The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1852-08-21
IMPORTANT POLITICAL MOVEMENTS.
Ma nsfesso OF Gssr,s smith 90 she Liberty
Party.
70 TIE Liberty PARTY OF TIE COUNTY or
MADISON.

fAff-tUttb. Aug Id, fJbS.
I have obeycd your wishes, and atten led shs
Pisssburg Convention. IL closed is labors last
sysnpg.
1 came 10 the Convention With very little hope,
That II would take what deem 10 be the proper
ground Of political party. IL has not taken il
distincily-perhaps not at all, But whether it has,
has not taken il. " has come mach nearer 70 il
than feared il would Again, whilst / shall go
homo less displeased with the proceedings Of TIE
Convention than feared should be, snail, also,
70 home entertaining far moe favorable opinions
than before Of the mass OF tho aboltioaists l
think am safe in saying, that OF tho thonslnis
who came to the Convention. there are not five huu-
bred, nor three hundred, who not with in
rpirit and in principle, Not only Is u true that
Charles Durhee and General Paine Of Wisconsin arc
heartily and wholly with the liberty party, bat il
- also true that those noble men arc, in this res
pect more than fair specimens Of the great ma
iurity of tho Western abotionists
The West is ahead of the East. The ardeDt,
generous, cor fding West lis not SO trammecd as
The East with the habit Of circumspection and cat
solation. Whilst the Eastern man pauses 70 reckon
Toralts the Western man pushes on to realize them.
The Eastern abotionists arc, he wever. making pro-
gyese. Abolinonists CT the type Of Charles Fran
ois Adams win not be able to Undue with their con-
sentative spirit the reformers around them On the
contrary, there rcformers will DO continually imbu
ing with their radical spirit abotionists OF the type
sfCharles Francis Adams
have named Mr. Adams. cannot forbear to
Add, that am greatly pleased with him His cla-
Rsberistc dignity is the perfectly natural outgrowth
Of bis highsouled integrity ana mental disci-
Pine. was happy to see, that his habit OF caution
and conservatism was lot proof against the atmos
Vhere which surrounded him here. He made mani
hit progress in the two days-and oould he mngle
1sr twenty Gays with Western abo'tonists no would
not fear, that the cause of liberty is in danger Of
being misdireeted or harmed in their hands. in
word, it did Mr. Adams and some other New Eng
hnd mon great good to come TO the Pittsburg Con-
vantion.
As have already virtually said, the immense
nass convention, as it called, was prepared TO
paantiself the high ground Of the liberty party
WINS. indeed. already on that ground. But tho Con-
veAtion proper being selection from the masses,
eontained, rs was natural greater relative amount
Of wariness and timidity. Nevertheless, had the
convention proper, instead of appointing commit
htsrvention, have no doubt that the platform
would have been distinctly and fully that of tho
liberty party; but this committee, being selection
from the select, was still more characterised than
even the Convention proper by warincss and timid
ny. Indeed, have scarcely doubt, that had this
convention continued another day, its platform
would have been nearly all that we could desire.
What rapid progress the Convention made 10 tho
sefsion of the last afternoon, La that session it
struck ont the most offensive Of all those wretched
resolutions which contain limitations and implica-
60ns against liberty. In that session. it came very
near adopting Mr.. Tappan's resolution, the adop-
Aion Of which would have nulliied all those mita-
lions and implications; and it was in that session
that the Convention adopted, 20 enthusiastically
and with but three dissenting voices, the glorious
resolution in favor of land rcform-that reform
which is emphaacaly the sister Of the abolition
reform.
came to the Convention with the purpose of in
aistipg on but two things; and l adhered to NY
purpose. These two things are,
list That the Convention should organize per-
nnnent party-and, therefore, Il party, which
should be comprehensive in its scope rs is civil
government itselEsnd, therefore, a party which
should look after all the political interests OF ali the
people. white and black, male and female.
%. The the Convention should declare slavery
TO be utterly incarable of legalizaton.
On these two things insisted, both in the COM
laittee and in the Convention Four members of
the committee were with me; and must do the
dozen who opposed the justice to say that several
Of them evidently believed that the two things Hhch
insisted on were in their series Of resolutions,
my series. Indeed, firmly believe that the Con-
yention would not have adopted the platform which
they did adopt, had they not judged that these two
things were Substantially in it,
Perhaps, tho two things ON which insisted are
m the platform viii not say that they arc not:
but If they are, they are, nevertheless, obscVrey
expressed, and that, too, while things TO the
ssntrary, Of them are in it, and arc clearly
expressed; If not clearly expressed nevertheless
clearly implied. Who read the platform and
deny that its clear implication is, that slavery in
existence which is permitted by the federal oonsti-
tuion' Indeed, the platform goes go far as to al
nit, by clear implica ton, that State government
Is at liberty so far as the federal constitution is
cerned to deprive persons ''of hfe liberty, or pro
perty, without due process of law
1t was said in tho Convention and with manifest
nusnss thai my phrases, insaPs6s OF
&c are absurd Indeed more than once or twice,
was kindly told out Of the Convention, that If
we're not in the habit Of expressing myself so Oh
should be able to bring more persons to adopt
my views. But it seems 70 me that this logic which
had so much effect on the Convention, Is Of tina.
circular kind, which, though apt to be very
plausible and eFectuai. is, nevertheless, very nm
sound This logic ran after this manner: 8 i or
M Smith to say, that slavery cannot be lcgalzed.
is Isnsensical and absurd. Virginia hiss laws for
slavery. They may be unjust laws. But there
they are, outstanding and fixed facts the existence
ofwhich is not to be disputed" The circular logi-
clans, having assumed in this case the very thing
20 be proved, viz, that what they called laws arc
laws, obtained nj least in their OWE estesm very
quick and easy victory over me. Ny answer to
them was for substance :" Not only is every m
constitutional enactment among the statutes q:
Virginia no law, but every ensctmcrt among them,
whether II does or does not accord with the cont-
tuition, is also law, provided it, prrport and OBJ
ject such transcend the limits and powers o:
human legislation. For instance, the authorizing
men to murder men, or, what worse, the authoTiZ-
ing men 10 enslave men, transcen5s such limits and
powers, and hence all enactments TO these ends are
void, and no law 1t is for tho like reason that a
'sumptuary law is but nominal law, and is, in
strietness, no law. We are all prepared TO say.
that enactments prescribing what we shall cat
drink, and wear, are no Law. But the reason, why
they are law, is simply the legislature
has got beyond its province, when il pre- sumes 20
meddle with such subjects And thus might we
argue, in respect 10 enactnsnts, which should pre-
sumo to prescribe the intercourse aud eldcarnents
between parent aDd child"
i said, that we are 81 prepared to treat sumf-
tuary law as nc Law. How grossly inconsistent are
we then--nay, how grossly wic-ed--whea we &C.
ssrd 10 an enactment. for slavery tie name dignity,
and sanction oflav
To help me t. understand myseh these nv in
struetors in logic, would kindly put words into my
mouth and say;-"We understand goa, Mr. Smith
What you mean, GnS ell what you mean is, that
these laTs for slavery are unjust Laws We, also,
believe them to be unjust lave; and hence VIC are
really together" Bat l wa too oDtuss t. receive
shis their kind Interpretation VI myself; and, there
fore, would over AMI over again explain, or try
20 explain, the difference between ar enactment
which call no law, and M enactment which am
Wiling 20 call bnt an uDjus. Law. Houlisay, that
en- enactment fixing the rate Of interest as high as
6ffaan nor cert rnnr a1nn1n Is an Irnirsk laN-hnt