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


wrong, viii not add to an error of judgment,
the meanness of clandestine attack If am
| right no can complain for W. must all bow
before the majesty of Tcuth.
| | have now noticed the principal events which
have taken place in Congress, and which have led
| to what military men would call the demorali-
| zatiOn" of many of the rank and file OF its mem
bers. Some recent movements have brought Wv
idly TO mind certain historical recoections in re-
gard to the African slave trade, now execrated
by all civilized nations. When the immortal
Wilbcrforce exposed to public gaze the secrets of
that horrid traffic his bographer says, 1.-The
first burst of generous indignation promised
nothing less than the instant abolition of the
trade. hut nircadie jealousy hal taken the alarm,
and the defenders of the West India system
found themselves strengthened by the independ-
ent alliance of commercial men"-LDe OF WWT-
force roll J. page 29l.
Again opposition to Wilberforce's motion
arose amongst the Guinea mrchaa,s u" rein
forced, however, before long by the great body Of
West India planters"-Ibm.
The Corporation of Liverpool spent first and
last, upwards of 10000 in defence of traffic
which even the gravity and calmness of judicial
decisions have since pronounced "infernal"
Besides printing works in defence Of the slave
trade and renunerating their authors; paying
the expenses Of delegates to attend in London
|
pensoned the widows of Norris and Gree, and
voted plate to Mr.. Penny, for their exertions in
this cause "-Ihd, pare 3i5.
| II Is said that the Corporation Of Liverpool at
this time believed firmly that the very exist
ence of the city depended upon the continuance
of the traffic. Look at Liverpool now, and re-
feet what greater rewards, even OF temporal
nature, God reserves for men that abjure dishon-
esty and crime.
An collateral motives were brought to bear
upon the subject, just as they are at the present
time The Guinea trade was defended :" rs
nursery for seamcn o-Ilm, l0ge 293
Even as late AS 1916, the same class OF men, in
the same country opposed the abortion OF "whte
slavery in Agiers from the same base motives
of interest II was thought that the danger OF
| NAVIGATING the Mediterranean, caused by the
! Barbary c0rSairs, was adV'h,tge"us 10 britSn
commerce because it might deter the merchant
| sbins of other nations from visiting it. After
! |, ord Exmouth hal compelled the Algerincs to
| iberate their European slaves, he proceeded
against Tunis and Tripoli In giving an account
of what he had done, he defends his conduct
upon general principles" but adds, GAS apply |
ing 20 our own country fOroas orTta'n it may
not be borne out, the OH mercantile interest hung
=, -sz,.,r< - s3s5a,ioG "a FES9safS,s. Sss'
So after Admiral Blake, in the time OF Crom-
well had attacked Tunis, he says, in his despatch
to Secretary Thurloe, "And now seeing it hath
pleased Cd soc signaly to justify US herein hope
his highness will not be offended at it. any who
regard duly the honor of the nation, although /
erpeci 10 haUs the clamorS Of INTERESTED MEN"-
Tlprlols State Papers, Vol II, poSe 800
And is Commerce, the daughter of Freedom,
thus forever to lift her parricida hand against
the parent that bore her? Are rich men forever
to use their thirty pieces of silver" or their
{" ten thousand pounds stering,n or their hun
&c ~ ofH al ~ ri ha In
dases for betraying their Saviour? Viewed by
the light Of our increased knowledge, and by our
more elevated standard Of duty, the extension of
slavery into California or New Mexico Mt the pres
ent time, or the suiterance Of it there, is II
vastly greater crime than was the African slave
trade itself in the last century and | would
rather meet the doom of posterity, or of heaven,
for being engaged in the traffic then, than for
being accessory to its propagation now.
Let those who aid, abet, or connive at slavery
extension now as they read the damning SEN
tence which history has awarded against the act
ors, ahettors and connivers of the African trade,
b,a change The aames, and they will be reading of
themselves Should our territories be here
after filed with grooming bondmen, should they
become an American Egypt, tyrannzed over by
ten thousand Pharaohs it will be no defence
for those who permitted it, to say, We hoped
we supposed we trusted, that slavery could not
go there !" Nemesis, rs she plies her scorpion
LASH will reply, You might haze Dmde Il ceTtain.p
On this great question of freedom or slavery,
| | have observed with grief, nay, with anguish,
| that at the Nerth, br~.h .p i.to hootito Par-
| ties hurl ordinations and determinations to and
fro and cxpend that strength for the ruin Of each
other, which should be directed against the enc
| mics of Liberty while, at the South, whenever
slavery is in jeopardy, all party lines oblite
rated, dissensions are healed, enemies become
friends and all are found in solid column with
an unbroken front. Are the children of dark
ness to be forever so much wiser than the chill
dren of light? In the recent choice of delegates
for the Nashville Convention, have not seen a
single instance where Wing and Democrat have
not been chosen ~ though they were Siamcse
twins, and must 90 together. But here it often
happens, that soon as one party is known to be
in favor of one man, this act alone is deemed n
sufficient reason why another party should op-
pose him. Why can we not combine for the ga
cred cause of freedom, they combine for sla-
very? No thought or desire is further from my
mind than that Of interfering with any mans
right of suffrage; hut if (which is by no means
impossible nor perhaps improbable) the fate Of
New Mexico should be decided by one vote, and
my vote should have been the cause Of n vacancy
in any Congressional district that might have sent
n friend TO freedom, should say with Cain,
"My punishment is greater than can bear.o
On the subject of the present alienation and
discord between the North and the South, wish
to say that have as strong desire for reconcile
alton and amity any one can have. There is
no 1ecnHarY sacrifice within the limits of the
| Constitution, which | would not willingly make
for 20 desirable an object. Public revenues
would appropriate, private taxation wonld en-
| dure, to relieve this otherwise thrice-glor
| Republic from the calamity and the wrong of
slavery | would not only resist the devil, but if
| he will flee from me- will build q bridge Of gold
| to facilitate his escape ! mention this to prove
| that it is not the value, IN money, of territorial
| freedom, for which | contend, but its value IA
| character IN justice, IN hu,gan h0ppiness While
utterly deny the claim set up by the South, yet
would gladly consent that my Southern fellow-citi
2ens should 90 TO the territories and carry there
every kind Of property which can carry; would
| then give TO the Southern States their full share
| of all the income ever to be derived from the
sales of the public lands, or the leasing of the
| public mines and whatever, after this deduction,
was left in the public treasury, should be appro-
priated for the whole nation ~ has been the
practice heretofore. That is, in consideration of
excluding slavery from the territories, | would
give the South double share, or even three
fold share, of all the income that may over he de-
rived from them Pecuniary surrenders would
| gladly make for the sake of peace, but not for
peace itself would surrender Liberty.
1t would be to suppose our merchants and man
ufacturers void Of common foresight, could they
believe that concession now viii bring security
hereafter. BY yielding the moral question, they
leopard their pecuniary interests. Should the
South succeed in their present attempt upon the
territories, they win mpatiently await the retire
ment of Gen. Taylor from the Executive Chair,
to add the" State of Cuba with its 500 600 slaves,
its ignorance and its decentralization, to their roll
of triumph California will be free trade State,
by the most certain of oil bases They will have
nothing to sell but gold they will have everything
to buy cradles and collins and all between.
IL New Mexico is slave 1t will also be free trade
and Cuba as ceraily as either,-though in that