Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1855-01-30

a few days since my attention was cale,
10 speech Of TIE Hon. Joshar r. Giddings
delivered in the Presbyterian church, Gales
burg, Illinois. on The 2f},h of October, 1854
| and published IN tbe Gal,shurg Frne Demo
erat,'' from which extract the following par
agraph:
g And now l must say worl about II,
ministry thank them fnr the devotion they
have shown to the eapss Of the slave. Thei
words and prayers hare Eheetei ne in the dis
charge Of my duties. Fps 3eyenteen years
have not heard . prayer for tie s,a*e from {
chaplain in Congress. Anti-sla7e!y '1e'abers
of Congress have had to do all the praying fol
! the slaye which has been done there. When
1 Dr.. Wylie, Of the Scottish church, visited
| The chufcheaof this country, he entered The
hall of the House enc day while was speak
! ing on a bill affecting the rights of slave; and
as Brother .Tustin Chaplin of the Senate, after
| wards introduced hs, Dr. Wvlie was pleased
to compliment me on nv efforts. felt Ike
taking a little revenge on BROTHER Tustin. and
| told the Ductof thai when ministers 10 Wash
ington dsre NOT safaS for the slave, layInen
were compelled 70 use their poor Abilities 10
| his defence. In astorishmen. tNo Eocs9r
| turned TO Brother Tustir, ard aSEsa him # It
| was 50. Brother TUstin hung his "ead, and
replied We do not think it prudent"
Courtesy aod blGHriety forbids .!no to i'm
peach lie re-acisv Of Mr Giddi2gs, for he is
venerable and distinguished citizen; vet jus
tice . myself requires me to say that, after
| taxing nyrecoliecton to the utmost, l cannot
recall the most remote shadow of any one cir
cuIrst4uca specified in the above statement
Il is cheerfliy confessed (without, however,
any reference to the prudential considerations
alluded to hy Mr.. Glddings, and So discre1it-
able to my Christian and ministerial integrity
that, in the discharge of my official duty as
chaplain Of the Senate, may not have con-
sideEed It necessary to utter abolition speeches
to the Deity in order to make my suppiicatons
acceptable to Elm. In the mcGei prayer
taught by our Blessed Redeemer to his dIsci-
pies, the spirit, if not the language Of which,
was intended to be initiated by all succeeding
generations, :cR 1snd nc specific reference 10
that class Of persons as such, albeit slavery eN
isted in its hardest form at that very time,
and of necessity under the immediate insrec-
ton Of the omniscicnt Saviour. In the om;s-
sion, therefore, ofwhich Mr. Giddngs com-
complains, am willing to stand in tie shad
ow of Him whose heart was a perennial foun
tain Of all that was god aud just, and whose
heavenly lessons, when strictly Obeyed, VIII
lead us to the faithful discharge of all our rel
ative duties whether We be in authority or sub-
lection. My venerable friend (for am sill
inclined so to regard him, aside from these un-
necessary assaults upon my Christian and min
is terial character) will excuse rue for intimat-
ing to him that there are other methods Of eX-
hib't;Dg or sympat1a for the stare besides
political speeches and official prayer. The
position in which l am involuptariiy placed
will Justify me in making pubic little
incident in my own history, which, until
now, has been scarcely known bcso the
limits ofIny own fircside. Some years ago,
without any agency Of mine in the way OF pur-
chase, I became, Ike PhiZemo'I of the- -NeVg
Testament the owner Of q man slave, (the
only one ever did possess,) whose services
would have contributed largely to the comfort
and convenience Of my family. Instead OF
preaching and praying t3r his emancipation,
went to the proper authority and directed his
free papers to be ePrepared in due form and pre-
sented to him, by the execution of wiicl, act
my escheauer. rarer suffering from plethora,
Was fedrcod TO the extent Of $500, or per-
hars, s. GOO. Whilst far removed from Gr.
Giddings's peculiar views on this interesting
and exciting subject, I nevertheless was i'm
PEELED by motives which | need not disclose 20
make this voluntary ohering on the altar Of
freedom, and thus evince by so much, "a
S'h''A "ItAOuu, W De hufS, III JlE c9tiHidtiOi ~
solne,) that tue and substantial sympathy for
the slave does not belong exclusively to the
NORTH side Of TIE line. .s.
The nae2lo1O pyeJsx which Mr.. Gliding has
attached to my name does not diminish the
severity Of the assault. The honey which he
has placed ut the end of tho spoon does not
make the dohe at all less nauseating. He is
too we'll acquainted with the Scriptures not to
know that there is one case, at least, recorded
upon inspired authority, i'll which the gentle
apPellation is connected with an action not
entirely tTdteTHdl in its character or result ]
may be permitted to add, shat if did not, in
my public prayers as chaplain to Congress,
specify particularly the class Of persons which
seems to monopolizo so largely the sympathy
OF Mr.. GiddiDg2, there is one petition which,
in sentiment, if not in words, he, and others
will recognise as holding prominent place in
my daily orisons; 1t was, IS tits row, and ev-
er shall be "th9t our precious and priceless
Union mag be pcrceivcd against tie machina-
TORS Of its fces, 7yhc'Aer foreign or domestic,
and be tr1nszittcd ,:niDspaJ.d 10 car ci;33re,ss
Children Throughout al! generations; end that
tie NORTH cnd South n7oy nerer .f0ryet,
evs7s In Nourc " sgildsat crcitshac1st, t2Gf
EFliZgG distinct as tie 6i2iozrs,
They ere one as tie sea"
an grieveA 10 bn thus brought into FCb-
lie collision With IIr. Giddiugs; for, apart
from the oLIquity of feeling engendercd hy
his mistaken vio-sa of Elavery and the best
means of improving the condition of t.a slave,
1 believe he would rocoil from iniiicdng an
injury upon IIiecharacter of Christian min
lister who, By his principles and Office, il the
opinion Of many, is deprived alike Of tlinright
or privilege of seIEdefance. My reputation
however, secured by thirty years of hard and
exlgustirg service in the cause of humanity
and religion, is too precious to myself ard
family 70 allow me to stand by and witness
with uncomplaining acquiesce its mutilstion
and dismemberment, for the useless purpose
of rounding off an aPocryphal period OF fur
nishing material for Bnncombe paragraph.
In conclusion, I beg leave to add, that l
would not, for various reasons. have felt my
self at liberty to obtrude this "ca,d" upon
the public eye if the case referred to in the
above extract were the only one in which Sir.
Giddings has rtsed nay name disparagingly
b,,t am cradibIy informed that he has done