Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1855-08-09
Forthe Chronicle
What have we to do with Slavery?
No, 4,

rect, that slavery cannot be constitutionally
EXTENDED by gressional laws, nor Territori.
all enactments, should we not use our In
huence and exert our political power, TO pre-
pent the usurpaiion Of s'avery! For every
foot of Territory obtained by slavery since
the adoption of The Federal Constitution. has
been by q usurpation of power The French
laws sanctioning slavery in the Territory Of
Louisiana ceased to be operative the moment
the territory passed from the jurisdiction OF
France, tc the U. s.! So of the Territory of
Utah, California and New Mexico, obtained
from Mexico, and If Congress had wisely
used the power conferred upon il, the states
carried out Of these territories, and tho ter.
ritories themselves would nll have been con.
secrated to Freedom, and to day there had
not gone up to almighty God the praye. of
single slave for freedom ana for vengeance
from all that vast domain.
But that was the day Of dough. fac ,--un.
fortunately they are not all dead yet-slave.
holders demanded the re-enactment OF the
laws allowing human ch,ttlesm-and the
dough-faced representatives of the north
granted their demands. Now slavery points
| to what it has gained, as a precedent Cor
what it now demands. Thus it has ever been,
concession to unjust demands, has always
been the pretext tor new cncroachments, and
50 from tie nature Of things it will ever fe;
IT we wish to preserve any of our rights in
violate, we m lst maintain the whole together
and sternly resiat .he first attempt to invade
them.
But further we must resist the demands of
slavery; at the formation of the constitution,
the slave. holders asked the privileges con-
fered upon them BY that instrument as favor.
! The fires Of Revolution still burned too bright
ly, the altlr Of Republicanism had been too
recently erected, for slave holders, to insist
on their right to enslave their fellow man -
| They admitted that 1t was probable that the
days Of slavery were numbered--that the
system was an evil, forced upon them by the
mother country-and that timo was necessary
to get rid of the evil. The friends of free.
dom, believing that slavery would die out,nnd
anxious to secure Union OF all, granted the
req uest. Now slave FOLDERS triumphantly
point to those guarantees, as foundation on
which to base their demands aye, point to
them as rights conferred upon them by that
instrument, and as pretexts for new demands.
Then il we ought to arrest the extension,
resist the uIurpatons and reject the demand:
OF slavery, how is this to be accomplished!
Evidently by Withdrawing the support OF the
General Government from it. If the General
Government were placed in the hands of the
friends OF Freedom; il its powers were used
for proper purposes, its influence turned INTO
legitimate channels! II instead of supporting
slavery by legislation, it were left where the
trainers Of the Constitution left it, that is to
stand by its own strength, to live by its own
vitality; the generation njw living might
hear the glad shout of of a nation 60 up TO
heaven, proclaimng that the last fetter was
broken, the last slave liberated, and that we
were indeed nation of Freemen.
Here then is the question that involves the
whole controversy: If we are to arrest the
extension; resist the usurpatons and reject
the demands of slavery, by withdrawing the
support of the Federal Government from il,
how is this to be accomplished! Evidently
AS we ,hink-by political action.
The shareholders are in the minority in
Congress, the representatives Of Freedom
have the majority, then why, some one may
ask, has the slave interest SO long triumphed!
Simply by creating divisions; by making
fidelity to party, paramount to fidelity to prin.
ciples, and because there never has been a
party, in power, organized with reference to
the question! Now what is "a party! Noah
! Webster defines it to be--"A number of per-
sons united in opinion or design, in oppos.
ton to Others IT, the community "-Where
has this party been organized!-ii we except
the Freesoil party of lS4S and lS52--what
has been its namel Some one may answer
! the Wings constituted that party, another
says the Democrats, Henry Clay said, ait is
not true; and rejoice that it is not true,
that either of the great parties have any
aims or designs at the abolition OF slavery"
and he never said truer thing in the whole
course OF his life. As the Wing party has
deceased il is not necessary to pursue the in
quiry in relation to it; many of its friends
were honest, we'll meaning men, they hoped
1t might be used, to arrest the extension of
slavery, but as the party was used by its
southern masters. and fpally thrown into
spasmodic convulsions by the overdose of
Baltimore Platform" administered by the
southern Doctors in 1859, they gave it up as
bo inferred by he southern chivalry.'
And what Of :he Democratic party! Tit
is an engine to preve 1t the extension of sla-
very, when has its power for this purpose
been manifested! Was it in "44" when Polk,
Shareholder was their candidate for the Pre-
sdency, or during his administration, when
the party annexed Texas, avowedly for the
purpose of strengthening slavery Was it
in "4S when Cass, the abject tool of the
Shareholders was their candidate for the pre-
side ntial mansou!" or was it in '53 when
Pierce, and fidelity to the fugitive slave bill
were the tests of genuine. orthodox Demo.
cracy! Was it when they resolved ",ha, the
Democratic party will resist all attempts at
renewing in Congress, or ou: Of it the agita-
lion OF the slavery question under whatever
shape or color the attempt may be made" or
was it when that same party repealed the
Missouri Compromise, by which an amount
OF territory sufficient to form twelve .tates,
or in avtn 10