The weekly Mississippian., 1860-04-11

and upon the last proposition bnt one vote
Now, sir, this seems to me to be legislative
/ declaration to exclude the conclusion that there
was any desire upon the part Of the founders
of our Republic to prevent the establishment
of slavery in new communities. 1t certainly
displays the considerate caution which then
existed on this subject. 1t shows that there
was no disposition on the part of the founders
Of our Republic to interfere with the delicate
relation in new Territories and it would
have been policy Of peace had this precedent
been followed in all subsequent Legislation.
This act shows that the United States gave
their free and spontaneous consent that slaves
might be carried and held in Mississippi as
property, and that her frecmen were, at the
/ proper time, to form an independent govern
ment, and become member OF the Union on
equal terms with the other parties to thecom-
pact. Now, sir, Mississippi stands here to-
day, and finds slavery, through the action ot
this Federal Government, an intergal and live
element in her social system, inteTfused with
the social relations, the industrial pursuits, the
investments Of capital, and the political iorns
of her people.
Gentlemen, | ask, have you the right do
not mean the constitutional power-haye you
the moral right, is it just is it tolerant, 70 re-
verse the action Of this Government and
embark it in a career Of hostility to an in
stitu'ion which the action of this govern
| ment has made the basis upon whose du-
rablity our social and political order is consti-
tntell The condition Of Mississippi is that
of other new States in the South and South
| west
The gentleman from Connecticut justiies
this policy of his party, on the ground that
j nns kisssitltsan i regarlcd by tine people or
/ The lrNessl as haferIf g God and unjust 20
man g that !" It cannot exist OF natural right
But when he seeks to give the authority upon
which he bases this dogma, he takes particular
pains to lodge it in that most secret place in al
| nature, the instincts of the human. -l-%1rI'
and the dictates Of natural reas>--"
I MT: rcr-y -sntsaed conscience.
Mr.. Lamar. Yes, sir; the dictates of an
enlightened conscience. Sir he almost repea-
ted the proposition of the gentleman from
Ohio, Mr., Bingham, in a debate during the
last Congress, when he said: Il appeal to your
| immortal spirit can you be rightfuly reduced
to slavery p The gentleman from Connec-
| ticut, following that line Of argument, asks:
as there a man upon this floor who would
not rather die than be a bondman who
would not rather see his little son dead in his
coffin than see that son sold into slavery p
Well, sir, l answer the gentleman, (and l
presume it is Just as he wishes me to answerO
that cannot be rightfully reduced to slavery;
nor can you, sir; nor can the gentleman him
self But, sir does it follow that men are
right-angled triangles--that whatever is true
of one is predicable Of all men VIII these
gentlemen say that that is the test by which
the rightfulness of a civil regulation is to be
determined If so, will ask these gentle
men a question II appeal to immortal spirit"
- 4F,II 10
| ask the gentleman, as there a man upon
this floor who would not rather die than be"
fellon who would not rather see his lit
tie son dead in his coffin" than to see that son
torn from his mothers embrace, and doomed
to Imprisonment for life with hard labor, the
associate ofconvicts and criminals
h Mr.. Ferry. Does the gentleman wish an
answer
Mr.. Lamar. Notjust now, Sir. they can give
but one answer, and that is the answer which,
give to their question. And yet there are
hundreds of thousands of our fellow-citzens,
in whom the same immortal spirit resides,
who arc reduced to that gnOminious conli-
ton and these gentlemen justify the orlu-
anceS aad sta'utes which condemn them 10 K;
not because hey are lot created with eQud
Inherent, natural, and inaEanable rights b4b
simply because the order and well-being Of
society require that they shall be deprjEedof
that liberty and equality which. in ouElands.
