The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1856-01-10

The word Uhtte is not found IN that instrument
which is disfgured by no word indicating pro
scription or discrimination on account of race
The free Inhabitants of each of these States
paupers, vagabonds, and fugitives from justice
alone excepted, shall be entitled to all priv
| leges and immunities Of free citizens in the
several States" So runs Article fourth of the
Compact. An effort was made by South Caro-
lima shareholders to amend, by adding the WORD
tohite which would have harmonized the
Compact with the Pierce and Cushing idea
but it was voted down. So, the "political result
was, the foundation Of a Federal Republic o.
treemen our Anti-Slavery fathers, and not
negroj obbing politicians, being the judges.
There is no more truth in the rest of the par
agraph. Thomas Jefferson, whose sepulchre
his degenerate disciples build, while they tram
pie on his doctrines, inserted in the original
draft Of the Declaration of Independence an
emphatic denuncation of the slave trade, 1.-THE
abolition of which at that time was universally
believed to involve as a consequence the ex-
tinction of Siavery,) and charge against the
King of having prostituted his negative to the
defeat of all legislative attempts to prohibit or
restrain "that execrable traffic." and the ma
| jority of the a. wise and brave statesmen" in
Congress were in favor of it, but agreed to
waive it, for the purpose of securing the more
cordial cooperation of Georgia and South Car
DINA in the life-anddeath struggle then pend
ing. When to this fact we add, that the wise
and brave statesmen of that day." so far from
favoring the policy of continuing the "subject"
races in bondage, universally condemned it,
| took the lead in social movements for nitigaa
ting and abolishing it, became, many of them,
members in some instances, Presidents of Alb
clifton Associations; and, in the Federal Con-
stitution which they subsequently formed, care
fully guarded against the recognition of Slave
ry by name, as an opprobrium to Christendom,
avowed their purpose to exclude from the doc
ument any word which could imply sanction
to the claim that man can hold man as proper
ty; refrained from any provision which, in their
judgment, could operate in favor of the contin-
uance of Slavery; proceeded on the assumption
that the system was a transient evil, the re-
moval of which would be brought about by nat
as to incorporate provision investing Congress
with the power to prohibit the importation of
slaves into the country in l8O8-a power, we
repeat, believed to involve in its exercise the
abolition of Slavery-we know, that Franklin
Pierce and Caleb Cushing, reprobate New Eng
landers, in imputing to the men of the Revolu.
ton an indifference TO the bondage and oppres-
sion of the subject races or an intention to
perpetuate them, insult their memories, and
libel the institutions they founded
Men who can SANDER the illustrieus dead,
will not be slow to assail the reputation of the
living. In the harangues against Liberty, hith-
erto issued from the White House, invective
has been directed against classes of citizens: to
the President who now occupies it belongs the
unenviable distinction of having levelled his
denunciations against Sovereign States. He
stands, the reckless defamer of one half the
States of the Union, for the sake of securing
the countenance and support of the other half.
1T has been matter of painful regret" he
says, to see States, conspicuous for their SER
vices in founding this Republic, and equally
sharing its advantages, disregard their consti-
tutionat obligations to II. although conscious
Of their inability to heal admitted and 1,alpa-
bte social erls Of their oacn, and chich are com
pletely aUithin their jurisdiction, then eaqaoe an
the oDensire and hopeless undertaking of re-
forming the domestic institutions of other States
achOlly beyond their control and authorav. In
the rain pursuit Of ends, by them entirely unat
tdimdbte, and achich they pay not legally at
tempt to compass, Mey peril the cery existence
Of tile Constitution, and all the countless 6ene-
fits which 1t has conferred. While the people
Of the Southern States confne their attention
to their oaon AFFAIRS not presuming oficiously
to intermeddle ioih the social institutions of the
Northern States, too many of the inhabitants
Of the latter are permanently organized in as
sOciatiOns 10 infict injury on lie former, by
,crOnqfiM dcts achich ,could he cause of aoar as
bet,ceen foreign Poaoers, and only fail to be
such IN orr system, because perpetrated under
cooer ofMe Union"
1t is charged upon the free States, that they
disregard their constitutional obligations to
the Republic" and that they are engaged ain
the offensive and hopeless undertaking of re-
forming the domestic institutions of other
States, wholly beyond their control and author
ity." And this gross libel is solemnly uttered
in an official document, by President of the
United States
Must we stretch charity so far as to suppose
that he believes what he says? What free
State has disregarded its constitutional obi.
cations to this Republc2" What great inter.
est of the Republic, what constitutional obi
CATION, has any free State warred upon? Take
Negro Slavery, which, in the judgment of the
President, seems to be the paramount interest
of the Republic and the corner stone of the
Constitution what free State has violated any
constitutional provision in relation to it? 1t
is false that the free States have undertaken
in any case to reform the Slavery of the South,
or NEEDLE with it in any way. Again and
again have they declared, by word and act,
that they have nothing to do with it, as sys-
tenn existing under State authority. Franklin
Pierce and his Attorney General cannot point
to word or deed, on the part of free State,
to give countenance to their vile libel What
indiciduals have done is one thing what States
have done, is quite another. A few citizens
in the North denounce the American Union,
and seek its overthrow: few citizens in the
North regard the Federal Constitution as vest
ing power in Congress- or the Judiciary, to put
an end to Slavery in the States, and deem its
exercise vital to the preservation of the Union.
But the opinions of these classes have been
adopted by no States, nor by any large parties.
We say it not by way of praise or blame,
but to show the falseness of this Presiden-