The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1852-08-19

against these principles they null and void For
instance, statutes made against oommo" F'SHf ann
reason are void."-S Rep, llS. -.
The court recognises the principle by saying II
is clear that statutes passed against the plain and OBJ
yious principles of common right and common rea-
son are absolutely null and void as lar as tEey aio
calculated TO operate against those principles .
The court accordingly decided the case o'O,v on =.
in direct opposition to the letter OF the statute III coh
troversy-Ham q. McCLlrS Buys hP, ~.
"In another case in the same state, 1t was heid
that If absurd consequences or those hlaniicSSiy
against common reason, arise collateraHy OUT Vi I"
| statute 1t is void pro taHi0. 49,
In another case in South Carolina, act Of the
Assembly passed in l7l2 was in l'gZ, neld 10 DC
void, because it took away the freehold oil one man
and gave it to another The court said 1t was against
| common right well against 1i1SHl ot9rto, 10
| take away the freehold Of one man ana vest IL IN
another and that too to the prejudice OF third per
| sons, without any compensation or even trlai ny
the jury of the country that the act was, therefore
| pso facto, void that no length of time could give
validity, being originally founded on erroneous prln-
| ciples-BoWmaR o. MldlistoH, bay, 2o2
| do not wonder at the animadyersions OF
the Rev. Theodore Parker on the shameful
conduct of the city of Boston, whose pre-
JUDGES" had been conquered by its distinguish
ed leader Mr.. ParkerS remarks are so APP
propriate and forcble, that | cannot torbear
| redulnS some extracts lie says.
| "0ut of the iron house of bondage, a man guilty
OF no or me but love of liberty fed to the people OF
| Massachusetts. lie came to us wandcrer, and Bos-
ton took him into unlawful jail; hungry, and she
| Ted him with feion's meat thirsty, and she gave
the gall aud vinegar of slave to drink naked and
she clothed him with chains sick and in prison, he
| cried for a helper, and Boston sent him marshal
| ana commissioner; she set him among kidnappers,
| the most infamous of men, and they made him their
| slave Poor, and in chains, the Government OF the
nation against him. he sent round to the churches his
petition for their prayers the churches OF commerce
they gave him their curse he asked of Us tho sacra
ment of freedom, in the of our God and in the
name OF their trinity the trinity OF money-Boston
| standing as godmother at the ceremony-in the name
| of their God they baptized him slave Said the
New England church of commerce, Thy name is
slave. baptize thee in the of the gold eagle
and OF the silver dollar, and the copper cent.
4
" massachusetts took a man from the horns OF her
altar-he had fed to her for protectOn-and vOlun-
tarlly gave him up to bondage without end did it
with her eyes wide open did it on purpose did it in
violation OF her own law in consciousness of the sin
did it after fasting and prayer Yet it not the
people of Massachusetts who did the deed it was
only their Government. The officers and the people,
thank God, are something little different
The stamp act levied a tax on us in money, and
Boston would not pay cent baulod down the flags,
shut up the shops, toled the church bells, hung its
authors in efgy, made the third officer of tho Crown
take oath not to keep the law-cast his stamp shop
into the The slave act levied II tax in men, and
Boston fired a hundred guns and said We are
ready we VIII catch slaves for the South 1t Is n
dirty work, too dirty for any but Northern hands
but 1t Will bring us clean money. Boston
told her servants by no means to join in any
ure for countenancing and assisting in the execution
OF the stamp act "
This, Mr.. Chairman was the Boston Of 1875,
inspired with the patriotism and manly indie
pendence of the Otises the Adamses, and the
HancOcks But the Boston of 1850 submits to
the kidnapping of her citizens in Southern
cities, and even in her own and so far dis
honors herself as to join in the shameful work
Alas for our country for Boston is not the
only city in the United States that upholds pi-
racy under the act of 1850. New York, Phil
adeipha, and Harrisburg have all joined the
oppressor in trampling Gods poor under their
feet
The passage of the Fugitive Slave bill was a
sad event to thousands of colored people and
their friends throughout the free States 1t
was to them more terrible than the disease
that walketh in darkness and wasteth ut noon
day" But hear Mr. Parker again
THE word commissioner has had a traditional
hatred ever since visitation by Sir Edmund An
dros; it lost of its odous character when be-
came again incarnate in kidnapper. With slave
act commissioners to execute the BILL with such
ruling we have known on the slave act bench
and such swearing by witnesses on the slave-stand
any man freedom is Mt the mercy of the kidnapper
and his commissioned attorney. The can man
uacturo evidence or enlarge it, the other manu-
acture law and with such an administration and
such creatures to its wish what coorcd man
SAFE Men in peril have keen instinct of their dan
ger; the dark -brOwed mothers of Boston, they wept
like Rachel mourning for her frst-born, refusing to
be comforted There comfort for them,
in flight; that must not be In the winter, but into
the winter of Canada, which is to the African what
our rude climate is to the goldfnch and to the cana
| ry bird
Yet, sir in view of all this we find ourselves
surrounded with leading public men who pro-
iess to be lovers of justice and order more
clamorous for power and the spoils of office
than for the maintenance of principle and the
integrity of the Union. Their programme is
already before the people indicating deter
mnation to break down the great bulwarks of
religious and civil liberty-the right of trial
| by jury and the freedom of speech
Mr. Chairman, this threatened subversion of
our constitutional liberties naturally forces
upon our consideration two important cues.
tons. First what has brought our country to
/ u
the proper instrumcntalities to be used for its
| overthrow | answer the first inquiry, by
stating that it is ffrican siarery at the South.
| and party sldrery at the North-the former al
ways controlling the latter for its own mante-
nance and benefit And in passing, let me
| remark that of these two kinds of slavery |
consider the slavery of party, by reason of its
voluntarinesS, infinitely more base and sef-de-
rra Iipr fhup A frina, al IL H.
| conscience: it paralyzes all the heavenly aspi-
rations of the soul: it destroys individuality.
and every lofty attribute of the heart and mind
Such slave knows no higher loyalty than
| obedience to the DEGREES of his party He is
bound at all times to give his undivided sup
port to the regularly nominated candidate
without regard to character or fitness he feels
| it his duty to aid in the execution of all laws
| found on the statute book, no matter how bar
barous in principle or cruel in their operation
Should the officers of the Government demand
his services to aid in the murder of innocent
children, as did Pharoah and Herod, his duty
| binds him to render such aid Nay, more
Should he be required to bow down and wor-
ship an image, such as Nebuchadnezar sat up
IN the plains of Dura or to 20 still further, and
| enforce the Fugitive Slave Law, he readily
obeys, asking of himself as did the ancient
Hunker Jew, Why are laws made if not to
be observedt' Such is party slavery, and such
the drudgery of those who are bound by eau
cuses and conventions of dishonest, heartess
politicians. This bondage to party is directly
at war with Christianity and tends to the over
throw of the great principles of republican
Government In short, it is gross infdelity and
atheism, and the source of all the ridicule we
hear, in and out of Congress, of the higher
law which is but another name for the Flaw
OF God" But to return to the questions just
propounded. have answered the first inquiry,
by asserting that the cause of all this disgrace
and degradation is African and party slavery
In proof of this allow me TO call your attcn