Richmond daily times. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1853, 1851-11-15

the original plan of Mr.. Jefferson, for the eman-
cipation of such slaves, born after certain time
as should not he carried out of the State before
they arrived at the age, the males of 81, and the
females of Is. 1t was question Of entirely do
nestle concern, and arose in consequence of the
excitement and alarm produced by the Southamp-
| ton Instruction In the debate that took place
in the Legislature, Mr.. S. said he gave votes and
expressed opinions, that slavery was an evil
| For this he was now to be prescribed He frst
met the charge by referring to his course in Con.
gress, where he uniformly acted with the strong
est Southern men, and went as far in maintaining
the Southern cause as any member whatever
In the famous contest about the 2lst rule, he voted
throughout for retaining the rule Though he diff
fered with some of his colleagues, whose course
! he did not mean at all to question: because he
| was unwilling as Southern man to depart
| from any ground the South had taken. He aps
pealed also to his course in the State Convention,
| where he had voted for a provision in the new
constitution inhbitng the Legislature forever
from legslating for the emancipation of the slaves
either those in being or the after born. He had,
| in the Convention, declared the opinion, that,
| even without sucha restriction, the Legislature
| would have no ight to adopt such legislation.
This declaration proved he said, better than
| any avowal he could now Make that "the opin-
| ions of 1882 were not the opinions of 1851
In 1882, he believed and argued that the Legislas
ture might legisIate for emancipation, on the same
principl that it had legisated to abolish the law
of ptomogeniture and the system of entails. In
the Convention, representing only his own con-
stituency, and not candidate for office, he had
openly renounced that opinion. And, after all
this, it was pretended that he was unsound as if
by his course twonty years ago on question
purely of State concern, and his avowal of opin-
ions which he had now abandoned, he had any
sympathy with the odious, devilish schemes of the
Northern fanatics. How was it, he asked, that he
was to be hunted down, and all others who had
acted with him were allowed to pass free of CEN
sure, provided they were Democrats He recur-
red to the debate in the House of Delegates of
1923, from which we gave extracts in yester-
days Times. He read what was said by Mr.
Edmunds and Mr. Leake, protesting against the
revival of Mr.. McDowelPs course in 1882, and
showed, by very happy comments, how differently
his case was treated by the Democratic party
MIR. Edmun ds' earnest protestations in behalf of
s'the largest savehodng county in the State,
against condemning Mr.. Mcdowell for some OBJ
solee notions on the subject of slavery his un
willingness to "ostracize the entire West for diff
ference ofopinion on local questfons:" Mr.. Leake's
horror at the bringing up of this ghost of Abo-
lition of 1882 as gorgon and chmera Dire" his
solemn opinion that "this domestic abolition ought
to sleep the sleep of DEATH and that 'f discuss
ed, it will always produce mischief" his sugges
ton that sit is to be especially reprobated when it
is brought up to damn the reputation of this emf
nent man'-were all justly dwelt upon, and with
great effect. Mr.. S. asked how it was that the cob
solee notions" and the "ghost,'' and "gorgon,"
and "chmera" were now revived? Had he been
Democrat, did any man believe that they would
have the slightest weight with his present assa.
ants He said he was stakeholder by purchase
and by inheritance and that he was identified with
people more alive to the interests of the nsti-
tuition than the citizens of the East, because while
slave labour was very valuable with them, the
facility of escape rendered the property precari.
Gus. They had not feeling in harmony with
Abolition. He appealed to their decision upon the
question of his trustworthiness. They had al
ways supported him, and he undertook to say,
they would show their sense of the fasehood of
this charge by the vote they would give in Decem.
Der.
Mr.. SUMMERS again declared, in the most en-
phatc language, that he had voted to terminate
forever all pretension to State authority over the
subject Of slavery, and that he held indie
pendently of the restriction, that no such au-
thority would exist. He denied that the Gener al
Government had any more power over the subject
than the Government of Japan. And, in refe-
renee to the hellish schemes of the Abolitonists
he said he would stand and suffer his body to be
severed limb by limb before he would yield one ot
or title. He asked what sort of devotion to the
State it was to hold up public man nominated
as he had been, and all who sustained him-con-
shutting, he trusted, majority of the people-as
unsound
He earnestly declared that he regarded slavery
not sin, or moral evil but as the best blessing
God, in his providence, had ever granted to the
African race. He contrasted their condition in
Africa and in the United States, and demonsra-
tedthe civilizing influence of their slavery in
America. On this point, he added, that he lived
amongst those who he'd no scruples about the
evil of slavery, and he was ready to 60 as far
as he who could go farthest limits defence
He completed his discussion of the slavery cal
jimmy, by reminding his hearers of the various
instances in which Southern men had been
charged with Abolitionism for party effect. Gen.
HARRISON Mr.. Clay and Gen. Taylor, according
to the Democratic papers, were all Abolitionists
Finally, he said, he hurled the subject from him,
conscious in every fibre O. his heart, that no man