The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1859-09-15


of fact, or you have wilfully concealed the de
fault of your predecessor. No matter what
horn of the dilemma you take, you have acted
in manner totally disregarding your duty to
the s ate and now one or two things are before
you either you must resign your Office, and
take Sour chance before the people or of the
prosecutions instituted by the Attorney Gener
al, or l shall feel it my duty to cause an In
formation to be laid against you Immediately
and cause you to be arrested, aud appoint a
successor" es
Mr.. Gibson resigned, and successor was ap-
pointed and from that day to this, no man,
be he Republican Or Democrat, has ever com.
planned of want of honesty and uprightness in
the administration of your Treasury. / shall
not make comparisons. You viii make them.
l shall leave the whole matter of comparison as
far as these statements of legislation and ad-
ministration are concerned, to you. =
THE SLAVERY ISSUE.
In regard to the question of Slayery-for, as
l said at the outset, although there are other
questions of interest which it becomes an in
telligent people to think of most seriously, there
is still this great question of Slavery coming
into our State and National affairs, which de-
serves serious consideration.
The Republican Legislature, knowing that
the shareholders claim the right TO pass through
the free States with their slaves, and TO hold
them as slaves during whatever tiSe may be
required for their convenience ir passing
through-the Republican Legislature ia view
of this fact, passed an act to prohibit savehold.
ing in Ohio.
You al know that there is a case n " pend.
ing before the Supreme Court, called the Lem.
mon case. In that case, slaves were brought to
New York for the purpose Of being sent west
or north, through several free States. The
owner claimed his right to do that and now
the question before the Supreme Court is, since
the several courts refused to recognise that
right, and set these slaves free, whether that
righaexists or not. i have no doubt as to how
that question win be decided-that is, if Dem
Ocratic Administration continues. 1t viii be
decided in favor Of the claim, just as after the
election of Mr.. Buchanan the bred Scott
case was decided in favor of the claim to carry
Slavery into the Territories. 1t viii be decided
as is claimed by the slave power, just as soon
as they achieve another victory, which do not
believe they Will.
What will that decision be? 1t will be Just
as they claim, that they can take their slaves
into New York over the railroads of New Jer-
sey, through Pennsylvania, and through Ohio,
Indiana, and Illinois, to the slave States of the
far West or, it suits their convenience, to any
State of the South, and that they can hold them
during all the time that it is convenient for
them to be passing through. In other words,
1t Is decision in favor, not of the African slave
trade, but of the American slave trade, to be
carried on in the free States
Are you prepared for that? But that is
what is to be done, if that case is decided in the
way in which it is proposed, and you lave had
samples enough of the disposition of the Fed
eral officials as they now exist, to carry into eff
feet any law, no matter how inhuman or cruel.
The Republican Legislature passed an act to
prohibit that What did the Democratic Legis-
lature do? They repealed that act, many of
the members avowing that in their opinion the
shareholders had this right of transit They
repeated it, and gave the solemn sanction OF
your legislation to the possession of that right
and this will be invoked as the consent of the
Democratic party of Ohio before the Supreme
Court, and Of majority of the people of the
State of Ohio, who, it will be presumed, elected
that Legislature, pledged to this nefarious doc
trine.
Here is another law you repealed You build
Jails and court-houses, and appoint officers, for
what? To catch runaway slaves? / think
not, but rather to enforce Justice between man
and man. You appoint your officers for the
purpose of enforcing the decisions of your
courts against those who infract your laws, and
who thereby expose themselves to the penalties
of crime. That is why you appoint them. There
is nothing in the law or Constitution of Ohio
that devolves any such duty upon the officers
So the Republican Legislature passed an act
denying the use of these jails to the slave
catcher, because, according to the Constitution
of the United States, the duty of arresting fugi-
tive slaves belongs to the United States, and
Al 1
Legislature do? Instead of leaving this mat.
ter to the courts of the United States and to the
officials of the United States, they repealed
these laws, opened your iails, and sanctioned
the employment of your officers in this business
don't think that you approve of that
L merely refer to these things to tell you how
this question of Slavery comes right home
among MS upon the soil of Ohio, and that this
contest IS not now so much a contest about the
extension of Slavery into Territories, but as to
Its extension on to our own SOIL
TUE SHAREHOLDERS HOPE
To refer again to this subject Of Slavery in
connection With the General Government The
great object of the slave interest has been fo1
many years to obtain the control of the Federal
Government. That they have sought persist
emily for many years. For some time it did
not attract the particular attention of the PEG
pie. Of late years it has attracted that atten
ton more and more, and it will continue to at
tract it more and more, until the people have
settled the question for themselves, whether
the General Government shall be used as the
engine of the slave power, or for the benefit
of the people.
How have they sought to do this By Sc
curing the nomination and election of sucl
men for President as will use the patronage oil
fboG Gov M -, boL.I
legislation. They have sought it also by the or
ganization of the Supreme Bench. They hav,
now five slaveholding Judges, while there are
only four non-saveholding Judges and of these
nearly every man has been appointed by tn,
slave power itself, by the President of its Sc
lection. Thus they have organized the Su
preme Court to suit themselves. They elected
their Presidents, and have control of the Gov
ernment.
WHERE WILL IT END
Iet there have been gentlemen who have
supposed that at some point of its career thi,
slave power, which is the essence of desnotism
was going to stop. Where can it stop Their,
Is an irresistible logic of events as well as O
reason; and this teaches us that despotisu
never ceases in its career of oppression INIT
1t has subjugated the whole people to its will
This slave power is not going to stop in its ag
gressions until it has obtained the predomi
nance in the country.
In 1852, l said, and most of the people Of tn,
country seemed to think, that the slave power
would be content by what is known as the com
! promise measures. Was it content? That wa,
| proclaimed as final settlement of the SLAYER,
| question. Was it final? You know that hard
| Iy was Mr.. Pierce inaugurated, hardly had tina
poor man repeated the cry of 6nality in his in
augural address, before he was told by the slave
holders, We meant that it was final for III,
non-slaveholders, not for us. We meant tina
they should stop resisting, not that we should
stop aggressinp You don't npdorston5 az.