, 1859-10-25

I tastes may have been, but VIC presumc that in
attempting SO bold au invasion Of Virginia lie
fortified himself with the best Virginia opinion.
| If his object Was to justify an emancipation Of
the slaves one Of the most effective mems for
the purpose would have been record Of the
known sentiments Of the statesmen whom yir-
| glnia delights to honor. He probably took
with him, the will Of Washington, wherein lle
cmancipates his slaves and forbids their sale
or transportation; lislcttcr Of March Ii, 1892,
to Charles pinckney against the slaye trade;
lis letter 10 Lafayette, Of April 18th, 1856, ex-
pressing wish to sec slavery abolished, and
his letter to Mr.. Whipple, Of Portsmouth, n.
H., against creating any disturbance in order
to arrest fugitive: lie epzobably carried with
him Jeaersons Notes On VirEinia,' in which
he deprecascs the debasing influence Of slavery
upon the manners Of the people-his nu1ner-
Gus letters in which he declares himself unal.
terably opposed to the institution-aud lis
project Of l785 for the emancipation ef slaves,
To say nothing OF the Declaration Of Iudepcn-
dence. And to tie sentiments nf Washington
and Jefferson, Brown has likely added those Of
Patrick Henry, John Randolph, St George
Tucker, james Monroe, and other i]lnslrious
sons Of tie Old Dominion, with which our
readers nre familiar.
Nothing in these, it is tr11e, would give
countenauce to the insane career Of violence
and bloodshed which he proposed to himself,
any more than there is in the similar teach
Tugs Of the Anti-Slayery men Of the North.
More operative and inflammatory still would
be the debates Of the Virginia Legislature Of
1889 following the Southampton insurrection
| Of the previous year. These Brown must
| have studied lie contemplated similar
movement and lie doubtless desired to learn,
not only the extent and result Of that, but tho
feelings Of tho lending people III regard to its
causes and meaning. We venture to say,
therefore, that copy Of those debates, which
hare been published in pamphlet form, will be
found among the contents Of the mysterious
oarpet-bag. We venture to say that Marshall's
arguments were in his mind, which PROV
ed that Slavery is r1linous to the "wLites,
''retards improvement, roots out an industri
''ous people, banishcs the yeomanry Of the
country, and deprives the spinner, the weay-
"cr, the smith, the shoemaker, the carpenter,
.'of employment and support. 1t is an evil
THAT admits Of no remedy. l. is increasing,
land will con tlnue toiucrease, until the whole
"eouniry will be iuundnted By one black wave,
''coyering its extent, with few white faces
venture 10 say that the splendid outburet Of
-tANAoH~Ai %Ak ~SA"SSAAAkAy ~ NANHA . I4A4os
"Sir, you may place the slave where you
please-you may dry up to the uttermost, the
fountains Of his feelings, the springs Of Ills
thought-you may close upon his mind every
avenue 10 knowledge, and cloud it orer with at
titicial ntght-you may yoke him to Jour labor,
Ii au or which liyeth only to work, and work
eth only to live-you may put him under any
process. which, without destroying bis vnlue as
Il slnve, will debase and crush him as rational
beins-you may do this, and the idea that be
was born 10 be free will survive it all. II is al-
lied to his hope of Immortality is the ethe-
real part Of his nature, which oppression cannot
reaehxit ti is % torch II Ii up IN hs soul by tue
tinguished by the hand Of man. If gentlemen
10 not sec nor feel the evil of slavery whist this
Federal Union lastsA they will see and feel it
when il is gone; they will see ind suferit then,
in a magnitude Of desolating power, to which
the pestilcnce TINT walketh al nooduy' would
threatening extinction to the Eternal City,
rs the proud one If the PontiIs and the c:csars
is called, would be as refreshing and as ba1my
- the FIST breath Of spring to the chamber of
This language, and great deal more equally
| powerful, Which nc might quote, delivered in
the slave region, almost on the spot where
| Brown began his outbreak, was calculated
10 Gre his imagination aud quicken his
| iucendiaTy purposes. Nothing has ever
| been said by Garrison or Wendell Phil
lips more trencLant and aggressive; tho
mild phrases Of Mr.. Seward, in regard
to tho inevitable conflict which must always
crist between the principles Of human freedom
and bondage, arc the most dulcet strains in
comparison with them: and il Brown nurused
his fatal zeal By ANYTHING besides his own ran-
cor and fanaticisu', lie probably preferred the
milk and water dict Of our Northern ora
tory.
