According to the last census, there were more
than eight thousand persons Of African blood IN
Massachusetts,, Abolish the moral and religious
convictions of our people, let slavery appear to
be in their sight, not only llwful and credable,
but desirable as badge of aristocraic dstinc-
ton, and as "poliica social, moral and rclig-
ious bessIng% aud what obstacle would pre-
vent these eight thousand persons from being
turned into slaves, on any day, by the easy,
cheap, and short hand kidnapping d legisla-
tive tct. Africans can exist here, for the best
of all reasons-they do exist here. state OF
slavery would not stop their respiration, nor
cause them to vanish 81 into thin air." Think,
for moment of the complaints we constantly
hear, in certain circles Of the difficulty and vex
atOusness of commanding domestic service. II
no moral or religious objection existed against
holding slaves, would not many of those respect
able and opulent gentlemen who signed the let.
ter Of thanks to Mr. Webster, and hundreds OF
Others, indeed, instead of applying to lntei-
gence Offices Or visiting emigrant ships for do
mestlcs, as we call thea, 90 at once to the auc-
ton-roJm and buy man or a woman, with as
little hesitanc7 or conjunction, as they now
send to Brighton for beeves, or 90 to TattersalPs
for horse? lfthe cold of the higher attitudes
checks the flow of African blood, OF benumbs
African limbs, the Shareholder knows very well
lhat trlflng extra expense for whips will make
up for the difference.
but suppose doubt could be reasonably en-
terValned about the invasion of the new terrific
} RES by slavery. Even suppose the chances to
prepondGrae against it, What then? Are we
to submit question Of human liberty, over vast
| regions and for an indefinite extent Of time, to
} the determination of chance? With all my fac
! ulties, say No! Let me ask any man, let me
J respectfully ask Mr.. Webster himself, if it were
his own father and MOTHER and brothers and sis
tiers, and sons and daughters who were in peril
} Of such n fate, whether he would abandon them
to chance-even to a favorable chance? Would
, he suffer their fate to be determined by dice or
dlvination, when positive prohibition was in his
; power? And by what rule of Christian morali-
) ty, or even Of enlightened heather morality, can
we deal differently with the kindred Of others
from what we would with our own? He is not
} Christian whose humanity is bounded by the
!, legal degrees Of blood, or by generic types of
| feature.
S But Mr.. Webster would not taunt the South
v neither would |. would not taunt any honora.
i Bile man, much less a criminal. Still when the
n most precious interests of humanity are at stake
n would not be timld. would not stop to1 long
n to Gull lovers phrases. Standing under the eye
: of God and in the forum of the world, and be.
a fore the august tribunal of posterty, when the
), litigants are Freedom and Tyranny, and human
+ happiness and misery the prize they contest, it
n should happen to the sworn advocate of liberty,
: as Quiutlian says it did to Isocrates, &C not to
: speak and to plead, but to thunder and tighten"
e Mr.. Webster will not taunt the South, and yet |
say the South we're never so nsulted before as
$ he has insulted them. Common SCOTS, ieers
e vIliticatlons are iattery sycophancy, compared
n with the indlgntes h. heaped upon them
a Look at the facts.
If Desperate efforts were made to smuggle in an
+ unrestricted territorial government against all
n parliamentary rule, and all constitutional impli-
cation. The whole South as one man claimed
it as descrbable VEGETABLE, estimable, tang-
e ble," and most valuable right to carry slaves
c there. Calhoun, Berrien, Badger, Mason Davis
the whole Southern phalanx Wing and Demo-
e crat--peaded for it, argued for it, and most of
2 declared themselves ready TO fight for it; and
e yet Mr. Webster rises in his place, and tells
= them that they are all moon struck, hallucinated
s and fatuous; because on ordinance Of nature
and the will Of God. had sanled this question
SAID, Immediately after this speech, give us Tree
scope and time enough, and we will take care
2 OF the rest.
The South waged war with Mexico from one
and only one motive; for one and only one OBJ
Ject; the extension of slavery. They refused
peace until it surrendered territory. That ter.
rltory must be South of the abhored line of 36
) degrees 30 minutes The same president who
abandoned the broad belt of country on our
northern frontier from 40 degrees to 81 degrees
~ minutes, to VIII CHI we had, in his own words.
an unquestonable title, would allow no prohbi
| ton OF slavery to be imposed upon the territory
which Mexico ceeded, though she would bury it
foot deep in gold. The proviso had been re-
sisted IN all forms, from the beginning. South
eFh wings voted against the ratification of the
treaty, ioreseehg the struggle which was 10 fol-
low.
Mr.. Mason sald We have here from various
quarters, and from high quarters, and repeated
here on all hands, repeated here again to day
by the honorable Senator from Illinois. Mr.
Shields, that there is a law of nature which ex-
cudes the Southern people from every portion
OF the state OF California. | know of no such
law OF nature, none whatever; but | do know
the contrary, that If California had been organ
lied with territorial form or Government ony
and tor which, at the last two sessions of Con-
gress, she has obtained the entire Southern vote.
the people OF the Southern States would have
gone there freely, and have taken their slaves
there in great numbers. They would have
been augmented to them many hundred fold
Why, in the debates which took place in the
Convention which formed the constitution. and
which any Senator can now read for himself
aflert the provision excluding slavery was agreed
upon, it was proposed to prohibit the African
race altogether free as well as bond. A de.
bate arose upon it; and the ground was distinct
ly taken, as shown in those debates, that if the
entire African race was not excluded, their la
Dor would be found so valuable that the owners
of slaves would bring them there, eren though
slavery were prohibited, under a contract TO
manumit them in two or three years. And it
required very little reasoning, on the part of
those opposed to this class of population, 10 show
that the productiVeness of their labor would be
such as to cause that result.
An estimate was gone into with reference to
the value of the labor of this class of people
showing that it would be increased to such an
extent in the mines of California, that thew
could not be kept out 1t was agleed that the
labor of slave in any one of the States from
which they would be taken, was not worth more
than one hundred to one hundred and fifty dol
lars year, and that in California it would be
worth from four TO six thousand dollars. They
would work themselves free in one or two years,
and thus the country would be filed by class
of free blacks, aud their former owners have an
excellent bargain i'll taking them theIe."
Yet Mr.. Webster stands up before all this
array, and says; "Gentemen, you are besides
yourselves, You have eaten helebore You
would look more in character, should you put on
the cap aud bells.
In sober sense, in seeing his object clearly,
and pursuing directly, Don Quixotte was DR..
Franklin compared with you, The dog in the
fable who dropped his meat to snap at its shad-
ow, is an allegory in your case. see two class
es around me-wiSe men and fools: you do not
belong to the former. The Chancellor who
keeps the kings idiots should have control of
you"
Such is faithful abstract of what Mr. Web
stor said to Southern Senators, and through
them to all the South.