The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1853-09-15
NO. $50.

DC set aslue. suppose Judge were 10 receive
a bride to influence his Judgment; he would be
liable to impeachment, be deprived Of his Of
| fice and the very judgment he should render
would pass for nullity. And ! would like TO
see man, who has ease before jury who
would be willing to have il understood before
he went into the trial that the Jury were to
have ten dollars if they rendered judgment
against him, and only five if in his favor. When
we test this law by such considerations, we
find it teeming with inquity, and worse than
any law that ever disgraced any people in the
world
There are three Compromise measures--the
Compromise in regard TO Texas, in regard to
the territory, and in regard to the Fugitive
Slave Act. ! call it an Gct, because will new
er call it law, and will never believe it a law
unless some revelation beams upon me from
above to change my judgment; and am sure
no such revelation will come from that quarter,
but more likely from another. Laughter.
Now let me ask the freemen of New York,
If they suppose thst-shis- Compromise liz rela-
ton to the Fugitive Slave Act is 80 jealOusly
maintained by the slave power, as a practical
! remedy for the recovery OF fugitive slaves II
20, they are vastly mistaken. A little more
| than two years ago, II speech was delivered by
| the late Presidents Secretary Of War, one OF
| the ables, and most accomplished citizens Of
whom the South can boast. In that speech he
told his constituents, that the Fugitive Slave
Act was of little, if any, value to Mississippi
and he added "suppose there are fifteen or
twenty thousand fugitive slaves in the North,
would we want them herei With the educa-
ton they have received, what sort of stock
would they make? | would not have u fugitive
slave upon my plantation for any consideration
whatever" He was a wise man. Suppose
Frederick Douglass were a fugitive slave, how
easy would any planter feel with him upon his
plantation Laughter Though all have not
attained to that distinction, to that eloquence
and power and learning, to which he has at,
tanned, yet all of them have learned in the
school OF freedom, and if upon their plantations
would hold their masters quite uneasy But
| what do they want it for, if not IA u practical
| remedy The number of fugitves now esca-
| ping is greater than ever before. There is no
depreciation in the stock of the underground
railroad, that | am aware of It's operations
are carried on just widely and extensively "a
| ever, and great deal more so. There are hut
few captured under this law, Now and then
| there is an instance. There was an attempt
| here you know, Applause, and the people Of
Syracuse seemed to have the same mind in re
gard to GERRY" as Capt lngrahanl had in re-
gard TO Kosta. And really, when heard my
friend Hale telling that story this afternoon, |
began to think the United States 10 use the
language of Gerritt Smith, were getting up
to the Jerry level Laughter. Now and
then some horrible case, some vilainous trans
| action occurs which it is impossible to charac-
tcrzc in terms Of Reproduction, significant enough
to mark its unmitgated atrocity But remem-
Der that hundreds escape where one il taken
back Why, then, do they want the law? They
want it AZ badge and symbol Of Northern
servitude They reason in this way: a man so
lost to the sense Of liberty and respect for him.
self, and for his ncghbors, AZ to consent to aid
in the execution Of a statute ~ infamous AZ this
has so far Invested himself of the capacity to
resist aggression, that he will submit to any
thing they will impose. VIII such men resist
tho ngress of slavery into the territories? will
| they resist the admission Of new slave States
into the Union, and resist the building up Of
| the gigantic proportions Of that enormous slave
power which presses upon the landf Never
never. | say, then the Fugitive Slave Act is
| maintained now as a symbol, badge, "an out
| ward and visible token not of onward spir-
| itual grace" but of something quite different
q token Of mcapaeity to resist aggression.
| When the Baltimore Convention met, what
did they do! There was the slave power, and
there were the delegates from New York, who
went there with protestations of devotion to
freedom fresh upon them. But as they went
towards Baltimore, and crossed perhaps the
Delaware river, one puts his hands into his
| pockets and says, have lost my principles"
Another puts his hand in his pockets, and says,
Faith, | have lost mine, too" You all re-
member Bunyans poor Christian, who when
ON his way to the Celestial city, finding he had
lost his load, turned round and went back
praying and mourning, until, thanks to God he
found it, and then he went joyfully on his way
| and the hills of difficulty sank before him. But
| these Barnburner delegates, on the whole, seem
| ed relieved to find they had lost their load Of
principles. Laughter When they came to
Baltimore they found the Convention sitting
| There was Arkansas with her three delegates
| and New York with some thirty or forty. Ar
kansas says 10 New York, "Good morning"
| New York says, GOOD morning" with IL very
low bow. And then does Arkansas say, Gen
tlemcD, we have assembled here to nominate
President and Vice President Of the United
States we are anxious that these candidates
shall be thorough Democrats Of the Jeflersoninn
school, deeply imbued with tho principles of the
Declaration Of Independence, who will be dis
tinguisbed by an honest, economical, and frugal
Administration Of the Government, and for u
manly bearing in our foreign affairs z" Does
Arkansas say anything of that sort Not at
all Arkansas says, Gentlemen, we are here
IN nominate candidates for the Presidency and
Vice Presidency Then Arkansas swings her
whip, and gives il crack, and proceeds "Nou
need not trouble yourselves about the question
Of slavery-wc have slaves in Arkansas, and
mean 10 hold them. Now, if you give us Il
platform, pledging your whole energies to the
maintenance OF slavery and slave catching, and
IT, in addition to that you will give us n Presi-
dent who will faithfully carry out that plat
form in oil its parts, then we will go with you,
but If not, noto What says New York to that
Does she say, any motto is Excelsior - high
or, higher progress progress a. our people
are pledged to the principles OF the Democratic
faith taught by Jefferson, and will maintain
them inviolate, and VIC repel your proposal ,"
OF course, New York does not say that, because
her delegates have lost their principles What
doee she say High and mighty Arkansas,
declare such principles and pledges as you SEQ
fit, compound the dose in such nauseous pro
portions, and in such nauseous quantities, as
you chooe, our mouths arc open, and we are
prepared to swallow; laughter and then
nominate Just such candidates as you nee fit to
nominate, and pledge them just a. deeply as
you choose, and we will support them, only we
want one thing undcrstoodp "And what il
that ~ IL a very small thing, and we hope
you will not refuse TO grant it. IL is that Peter
Jones shall be the postmaster in our village
Laughter Arkansas says "Well, that is
reasonable and do not care il grant it, and
to make the dose swceter, will throw in a for
eign mission, OF a chargeshpD Laughter.
So tbe bargain is made and New York goes
into the support OF the Baltimore platform
Aud those gentlemen look at US with amaze
ment when we remoach them with inconsist-
ency, and they say, ave are ready to join you
when a practical question is presented" And
when will practical question be presented, i
it IL not now Is there anything 40 precious