The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1855-08-02
BRECKENRIDGE ON SUMNER.

The Rev. DR.. r. l. Breckenridge, Of Ken
lucky, has addressed long letter to the Hon.
Charles Sumner, in reply to the late eloquent
lecture of that gentleman. He talks a great
deal of the madness of fanaticism, and displays
his own GOODNESS by the assumption that North
ern opposition to Slavery and Slavery extern
sion, if persisted in, will necessarily result in
civil war. The whole tenor of his letter is
based on; the assumption that the North must
cease all opposition to Slavery, or be guilty of
provoking the direst bloodshed. 1t seems never
to have entered the reverend gentleman's head,
that the South is the aggressor, in attempting
to carry Slavery into free territory; and il pro-
curing, by the aid of Northern traitors, the
passage of the unconstitutional and infamous
Fugitive Slave Bill. His utter obliviousness
Of all the grounds which justify and compel
conscientious Northern men to discuss, agitate,
and oppose Slavery and Slavery aggression, is
characteristic rather of Mississippi sophie
more than of man of mature years and ex-
tensive knowledge. Rejecting that MIR. Brock
enridge has hitherto taken a somewhat active
part as an Emancipationist in Kentucky, and
that he still hints in ambiguous terms his dis
like of Slavery and Slavery extension, it is
really marvellous how he manages to make it
out to be SO heinous a crime in a Northern
man to speak and act in accordance with his own
even old clergymen, have their weaknesses
and we shall not be surprised if the future shall
develop the fact, that the reverend Nestor of
Kentucky has felt call to lay aside his eeri-
cal coat, and assume the mantle of Mr.. Clay,
as the great Pacifcator and Union-saver. With
such dreams and aspirations, how natural that
his imagination should conjure up such an
awful crisis in public affairs as would jus.
tify him in stepping beyond his appropriate
sphere, and which imperatively calls upon him,
Curtius like, to plunge into the gaping caasm
which exists in the Senatorial representation of
Kentucky.
DR.. Breckenridge is good writer, and, being
considered as a moderate Southern man with
Anti-Slavery leanings, his letter, absurd as it
is in all its assumptions and its reasonings,
will be regarded as godsend by the whole
tribe of Northern doughfaces, in their present
forlorn condition. The more conservative
alarmists of the South will also herald it forth
as a wonderful. achievement of human genius;
but we predict for it little favor among the
genuine champions of Slavery-the fanatically
honest advocates of the system. They are too
much in earnest in the defence of Slavery, to
tolerate any sickly sentimentality," such as
DR.. Breckenridge is afflicted with-a sor. of
sentiment which seems to be accompanied With
the fear, that although God is in the right.the
Devil has The power, and must be obeyed. We
are inclined to approve the spirit of the propa-
gandists in rejecting the apologies of tAese
doubling disciples, whose first step is to a6'x
fatal dishonor upon their cause, by admitting
that they are in the wrong.
The whole scope of the Doctors argument
is to eliminate Mr.. Sumner and the people of
the North, for attempting to oppose and curtail
an acknowledged evil. He represents the
South as being 80 barbarous, so wicked, and
SO unreasoning, that they will not submit to
the repeal of an act of Congress, but will be
fred with fierce Indignation, which nothing but
oceans of blood will appeasel
Now, with all due respect for the profession
to which the Doctor belongs, we cannot help
regarding this as most extravagant attempt
at humbug-a most noisy, but harmless, ex-
plosion of gas.
We should have mentioned, in connection
with our intimation of DR., .Breckenridge's prob
able political aspirations, that he has lately