The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1850-05-23

OF the territory, and, being collected on the spot
having surveyed all its mountains, having breath
ed its air az oil temperatures, and turned up its
golden soil--these men had never discovered any
Flaw of physical geography which the fell
| spirit OF slavery could not transgress. Slaves
were carried into Oregon, ten degrees Of latitude
| higher up. Its colonists reenacted the Ordinance
| OF 1857 before Congress gave them Territorial
Government. la the Territorial Government
that was given them, the prohibition was inserted
and President Polk signed the bill, with sn ex-
press protest, that he ratified this exclusion OF
slavery only because the country lay north of the
| Missouri Compromise line but declared that,
had it embraced the very region 10 question, he
would have vetoed the bill
General Csss never took the ground that sla-
very could not exist in the new territories and no
inconsiderable part of the opposition made to
him in Massachusetts aud in other free States
was placed expressly upon the ground that he
would not prohibit it, MIR. Webster, in his
Marshfeld speech, Sept. |, ls4s, opposed the
election of General Cass, because, through his
recreancy to Northern principles, slavery would
| invade the territories This was expressed with
his usual clesrness and force, as follows:
| "He, General Cass, will surely have the Sem
ate; and with the patronage Of the Government,
with every interest that he, as o Northern man,
can bril- & to bear, cooperating with every inter-
est that the South can bring to bear, we cry
safety before we are out of the woods, u ire feel
that there IS no danger 10 these Rep terTlorieSn
Yet Mr.. Webster now says that to support the
Proviso," would do disgrace to his own un-
derstandingn-Pa 46.
During the same campaign, also, the Honorable
Rufus Choate, one of the most eloquent men in
New England, and known TO be the personal
friend Of Mr.. Webster, delivered speech at Sa-
lem in which the following passage occurs;
alt is the passage of a law to say that Califor-
MIA and New Mexico shall remain forever free
That is, felow-citizens, undoubtedly an object Of
great and transcendent Importance; for there is
aNNs who will deny that we should 20 up TO the
very limits Of the Constitution itself, and with
the wisdom of the wisest, and zeal of the most
zesl9ys sbnp5 unite to ace0mplish this great OBJ
ject and TO defeat The always detested AND for
ever to be detested object of the dark ambition of
that candidate of the Baltimore Convention, who
has ventured TO pledge himself in advapce that
he will veto the future law Of freedom and may
God avert the madness of all those who hate sla-
very and love freedom, that would unite in put
ting him in the place where his thrice accursed
pledge may be red emed Is there
Wing upon this floor who doubts that the
strength of the Wing party next March will in
sure freedom TO California and New Mexico, if
by the Constitution they are entitled to freedom
would not vote for freedom2 You know there
is not one. Did not every Wing member of
Congress from the free States vote at the last
session for freedom7 You know that every man
of them returned home covered with the thanks
of his constituents for that vote. Is there sim
gle Wing constituency, in any free State in this
country, that would return any man that would
not vote for freedom DO you beiiepe that Daniel
Webster himself could BE- returned II there nas the
least doubt upon the question ?p
Mr.. Choate then adds "Upon this question
alone we always differ from those Wings Of the
South; and on that one, we propose simply TO Uote
them down" Mr. Webster now says he will not
join in voting them down.
Under such circumstances is it frivolous or
captious to ask for something more than dog.
matte assertion that slavery cannot impregnate
| these new regions and cause them to breed mon
sters forever2 On subject of such infinite i'm
portance cannot be satisfied with dictum; |
| want a demonstration. | cannot accept the
prophecy without inquiring what spirit inspired
the prvphot. 40 ~e-.i~,isn s~a-s ha.~sn n
would be most delightful but, as it conflicts
with all human experience, it requires at least
one undoubted miracle to attest the divinity Of Its
origin. ="
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 lawful and creditabe,
but desirable badge of aristocratic distinction,
and as a "politica social moral and religious
blessing and what obstacle would prevent these
eight thousand persons from being turned into
slaves on any day, by the easy, cheap, and short
hand kidnapping of a legislative act Africans
can exist here, for the best OF all reasons-they
do exist here A state Of slavery would not stop
| han IN 0info
thin air. Think, for moment, Of the COM
plants we constantly hear in certain circles, of
the difficulty and vexatiousness Of commanding
| domestic service IL no moral or religious objec-
ton existed against holding slaves, would not
many of those respectable and opulent gentlemen
who signed the letter of thanks to Mr.. Webster,
and hundreds of others indeed, instead of apply
ing to intelligence offices, or visiting emigrant
ships for domestics as call them, go at once TO
the auction-room and buy man or woman with
| as little hesitancy or conjunction as they now
send to Brighton for beeves, or go to TatersalPs
for horse2 IL the cold Of the higher ATTITUDES
checks the flow Of African blood, or benumbs AZ
rican limbs, the stakeholder knows very well that
a triAng extra expense for whips will make up
for the difference
But suppose doubt could be reasonably enter
tanned about the invasion Of the new territories
by slavery Even suppose the chances TO prepon-
derate against it. What them Are we to sub
nit question of human liberty over vast regions
and for an indefinite extent OF time, to the deter
mnation of chance? With all my faculties |
say No! Let me ask any man, let me respect
fully ask Mr. Webster himself If II were his own
father and mother, and brothers and sisters, and
sons and daughters, who were in peril Of such a
fate whether he would abandon them to chance
even to a favorable chance. Would he suffer
their fate to be determined by dice or divinaton,
when positive prohibition was In his power ?
And by what rule of Christian morality, or even
of enlightened heather morality can we deal diff.
ferently with the kindred of others from what we
would with our own7 He is not @ Christian
whose humanity Is bounded by the legal degrees
of blood, or by general types Of feature.
But Mr.. Webster would not "tsunto the
South Neither would |. would not taunt any
honorable man, much less o criminal. Still
when the most precious interests Of humanity are
In peril, | would not be timid. ] would not stop
too long TO Gull lovers phrases Standing under
the eye Of God in the forum Of the world and
before the august tribunal Of posterity, when the
iitigants are Freedom and Tyranny, and human
happiness and human misery the prize they con-
test, II should happen to the sworn advocate Of
Liberty, as Quintilsn says 1t did to lsocrates,
mot to speak and TO plead, but to thunder and
to lightenn Mr. Webster would not taunt the
South and yet say the South were never 80
nsulted before rs he has insulted them. Com
mon SCOTS, jeers, vilifcaaons, are 6attery and
sycophancy, compared with the indignities be
hcaped upon them. Look at the facts The
South waged war with Mexico from one and only
one motive for one and only one object-the ex-
tension Of slavery. They refused peace unless
II surrendered territory. That territory must
be south Of the abhorred line of $50 30' The
same President who abandoned the broad belt Of
country on our Northern frontier, from 400 to
so 4O to which We had, In bis own words, "an
unquestionable titlen would allow no prohibitios
OF slavery to be imposed upon the territory which
Mexico coded, though she would bury It foot
deep in gold. The Proviso had been resisted In
all forms, from the beginning Southern Whigs