Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes County, Ohio) 1856-1865, 1858-01-21
Shall Ohio Take a Step Back
EnrAe1

Shall Ohio Take a Step Back
Wardsi
At time like the present. when the
whole Democratic party Of the south, the
Border Rufians of Missouri, and the Dough-
faces of the north, backed up and urged
on by the Administration of Buchanan are
trying their best to extend slavery over
the entire territory of the United States,
but especially in Kansas, shall the legisla-
ture of Ohio, instead of resisting the dark
and bloody wave of despotism, encourage
its onward sweep, and glorify the deluge it
is making and has made. Stephen A.
Douglas and S. S. Cox have made an at
tempt to stem the current in Washington,
and we have thought that they would find
friends among their party in the Legislature,
who would have shown some backbone,
given some sign of encouragement, some
show of approval, but instead thereof, we
find that the leaders of the party in the
House have signalized their advent into
power by prostrating themselves before the
Slave Moloch, and are exhibiting themselves
as the most abject worshipers of the un-
couth divinity.
On the first day of the session, Mr..
Hunter B:oke, young representative from
the county of Hamilton, a native of the free
soil of Ohio, gave notice that he should in
troduce bill for the repeal of the humane
law of the last session, by which fugitive
slaves, men and women guilty of no crime,
were not permitted to be incarcersted by
slavehunteIs in our jails; and yesterday the
same gentleman brought in his bill, and it
is now before the legislature for its action.
A member also, from Butler county, has
given notice that be should introduce bill
for the prevention of the settlement of col
ored people in this State. Can. two such
laws pass the legislature of Ohio in the
year of grace, 1858? If so, God help the
poor. The oppressed have no friends
The world is not for them, nor the worlds
law. The whole thing reminds us of the
pungent satire of the "First Book Of Judas,
written by Albany Fonblanque, Esq, and
can be found in bis second volume Of "Eng-
land under Seven Administrations" The
'Book of Judas" was written to show up
the practices of the English Bishops in con-
trast with the religion of Christ and the
oppression of the poor. Let US quote:
"If ye say to certain man, this, being
a portion of his goods, is ours, and he say,
sNay,i is not ye shall sue him, and yex
him, and waste him away in the suit, SO
that he be made one of the poor and bless
ed accordingly.
sIf ye ask for the coat, and the man
deny it, saying. 'What shall l have to
fence me from the coldY ye shall sue him
for his cloak also, for it is written, naked
he came into the world and naked shall he
90 out of it, so strip ye all ye can"
This Democratic principle Of harrassing
the poor, and expressing, still more, the
already weak, is in our Judgment, unbe-
coming body of law makers in this en-
ighLened age. That it is because they are
weak that these new acts oftyranny are to
be added to the already broad catalogue,
no one can doubt. Were they rich, educat.
ed, eligible to office, and entrusted with
the franchise, we should have no such at
tempts to drag them down, and mark them
like Cain, with brand of degration and
outlawry. Should such acts pass, well
might the colored men of Ohio exclaim
"What have we done that we should be
thus singled out for the rigors and oppres-
sion of an inexorable statute?"
There is no demand, legal or moral, up.
on the people of Ohio, that they should
voluntarily erect jails and houses of correc-
ton to aid the slave hunter in his search
for his human chattels. The law does not
demand it, nor will humanity accord it,
The people of Ohio are taxed for the erec-
ton of these places of prision, but they new
er intended that they should be made bar
racoons for the Imprisonment of men, wo-
men and children whose solitary crime is
that they prefer Liberty TO Slavery, and to
be the owners of their own bodies, rather
than have them owned by masters. The
United States laws are all on the side Of
the masters. The United States provides
the masters with hunters whenever their
chattels succeed in running away. The
slave has no friends. He has to move
with secresy. If he be captured, he is ta-
ken back to slavery.
Now, then, the question is, whether it is
becoming in free Christian State like
Ohio, that we add to the powers of the
slave holder and slave hunter, TO catch and
oppress the poor runaway, by offering to
them the free use of our jails, in their work
of subjugating the weak and downtrodden,
TO the stings and avarice of the rich and
powerful. There is no call for such an act
from any quarter. Even the "Union is not
in danger at the present time. 1t must
be regarded as volunteer offering on our
part, sort of Christmas Santa Claus gift
to the slave power. From what has re-
Gently transpired in Washington, and from
what is transpiring there every day, we sub
NIT whether this is just the time when we
should give renewed evidence of our OBJ
ject of servility to the stakeholder Aristoc-
racy? Have we not gone far enough in
that direction? We have bowed our heads
made our salaams, got down on our knees,
with heads uncovered and arms folded, to