, 1860-06-08
CHARLES SUMMERS SPEECH.
The Barbarian Of s!avary--No proper..
~ In man RscoEnixcd By tho Con.
At1lut1on.
WAEA1xeauI. 1une 4, 1850.
SENATE.

81
Dir. SUMNER, (Rep,) of Massachusetts. said:
Mr. PRrstDEsr-Undertakipg now. after A.
lence Of more than four Jears, to address The
Senate on this important subject. ebould sun.
press The emotions natural on such an occasion
It did not declare on tue threshold mr. rrat;.
tnde to that Supreme Being through uhosa be-.
nign care l am enabled, after much suffer;r ,
aud many changes, once sgain to resums mi
oatles nefe ana 10 speak for the cause which il
40 nent my .heast. To the houored Common,
wealth, whose representative / am. and aIso tn
my immediate associates in this bodv. wiki
wnoln enjoy the fellowship which Ia fonnt] in
thil king nike concerning the repub|ic. owe
thanks which seize this moment 10 EXPRESS for
the indulgence shown me throughout The pro.
tracted secIusion enjoined by medical skill :. and
trust that it will not be thought urheron,;1;y
IN tue TO put on record hare, as an apology for
leaving my sent SO long vacant, without makin1
way, by resignation, for successor. Tint act
"a under the illusion Of an invalid, whose homes
TOR restoration to Ills natural health constantIv
tf'umpced over his ditappointments.
TIE CRIME AGAINST KAxsAs,
When last entered into this debate, It be.
came my duty to apose the crime avutnat Kan.
sas, and 10 INSIST upon the immediate admission
OF that Territory u State OF this Union. will
constitution forbidding slavery. Time haa
passed; but the question remains. Resumiup .
the discussion precisely where let t. I a,6
happy to avow that rule Of moderation. which.
II IL said, may. venture eren to fix the bounia,
r'es ot wisdom ITSELF. 1have no persoual er,efs
trude these into this chamber. i have no ner-
sonal wrongs to avenge; only barborous ma,
ture could attempt to WELD that vengeance
which belongs to the 1.ord. TIE wears tbat
have interveued, and the tombs that have BEEN
opened since l spoke, hare their voices too,
which cannot tail to hear. Resid1s, &phak an /
--cAat - any nun among the 1icinq Or ou.oao
the dtad-eompdrtL soi:h the Qutstion ffort ut
Il is this alone which l shall discuss, and open
the argument With that easy victory which il
found IN charity. lie then deciared TINT the
crime agaipet kausas stands forth in painful
light Seurch history, and yoo carnot find jta
parallel. The tlaTe trade is bad, but even this
enorn''y is petty compared With that elaborate
conirirauce by which, in Christian age. and
within the liLlits of > Republic. all forms Of
const'fut'onal Liberty we're perverted; by which
all the rights of human nature were violated.
acd the "hn'e country WAS held trembling on
the verge Of ciril war; while all this larre cru.
berunce Of wIckedues., detestabte in itself be.
comes tecfuld more dctestab!e when ia orip;n
is traced To tue madness Of slavery. Motive ia
to crime Us sunl 10 body; and it is only when
We comprehend the motire that we eau truly
comprt bend the crime. Here the motive is
found in slavery aud the rage for its extension.
Therefore, By logical necessity, must slavery be
discussed; not Indirectly, timidlY, and spar
iDgly, but directly, openly, and thoroughly
9ars T. ct;d nG holiday Ssn;sst 1GP strife
Theatric Seri aad Dianchi; but it is solemn
battle between right and wrong; between good
and evil. Such u battle cannot be fought with
excuse or with rosewater. There is anstero
work to be done, and Freedom cannot coneent
TO ding away my of her weapons. The whole
character 0! Slavery az g pretended form of
civilization is put directly in issue, with q per
tinacity and q hardihood which bauish ali re.
serve on this side. In these assumptions Sen
ators from South Carolina naturally take the
lead. 1n this connection Mr. Sumner quoted
from Senators Hammond aud Chesnut. from
cal'4oun aud M'Dutiie, from Senators Davis
and Brown Of Mississippi, and Senators Huu,er
mud Mason Of Virginia. Thus, he continued, by
various voices is the cluim made for Slavery.
which is put forth dehan,ly rs for.u of civil,
zation, us il its existence were not plainly in-
consistent with the first principle of anytbing
that can ba called civilization, except by that
figure OF speech in classical literature, where
thing takes its name from something which it
has rot, as the dreadful Fates we're called mer.
cltul because they were without mercy. 1t is
natural that Senators thus lnsensible to the true
character OF Slavery, should esioce IN equal in
sensltility to the tru character Of the Con.ti.
tuition. This is shown in The claim pcxt m0ie
and pressed with unprecedented energy. dc.
