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

| plant against the North. According to the deci
| sion alluded to, the fugitive may be recapturec
without warrant, and, without any trial Of hii
rights by jury or otherwise, carried into slavery
This manifestly exposes the colored people of tn,
| free States to the Southern kidnspper. They
have the right, which belongs to all communities
to guard the liberties Of their own citizens and
IT, for this purpose, some Ct them have passed laws
against the kidnapping Of free persons as slaves
| question whether the pT y claimed is or is moi
a slave, is it an aggressi pom Southern rights
When the free colored cls(kens OF the North visit
the ports Of South Caroline they are thrown into
| prison, and sometimes even sold into slavery
| This if mistake not, 10 justified by the South
] on the ground Of necessary police regulation
/ SEQ ponce ItgOnauons ,s sseuufe tne rights OF
,heu citiEens7 Are not police regulations in
behalf of liberty as justi6able as police regutions
in behalf Of slavery
| As regards the enticemeat of slaves from their
| masters, the number Of such cases is small
Neither the States, nor the mass of their citizens
are accountable, or have any connection whatever
with such transactions. The great majority OF
| escapes are prompted by other causes than North
| ern interference. The slave has the power OF
locomotion, and the instinct to be free and il
would indeed be wonderful did he not, of his own
will and by his own efforts, struggle for the prize
| of which he has been robbed. That men will
strive to better their condition is law Of nature
| The fight Of the bondman is necessary conse-
| quence of the oppression under which he groans.
Blame not the North for this, but blame your d.
abolical system, which impiously tramples under
foot the God given rights of men. Upbraid ma
| ture, for she is always asitatingn the question
Of slavery, and persusding its victims to fee.
1 LII ,L-oo - Ii
| chattels. You shut out from them the light of
the Bible, and degrade and brutalizs them TO the
extent Of your power, for your systeD requires it,
You deny them that principle Of eternal justice,
Iair tsY u Saess S. Z fsiy saasgsG wax H"s'
sunder their dearest relations separating at your
will husbands and wives parents and children.
| And do you suppose the poor slave, smarting
under these wrongs, will not seek deliverance by
| fght7 And when, through peril and starvation,
he finds his way among US, painting for that lib
erty for which our fathers poured out their blood,
| do you imagine we shall drop our work and join
| in the chase with his Christless pursuers2 Sir,
| there Is no power on earth that can induce us
thus to take sides with the oppressor Such,
rejoice to believe, is the public sentiment Of the
North, that care not what laws Congress may
| enact, the save-hunter will find himself unaided
! The free States will observe faithfully the COM
| promises of the Constitution They will give up
their soil as hunting ground for the STAKEHOLDER,
suspending their sovereignty that may give free
chase to his fugitive. They will pass no law to
discharge him from the service he may legally
owe to his claimant or to hinder his recapture But
we mil not actively cooperate against the unhappy
victim of your tyranny. And II Southern gentle
men to insist upon such active cooperation on
our part, as condition of their continuing in the
| Union, they may as well, in my judgment, begin
| L. Gov - &c
| it on the best terms they can. Under no cir
cumstances, trust, will We yield to their de-
mand.
| Another intolerable aggression with which the
North is charged is that of scattering incendiary
publications in the South, designed to incite
instructions among the slaves The HNaheYn
gentleman from Pennsylvania Mr.. Rossl has
paraded this charge In the most hideous colors.
My friend from North Carolina has also been
quite graphic in setting 1t forth, declaring that
tbs fsef AetAs r. ana f0atfS iU tAeh pei
scatter frebrands throughout the South TO incits
servile instructions, and stimulate by licentoul
pictures our negroes to invade the persons Of ouI
white women Sir this is o serious accusation
and if true, the South PROFESSIONALLY has RICH
to complain. will not charge the gentleman
with fabricating ii, but | regret that he did mo-
produce the evidence on which he felt authorized
4 10 mhke IL. utny INC Cuhike. thdt WV
| free States "keep up and foster in their bosomi
Abolition societies" for any purpose. The Abo
| litiou societies. now known as such, belong t.
what is called the Garrison school. The North
| ern States are no more responsible for their do
| ings than the Southern States Unlike all other
parties in the North, they lay down their plat.
form outside of the Constitution, and hold that the
freedom Of the black race only be accomplished
by it's overthrow; but they rely upon moral force
alone for the triumph of their cause. ldeny that
they are guilty of melting, or Of wishing to incte
servile instructions, Of scattering firebrands
among the slaves, or lcentious pictures. These
Abolitionists are generally the friends Of peace,
non -resistants, the enemies Of violence and blood
and they would regret as much as any people in
the Union to see a scrvile war set on foot by the
millions in the land Of slavery. win add further,
while dissenting entirely from their doctrines,
that they have among them some of the purest
and most gifted men in the nation. But is the
charge meant for the Free Soil party Of the
North Are they the incendiaries complained
Of and their doctrines the frebrands which have
been scattered in the South We hold that
Congress should abolish slavery in this District,
prevent its extension beyond it's present limits,
refuse the admission of any more slave States,
and that the Government should relieve itself
from all responsibility for the existence or support
Of slavery where II has the constitutional power
thus to relieve ITSELF leaving II State institution
dependent upon State sovereignty exclusively
We are for non-intervention in Its true sense
Such is our creed, and we proclaim II North and
South II it il incendiary then are we guilty,
for our newspapers circulate in the slsveholding
States. II our faith is frebrand, we have scat
tered II, not among your slaves, who are unable
to read, but among their owners Acting within
the Constitution and resolving not TO 90 beyond it's
utoIr 10 avaf1 WA M n
free press to disseminate our views far and wide.
If truth Is incendiary, we shall still proclaim 1t
II our constitutional acts are hrebrands we shall
nevertheless do our duty. Sir, this charge has
been conceived in the diseased brain Of the slave
holder, or the sickly conscience Of the doughfsce
| reiterate my denial that any party Ia the free
States has labored to bring about war between
the two races In the South. Lam aware that we
have our ultra men among us, nor do pretend TO
justify all they have done. They must answer
for themselves, and cannot involve the North in
their responsibility But there is no party In the
free States that harbors any such purpose, or
that would not shudder at the contemplation of
80 merciless and heart-appalling project
Passing over the subject of slavery In this Dis
trict. which shall notice In q different connec-
ton, come now to the Wilmot Proviso. This
would seem 10 be the sum Of all wrongs and out
rages--the aggression Of aggressiops--the mon
ster that, IL not at once throtted and destroyed,
Is to rcnd the Union asunder. Let US once more
look 1t In the face take It's dimensions, and con-
template It's supposed power Of mischief This
Wilmot Proviso has been much discussed In Con-
gress, and throughout the country; II might be
thought, by this time, stale topic; yet IL Is Tar
from being an uninteresting one, as the continual
discussion Of It here evinces. Endeayoring s
much as possible to lay aside passion, would say
to Southern gentlemen, " Let Us reason together"
Suppose this alarming measure should pass
through both Houses Of Congress, and receive the
Executive sanction, ask wherein would consist
the aggression upon the GUARANTEED rights OF the
South Would not every slave state saii retain
It's sovereignty over its peculiar institution