Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1860-04-28

and to which the privileges and immunities oil |
the Constitution extend. Undor that Con- I
stituton, which guarantees to me free speech, l /
claim it, and | demand il. ,
Mr.. Bonham, Dem, 8. CT l ask the gentle.
man why be does not attempt 10 assert his righti
Mr.. Lovejoy Yes. Sir. The gentleman comes
from a slave State, where they are 10 the habit Of
speaking Of the laboring classes in the Northern
States as greasy mechanic" filthy operatives,
CLOSE 6sted farmers,' and they jeer at us as worse
than slaves. THE insulting language can be, and
Is, used in the Free States without molostation or
injury. Yet they say, ff you come here and ut
ter the sentiments you sincerely believe. we will
hang YOU IL a mechanic from a Free State goes
there aud utters the sentiments that be thinks
if they had more white laborers aud fewer black
vnes, that labor 10 the South would be moro res
pectable-what do you do with him 7 Denude
him, scourgo him, and to intensity the i~ndignity,
you drive the knotted ~.hong.by the hand of a slave,
deep 10 bis quiveriug flesh, :ben tar and feather
him. and then put him on the cars, still naked, to
be sent a long distance, and threaten with violence
the man who has the compassion to give him q
cup of coffee. And, finally, after being jeered at
every station along the route. this victim Of your
cruelty, a free citizen, crawls into a stable aud
begs, stealthily begs, the cas-of clothes of an
ostler to hide his nakedOess. You drive away
young ladies that 60 to teach school, ~imprisOn or
exile preachers Of the Gospel, and pay your debts
by raising the mad-dog cry Of Abolition against
the agents Of your creditors.
Mr.. Barksdale, (Dem. Miss.) The meanestislave
In the South iS your superior. [CrieS of Order J.
from the Republican sidel.
Mr.. Martin. (Dem. Val I hope gentlemen from
the South will let him talk as he pleases, but go
away and not listen to him.
A Member, on the Republican side-Well, GO
Stand not upon the order Of your going, but 60 at
once
Mr.. Loveioy Mr.. Chairman, l say I claim the
privilege Of going anywhere and every where with
in the limits of the American Republic, as a free
citizen, uumolested, and Of ntteIiDg, in an order
ly and legal way. any sentiment that l choose to
utter, and yet, are we allowed to do itf Are we.
for that, in these United States, to be subjected to
violence. outrage. tar and feathers, burning, i'm
p%risonment and the gallowsr Answer that ques-
ton. ! know tina, gentlemen say that self preser
walton is the first law Of nature, but if you cannot
keep Slavery and allow free discussion. then /
say, in Gods name, before free discussion and all
the rights of free citizens are to be sacrificed to
that Moloch Of Slavery, that MolOch must be i'm
molated a: the shrine Of liberty, free speech, free
discussion, and ali those rights that cluster around
an American citizen. Why, Mr.. Chairman, a cit
izen of Rome, when the scourge was already up
raised and about to fall upon him, if he uttered
the cry, Il am a Roman citizen, " it arrested that
scourge. Well, Sir, is not there more of a charm,
is it not q prouder position to be an American than
to be a Roman Citizen? Are we in the nineteenth
century, living under this Constitution with our
free nstitutions-are our persons and our rights
to be less sacred than they were under the old Ro-
man administration eighteen centuries ago and
more That is my response TO the question why
/ recommended the circulation of the Helper book.
Now, what about John Brown. Cries Of Let's
have il This affair Of John Brown brings us to
The reality of things. This raid confronts US with
Slavery, and makes US ask is slagehOlding right
And if so, what rights has itf When the curtain
rose and startled the Nation with this tragedy,
John Brown lay thore like a wounded lion with
HE head upon his paws, a saber cut upon his
brow, bayonet gashes in his side, the blood oozirg
out. and life itself apparently ebbing fast, around
were certain little specimens of the canine species
snufing and smelling, and finally one of then
yelped out 'Mr. Lion; was the old war-horst
that pastu7ed with you on the Western RsserVt
in this expedition 2 The lion slowly raised hi
head, cast o disdainful side glance upon the in
quirer, growled out a contemptuous negative, ant
reposed his head as before. In regard to JohI
Brown, you want me to curse him. l will no
curse John Brown. You want me to pour GU
excavations upon the head Of Old Ossawattomie
Though all the slaveholding Balaks in the coun
try fll their houses with silver aud prefer it,
will not curse John Brown. do honestly con
denim what be did from my standpoint, and from
my convictions, ] disapproye of his action, that l
true ; but | believe that his purpose was o goo
one-tbat, so far as his own motives before Got
were concerned, they were honest and truthful
and no one can deny that he stands head ant
shoulders above any character that appeared oil
the stage in that tragedy from beginning to end
from the time he entered the armOry there TO thu
time he was strangled by Gov. "Fussation." Gen
eral Laughter lie Was not guilty of murder oil
treason. lie did unques,ionably violate the stat
ute against aiding slaves to escape bat no blood
was shed, except by the panic striken multitude
till Stevens was fred upon while waving q flag o
truce. The only murder was that of Thompson
who was shatehed from the heroic protection OF
woman and riddled with balls at the railroal
bridge. Despotism has seldom sacrificed thre
nobler victims than Brown, Stevens and HaXiet'
As I remarked. Mr.. Chairman, this brings us t
confront Slavery, aod ask what right this Cali
ban has upon earth I say no right. My homes
conviction-and | do not know why g~entleme
need take offense they need not unless the
choose-my honest conviction is, that all thes
slaveholding laws have the same moral power an
force. that rules among pirates have for the distr
button OF their booty that regulations anon
robbers have Tor the division of their spoils an
although l do not believe gentlemen have behave
very handsomely to me. an going to add, no
wiihstanding, that / do not mean to say that ger
tlemen who are shareholders would be guilty
.k;nos- tkat l. moi the nnint-