grading fhe work Of our fathers, that, bv Virtue
Of the Constitution, the pretended property IN
man is placed beyond the reach Of Congress
tiona, prohibition even within Congressional
SO that tue sla7e-lnnster NAV at
an time. enter the broad outlying Terri, ories
uf the Union with the sic:in,s of bis oppression.
snd there continue to hold them ny iash and
chaio. Such are the two assumptions: the 6rst
an assumption ot fxct, and the second m as
sumption Of constitutional law, which ere now
made without apology or hesitation. lie ne.
them both. To the nrst be opposed the essen.
tial harbarfm Of Slavery, ID ull its il Guences.
whether high or low. as Satan is Sutan still.
whether towering in the sky or squat:inx in the
toad. To the second be opposed The uuanswer-
able. Irresistible truth, that the Constitution Of
the United States nowhere recognizes property
in man. These Two assumptions naturally 70
together. They u,e twina," sucked by The
same wolf. Taey ale the " couple" in Tue pres.
cnt s1use hunt, aud tho latter cannot be On.
sweEed without exposing tile former.
lie then proceeded to speak Of the barbarism
of Slavery, which appears first in the character
Of Siarfrv, and secondly, in the character Of
slaEe 1aaxters. Under the first head he consid-
cred ,he law Of S'arery and its origin, aud the
practical result OF Slavery is shown in q COM
parlson between the Free and Stare States. In.
der the second -ead he considered slave mas
tiers, as shown in the law ofslavery; slavc mas
ter@ 10 their relations with aIayes, here c(auc
ing at their three brutal Instruments" mud slave
masters in their relations with each other, with
society, With the Government, ard slaye mas.
tsrs in their runconscientiou:ness. These points
be discussed ut length, in earnest re1robation
ef Slavery, and in strong end emphatic Ian.
gusse.
He proceeded to argue the second assuup-
tic n''-that under the Constitution, slave mas
ters may take their slaves into the national
Territories, and there continue to hold them as
at home in the Slave States, and that this would
be the St, in any Territory newly acquired, by
purchase or By war, rs By Mexico on the South.
or Canada Oh tie North.
LAW AND ORIGIN OF SLAVERY,
beyin with the Law Of Slavery and its orjrin.
aud here this harbarsm nj paint. itself in its own
chosen definition. II is simply this Mau. Gre.
atcd in the lmuge Of God, is diEested cf his }u
man Character. aud declared to he "chattep.
That i, beast. II thing or article O: property,
That this statement may not seem to be nut
forward without prccife authority, quote lie
statutes Of different States, beginning with
Son,h Carolina, whose ro,ce for Slavery al~a5s
has an unerrlng distincsiveness. Here is The
definition supplied by this State:
Slave. shall be dscn.d held tkeu rrputcl and udiudsed
IN ias =, he fe'tr,. ~.aa intLc hands = ,helr
bighs to 'Lttn1s cou tsrcie-a ard purposes watso-
etes. 1'er. D;J.' -.
And here is the definition supplied by the
Civil Code Of Louisiana:
i'e be'nx. The master telm. d1spo biz ex n
HI. industry a+t hIs Ia"F IT. eaa DO ro.llns. sess
1nss,tr-cri t:.i. AZ, s. A' '''s' p'0hs 10 h''
hx eadna pineir: # The sla:e not to
ls ,ask, anrnk seatieI. te'nts but thsnxssn
ed l.w 10 aI u thee tsi4vc) aa u Ssse.
ry,p-c.
0ut Of this definition, as iron, solitary germ.
whicl, in Its pct'iness might be crushed by tce
hand. towers our UFns tree and all its gigantic
poison. Study ii, and you will com pretend
the whole n'onstsous growth.
TIE WAGES or SLAVERY.
Sir, look at its rlsin import, and see The rein
ton which it establishes. The sfayc is he'd
simply for the uso of his master, to whose be.
hests his life, liberty and happiness are deyo,
ted, and by whom be mas bo bartered, leased,
mortgaged, bequeathed, ipyaiced, shipped as
cargo, n1"rcd ns goods, sold on execution,
At The gaming table on the hazard of card or Il
die; ali uccn, ding to law. Noe j. tAfrs aagth,nq
.cithi. e limit Of l/t, Inflicted on h<os; rA,cH
nauy not he ia7iekd cn tie STARE He may b.
sasrktd ii1e q hog, BRANDED hks ,apl., yoftd
liE- au az, ho15k<d tikt horse, drir<n HIs IN az,
sAsartd Tile a kIt.p, .hai.atd tiked cur, and con
stnntly btas<n Tx 4 dr.tt;: al accefdi.q to aw
And should life itself be taken, what is The rru1-
edy! Th= law Of slavery. initiating that rule
of evidence which, III barbsrous days mud bar-
basous countries, preveuted Christian from
testifJiu.. ugainst u Mahomedan, openly pro
nouuces the ineompetency Of the whole African
rnr hal fto,-h hI.pH o1} -f1t s.
case asainst white man, and, thus having
nlrn2dE sufr9udeIed the tlafc III nff nnssibla