Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1851-03-29
From W. W. Walker.

FRIEND JOHNSON: On last Christmas day
We had discussion at New Bedford on .hc
merits Of the following Petition.
To the Senate and House of Representatives oil
The United States.
We the undersigned, inhabitants Of Coitsville,
Mahoning Co., Ohio, and vicinity, respectfully
represent that inasmuch as by the terms of our
present Union with the Slave States VIC arc re-
quired TO perform acts which appear 10 ms to
DC undeniably and unuttcrably Infamous and
wicked, in that we arc required to kidnap and
orutalize our innocent and equal brothers and
sisters and consign them to a bondage which VIC
deem at once unjust aud merciless, and to stand
ready with our blood and treasure TO murder
The insurgent slave, (Which terms VIC never will
iulhl) Therefore VIC respectfully ask you to
take such action as may he necessary TO secure
an immediate and peaceful dissolution of the
Union between the Free and Slave States.
The opposition was led by Mr. ellison,
lawyer of Garfield, Ohio, whose labors were SO
signally blcst, (though he meant it not so,) that
though the petition is in language and scnti-
ment rather radical, we in a short time with but
little effort obtained about l5O signatures to it.
Many of the people of this community arc
becoming heartily sick of this kidnapping
Union. They begin to see and abhor the
hoartless, damning compromises on which it is
based, and though thoy vote and profess not to
like our type of disunion, yet sooner than sec
the fugitive returned they would trample on
oaths and burn the Constitution and all the
other slave-catching bills enacted by this great
man-stealing Coniedoracy.
The passage of the Fugitive Rill created
quite an excitement in this community
And had some Of those splendid specimens
of total dcpravity and unmitigated basencss,
such as Webster, Mclean, or Grior been present
at some Of our meetings, they would think
have longed for the command of some of Fill
more's troops. We look upon such men as
Judge Mclean, Grier s. Co., who voluntarily
pledge their official power to return the inno-
cent wives and daughters of other and better
men to outrage and infamy, toll and the lash,
while they profess to love and follow Him who
came to preach dclivcrance to the captives and
the opening of the prison to them that are bound.
as the meancst hypocritos and plundcrers on
earth. Compared to such Imerciless wretches
the vilest and most God abandoned ghost in
thc orthodox he'll is a gentleman. Tho cruel
ties of thst English judicial monster George
Jeffreys were such as would rouse sympathy
for his victims in heart of stone and load his
with just execration. But vile as he
was, he was virtuous and kind compared to the
men of whom speak. True, he sentenced
many of his countrymen to West India slave
ry, but not until they had been convicted of
in the crime of treason against the
Government Of England while these American
Judges, nearly 200 years later, in the noon of
the 10th century, while protesting to follow the
Jesus who said swear not at
all, swear by God 20 return innocent men, wo-
men and children unaccused of crime to a bon
dage moro intolerable than man ever inflicted on
his brother in the days of Jefreys. Judge Girl
cr being, as believe, an Old School Presby-
tcrian Elder, believes in the divinity of Christ
and in the truth and inspiration of the text
which says, Inasmuch as ye have done it un-
to one Of the least Of these my brethren, ye
have done it unto me-" He is prepared then
Intclligently TO fulfil the oath which he has
sworn by the great Eternal to consign the very
God ho worships to interminable brutalization,
to be bought and sold like mules and hogs, per-
haps by his very religious brethren. If Jesus
would come to him in the person of some poor
mother, with her child in her arms,
pleading for the life and purity of her innocent
offspring, though she should plead with all the
eloquence of a yirtuous mother agonizing to
save her last daughter from prostitution, this
cruel ecclesastic swears in effect to tramplc on
her feelings and practically to mock at her tears
and agonies, and turn deaf car to all tho en-
treaties of these representatives of his God, and
return them both to that position where chasti-
ty is jest and cruelty and outrage are the or
Ter of the day. And some of those who be-
ong to the same religious bandtt with the |
Judge would have you think they possessed
considerable amount of virtue and dccency.-
Perhaps they do, but they take strange way
'f showing it, and prove the old adage that
men are known by their company to be false
Yours, in opposition to official villainy,
w. w. WALKER.
MARCH 10th, 1851.
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