The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1852-09-09
S Pc E CHI
HON. HORACE MANN, OF MASSACHU SETS

DELIVERED
In the House Of Representatives., dug. Il, 1852.
The House being in Committee of the Whole
on the state of the Union
Mr. MANN said
Mr. CHAIRMAN: On former occasions have
expressed myself so much ut length on the re-
lations which the free States are made to bear
to slavery that did not propose at this SEES
sion to present any further views upon that
subject But the ban which the late Balti-
more Conventions have haughtly proclaimed
against free discussion the recent, though as
| believe it will be found the temporary silcn-
cling of my friend, Mr.. SUMNER at the other
end of this Capitol, who has long desired to
speak, and the still later choking down of the
gentleman from Connecticut Mr. CLEvE-
LAND1 on this floor have induced me to recon
slider and to change my determination. am
willing to be reasoned with, and always CRATE
full when, for good cause, am convinced but
when an attempt is made to take from me all
option in regard to my exercise of "A clear
| right find n sufficient motive for exercising
| that right in the mere act of disobedence
| must begin by taking n brief retrospect
The war against Mexico was waged to rot
that sister Republic of her free territory for
the sake of widening the domain and confirm
ing the despotism OF slavery. On the subject
of the robbery the country was divided into
Wings and Democrats. On the wicked user
to which the territory robbed was to be put
il was divided into North and South. Four.
teen out of the fifteen Northern States passed
resolutions most of them unanimously. or
nearly so, in favor of excluding slavery by
positive law from whatever territory we might
| acquire The South did not then ask for any
! legislative permission to extend slavery there
| But in pursuance of the doctrine of the great
Ordinance of 1897, the North demanded legis-
| lative exclusion. Everybody mt once foresaw
that this question would be involved in the
then next Presidential election IL was re-
markable and certainly the historian will re-
member it, that no leading man of the South
came out in favor of the Northern doctrine ::
for the principles of universal liberty are 80
congena to the human heart, that it is diff
cult to conceive of five or six millions of peO-
pie in any age or country of the world, with
out single man among them ready " assume
the championship of freedom 1t is still more
remarkable that any Northern man should
have ycnturcd to espousc the cause OF slavery.
One, however, was found, capable of doing it.
IL was strange that he should have been of
New England lineage. 1t was thrice strange,
that a man educated, enriched honOred, by a
people who had themselves been rescued from
all the curses of slavery, and blessed with all
the exuberant blessings of freedom, by the Or
dinance of 1881 should have proposed to open
half n continent TO all the curses he and his
people had escaped, and to shut it from all the
blessings he and they had enjoyed. But such
a man was found. General CAss thought 30
basey of his party at the North, that he sup
posed he could carry them against slavery-re-
strction II so, then their union with the
proslavery South would make triumphant
majority and hence the well known Nichol-
son letter But that letter rccoiled upon him.
and in the canvass of 1913 overthrow him
The original temptation however, still re-
NAMED. and acted with increased force. The
South stood firm They were "A compact body
of Abolitionists though the thing they desired
10 abolish was human freedom. They spoke
out plainly, and offered their support and their
votes to the Northern man. Wing or Demo-
crat who would most thoroughly bend or
break himself 10 their purposes. Under the
lead of General CAss, many of the Democratic
party were seduccd and they deserted But
until the 7th Of March, 1850, no Northern
Wing yielded TO their enticements. On that
day. however. Mr.. Webster, in tho Senate Of
the United States, offered to abandon the Ord-
nance Of l7S7--then known as the "Wilmot
Preyis0v He offered TO give an additional
slave State TO Texas beyond what she could
claim under the unconstitutional resolutions
of annexation. lie offered tOsupport "to the
fullest extent that most atrocOus Fugitive
Slave bill, then before the Senate, by which all
custom-hous officers, and the seventeen thou
sand postmasters Of the United States were TO
be made judges and 10 be invested with power
over human liberty, and to have, each one Of
them, not local, but unlimited jurisdiction
throughout the United States and he offered
TO give 5000, 600 900 to fortify and pefpctunte
the institution Of slavery, by removing from
the Southern States the dreaded element Of
the free colored population. Two hundred
millions Of dollars-a profuslon and a prod-
gality magnifcently Websterian ] am here
only referring 10 facts which, as everybody
knows, have become history.
Here then, we nee that two conspicuous
leaders OF the Northern Democrats and Wings
planted themselves upon southern ground
When the race for the Presidency consisted in
adhesion 10 the Slave Power alone, it was not
to be expected that the competitors would be
few Mr.. Buchanan forthwith caused 1t 10
be understood, that, on his part, he was will
ing to run the line of 80 dog 30 min.-the
Missouri Compromise line, so-caled-through
to the Pacific ocean, and surrender TO slavery
all upon its southern SIDE MIR. Dallas, late
Vice President under Mr. Polk In his letter To
Mr., Bryan, Of Texas, went further, and pro-
posed 10 incorporate the Compromise measures
and the Fugitive Slave Law itself into the
Constitution ~ a. 70 put their repeal beyond