is such a priceless, peerless blessing. But |
again appeal to the gentleman's immortal
spirit" | ask him can he be made subservient
to another's will-his intellectual and moral
nature subject to the restraint and control OF
another's authority ? Sir, these gentlemen are
ready to fight for the liberty of private judg-
ment. And yet all the young men of tho
country, under twenty-one years Of age, are
reduced to that condition, not because their
rights are not Hatual, inherent, and inaliena-
bic. but simply because the interests of socie-
tv require that they should be kept under this
itioa al rs6tsa s6aat 4iitJ -
But sir, appeal again "to the gentleman's
immortal spirit" and ask him, can he right
fully be deprived of all political power, even
the right OF voting; every civil privilege, even
of suing in Government which acts upon
every relation OF his being. which taxes hfI
person and taxes his property, and affects, for
veal or woe the destinieS Of his posterity p
The gentlemen from Ohio, Mr.. Bingham, has
already justified rebellion in Kansas''to main
tlin the natural right ofself- government - and
the gentleman irJm Connecticut Mr. Ferry,
has asserted that one of the objects of our
Revolution was to establish universal equali-
ty in political rights" Yet, sir, one half OF
our adult population-the better half who
have the same immortal nature, fair purcr
nature than ours-are reduced to that condi-
ton are deprived of every political right, of
every civil privilege. Their existence is ig-
nored by the laws Of some States, and their
very persons, in many instances are subject
to the custody of coarser and inferior natures.
And these gentlemen justify all this, not upon
at OF 10
mortal, or that her Fights are less inherent and
inalienable, but simply because the necessities
of society demand her conservation to those
high and noble responsibilities which unfit
her for the exercise Of political rights
Now, put the question, and want it an
swered, whether female dependence or the
immaturty of youth constitute any better rea-
son for the privation Of political and social
equality, for the lnflction Of civil disabilities
and personal restraints, than the ignorance,
superstition, the mental and moral debase-
ment which centuries of barharism have en-
tailed upon a seryile race want to know
sir, If the good of society its interests and or
der. as whole require that this race should
be retained in its existing relation whether
the institution does not stand vindicated by
every principle upon which human instItu-
tons repose
Mr.. Chairman, the mistake Of these gentle
men is this; that men are to be governed by
certain fixed, inhexib.e, invariable rules, de-
duced from natural reason; and that govern
ment which is applicable to a race of intelli-
gent white men can be forced upon States con-
sisting of two distinct races, opposite in color,
and differing as widely in character, DISPOSE
ton. moral and mental habits, as are the op-
posing characteristics of barbarism and ciyili-
zation.
But, sir, shall we always be disputing about
these natural rights of man" and the founda-
tons of society Are we to have no time
honored institutions, no recognized precedentS,
no grand maxims of common law, growing up
aground our Constitution, and almost as sa-
cred as the Constitution itself? Is our grand
Republic its destiny, its administration, its
policy, to be forever floating hither and thith-
er upon the uncertain pillows of this beautiful
but dangerous sea Of political metaphysics ?
Are these gentlemen prepared to say that eve
ry institution Of society must stand or fall ae-
coriing as it conforms, or fails to conform, to
some principle Of natural right, deduccd by
each generation from natural reason Where
sir, would such asprinciple stop? There are
philosophers, and 1 believe they are correct,
who say that the right Of individual property
cannot be deduced from the natural reason Of
man.
But sir, this is not limited in its action to
political forms it institutes revolt in all the
elements of the social system, and raises i'm
pious war against the recognized ordinances
and express commandments of God. The
gentleman from Connecticut, Mr.. Ferry, sta
ted, the other day, that there was no warrant
in the language of inspiration for the relation
of master and slave as it exists in the South.
Now, sir, |. am not going to quote the Bible
upon these gentlemen; but | propose to give
them the language of learned northern divine,
the president ofa northern college, an advo-
cate of immediate abolition, whose book on
moral science is the textbook Of your north
ern colleges academies, and schools. DIR.
in his letters on the subject ofslave-
nv, speaking Of the 25th chapter Of Leviticus
in which the Hebrews are commanded to buy
the children Of the strangers among them,
uses the following language: