Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1851-01-04
NO. IT,.
Extract from an Address


sbominable slave law, how is it possible, ask,
FOR it 10 make the constitutional slaves any
~orso, or sink him any lower in The scale OF
political wrctchcdncss; Unless one car dip his
pencil in the very depths of the pit of perlition,
how will it be possible for him to paint the
shadowy lines upon the face of primeva night
How, say, is it possible to mako the slave $
case any worse than 1t was before the passage of
this bill, even under the immediate eye OF our
most GLORIOUS CONSTITUTION the Palladium of
universal Liberty tho flag ship of the world 5
victorious squadron Of human emancipation [!
the terror of despots of all countries and the
watch-woid of hope and inspiration, to the vic
tins Of oppression wherever they struggling
to be free
You see, fellow-ctizcns, that have nearly
put myself out of breath in trying to say some
thing big about our GLoRIous Constitution,
and yet fear ! have fallen far short Of your
ideas Of that inciIabe glory. The fact is, we
have been so accustomed from carly childhood
TO hear our Constitution Landed, magnihed, and
praised, that our imaginaiions have surround
cd It with a kind of supcrhuman halo Of sa-
crodness, that inclncs us to stand "aiar oil -
as did the Hebrews from that mountain in
which were " thunderings and lightning, and
the noise of the trumpet waxing louder, and
the mountain smoking" Sc. l have for long
time thought there was good deal of smoke
about the glory of our Constitution, and for ex-
pressing these thoughts. l was we'll nigh being
martyrcd as a hereto politically and religious
ly, some time ago, and might have been for
aught l know, had not Jones and wife, of the
Anti-Slnvcry Buglc of that timc came out in
an editorial note in which they had the kind
ness to proclaim to tho world in particular, aud
to the readers of the Buge in general that NJ.
8. Beach not " displioniJt," or "come-
outer" as they are called; this saved me for the
time being aud "having obtained help Of -,
but no matter about deciding the source from
whence it came, l say having obtained help
hitherto. am determined to show what our
glorious Constitution has done towards securing
the inestimable boon Of liberty to its subjects.
Lest you should think l err in my statement.
will refer you to the ono made by lawyers Sutliif
and 1Iutchns, who were with us at our last
meeting. They called it, think, 'he "Prigg"
case in Pennsylvania. l forget which gave the
history of the case they both referred to it,
however. will repeat that history and if l
y
please set me right, for want the truth
In the Prigg case slave woman lcl from
one of the Southern States into Pennsylvania,
and was married TO freeman Of that State, and
became tho mother Of numerous family of
children. The whole family were supposed to
be free by the community in which they lived,
until the man who claimed to be the owner of
tho mother brought suit in the Supreme Court
Of the United States, to recover not only tho
woman, but according to the slave law in the
State from whence she fed, the offspring must
follow the condition of the maternal parent to
all future generations, which is giori1t; hence
he claimed mother and children, and the Su-
preme Court, the only constitutional depart
nsnt to decide what is Constitution, sustained
BY iu decision the claim of the miserable slave
law. Now have varied the language, but
Asve not stated the case as these gentlemen of
ihe law stated it, (From the audience; VIC
think you have.) Well, then, in this case slav-
cry without the aid of this dnmuing Record"
a. the Freesoilcrs called it in their handbll be-
fore the election, was able to take with impuni-
~ the children of free citizen of sovereign,
democratic Pennsylvania-a sovereign voter
700, for aught l know-ycs, children born and
reared upon the free hills of Pennsylvania,
children dear to thai fathers heart as are our
children to us, yet slavery took those children
nom the sovereign citizen father, and gave
them To the southern impious claimant, and
did it tconsttutionGily too "A voice. should
think they might at least have divided the chill
dren. When our sheep stray and remain year
or two in anothcr's flock it is ruleable to divide
thn increnaA Slnynrv dividn tho incroaea I
with Liberty AS soon you might expect the
wolf to divide the spoils with the lamb Why,
know you not that slavery rcigns politically SUI
premc in this governments The God of Liber-
ty in the deliverance Of the Hebrews from
Egyptian bondage said to be able to throw
both the horse and his rider into the midst of
the sea; so slavery is constitutonally able to
steal both the horse and his rider and sell them
on the auction block together. Why this Penn
sylvsnia sovereign must certainly have been
thick skull, and wanting in genuine patriotism,
II he was not ready at the decision Of the Court
which made him widowed and childless by the
dash of pen, if he not ready, say, to
throw up his cap, and shout for our glorious
Constitution" or at least for the declaration that
all men are created free and equal. What right
has he to complain Does he not live in the
freest government the globe, and docs not
the Constitution leave him free American
sovereign; And his wife, foolish woman, ought
to have known better than to have been born
q slave, when the Declaration of Independ-
encc, as long ago as '76, put it on record in the
very archives of the nation, that " all men" and
women too ought to be born free Who will
dare to find fault with this decisioni Ought {
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