The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1853-05-19

altogether strange, when we think of the quail
ity of the minds engaged in legisating in
America. 1t is not necessary TO impute to a
majority Of our legislators great mental or
moral incompetency; on the contrary, this fatal
error may be the result either Of peculiar
mental conformation, or Of false training
both Of which often exist, in connection with
great power and sincere moral convictions
Men who are deficient naturally in that fac
ulty of imagination by which character and
institutions are apprchended as whole, are
generally the slaves to their convictions on the
separate parts Of man or society. Then, the
mass Of our lawgvers are educated in the ex.
clusivcly practical, material side Of life, in
business, or the technicalities Of the legal pro-
fession, or the inverted ethics of politics. The
Same result follows all these deficiencies. in
character and culture, that these men constant
ly talk Of the Constitution of the United States
as if it were string Of propositions logically
bound together or bargain, claiming literal
| obedience, or rejecting it altogether whereas
| it is neither. The Government of the United
| States is an organic isstitatton, representing
| the innermost life of the American People. II
claims only the support we give to living, COM
plex, organic social systems, which is more
analogous to the obedience of child to its
than the adherence of two merchants or law
yers to the provisions Of bargain. Any other
| treatment of a Government like ours is degra-
ding to the sacred character of government as
immoral az understandable. But the mer-
chant, politician, or attorney elevated to the
entirely dissimilar sphere of the Senator or the
Judge, does not understand this distinction; but
| ShylOck.Ike, demands the pound of flesh nom
mated in the bond" And the great seer Of
human and social laws has put into the mouth
Of Shylock the only arguments by which Ameri.
can Pro-Savery Hunkerism defends itself be-
fore the Christian world. On the other hand,
the intense moral, unimaginative class repre-
sented by Mr.. Garrison, unable to apprehend the
Government or society as u lung tchole, fasten
their gaze on its weakest part and, separating
it from its vital relations, call the Constitution
a league with he'll" with the same propriety
as if | should call my imperfect parshioners
demons. But men who comprehend human
life, in it's individual and institutional relations
enough to understand the ineritable conditions
of all human conduct, and especially of repub-
lican citizenship in the nineteenth century, at
once preserve their manhood from the dcgra-
dation of political Pro-Slavery Hunkerism, and
the insanity of q constant state of protest and
separation-which must be sham separa-
tion--from society.
| A few months ago neither for the first time
nor the last, ! preached out my indignation
against our goddess Fugitive Slave Law. My
friend, the Hon. Gustavus Washington Jones,
Esq, who had just been nominated for Repre-
sentative to Congress, told me- in great indig
nation, that had preached treason" | am
this gentlemans very good friend; yet was
obliged, as minister of the gospel, to say to
him, My good sir, this manikin you call a
Citizen should be deposited in the Patent
Office, at Washington, siecc you and the poll
ticians evidently have the sole credit of his in
vention. Be assured, God never made such a
creature He created man, with his life
bound up into everlasting obligations, who be-
comes citizen to develop his manhood and do
Gods will Your mdnikin is a puppet moved
by the State Gods man comes into the State
from the presence of his Father and Judge.
fear, my friend, you need conversion to ele-
vate your conception of man, and teach you
your relations to God and warn you, that il
yourself arraigned for treason against God
Almighty, at bar where Judge Kane will be
, u culprit, and your patent mdnikin will never
be cited from his repose in the Patent Office, al
Washington" But while he was adjusting hi
logic to troublesome uneasiness of conscience
that ! saw my words had aroused, my gooC
friend, the late Rev jeremiah Luther Smith
who has left Church and State because they
are league with hell, and had called me
and my brethren a good many uncomfort-
able names that Sunday, in tho Town Hall,
because we still hope to drive the demons out
of the forum and pulpit, accused me, to my
face, of upholding Slavery because | voted for
John p Hale to be President of the United
States.
"Dear brother jeremiah" said |, "this Con-
stitution you abuse 30 heartily is an organic in
stitution, representing social order from which
Mother of us can escape; the same that pre-
served you, by the terrors of its penalties against
disturbers OF the peace, from broken head,
while you were preaching Revolution, this af-
ternoon. | labor in this social order, not to
perpetuate its defects, bu. its excellences and
to destroy its faults as fast az can. promise
no blind literal obedience to any social code.
! love the Constitution much az love you. You
are not catalogue Of logically dependent vir-
tues and vices, by approving one of which ap.
prove all; but good man, with the besettng
infrmity of one-sided intellect and bad
temper. | promise to be your friend, not tho
friend Of your nonsense and anger. That,
shall try to beat out Of you; and you have so
large substratum of common sense and good
nature, that doubt not, you will get the bet
ter Of these faults sometime. ! am not respon-
sble, az you find for your faults, if try to
make you wiser and better man. SO love
you, and associate with you, although you call
me q dumb dog, and time. serving priest
about as bad things as you can say of preach
err According to your theory | must draw
of, and wait till you are perfect man before
do this. But If | and all good men should
take you at your word, you would be left in
tho hands Of the Philistines; and, from the evil
examples around you, fear would become an
insane 'rowdy,' ranting your Gospel of slave
ry' up and down the country rs the Word Of
God. love my country and her Constitution,
and believe there is vgor enough in her gem
erous, young life, to throw of hundred dis
eases like slavery, IL we will give her time, and
stand by her in the hour Of need. | believe the
present omnipotence of slavery in her public
counsels is accidental, the result Of CONNER
cial monopoly Of few productions of the
earth. A new extensive cotton, sugar, and
rice region, thrown open in Africa or Austria
liza, would soon bring the slave power upon its
launches ~ il was at the formation Of the
Government--an event by no means improb-
able.
shave no idea of taking to the boats in such
gale ~ this will stand by the Constitu-
ton, and swear to do oil of Gods will that per.
tains TO 1t, and labor TO undo as much of the
Devils will as il transacted under its authori-
ty. To both you, my friends" said al repeat,
your theory Of the nature of an oath il artificial
unsuited, and degrading to human nature.
Your manikin-citzen Is monster you must
father between you. A man never can be a
citizen in such way. There is no such Con-
stitution in our country as You imagine; and
the assertion that there is, ranks nothing
short Of libel on the memory Of our fathers
and our whole country. Your present po-
sition IL false. For one Of you must confess
himself the siaue, not the citizen, Of q Govern
ment which oompels him to disobey God and
the other asuumes the p0siti0n Of n Rs,,oItff,ou.