The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1859-12-29

regardless OF their own. To 4 man thu
born, his being would be a curse He Nigh
scott a. the Creator who had raised him up
not to regard his own happiness. not TO re
gard the culture of his own mind bat as a
being whose lie, whose limbs and all whose
iaeuluss We're dedicated by The Almighty IA
mialsier alone 70 the promotion OF some OH
ef maA haPpIness. S4r. that IS net the
teaching Of tbs Declaration OF Independence.
l. was never 50 inteuded, nor are the trainers
OF that instrument liable 10 be taunted with
hypocrisy because they did not carry out
practically, - their full extent. the ideas of
that gres- and God.ike instrument They
were framing Government for these States.
Ihey knew, u be sure, that the soverei IN
States OF tins I Mon existing a.. the time,
had theIr own Institutions; they knew. to be
>lre, t!4at slavery prevailed there; but there
was not a man ct them who did not proclaim
Il 10 be wrong. am not going to read those
haehered declarations OF theirs, but say 90
Yot, 3aa caaao; fud the man that was in
>'rlUeutal il framing the Constitution Of tLt,
Uasted safes. or the Declaration Of Inde-
pendsuce, but what said over and over again
That The system Of slavery wherever il ex-
lists Is wrong and cannot be justified upon
any praeiptei and TO aIiemp; to justify it
would be 10 reduce the Government of these
United States down 10 "a level with the mean
est deSPotIsm that exists on tn. face of God 5
earth. 1t one may be created for no better
purpose than 20 minister to the welfare of
another. the only question viii be. who are
the privileged classes who are TO be minis
tered uato. and 20 are tie menials to do
+ theIr WORK? All monarchics act upon this
prtaclpie, and therefore 1t is that kings assume
to felga bT diN me light Ii was the purpose
. OF our fathers % put tie dagger to the heart
/ OF slea an ab>ardlly. All meu say they.afe
, created equal, aud have these in nalieuablo
rights. Al men feel that that is 50.
Why, sir, what said Jefferson? The Sen
ator from Tennessee, l believe, said that if
lie gave this scope to the Declaration of Iu :
dependence, lnasmuch as he was q slavehoId-
er himself. he W uid be hypocrite in say
ing i. That does not follow The Senator
from Alabama, If l understand him, declar-
ed that II tins was so. then those who held
slaves Were great criminals, and were guilty
Of the greatest wrong. That does not follow
hy any means.
Mr.. Clay, The Senator doubtless does
not mean to Hlsrepresent me. L said that ii
the Aoei As | think il, pronounced by his
party upon the shareholders, was true, then
we Were criminals.
Mr.. Wade. | do not know that under
stood the Senator.
Mr. Cl.y 1 said that il the assertion of
your party, that slavery and polygamy stood
together and We're equally crimes against re-
vealed religion. was true. zen both the slave
.--'r'vr "rf1 r'lv PvIy
alike.
Mr.. Wade. Mr. President, am not one
Of those who suppose that all shareholders
are deeply criminal. know very well how
abit aud custom. and even necessity, modi-
f. all our abstract opinions. | understand
s that VOL nj | -, IL.
North without the proper qualifications, not
wi.hstaadtn@ the Senator lhioks hate slave
holding aad sIsyeAolIers SO much give
you here Oh this floor. my worst version Of
your Institutions. | hold no such doctrine
as the Senator charges with. ! do not
charge Thomas Jefferson, nor Mr.. Madison,
nor General " ashlngton, nor Mr.. Randolph, ,
nor hr. Tucker nor any other Of the great
statesmen to whom we look up to with such
reverence, with hypocrisy anything sinis-
ter or wrong: because, when they made this
declaration, and declared that the word stare
should hot be in the instrument which they
were framing, for the reason tha, it grated
harshly on their ears and they knew that it
was an infringement on natural right the Y
held slaves In the States themselves The
tact that they held slaves did not prevent
their making this declaration nor did it pre-
vent them all occasions from inveighing
a-4inst the institution and wishing they could
had some means by which they could do a
way with It. General Washington himself
was. according to your understanding OF 1t,
. Jlst such ab3IItIonst as you charge NE
with being. lie believed the system wrong
5 morally, politically, every way = and be
, hoped some means would be found whereb
il might be abolished. Yes, sir b a, was the
, word. He wished that some means nigh
be iound by which this system should bt
done away with, and he declared that when
ever there was an opportunity, his vote should
! not De waning 10 accomplish 1t. Ho " long
: DO ou Suppose that he would remain upon
the soil Of Virginia, to day, with this declar
/ alton upon his tongue?
In the administration of public affairs yor
] cannot govern nation upon an abstraction
. You cannot impt ach a man with inconsis;en
: cy because he cannot i've, in the administra
! ton OF pubic affairs, up TO the finest spuI
, theory that You may produce All ask G
: these great men, they performed They foun'
a themselves surrounded with this institution
= they saw is workings and lis operation; the
: ,ha. il was ali wrong, in policy and i
= theory; they that in morals it was equal
] ly wrong. and they wished 10 get rid OF it
= and on all proper occasions they constant
Z aeelafed it to he wrong. and they invoke
he people. about them, 70 come up TO til
e work. aud, as fast as it could be done, to d
away with it. Therefore. sir, they were col
= slstens. They knew that their saveholdin
i 10 the States WIS in direct contradiction wit
!, that great and Godllke declaration that the
:. had put forth to all mankind, and they sougi
:, to get rid OF it.
ri Mr.. President. i. is not a great while az
since the view that those great men entertain
J. ed on this subj ject. was universal, ,-Norti
u South. Eas. and West. / wish Senato
IS would bear that in mind; because. perhap
~ il would noderete their asperity of feelin
: against those who still stand where bu. a ver
II short time since We al stood together Th
: slavery Is 10 be justified as a divine instit