The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1851-11-20

SLAVES lell upon tne SOIL III POSSESSION vi lllOSe
who choose from age or habit to hold on TO that
species of labor during the life of the slaves,
| At their death. we should only have those born
of that minority. whose numbers would be in
appreciable amid the great white masses: for
this law prevails with the liberated slaves. that
they do not increase rs fast in state of free
dom among the whites, a. in state of slavery.
And whilst in slavery they upon the same base
increase faster than and gain upon the whites
in freedom, in turn. the whites gain upon them
! NJ that at last without other plan the unity
| of the white race upon Kentucky soil would be
! accomplished; or else but few of the black race
| of the best quality would remain. inapprecia-
bic in number among the masses of the whites.
The law of nature and of God says, the idler
the vicious the Incorporate, the thriftlesS and
his offspring. shall go to the wall. But the
STAKEHOLDER says no! The virtuOus and the
vicious shall fare alike there shall with the
face b, DO, ,..s..., 49,, ,c... = z. VI and evil
''s tAhr sy.n ca, $500 5:;1S - - -.
dt&M J ~ '"' "*-s}J
live ON and increase; society is not purged; the
diseased parts slough not of; the race of fends
increases until such time rs great commissions
of blood and terror vindcate the truth, that His
arm, who has made death the penalty of sin
is not shortened but that at last He will re-
pay!
! avoid the imputaton of ultraism ! pro
| pose, if any one shall not like my PLAN to give
in the Constitution, the Legislature full power
over the whole subject | only take the frs
steps which must be taken by those who NOV,
ut all from the Perpetuasts; the door must b,
passed from slavery to freedom. Indeed, il
would be unwise to urge n complicated plan
| " 81,
| our enemies and waste that power which should
| be concentrated upon the single issue of per
suading the people to be willing to make the
| State free, upon useless differences of opinion
among ourselves about the details for "wher-
ever there is will there is n way And any
| plan, now put into the Constitution would sub
jet US to the possible necessity of again call
| ing convention, and subjecting that plan
to the changes of time and events. The swat
ers upon Providence and those considerable
| Emancipatonists who want immediate office
from the slave party will be against us-but
the good, the great, the free, will never give up
the ship
| have taken cursory view Of the subject
do not fattcr myself that have exhausted the
argument but | trust | have said enough to
suggest such train of thought as will lead
slavery is "a wrong to the slave" an evil to all,
and must end.
But there is one issue of more Importance than
any, than all considerations together. which
have suggested 1t is, whether we ourselves shall
be frccmcn or slaves Yes disguise it us we may
slavery and liberty cannot coexist; one or the
other must ultimately and utterly triumph
Our fathers of 10 knew full well this issue; and
whilst they died hopeful Of repubcanism in all
other respects in this they went down into their
graves full of fearful antcipatiOns and despair.
They knew that slavery and liberty could not live
together-that one must die Such were the
avowals of w Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Hen
ry, Adams Sherman, and Franklin, and almost
all those patriots who riskcd life, property, and
liberty, that we might be free So great were
their aspirations for the extinction Of slavery,
that the word stare was not put into the Con-
stitutiOn of 80 because, as Madison tells us in
his report of the debates Of Federal Convention,
when this institution shall have pcrished they
wished its memory to perish from the memory
of men forever But how have those ayowas
and aspirations the only sacred and inyiolablc
compromises" of the Constitution, been re-
deemed The six slave States then south of
Mason and DiXon's line have increased to fii-
teen The great republic has been changed
from an angel Of light and liberty, into n de-
mon of slavery propagandism J. q. Adams
has truly said the preservation, extension, and
perpetuation of slavery has become the ruling
spirit of the National Government
The Shareholders banded together by IA COM
mon property and dcspotc power, have usurped
entire control of the Government. Parties are
formed, Presidents made and the spoils of Office
distributed, to those only who bow the supple
hinges of the knee to the slave power. There
is no room for free, bold, and manly spirits in
this Republic. As much rs | hate slavery be-
cause OF its wrongs to the black, hate it more
because it will not allow men to live ON this
continent Because it will not allow law; be-
cause it will not allow constitutions; because it
will not allow republicnnism. Because it is the
most hateful of despotisms to all-thc slave,
and the nomnally free
One of the principal reasons why our fathers
arose in arms, and threw off by n seven years
war the tyranny of England, was, because
whenever there was IN Office of honor or profit
in the land or naval or civil service to be filed
here came the mobiles or younger sons of the
arIstocratic minority of the monarchy to the
exclusion of such men as Washington, Adams,
Franklin, and Jefferson!
What have we gained if we must still be the
| slaves of "A negro aristocracy! Who are your
| Presidents, your Senators, your Congressman,
| your Speakers of the House Of Representatives
from the South Who are found living upon
| the treasury in the land and sea service! Who
are your foreign ambassadorsi Who live upon
the public crib Mt home and aborad! Slave.
holders or their Servile dependents North and
South Every Governor of this Commonwealth
from the beginning, has been n STAKEHOLDER
And now when l. one of the people, for the first
time aspire to that Office the press denounce
me rs little less than trcasonablel Yes, your
| Congressman have been and all now are slave
| holders so are your Judges and other most
eminent officers. In 1913, in virtue of the pro
| gression of free principles YOU called conyen-
ton Ia reconstruct the foundations Of your Con
stitution. And here were seven hundred thou.
sand freemen ON our side. and one hundred
thousand Shareholders ON the other; and by the
concentration of power which slavery like n
freemasonic sign, gives to those posscsSors Of
dospotc power, they elected every one of their
caste TO that body, Yes You had not n single
representative in that convention And when
argument and money, and terror, failed. the
bowie-knife and pistol were used to suppress the
aspirations of the free, and put down the defend
ers of the liberties of the people! And in con-
yention they treated us as n conquered people,
as we were! They attempted to limit the right
of suffrage, and succeeded in part They deni-
ed us the power of the ballot and insulted us
with the ayowal that they intended to stand
over us at the polls, and compel our suifrages
by the terror of prescription! II we are en-.
titled to vote ut all-if il is sacred and invio-
liable right Of ireemen-then we have right
Ia ITS full, Tree, and impartial use, without fear
or favor Yet, that slavery may live, these in
estmable rights by corruption, bribery, and
prescription, must perish These are the equal
rights and liberties which we were called upon
10 defend in 1916! Yes, then it was discover
ed that there We're some other persons in the