The weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington, Iowa) 1858-1860, 1859-03-01
served that the mosaic .legislation aeainst

served that the mosaic legislation against
slavery, and the constant curse OF divine in
dignation against tho s~s.em which il found
running uhiue Ia lau commentaries Of the
prophets. must ever remain as one oil tho
most eonyicting proofs of the reality and
truth Of divine revelation, The character Of
the ruby and diamond. with the sunshine
flashing around it, could not be more ex-
pressive than these words OF the inspired
writers. Such it appeared to him, was tile
Legislation against slavery, eyidencing the
lnpessibility OF such thing as property in
man. The whole scope Of divine revelation
in the Old Testament, MS well as the teach
! ings Of our blessed Lord himself, upon which
we Must hang the law and the prophets,
were contrary to the crime Of man stealing
The sin OF slave holding was crime against
Goo. he 1.-THE speaker had already demon
strated on former occasion the enormity Of
thissl lie would now proceed to consider
the sinlGlness and cruelty of the legislation
Tor the protection OF slavery In the first
place he alluded to the Dread Scott decision,
which he characterized as monstrosity
and degradation to the nation. The Su-
preme Courts ofjustice of the republic had
selzed the whole colored race and impaled it.
1t was no longer a matter of individual cir
| cumstances, but it had become part oil the
national policy. The insulting ard social
disqualifcatiOns which they have had SO long
to endure had now been fostered upon them
by the power of law and the whole unprotec.
| ted race had been crucifed by nails driven
and riveted by august courts of law, so that
by sea and by land the colored man is ostra
cised and expatria,ed, and every yestge of
human life snatched away from his grasp
while he is made the living football for the
spirit OF legal pride and cruelty Though
born native OF the United States, the pass
ports and protection of his country are denied
him, on the ground of well known and
proverbial lie that he is not citizen, and
that passport has never been given to
colored men. The reverend gentleman allu-
ded to the impossibility of any OF the color
ed race owning vessel, even if by so doing
he could fly from the difficulties and peris
which awaited him on shore, He could not
clear up nor cultivate an acre of the public
land, nor build a LOG hut for himself and his
family, because he is not a citizen, and the
oppressive spirit of slavery is carried to its
climax in the United States but the power
which has done this may yet make the State
OF New ! ork continued longing place and
was only erouching for another spring 1t
was well known what provisions were being
made in order to force back the free colored
people IN the Southern States into a condi-
ton OF slavery unless they remove within a
gwen time. All that was progressing in
Oregon and Maryland was also well known
There was no fear Of the results to humanity
where the evil genius OF slavery prevailed,
nd hoe II - Al
heart becomes hardened aud the way pre-
pared for the march OF espotism--carrying
disease and death on its desolating march.
1T there ever should be a conflict, free insti-
tutions must give way-not those of slavery.
But time was approaching when, if the
slave power did not give way to God and hui
mainly, it would be impossible to maintain
the conflict SO full of importance to the best
interests of the republic The decision of
the Chief Justice OF the United States had
lard the foundation for all manner OF injustice
and oppression to be erpetrated upon an
unfortunate people The very argument of
the Chiei Justice sets forth the taisehooi
that IN the formation OF demonstration there
was IN intention to exclude the colored race
from the rights of men and citizens and
the exclusion which had been drawn from
that decision Was that we are consequently 4
bound to carry that principle into perpesnity
This, the reverend gentleman said, reminded
OF the argument Of u New leland
cannlbai chief who violently seized the
homestead and lands of one OF his subjects,
and when he was asked to restore it to the
tatheress children, he urged that The proper
ty was MS by right insomuch as he himself,
according to the custom of cannibalism, had
long ago killed and eaten up the former pa
rent and possessor. Such was the position
in which the colored race was placed in
this country humanity and justice were set
ASIDE and our legislators had upheld the pol
ley OF admitting into the constitution the
SPIRIT OF injustice and oppression. All com
Iehsatlon or hope OF justice had been taken
away from the poor victim. they had been
deprived of the liberty of bearing witness
When their own lives Were eoneerned-a
thing which, he was ashamed to say, was per
laitted amongst the most barbarous nations
Of the eafth-but here, in this civilized Chris
tan land, even ii his master should give him
bis freedom, the law steps in and says he is
> chattel-a thing and not a person--and
nothing but thing and q ehattel, he had no
rights In common with men. But any law
that blots out the word man and substitutes
thing for l., Is IN itself man stealing law
A power had been implanted into the consti-
uon which 1T never originally had Even
Tor a moment that the constitution
did recognize property in man, it nowhere
recognized piracy, or that the children of
persons practically captured should be en-
saved. 1t does not recognize as slaves the |
victims OF the slave trade OF their descend /
ants, and IN cases where the human slave |
hounds OF the republic set their langs upon
them, 1t regards 1t as piracy, which the law |
Furnishes with death. The suiferings of the |
slaves under this accursed system were more /
lreadtul than Greek ever invented in the
plays OF Edipus, and if the lightnings of +
rcd justice and wrath were once to de- /
cend the waters Of a deiuge would not nut
Tut the eOniagration- Not content with our
'wn SIN, our CHIEF Magistrate has come for
ward to ask the Congress OF the United
states to give him thirty millions to make
Idvances to buy mp the slave dominions of
Juba; and ii we cannot buy it, there are not
Wanting legislators to take it by force, be-
ause OF the law OF self preservation and self
letence King Ahab in Naboth vineyard.
let them look to the resuit--iet them look to
he result. The reverend gentleman then al
uded to the four hundred Africans lately
aptured and landed in the Southern States
very one OF whom was entitled to his free
om, and was only kept in bondage bv the
ower OF the man steaiers; and vet in the
ace OF this fact if few months were to
lapse and one of these poor creatures at
empted to fly from servtude, he would he
exposed to punishment, and, with a United
tates warrant, his pursuer would set his
rasp upon him, and the law would give him
pand even exercise all its force to drive him
ack to bondage. The same government
Inch enacts law condemnng as piracy the
ringing OF Africans from their native coun-
~, persues the victim il only once landed
n its own territory, and instead of making
&c offence a crime, exalts it into virtue -
) hat Christian diaboiism is this The
ot:omless pit could belch forth no greater
nofinity, could its ponderous cover be taken
i and It's contents heayed up into the slave
larket CT u ashla. ton But this is not all
'et the offspring of any OF these un-
,rtunate ereatures--as free born as would !
c the children Of the chief mag
trate hlmseii-as free as the children |
HamlIfou IF a Ia