The Kanzas news., 1857-10-10
Revolutionary Doctrine.

Revolutionary Doctrine.
Extract from GzzzIr Sx1rHs Speech, at Mil
vaukee, Wisconsin, June f1th-]
said that came hear to beseech you to
know no law for slavery, but to trample un-
der foot whatever claims to be law for sla-
very. l honor your intelligent Judiciary
stitutional. I honor Wisconsin for standing
bravely by her brave Judiciary. A good
and glorious example is all this. But I am
glorious example. Wisconsin-both her
people and her Judges-mus. know no law,
nor admit the possibility of any law, for
slavery. A statute may be in favor of
slavery; a Constitution-even the idolized
Federal onstitution-may be in favor of
slavery; but the voice of all Wisconsin must
be that slavery is too repugnant to justice
and humanity, to reason and religion, to be
capable of wearing any, even the least, SEM
blance OF law.
Men of Wisconsin, you know that what
am claiming at your hands is simply your
duty; and cannot doubt that you will joy
fully confess the duty. How blessed and
how numerous will be the results of your
faithfully discharging it!
There will then be no more fugitive slaves
in Wisconsin; for the moment they shall
touch your soil, they viii cease to be slaves.
That moment they viii be transmitted from
chatteis into men. 1t follows that there viii
be no more prosecutions in your State for
helping fugitive slaves; for you will not fail
to make such prosecutions quite too peril
GUS to be ventured upon. Your Booths
and other good men will no more be harrass-
ed and plundered for having shown mercy
to their helpless, outraged, innocent breth-
rem. No more will they be made criminals
for doing that which endears them to the
heart of God, and of every right-minded
man.
Then, too, in your shutting out the Slave
Power from your State, and all law for sla-
very, you will give the only honest, con-
sistent and effectual answer to the denial OF
citizenship to the black man by portion Of
the Supreme Court of the United States
That denial is a perfectly logical deduction
from the assumption that he is fit to be the
subject of merchandise and to wear the yoke
of slavery. Hence it is utterly vain, not to
say hypocritical also, for any who hold that
the black man can be property, and his en-
slayement lawful, to arraign the justice OF
wisdom of this denial. For why should
they who, though having the appearance Of
men, are in fact but fit to be cast into the
category of chattels-why should they, any
more than horses, be accounted fit for the
dignity and honor of citizenship? No, il
is taking the issue with slavery itself, and
denying that it can have any right or any
law-it is this which constitutes the only
proper answer to the denial of citizenship
to the black man. 1t will be such an an
swer also to the virtual decision in the Dred
Scott case, that slavery has the right to &C
everywhere in the land. To that decision
each State should reply that, so far as its
own jurisdiction is concerned, it shall &c
nowhere-be nowhere known as law; nc
person be recognized as owing service OF
the ground that he is slave; no person b.
recognised as slave.
Another blessed result of your disownine
the lawfulness of slavery will be releasing
your conscience from all obligation to re
plunge into the hell of slavery your poo
brothers and sisters, who have come up ou
of it with their SCARED bodies, and, by thu
help of the friendly North star, worked
their danger@crowded way as far as your Dor
ders. Wherever the conscience is SO per
verted as to admit this obligation, alas! how
baleful must be its influences upon the whole
character How such conscience obliga
ton must shackle all manly freedom How
it must debase and sink the nature that ha.
fallen under it! So long as this soul-shriv
cling obligation remains in the public con
science of Wisconsin, so long the religion
of Wisconsin cannot be the generous ant
ennobling religion of Jesus Christ; canno
be characterized by the boldness, honesty
and impartial love of the true religion.
Among the most valuable results of you
ignoring all law for slavery will be the prep
aration of your way to grow in the knowl
edge of true lava knowledge inferior to NJ
other in its happy influence upon the char
acter. To whatever extent you are nov
guilty of recognising in slavery the nam
and obligations of law, and of thus accord
ing to the very worst thing the same name
and obligations due to the very best-to tina
extent do you now trifle with, and twist, ant
blunt your moral nature. But when yo1
shall have come to identify law with right
and to acknowledge nothing to be law whicl
Is not right-though readily admit tina
there are many violations of right, and there
fore many illegaities, which it is better t
bear with than resist-then you viii hav
entered a law-school, in which wisdom an
goodness grow as constantly as do folly an
wickedness outside of it; law school il
which, under the teachings of true law, tn
mind expands as rapidly as it becomes dwarf
ed when under the influence of those con
yentional localities which lack all the grea
elements and all the soul of true law.
viii mention but one other of the pre-
cious results of your branding slavery as al
outlaw, and eonsecrating every foot of you
soil to freedom, and promising as full pro
lection to the fugitive slave who steps upol
it as to any other innocent person within
your borders. You will then be free State
which ] dare not yet say you are. Yo1
viii then have State Government, whicl
I dare not vet saw Won have Certain it /