The Camden weekly journal. [volume] (Camden, South-Carolina) 1853-1861, 1855-08-14
A!isrrllanRull5.
DR.. Breckenridge Oh Slavery.


Letter TO Hon. CHas. Sumner Of Muss.
SIR: have read with great attention dis
course Of yours, published in the New York
Tribune of the 18th of May, which, according
To the statements Of that paper, was pronoun.
ced at Niblo's Theatre, in the City OF New
York, few days before, to an immense and
delighted assembly of the people. | will add
that it is my habit to read carefully whatever
find in the newspapers of the day proceeding
from you. For observe in what falis from
YOU more serious conviction, Il deeper the
ture of scholarship, Il larger intelligence, aud
q more earnest mauliness, than | have been
able to discover in the u,terances Of those who
seem to enjoy your confidence aud share your
lahors 1t is no disparagement to you person.
ally to add that representing the Common.
wealth of Massachusetts, sitting in the seat "f
Daniel Webster, discourstg Of the duty of the
Northern States on the u"St dangerous topic
Of our day, and pleading el"quenlly for the
necessity, practicabi'ily and dignity of an ell
terprise whose success involves the ruin OF the
country-your words have, for all conSderate
men, mn interest and an importance which all
your high qualities would fail to impart t"
Them if you spoke us a private citizen. 1t may
BE- possible, also, that the words Of q private
person like myself, aud total stranger to you,
by connecting themselves with the stirring and
dangerous word, spoken by you from The great
p,'slion You have won, may obtain AL audience,
which, hut for that, it were idle to expect for
them And you wi yourself perhaps. admit
that have somewhat t" say worthy Il serious
consideration, aud that my Iife.l long connection,
in many forms, with most of tie topics YOU dis.
cuss entities me, without undue presumption,
10 give ut:erance to some Of the though, excl
ted your discourse.
Allow me, sir, to utter, in oiic sentence, the
substance of my whole thunyht tpurh.ug the
madness Of the times about his whole qucs
;on of negro slavery. llcrc We a'c, great
perple, with glorious mission set hct"re us.
More than twenty millions of us. with whose
destiny the destiny of three or four millions Of
blacks is fearfully combined. One way other
We must solve their destiny when We solve our
own. This is wholly unavoidable. But the
madness Is that every seven white Americans
must needs cut each others throats concern
ing the fate of one black African! Is there no
solution Of the problem nf their destiny aud
ours, but that solution which DESTROYS us, with
out beneftting them! And can statesmen,
such rs 90 not see sufficient reason to doubt
you are, and patriots such as have not the
heart to deny yon TO be, find no better s"lu
ton of this terrible problem, no u"bler issue Of
our sublime hopes, than mutual destruction by
the men of the North and the meH Of the
South, for the sake Of the African slaves, scat
tered thinly over the comtinents Are we not
able to bear through, by our invincbe strength,
even srch parasite MS this black race carry
ing them tnward far beyond an, thing they
could have reached without US, and , ct mount.
ing up ourselves, far beyond anything they may
ever reach! Shame upon every American
patriot, Who is insensib!e to the glory Of such
result! Inf,my to every one who conspires
10 defeat it!
Aud vet, sir, you, an American Senator,
speaking in the name of that great Commoh'
wealth in whose bosom stands Bunker Hill
and sitting in the seat of that great statesman
and pntrio: who saw no hope tor public liberty
higher than that which rests upon the Union Of
these States-you an American Senator, who
have studied the past and who fear God, allow
yourself to bring the whole force Of your cha.
racter. your position, and your great gifts, to
bear directly upon the point at which alone it
is possible to wreck the country, and to destroy
US all together! The very madness OF the
times assumes in you its most frantic aspect,
and you openly avow that slavery in America
isl wrong SO g'ievous and unq"estionable,
that i: should not be allowed to contuue-nay,
that it should cease to exist at once-nav, that
q wrong so tranScendent, ST. loathsome, so dire.
ful. must lie encountered wherever it can he
reached, and the battle must lie continued
without truce or compromise. until the field is
entirely won. Such are your words-pro
f,undly eloquent unspeakably frantic !
Now, sir, this means, neither more nor less,
than the edge Of the sword. Lay aside the
rhetoric, and the simple sense is, grape aud
canister, cold steel and stricken battle. Be-
lieve me, Mr.. Sumner, when | state two facts,
one of which you ought to know, better per-
baps than do. The fact which know better
than you do is, that whenever the very faintest
indication of the settled purpose Of the men of
the North to follow your advice becomes appa-