Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1850-1854, 1851-08-15
VOL. XII-NO. S.
EXTRACT FROM HON. HORACE TANN,s
SPEECH.

the moral ones, as the root sustains the branch
es and Dourishes their nit, those moral relation,
would seem to demand all our attention. | know
but comparatively little and no man liyinc at N,
! North can know but comparatively little, of IN,
various and cver-repeated wickcdness of this In
stitution. 1t has been my lot, however, to lv,
for about half the time, during the last four years
in the midst of mider form of slavery An,
besides this, was oEce engaged for about 81!
weeks in the trial of q cause growing directly
out OF slavery; and that experience gave me SOM
insight into its dreadful mysteries. For mo
mcnt, the wind blew the smoke and flame aside
and looked into its hell. ] saw, then, as la,
never seen before, what a vital and incNtnguiSh
able interest every human being has in this sub
Ject hot the slaves alone, but the free men
not voters only but all who can be affected by
votes, not men only but especially women.
For this reason am glad to see so many Ia
dies in this audience. 1t becomes them To be
here. If any mortal should cultivate an abhur-
renee of slavery, the female sex should do it
Whatever any one may hold to be the social re-
lation between free women and slave women,
yet before God and Christ and all thc holy An
gels, they belong to the same ssterhood of the
human race. They are yoar sisters And what
is the condition of these your sisters. in regard
holds most sacred and dear
Ladies, there are now in this land of pretend
ed freedom and pretended Gospel, million and
a hall OF women, who have no practical knowl-
edge OF what woman's higher life should be, or
what woman S most precious rights are. Since
the Declaration OF Independence, the number of
slaves in this country has increased from less
than five hundred thousand 10 more than three
millions and before the close of this century,
their descendants will increase to more than
thrice three millions. And vet neither as to the
Hvmgno as to the dead has there ever been
lawful marriage among them ALL There has
never been man-slavc who could say--"Ths
is my wife, heart ofmy heart and life of nv life,
and no mortal power shall pluck her from my
side" There has never been Il woman-slavc
who could say, "This is my lawful welded hus-
band, whom promise to love and cherish, and
to whom ] vow nvioablc cons;ancy." "For
this cause" says Christ, "Shall man leave ia
Their and mother, and shall clcavc to his wife, and
they twain shall be one flesh" But the twain
of slaves are never ono. And even when any
sham ceremony is observed, to distinguish this
holy relation of husband and wife from the CO.
habltations of beasts and he who u!liciatcs comes
to those other words of Christ, "What, therefore,
God has joined together let no man put asunder,'
few dollars, at any time will bring bcrcaye-
ment upon both,--a double bereavement. he
WidoWer, and she a widow, both still surviving
Their life, at best, is but life Of cOncubnagp:
not even that concubjnage which, though not
founded upon lawful contract, has still some
thing conjngal fidelity in it, and therefore a SEM
blarcc OF virtue but various and vagrant con-
Cublnagc, traveraing the circle of overaccr, mas
ter, masters guests and masters sons. The
fate of the children born to the slave mother, YOU
all know. Those objects upon which all mater
nal affections meet and glow as in focus, are
torn from her bosom, like lambs from the flock
when the SHAMELESS are empty.
And as 10 those females who are young
sprghtly and handsome -
Charge the not with indelicacy in touching
upon this theme Uoni SoU qua mai Y pchSc.--
| speak not to iastidious ears but to the pure in
heart, to whom all things are pare. speak of
eternal verllies, before whose massive force the
heart trembies and bows itself, as reeds before
the tvmpcst. 1t is the grosacst and most shame
less OF al! indelicaces to patronlzc and multiply
vice, through pusiIianimity in cXposingt,--
As to those females, | say, who are young,
sprghtly and handsome, whom God has damned
with beauty of form and beauty of face, because
they only attract the gloatlng eye of Passion, who
can describe the l0athsomeneSss of their life
They are ripcned for the New Orleans, or for
some other market, whence Southern harems
are supplied as, under the Mohammcdan re-
hgon, white Caucasian beauties are sent to the
slave-marts of the darker skinned Turk
In that company of sevcnty-siX persons who
attempted, in 1913, to escape from the District
of Columbia, in the schooner Pearl, aud whose
officers assisted in defending, there were scvc-
raj young and healthy girls who had those pc
Cuar attractions OF form, of feature and OF com
pleXion, which Southern CunnoiS,curs in scnsua
ism 20 highly prize. Elizabeth Russell was one
OF them. She fell Immediately into the slave
traders iangS, and was doomed for the New On
leans market. The hearts of those who saw
her and iorcsaW her fate were touched with pitv
They offered eighteen hundred dollars to redeem
her. and some there were who offered to rive
who would not have bad much loft after the gin
He knew how he could transmute her charms
into gold through the fires Of sin He demand
ed twenty-one hundred dollars, Uhough for me-
NAL services she would not have been worth
more that four or tive,) and would take nothing
less. She was despatched to New Orleans but
when about halt way there, God had mercy up
on her and sInotc her with death. Perhaps,
toresceing her fate, she practccd what, under
such circumstances, we might call the virtdre
of suicide. There were two girls named Ed
mondson, in the same company. When about
to be sent to the same market, and older sister
went to the SHAMELESS to plead with the wretch
who owed them, for the love of God to spare hi,
victims. He bantered her, telling her what fine
dresses and fine furniture they woud have
" Yes" said She, ''that may do well in this life,
but what will become OF thcm in the next -
They, too, were sent to New Orleans, but they
were afterwards redeemed at an enormous ran
som, and brought back. There was one girl,
who, after her recap:urc in the Pearl, was sold
SIX Times in seven weeks, in Maryland and Viz
Cinia, for her bcautv's sake. Bot she proved
heroically and sumblimeiy in'rac,ablc Like
Rcbccca, the Jcwcsss, She would have fang her
self from the lotliest batlicmcut, rather han Weld
herself to Il villain Notwithstanding her MAJ
tiers pretence that they had bought her with their
money, and owned her soul, vet She had wealth,
which, though all the earth were ore entire and
perfect chrysoytc, it could not buv. Shn was
parted with and came to New York; and | have
been informed in the most authentic manner
from the lady Of the very respectable family Of
which she became the inmate, that, on an eX1mi-
nation Of her person, after the healing time Of
the Journey bad passed, her body was found scar
red and walled with wiip-marks, which the vii
lains inflicted upon her because She would not
come 10 their bed.