The Camden weekly journal. [volume] (Camden, South-Carolina) 1853-1861, 1855-08-14

you not perfectly understand, that every slave
State in this Union shapes its entire slave code
upon the grand truths that slave is not a mere
chattel, and that his human character is not d.
vested Do you not know that BY the unver-
sal law Of slavery, the slave is held to innumer'
able accountabities, overriding all claim of his
master; and that he is protected, not as chat.
tel, but as man, at the peril and profit even of
bis masters life And yet, upon precisely op.
posite allegations you construct All argument
whose logical issue is the subversiou Of our Ma.
tional Union; and upon that argument you con-
struct code Of morals, whose highest obliga.
ton is civil war! Sir; whatever may be my opin
ion Of the fairness of such reasoning, l easily
perceive it's dialectic skill. But fo- your sweeping
allegations, your argument had nothing on
which to rest; for if the relation Of master and
slave bs once admitted to be gcnerically rela
tion Of power and subsection analogous TO those
of ruler and subject; guardian and ward, parent
and child-then it demands far higher power
than yours to show that as mere relation it
has any moral quality at all; and then your du.
ty Of murder on account Of it comes straightway
to an end. Slavery, Mr.. Sumner, is not thing
which even in its fundamental nature, much less
in its more revolving aspects, have any purpose
to defend. But it is not, either in its nature or
its manifestations, the thing you pronounce it to
be; and this you could hardlyfa I. know. How
then, can avoid SAYING. that the n texts on
which you counsel such insane procc su."cs, are
neither true nor real?
What you say On the two vital objections, as
you call them, TO what you style the ant.slavs.
ry enterprise, is not equal to the level Of your or
dnary thought. The distinction Of race as an
obstacle to indiscriminate abolition, and the
sanctions Of Christians to the institution Of sla.
very as plea for its toleration, do unquestiona-
bly, require to DO put aside more thoroughly
than you have succeeded in doing before the teL
rible necessity OF adopting your principles follow.
ing your counsel can be said 20 be obligatory on
the conscience Of the North. will venture 10
suggest somewhat on both topics, which seems
to have escaped your notice.
For my part, sir, wish well to every country
in the world, and the every race on the face Of
the earth. But l frankly admit, love my own
country out Of all comparison with every other.
that | cherish my own race, with fervor far
beyond that with which regard all others
Some people call this bigotry-some call it ia
naticsm-some call it harrow mi1dedness, and
the like. call it an exalted duty, 10th of natu.
raj morality and Of reveaved religion, whose neg
lect ia Incompatible with pure heart or right
spirit III man. 1t has pleased God to create and
established great diversites of race amongst men;
diversites which, if we could oblitcrate them
completely, would, there can be no doubt, be re.
established under tue course of Divine Provi
dence, whose grand design in that, a, in all
things else, wo neither fully comprehend; nor are
able to defeat. This diversity Of race, extending
apparently to the utmost limit compatible with
its generic unity, has been one of the most con.
slicuous elemcuts in the destiny of mankind,
aud is so still. beg you to consider that in all
recorded time, but two methods have been found
whereby it was possible to solve that great pro-
blem OF the general mixture of races in one com-
munity on equal terms. 1t eau be done, whore
all have common master; that, is, under form
which Unfortunately enslaves all. Or it can
be done, BY means Of the toleration Of polvgamy
that is under a form where the civil equality is
preceded and coerced By one Of blood and house
hold. Except by one or other Of these means
or by both Of them combined; the fnnda.
mental demand Of your abolition hypothesis,
after innumerable attempts, and upon every race
Of men under every form Of civilization, has en-.
Ch.
slavery enterprise therefore, soon as it encoun-
ters the question Of mixed races dwelling toge,h.
er must demand that equality which is produced
BY the indlscrlmlnate servitude Of all, or it must
demand the toeIaton Of polygamy, or it must
succumb before the irresistible course of ProVi.
dence and the invincible laws OF human nature,
as both are attested by the universal experience
of mankind. That is, We must renouncc our
freedom and our actual civilization, to reach one
solution of this problem; or we must rcnuunce
our christianity, 10 reach the other solution of it,
or we must resist your anti slavery enterprise,
with its fundamental clause Of equality OF races
as tantamount the utter disorganization Of suci.
ETY.. Sir, have rot one word to say about
Shem, Ham, Japhet, or Canaan. But whether
rs statesman, as a philosopher, or as chris.
tian, and with a sovereign contempt for m in.
fdel theories Of man, "fsociety and Of virtue,
calmly and sorrowfully tell you, there lies one Of
the grand and insuperabe obstacles to that uni.
versal freedom and equality Of msn for which he
has painted from the origin ofthe race but could
never attain, and never will, upon such theories as
yours. The preteSt that the thing is attninable
BY civil war, or is attanable At all except on the
terms stated, or is either possible or desirable for
for US is neither true nor real.
On the other point your plea for the dissolu
tion of society and the ruin Of our country is still
less satisfactory. As for me Mr. Sumner, it has
beer the great business of my life to preach the
gospel Of God; the great pleasure of my life to
do what could to ameliorate tho condition of
my fellow-men. And I need not hesitate to
add. that while have won neither Senatorial
rank nor national notoriety thereby, have en-
dured more risked more for the sake ofthe black
race, by far, than either Yuu or | have dona for