Daily American organ. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1856, 1855-08-20
NUMBER 236.


A Letter 10 Hon. Charles sumner, sem
ator In Congress from the State OF Massa-
| chusetts, OccasiOued by his Anti slavery
Discourse, In Niblo's Theatre.
| ny REV. II. ,. BRECKENRIDGE.
| [coNcLUpED.
For my part, sir, I wish well TO every country in
| the world, and to every race on the face of the
earth. But frankly admit that l love my own
country out Of all comparison with every other; /;
| that cherish my own race with fervor far be.
| yond that with which | regard all others. Some
people call this bigotry, some call IL hnatcism,
| some call II narrow-mndedness, and the like.
call il an exalted duty, both ofnatural morality and
of revealed religion, whose neglect is incompatible
with pure heart or a right spirit in man. 1t has
| pleased God to create and establish great divers-
ties of race amongst men--diversties which, If We
could obliterate them completely, would, there can
be no doubt be re-established under the course 4
| Divine Providence, whose grand designs in that,
| as in all things ese we neither fully comprehend,
nor are able to defeat This diversity Of race, ex.
| tending apparently to the utmost limit compatible
| with its generic unity, has been one of the most
| conspicuous clements in the destiny Of mankind,
and is SO still. beg you to consider that, In all
| recorded time, but two methods have been found
whereby 1t was possible to solve the great problem
OF the general mixture of races In one community
on equal terms. II can be DONE where all have a
discrimmately enslaves all.
Orit can be done by means Of the toleration Of
polygamy; that is, under form where the civil
equality is preceded and coerced by one of blood
and household. Except by one or other of these
means, or by both Of them combined, the funda-
mental demand Of your Abolition hypothesis, af
| ter innumerable attempts upon every race ofmcr,
under every form of civilization, has encountered
only universal shipwreck. Your antslayery en-
! terprise, therefore, as soon as it encounters tie
question of mixed races dwelling together, must
demand that equality which is produced by the
indiscriminate servitude of all or it must demand
the toleration Of polygamy; or ii must succumb
before the irresistible course Of Providence and
the invincible laws of human nature, as both are
attested by the universal experience of mankind
That is, we must renonnce our freedom and our
actual civilization, to reach one solution Of this
probem or we must renounce our Christianity,
to reach the other solution oft; or we must re-
sist your antslavery enterprise, with its funda-
mental clause of equality of races as tantaInount
to the utter disorganization Of society. Sir have
not one word to say about Shem, or Ham, or ia
pheth, or Canaan. But whether as a statesman,
as philosopher or as Christian and with SOW
cregn contempt for all infdel theories of man, of
society, and Of virtue-I calmly and sorrowfully
tell yon, there lies one Of the grand and insupera-
BILE obstacles to that universal freedom and equali-
ty of man for which man has painted from the orr
gin of the race, but could never attain and never
will upon such theories yours. The pretest
that the thing is attanable by civil war-or is at
tainabe at all, except on the terms stated, or Is
either possible or desirable for us is neither tue
nor real.
On the other .Ps Perns ruin ySr o Country si try h still less
satisfactory. As for me, Mr. Sumner, it has been
the great business Of my life to preach the Gospel
of God the great pleasure Of my life to do what
4 sh.,. s,f
men. And need not hesitate to add, that whiIo
have won neither senatorial rank nor national
notoriety thereby, have endured more and risked
more for the sake Of the black race, by far, than
either you OF have done for the sake Of the white
Your fierce sarcasm, therefore, has no terror for
me; nor can your pathos mislead heart which
has felt too deeply all the real evils of this pitabe
case to be susceptible TO the influence Of the most
eloquent exaggerntions nor have any sympathy
with that state of mind in which one can imagine
that he Is pleading the cause of Christ while he Is
counseling the deliberate violation Of the most sa
cred obligations. The life and doctrine Of the
Lord Jesus afford the only perfect illustration OF
every truth and every duty and, among the rest
Of that glorious truth of the universal brotherhood
Of man, and that immortal duty Of quenchless,
mutual love founded on It. But how utterly do
we misconceiye the life and doctrine Of the Son
Of God when we advocate universal treason In or
der to redress partial oppression; or teach doc.
trines which lead only TO universal rapine in order
| TO rectfy partial injusticel | wish from the bot
tom Of my heart that every people were fl to en-.
joy, and did actually possess, public liberty and
FREQ institutions but should J. therefore, urge an
indiscriminate assault upon all nations which de-
sire, but are denied, these inestimable blessings?
All duty Is founded upon truths and laws, both
Of which are immutable; but every duty Is modi-
fed by circumstances which vary ceaselessly; and
| Il Is only as we comprehend both of these great
principles that can ever attain any rational as.
surance that we perform single duty Alright. As
member Of the human race, enlightened by the
Gospel, l may have particular view OF the gen
eral question of human seryitude. Considered as
citizen Of the United States with the institution
Of slavery occupying the precise posture il does TO
the nation, my view Of my own duty must neces-
sarily be modified. Considered as citizen OF Ken
lucky, where much might lie done towards the
amelioraton Of slavery, my duty ia modified again.
| And considered as n citizen Of South Carolina,
where probably il is hardly possible to conjecture
how slavery could terminate peacefully and safely,
my duty necessarily undergoes another and very
serious modification The religion Of Jesus Christ
Is compatible with every condition In which Gods
providence consrans our fallen race to exist; fnd
II Is absurd in reason, and unfounded in fact,
to assert that Christ and his Apostles required the
indiscriminate abolition Of human servitude, TO
assert that they required the indiscriminate over
| throw OF any other form OF despotic authority
among men. For myself my natural heart would
doubtless have loved the teachings of the Lord all
the more, If he had preached crusade for liberty,
instead Of sacrifice for sin.
But with his Gospel in our hands, We can no
more keep an honest and enlightened conscience,
aud deny that his teachings tolerated human serv.
tude as condition compatible with salvation,
than we can make ourselves acquainted with the
history Of human affairs, and deny that His Proyi-
dence has tolerated human servitude as a condi.
ton compatible with the existence Of society
What are we, that VIC cannot have little patience
with that which God has had patience since sin
entered into the wofldY And how striking is Il to
behold the certainty with which men repudiated
the power Of the Gospel as soon as they have
fastened on il power Of their own how surely
| they become heretics, apostates, or inhdels when
they begin to teach Christ instead Of setting down
at his feet TO learn Of him What else can we
say but that all such prctexts whether for public
wrong or for private iniquity, are neither true nor
| rea9
II was my purpose, sir, to have said something
on the remaining topics Of your discourse-thc
~ fba anti.