The semi-weekly mountain Democrat., 1860-09-12
~h.v P.I,,T, ,h.R..orA.

They FslsIRy the Record.
It is the boast Of the Republicans that
they adhere to the teachings of the Father
Of the Republic. They vaunt themselves
to be the modern patriots, who will bring
back the government to its primitive sim
plicity and integrity. They appeal to the
declaration of American Independence
and aver that it is the corner stone oi
their political faith. They triumphantly
assert, that all men are created equal,
and demand that, under the protection of
this theorem, the blacks shall be admit
ted to full fellowship with the whites, in
all the relations of life 1t is useless here
to argue upon the fallacy, Of the equal
ity of mankind" as the Republicans pro-
fess to understand it. The centuries Of
experience Of the races Of men, in the
progressive stages Of their expiration, have
long since exploded the notion that all
men are created equal" The glorious
ffty-six high-heartcd patriots, who ap-
pended their names to the charter Of our
liberties, themselves, contemncd the doc
trine. They went further, in the very in
itiative step towards cnfranchisement from
British oppression. They recognized the
eristenee Of Atrican .Slar"y, and Jytheir
action approred its eristeHce. This aP-
proval, too. was uttered by men from
those States where the "higher law Of
Abolitionism" now rcigns rampant over
the Constitution. The representatives Of
all of the thirteen Colonies. that partici
pated in the war of the Revolution reroJ.
hized tie institution ~ .1tric'm sldrery.
We turn to history for the proof. Yet
the descendants Of those very men, in
nearly onc.half Of the "old thirteen
dogmaticatiy deny that tire fHthrrs of
the Republic, by word or deed, ever loaned
their sanction to the peculiar institution"
What does history tell on the subject?
This: The original draft Of the DeclarL.
ton of Indepcn lencc. when presented to
Congress, contained, among other counts
in the indictment against -Gearee the
Third, this, mcnora' |, one" lie has
waged cruel war against human nature
itself, violating its most sacred rights Of
| life and liberty in the persons Of distant
people who never offended lin, cap.
tivating and carrying them into sla-
very in another hemisphere, or to in
cur miserable death in their tranSporta.
tion thithcr. This piratical warfare, the
opprobrium Of INrIpEL powers, is the
warfare Of the CHRISTIAN King of Great
Britain. Determined To keep open mar.
ket where MEN should DC bought and sold,
he has prostituted his negative for sup
pressing every legislative attempt to pro.
hibit or restrain this execrabIc commerce.
And that this nsscmblage ofhorrors might
want no fact of distinguished die, he is
now exciting those very people to rise in
arms among US, and purchase that liberty
Of which he has deprived them, by mur.
dering these people on whom he has OBJ.
truded them: thus paying off former
crimes committed against the LIBERTIES
Of one people with crimes which he urges
them to commit against the LIVES Of an
other" What language can more fully |
indicate the knowledge on the part Of the |
members Of the Congress- Of l7T6, of the |
existence Of African slavery in America
Their recognition Of its necessity, il not
propricty, as an institution, is shown BY
the fact, that the whole Of the above pas
sage in the original draft Of the Declara-
tion was stricken out,-and thereafter
the amended instrument was signed, b,
all the delegates, from Mass ,chusetts to
Georgia, without exception. It may be
contcnded that the language quoted, was
stricken out because its purport was to
recognize slavery, and give it a standing
in the Declaration. This argument, should
it be attempted, is ovcrthrown by further
facts Of history. Mr.. Jefferson in his
celebrated Memoir, thus subvcrts that
theory:
THE clause reprnbating the euslavinc the
inhabitants Of Africa, was struck out in com.
plaisance to South CarolinaIand Georgia, who
had never attempted TO restrain the importa-
tiOn OF slaves, aud who, on the contrary, still
wished 10 continue it. Our northern brethren.
also, believe, felt little tender under these
censures tor MDugh their I,'opl~ hGi rerv yetr
sL1res th'meslres, pet Msy h1i hten Drttty en-.
siderable curriers' # Mtm tn Others."
Hereafter, let the Republicans cease to
pratc about the peculiar institution" bc.
ing unknown to the Declaration Of Tnde.
pendence, and in dcrOgation Of the charac.
ter of the i" Fathers Of the Republic" Let
them no longer falsify the record. If
they have any respect for those fathers,
they will speedily learn to be as consid.
crate towards the rights of the South. as
those Fathers were. Then, will the era of
political peace be inaugurated, and fra
ternal affection and harmony, once again,
pervadc the land
EVERY DEAocRAr who supports Breck-
inridge and Lane has the proud satislac.