Randolph County journal. [volume] (Winchester, Randolph County, Ind.) 1855-1862, 1860-06-21
THE BiRBlRITIES OF SLAVERY.
II % VI VIII A. ~
SPEECH
OF
HON. HARLES SUMNER.
In the United States Senate, June 4, le60.

/ IN tRe tHded Stdtcs senate, June 4, lcOU
Mn. PRESIDENT: Undertaking now
after silence of more than four wears
to address the Senate on this impor
tant subject, l should suppress tn,
emotions natural to such an occasion
if | did not declare on the threshholC
my gratitude to that Supreme Being
through whose benign care | am ena
bled, after much suffering and many
changes, once again to resume ny du.
ties here, and speak for the cause
which Is so near my heart. To the
honored Commonwealth, whose rep
rcsentative | am, and also TO my i'm
mediate associates in this body, with
whom | enjoy the fellowship which is
found in thinking alike concerning the
Republic. | owe thanks which / seize
this moment to express for the indul-
genee shown me throughout the pro-
tracted seclusion enioined 10y medical
skill; and trust it will not be thought
unbecoming in me to put on record
here. as an apology for leaving my
seat So long vacant. without making
way, by resignation. for a successor,
that acted under the illusion of an
invalid. whose hopes for restoration
to his natural health constantly tri-
umphed over his disappointments.
When last entered into this de-
bate, it became my duty to expose the
crimes against Kansas, and to insist
upon the immediate admission Of that
Territory as a State in this Union.
with constitution forbidding Slav-
cry. Time has passed; but the ques-
tion remains. Resuming the discuss
ion precisely where left it | am hap
py to avow that rule of moderation,
which it is said, may venture even to
fix the boundaries of wisdom ITSELF
| have no personal gricfs to utter; only
a barbarous egotism could intrude
these into this chamber. | have no
personal wrongs to avengc; only a
barbarous nature could attempt to
WELD that vengeance which belongs
to the Lord. The years that have in
tervened, and the tombs that have
been opened since | spoke, have their
voices too. which can not fail to
hear. Besides, what am I--what is
any man among the living or among
the dead compared with the question
before Us? 1t is this alone which i
shall discuss, and | open the argu
ment with that easy victory which is
found in charity. The crime against
Kansas stands forth in painful light.
Search history AMI you can not find
its parallel. The slave trade is bad;
but even this enormity is petty com
pared with that elaborate contrivance
by which, in Christian age and with
in the limits of Republic, all forms
of Constitutional liberty we're pervert-
ed; by which all the rights of human
nature were violated, and the whole
country was held trembling on the
edge Of civil war; while all this large
exuberance of wickedness, detestable
in itself, becomes tenfold more detest-
able when its origin is traced to the
madness for Slavery. The fatal par
tition between Freedom and Slavery,
known as the Missouri Compromise;
the subsequent overthrow of this par
tition, and the seizure of all by Slav-
cry; the violation of plighted faith;
the conspiracy to force Slavery at ali
hazards into Kansas; the successive
invasions by which all security there
was destroyed, and the electoral fran
chise itself was trodden down; the
sacrilegious seizure of the very polls,
and through pretended forms of law,
the imposition of a foreign LegiSla-
ture upon this Territory; the acts OF
this Legislature, fortilying the usurp-
alton, and, among other things, estab-
fishing test oaths, calculated to dis
franchise actual settlers, friendly to
Freedom, and securing the privileges
of the citizen to actual strangers
friendly to Slavery; the whole crown
ed by statute, "the be-all and the
end all" of the whole usurpation-
through which Slavery was not only
recognized on this beautiful soil, but
made to bristle with Is code of death
such as the world has rarely seen; all
these | have fully exposed on former
occasion. And yet the most important
part of the argument was at that time
left untouched mean that which is
found in the character of Slavery. -
this natural sequel. with the permis-
sion of the Senate, propose now to
supply. Motive is to crime as soul to
body; and it is only when we compre-
hend the motive that we can ,ruly
comprehend the crime. Here the mo-
tive is found in Slavery and the rage
for its extension. Therefore, by log
ical necessity, must Slavery be dis
cussed-not indirectly, timidly, and
sparingly. but directly. openly. and
thoroughly. 1t must be exhibited as
it is; alike In is influence and IN Its
animating character, so that not only
its outside but its inside may be seen.
This is no time for soft words or
excuses. All such are out of place.
They may turn away wrath; but what
is the wrath Of man? This is no
time to abandon any advantage in the
argument. Senators sometimes an
nounce that they resist Slavery on po-
litical grounds only, and remind us
that they say nothing of the moral
question. This is wrong. Slavery
must be resisted not only on political
grounds, but on all other grounds,
whether social. economical. or moral.
Ours is no holiday contest, nor is 1t
any strife of rival factions-of white
and red roses-of theatric Neri and