Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1853-11-12
Prom tho Indiana rrec Democrat
THE CONSTITUTION AND THE UNION,
AND HBPOLITICAL PARTIES.
CAMBRIDGE, Oct. 18th, 1855

CAMBRIDGE Oct. 18th, 1853
Mr.. EDITORIAL Newport n few evenings since,
you disclaimed certain sentiments which had lccn
attributed to your paper in one Of my addresses in
that place On further examination, my opinion
still is, that you md no substitute editor must Le
the author Of them, though the knowledge Of wri-
ting them may have passed cut of your recollee-
ton, And in the same article, you refer to former
and similar declarations made by you on the same
subject Nor do you misrepresent your party in so
doing.
But more recently, do you not reaffim the same
or nearly the same doctrines2 You say"the Free
Democratic party do not deny the rightof slayehol-
ders to claim their runaways. The constitution
expressly guarantees that slaves escaping into a
free State, shall not be released from servitude in
consequence Of any regulation therein. Now the
obvious meaning of this language is, that the Tree
States should pass no law making them free"
And still more recently, you say in reply to the
Oneida Chief, I'VE admit tLat tie construction we
gave the constitution, does compromise the rights y
The Stare"
In the controversy with the Oneida Chief you
are evidently in the right. The constitution does
"compromise the rights Of the slave" And fur
ther, as you say, lit guarantees that slaves esca-
ping into free State, shall not be released from
service, in consequence of any regulation therein
and oil this the Chief strangely denies
Such being the constitution, we who are Aboli-
tionsts, cannot vote or take Office under It. We
VIII uOL COWlVOWtSC UCT TtyNtS ~ We sure We
will not swear to it, We will not elect others
to swear to doit Our trouble is not merely that a
slave can be sent back under the new Fugitive
Law, but that he can be returned under the consti
tuition which you swear to support With US, the
compromises Of 1850, which send back very few
slaves TO bondage are q small matter, compared
with the great compromise Of the Union, under
which millions Of men are Held in crushing bon
dagc, in all the passing generations. With us, 1t
is worse 10 rettin slave nay millions of slaves
than IL is to hold them the terms Of the national
compact and Union. With US, the foreign slave
trade in the District Of Columbia, is no more vile
than the domestic. With US, "the traffic in slaves"
ON the high seas, was no moro "pirGey" after the
law ofCOngress 80 declared il, than IL had been be-
fore. With us, unconstitutional slavery is no more
accursed than constitutional slavery With us, it
is no more criminal to meet Shareholders ON "Bal-
timtre Platforms" and pledge ourselves to be ST.
lent, or TO cease anti-slavery agitation, cithoW con-
ditionS, than it is to meet them in Washington on
the Governmental Platform, and pledge silence on
the trifing, though impossible condition that 'Uie
general gopernmeatbe phoRy separated from slarery
while it still goes on with screaming horrors in all
the slave States, born, or to- he born With us the
motto Freedom National Slavery Sectional" is
absurd, as well as wicked. Our sentiment is Free
dom unirerSd and siarey nophere in the universe ot
God, and true to that sentiment we make no terms
! with tyrants.
As regards the three millions ofu7cscaped slaves
there is really difference between the three pOlit
ical parties. On the altar Of this Union those mil
lions are offered a perpetual burnt sacrifice. The
three candidates Of their respective parties are the
officiating high priests before the altar, and they
swear in continual covenant, that they will be
loyal 10 that union, on such monstrUus conditions
| We, ON the other hand, enter no such alliance Our
motto is, "No Union with Slavery. nor Slavehol-
dcrs."
Aud our criticism and ccnsure Of the Free Soil
party is, that they will make and will uphold such
a government. That they do it, is not denied
The trifing circumstance Of q newspaper article
ayowing this that consideration, about the slave
trade, new slave States, new old Fugitive Slave
Laws, is as nothing. There stands the daring, dam.
ming fact Of voluntary union with Shareholders.
We Abolitionists cxecraie it, repudiaic it in the
name Of humanity, liberty, justice and God.
| Yours truly,
PARKER PILLSBURY,