Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1858-03-20

ious character Of our institutions is unsuited
this forum that laymen should not tread on ,h
e holy ground but assert. if there be place o
earth where religion, where wisdom and truth an
and practiced this Hall constitutes that place,
there be class Of men earth who ought to |
2 religious, who ought to be wise and truthful an
e just and pure Of purpose, the members of til
body ought to sustain that character.
' l repeat, we all acknowledge the existence of
Supreme Being; that he is the Creator that "
s are brought into life by His will. At this poin
the American people separate into two great pa
hes-one holding that sovereignty dwells aon
with the Creator, and not with men; that king,
= potentates, and all human governments. are sui
! jected to the "higher law" oe the Creator an
authorized to legislate only for the protection O
the rights which God has conferred on mankind
Another portion deny the existence of this "highe
law" and insist upon the perfect and unlimited
suvreignty of human Governments over the live
and liberties of the people. To be more explici
} on this point will remark that the religious Dor
tlon hold, that as God gave life to the human race
lie conferred on each right to that liberty which
is necessary to become wise truthful, Just, ant
I pure to bring bimself into harmony with the Law
1 OF God, and enjoy the happiness resulting thei e
from; that these rights equally sef.evident a
Tie existence Of our race; that they are inherent
tnattend6le and common to oil men; that they con
stitutc the great moral ligamsnt which binds mar
! TO his Creator, connects earth with heaven, ant
unltes the human race in one common brotherhood
bound by the most sacred oblie to love- re
we're, and obey our Universal Father. OF the pos
session of these rights every sentent being is con
seious. When God created man. and breathed int
him the breath of life, when man became q living
soul, this consciousness formed part of his moral
nature; and never, IN any age or in any cline, has
man, even in his rBdest, his most barbarous state
been unconscious Of his right to live, to u0urish
and protect life, and seek bis own happiness
r,,Yhf ,,G a.
soul; they cannot be alienated by the individual;
nor can any association of men, any earthly
power, separate the humblest of the human race
rom them. Men may rob their fellow man Of the
food which he gathers tor his own supports; they
may deprive hun of the power of sefde!ence; they
may bind his limbs and scourge his body they
may prevent him from attaining knowledge; but
his right to the food which he gathers. to defend
his person, to attain knowledge, will remain un.
changed. Their crimes will in no degree affect his
right
This relation of man to the Creator is repudia.
te by portion of the American people. They
deny that the right to live. to protect lite: and TO
attain moral elevation and happiness, is derived
from Heaven, or is superior to human enactments.
The denial of these fundamental religious truths
IAN characterize by no other term than "Americdn
iafdelHy" This issue literally separates the reli.
tluus from the infde portion of our people. In
using this language. do not seek to cast oppro.
bium upon those who honestly disbelieve the reli.
gious truths which Jefferson and Adams and
Franklin and their associates termed 'selfevident'
have unkind feeling towards them. | regard
then. as brethren, entitled to my best wishes. my
earnest prayers; and apply the term "n6del" to
Them ~ the only expression by which can charac-
teriZe them as a class.
The outworking of this great primal issue is
witnessed in almost every important question that
comes before Congress One portion of the men,
Ders adhere ~ the central proposition, that man
~ 1JS aIl rir tha
,tor. which are not to be invaded by human enact
ments: that they cannot be viulated except by in
curing the penalties of thai law which or.
ained By Him who bestowed them race;
that every individual who invades these rights vi
his fellow man is guilty of crime, and should be
punished accordingly; that all human enactments
protesting authorize the invasion of these rigLts
outside the just powers of human governments
are i'm pious invasions OF Gods prerogatives are
despotc in their character, impose no moral obiga
ton upon any individual; but involve those who
support them in the same degree of guilt with
those who psrpernte the crimes; that such statutes
can in no degree modify the moral guilt OF those
who trample upon the rights which God has be-
slowed upon their fellow men. The other portion
of the American people, maiataiLiug corresponds
ing iutuelity deny the existence ot these rights,
DENY that God has bestowed them upon manknd
they claim Unlimited sovereignty for human gov
ernments over human righ-s.
But desire to call attention to some of those
specific rights which are included in the general
proposition. Christians and patriots hold life
TO be the gift Of God. They regard it sacred:
they look upon its invasion as crime; that, as
the Creator bestowed existence upon those who
bear His image. it becomes the duty of indvid'
uals. of associations, and Of governments. 20 pro
tect each and every human being in the enjoy
ment of life that at this point human Legislation
commences, limited in its appropriate powers to
the protection of life. and not to its destructon;
A.. hn1l athn al
powers in regard to life than to protect its enjoy
ment; that the execution of pirates and murder
ers, and those who invade our country, is allowed
only for the purpose Of protecting society, that
these powers ordained of God, sanctioned by
religion by philosophy, by tho common sense Of
which was proclaimed from Sinai in tones of
thunder, saying to every human being "THoU
SHALT NOT KILL" WAS truly the voice of God ),
that it is repeated in all His works and in every
relation of Himself, and is binding all our
race. This commandment of God, this entire
doctrine, is denied by the President and by all
American in6dels; And this Constitutes the first
collateral issue.
In our slaveholding communities enaetments
have been passed, and are now supported, pro-
Tossing authorize masters to murder their slaves
For instance, in those States the slave is denied
the right to selfdetence; the right to protect bis
life or his person. 1t he attempt to defend him
to slay him in any manner he may be able; if he
run from the master. after being ordered 20 stop,
the master is authorized to shoot him: if he die
under the scourge. the master is not held rospons-
ible. American infdels believe that no moral tur-
pitude attaches to these statutory Iders while
Christians hold that Gods moral law remains
unchanged by such enactments that the guilt Of
the murderers is in no degree modified 10y such
statutes. that the perpetrator stands unvailed be-
fore God and all good men, guilty as he would be,
if no such laws existed; that all who enact. and
all who support such enactments, make them
selves accessories to the crimes committed under
them. are guilty as such, and ought to be sub
iected TO the same punishment with those who
murder their slaves.
But this power Of the master the life of the
slave constitutes the vital element of the insttu
ton, without which slavery could not exist. IL
is exercised wherever slavery is maintained. Ev-
cry master exercises the prisilege of driving his
slave. in sickness in health. just severely as
be thinks will best subserve his own interests 1t
is on this principle that shareholders openly de-