One Of the distinguished gentlemen who as
sisted in the small army Of marines and yol-
uutecrs that captured Brown-wc refer to the
Hon. c. J. Fal,lkuer-was Il member Of the
Virginia Convention, aud took IN active part in
tie discussion. Mr. Faulkner then spoke as
follows, and it would be curious il he should
| discoyer his own words in Browns bag, come
back to haunt him at such IN inopportunc mo-
meut:
"Docs not the evil Slavery exist: Isit not
increasingly. Does not every day gire 1t perma-
ncncy and force. Is it not rising like heavy
aud po1tcntous cloud ADORE the horizon, extend
ing its deep and sable volumes athwart the SKY, ,
| aud gathering in its iu,pcuetrable folds the &c.
tise materials Of elemental Wat! And get, shall
| we be requested to close our eyes to the danger,
aud without IN effort-without even an inquiry
to yie1d TO the impulses Of dark and withcr-
ing despair? Sir, is this manly legislationt Il
it correct-is It honest legislation! Is it acting
with that fidelity to our constituents which theit
sncrcd interest tequirest
"Sir, il This evil, great Us il is, was even sta.
tioua1y-if the worthy gentleman from Meek:
| Ienburc md brunswick {A1r. Gho!Bon) could
.ivc US any assurance that it would not increase
until it reaches point which it is horrible tc
contemplate might be induced to aequitsce
| ;oh MI hntf nr1anln
:.est hut, when they know it is otherwise
when they know that each successive billow j.
dctractipg from the small space Of ground LET
between Us aud the angry ocean chafing nj ou'
tect-how can they advise us-how can they ad
wise their own constttuents-fo remain still
when the next advancing Mave may oyeTwhesH
them and us in hopeless ruin and desolatonf 7
"Sir, if the gentleman from Mecklenburg wa
not satisfied when he submitted his resolutions
he must now be convinced that this is one Q
those questions which no parliamentary adroii
ness can smother. The spirit Of free inquiry
ali the institutions connected with them mus
he sustained not By any ms stical aud superst
tious reverence for them as existing institution
but as they are ascertained. after severe scrut
? ny, to srbserye the great ends Of popular wea
/ The same question which Is now eonvuls!n
most gifted country from the despotism who
: has for many centuries hung over it's, in
: somewhat modified shape, operating upon ii
, present inquiry. As with them. It il, aske'
Why hare we 50 long tolerated the unequal La. az
oppressive Institutions OF our country y
:: have wc suffered ourselves to be ground in'
:. dust, that others may be paurered in la1u'
and case! OF what use are crowns and here
: itary aristocrac;cs: Do they answer any gre
| end Of society. Do they conduce to the hapI
ness Of the peopley So With us the lnqul
must be, Is Slavery beneficial institutiout
.hs prosperity Of nation promoted BY, nou
ishing within her bosom half ! million OF bon
men alien to her in interest, hostile to her
= feeling, and prepared, 1t any favorable nomc'
= to delnge the country in blood, And dance up
tho ruins of public libersyf"
Mr. Faulkner, it will bo seen, was some TT
"f prophet Nearly thirty years ago, 10
leore the cant phrase about '+the-iHepr'
7. sbls conflict" came in vogue, he predi
:. cd scenes like that be has just "
- messed. He predicted item, we say, but