Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1859-03-24

HON. J. R. GIDDINGS' SPEECH


1" me house Of Representatives., Jan, IL, lS59-.
Mr.. G1ppINos said Mr. Chairman two davs
since. NV friend from Maine TMr1 5vashhnruel
took occasion to cali attention fe he rynat ;sse
which, now divides tbe reonla o{ {Iass s4ataa
listened to him w;th ,,s,,.ss;I.l ,na.,ra i,I-
w accorded with his v;asya II Il. <ovfa;, fh,t
one of our political arva,,;zatio.,a holda fhaf
State OR a Territorv ,gka,, forno;uo !. State Can,
stitntion. and actina within our Eederal powers
may authorize its ueonje fa enalape 4 purtion III
mankind doom the,a II Ava without. <nowledge.
to arope their wav ia n]vaicaI DEATH. amid the
darkness Of moral and intellectual night The
other marty emnhat3,alIv denies those doctrines.
declaring that hnmar3 Governnnants are limited
in their juat powers.b .bv the laW oF eternal right
and wrong, sud Gun iinpurs sssshss;-
ty or mpral right % rob cuslaye, or murder his
fellow-beings; that the object and duty of
Governments are to- protect every human soul
IN the enjoyment Of life, liberty and happi-
ness, @
=, lnese positions aJe antagonistic- ahe gnlf
'nat separates the hepuDilean and Democratic
lartes Is Droad anu deep one reasoning and
ac1ihs lof freedom, tne otner for Slavery, II
becomes Impossible for them 70 agree ON any
|
The President, in his message, has spoken for
hls party. In the hrst paragraph, he recognF
nod noo 'nu S a tnaS naiiii.i sous y ~ ssl
",~ 'ian'ioinleu ,il'o Popasy ars "
a'ie lneIsaeo constitutes oil arsahheneyf VI
1en1;ns me curse oi nulnah oohdage: 4 BIS
Plou'o".o o0 Go,fcce' HIS ehorts - " oupa'
pAto' h un noAo, an1 G''isia, anLlu, L,,
os oV .h W "'oisi inueeu' ms iaooio III 9'''ai,
y. ano ofe,sn anu aofies'c slaNe 'ra9e are oascu
uPon .ne uoc'rlles Vi ms parry ahS .noso lnen
"no ~ aro hc" ci'SaSeu III bringing African slaves
,a'o ueofsla s ana other southern oIa'ss must
s.'''u UT i"ll WIN ene party whose ooctrioes
they support for if Slavery be right, the slave
| have often spoken on this subject, and do
have defined the issue thus briefly for the pur-
pose OF calling attention to some incidents IN
that tram OF events which developed TINS issue
with the same moral certainty with which effect
Always iollowS cause.
am led to the discharge OF this duty lron,
the consideration that have long participated
IN those incidents, and have been somewhat Ia
mlilar with some Of the measures which have
conduced 10 the bringing OF TINS great question
before the country: | am also induced 70 10
tnls from the consideration that many honest
men are deslrQus that Republicans Shall inodi'
~, change, or abandon their doctrines.
1t is certain that our principles were promul-
gated in the Declaration of Independence that
the signers of the first charter Of American lib
erty declared that all men are endowed by their
Creator with the unalenable, the abstract right
to enjoy life, liberty, and happiness and that
the framers of the Constitution, recognizing this
primal doctrine, ordained 'sthat no person shall
be deprived of life. liberty. or property, with
out due process of law Our doctrine seems
to have met with Universal approval, except by
the Tories of thaSday, up 10, the year 1871 ::
and the first denial OF 1T by any Wing was pub
lishetl BY Thomas Paine, in lis essay upon 'the
Rights of Man, wherein he declares that
whatever whole nation chooses to do, 1t has
a right to do. No person can fail to sec the
identity of this doctrine with tllatnow proclaim
ed by the Democratic party. alleging that the
people of u Territory in framing Constitution
may without justice authorize Slavery il they
choose. The doctrines of Paine and OF the
Democratic party are identical in denying that
human Governments are limited by the law OF
eternal right and wrong. They agree that the
people OF u nation or State may, if they choose,
b authorize murder, robbery, and piracy; for all
these are embraced in the term Slavery"
But the doctrine of Paine would probably
have passed unnoticed by the statesmen of that
age, except for atacitapprovalby MIR. Jefferson,
who carelessly expressed desire that the work
might be reprinted. The approval. however,
referred to the work as whole, and not to TINS
particular dogma. But this circumstance called
out John Quincy Adams, at that time young
lawyer OF Boston, who, IN a series OF well-oon,
sldered articles, exposed the error OF palne, ana
, clearly demonstrated the limited power OF h''-
+ man Governments--showed ther inability 10
change the natural or innate character Oh any
act; that murder, or piracy, or roooery' Is IN
9 herently wicked and criminal, rendered so ny