True American. [volume] (Steubenville [Ohio]) 1855-1861, 1858-02-24

Of nature and declare it lawful 10 steal from
the parent his child. If you will by law
degrade one portion of the human family
into chatlles, for Gods sake do not By
law reduce another portion TO the still
lower level of thieves. After you shall
have enacted your statute, will not the
law Of the stone table still stand, "Thou
shalt not steal I" Alter you shall have
enacted your statute, declaring 1t lawful
to send little children to the auction block
for sale, will they not still be as sacred,
whether an African, or an Indian, or
European, or an American sun first burn.
ed upon them, as they were on that day
when the Nazarene, whose intense hoi-
ness shed majesty over the manger and
the straw, said: " Suffer little children,
and forbid them. not to come unto me, for
Of such is the kingdom of Heaven 2,
In keeping, sir. with the attrocious
provision of this Lecompton Constitution,
declaring property in man, is The further
provision, which declares /" that al FREE
MEN, 'chen they form social compact,
are equal in rights" By adopting this,
we are asked to say, that the sell-evidenI
truth of the Declaration, that ALL MEN
ARE CREATED EQUAL" is selfevident
lie; gliItcring generality ; rhetorical
flourish, unconstitutional and undemocra-
tic !; that the selt.evident truth now in
these latter days is, that men are not cre'
aied, but like Topsy, they grow and
they are equal in rights only when they
are free, and form a social compact."
Allow me to ask the advocates and sup
porters af this Lscompion bill Of rights
this new declaration of self evident truths
what rights men have before they are
free, and before they form social com
pscte Are they then, by endowment of
their Creator. possessed Of the rights of
life and liberty! Or, outside of your
social compact, is there an inferior class
Of human beings, "who," as. the major.
iy of the Supreme Court said in the
Dred Scott decision. "have NO RIGHTS
or privileges but such as those who hold
the power and government may choose
to grant them p This is the precise
principle, the bold and atheistic averment
of this Lecompton Constitution and we
by affirming it, are only to become the
avowed upholders of the stupendous lie,
that one class Of men have no rights which
another are bound 10 respect; and hence,
the partial and exclusive provision Of this
instrument,
" That no freeman shall be taken, or i'm
prisoned, or disseized Of his freehold, liberties
or priv ieges, or outlawed, or exiled, or in any
manner destroyed or deprived of his life. lib
erty or property, but by the judgment Of his
peers and the law of the land"
mo FREEMAN" the words of neces-
sity import that any person not freeman,
any slave, any human chattel, may be
taken and imprisoned disseized of his
freehold. liberties, and privileges, outlaw
ed. exiled, and murdered, without the
judgment Of his peers, and without the
protection Of law. That this instrument
may wan in no feature of horrid cruelty,
1t is further therein provided, that '.free
negroes shall not be permitted TO Hue
in this State under any circumstances.
Sir, they are mere visionary theorists"
who suppose that this world was made
for Caesar, but no, for man. II belongs
to the common Father Of all mankind,
and is for the use and sustenance of all
His cbildren.I By our affirmance of this
instrument, we are to say TO certain hu-
man beings in the Territory of Kansas,
though you were born in this Territory,
and born of free parents, though you are
human beings, and no chatteIs, yet you
are not free 10 live here upon your naive
heath you must be disseized of your
freehold, liberties. and privileges, without
the judgment Of your peers and without
the protection Of law. Though born
here, you shall not, under any circumstan.
ces, be permitted toive here. You must
suffer exile or death-you canno. anc
shall not live here. That sky which you
first saw, and to which weary men look
up for hope and consoation-tbat beauti.
ful sky which bends above your humble
home like the arms OF benefcenee, clasp
ing in its embrace the evil and the good,
the just and the unjust-that sky was
no, made for you; you shall not live
under it. This land, this goOdly land,
with its fertile fields, and quiet waters,
and rustic homes. where you first learned
to lisp the hallowed name offalher, sister,
brother, and where sleeps in humble hope
the sacred dust of your poor dead mother
this land was not made fol you; yon
shall not, under any circumstances, be
permitted 10 live upon it; 60 hence, nev-
er more to return: that is our law
Representatives will you give to this
proposed atrocity your official sanction ?
Answer upon your Oaths, to yonr con
science, to your country, and 10 your
God
Here the hammer fell.
@- At the great anti-Lecompton meet.
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