The Carolina Spartan. [volume] (Spartanburg, S.C.) 1852-1896, 1857-02-19
Mr.. Keitt's Speech.

The recent spe ech of Hon. L. NJ. Keilt,
at Washington, on the history Of slavery,
has called out the following comments Of
the New York Independent Henry Ward
Beecher's paper. Notwithstanding the ant
mus of the article, il involves high eo,nJ,ssii- n
ment to Mr.. Keiil:
"ln the House, the marked poiut of in
terest was the speech of Mr.. Keitt. of Soutl,
Carolina, upon tile slavery question. 1t
commanded universal attention. and was 4
strong speech in more senses than one. Mr..
sheitt is fluent and rapid debater, and is
pure specimen of Southern hot blood.
His whole system works like au engine mn.
der the deiverance Of his radical thoughts.
His eyebrows rise aud fall like the "walks
ing-beam OF steamboat--and when the
steam is fully up, the movement is painful
TO the beholder. His gesticuIation is strong
er than it is graceful. and his voice is too
sharp for harmony, especially wien sliding
INTO nasal twang. us il does occasionally.
lie grappes his subject with the conscious,
ness of being master, and offers no word
ot apology for the enuncation Of his radi a
cal views. And radical they are. Tliey
stagger democracy-nay more, they utterly
annihlate the word and condemn its appIi
cation, as fungus appearing upon modern
society, which should be cropped off. so
that society could be carried back 10 its pri
nal purity. His views OF society and gov
eminent are for the latitudes of Central
South Carolina, barbaric Central Africa.
and the region governed by the Autocrat
OF all the Russias. His speech is a perfect
museum of historic curiosities in social and
political life, galvanizing into being defnnct
nations, IN order TO show their darkest fea-
tures as models for tho most enlightened.
christianized nation Of the world in this the
nineteenth century. He claimed that the
Divine Iawgiver, in the very structure of
society, established slavery as one of its
features; or, as he expressed it, ~ have seen
that slavery was primordial ard universal
tact, and | have traced it up ths stream of
time to those awful mysteries which en-.
shroud the origin of society" His historic
steppings were painful, aud one almost for
got to be thankful for an enlightened, liberal
government in view of the dark historic
picture of our race. The ability manifested
in the compilation of the several historic
points, and the ingenuity with which they
are woven together to form chain, COM
mend the whole subject to some well versed
and careful reviewer. For me it is suffi-
cient to know, that because tyranny has
existed, il is no sufficient reason for IFS ex.
stonce nor. because Athens, in her ma
tional capacity, owned two hundred thou,
sand slaves, who, by forced labor, worked
her mines, and filed the Golfers OF her
treasury, and sunk to historic tomb. --be-
cause Rome, "in the very hey-day Of positive
legislation, throughout the republican peri
od," iegislated the unfortunate debtor into
chains and slavery, thus hugging the viper
until the whole political body was infected
with the virus, and crumbIing, fell to her
historic grave, il is no reason to me why
we as nation, should follow sach examples.
in order to insure such doom Tie
great feature Of the speech consisted in this:
he did not finish the history Of a single ma.
ton from whose laws or customs le quoted.
Had he done so, he would have wrapped
himself about in their rotten shrouds."