Litchfield enquirer., 1860-03-01

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 I, 1860. z ...,s .. at
 crimes, except in cases of impeachment
 shall be by jury" of the viciuage; it guaran
 ties ."to every State in this Union republi can form of government" it forbids the en
 actment of any law by the Federal Legisla
 ture respecting an establishment of relig
 ion, or prohibiting the free exercise there of. or abridging the freedom of speech or o
 :. the press, or the right of the people 'peaceably to assemble and to petition the Government for redress of griev
 ances;" it declares that the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed; that the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches : and seizures shall not be violated;" that "no person shall be deprived of life, liberty. or property, without due process of law;'' and then, to cover all possible contingencies of danger to the liberties of individuals, it declares that "the enunciation, in the Con. 'stitution, of certain rights, shall not be con. strued to deny or disparage others retained by the peoples" and there is DO word in that instrument which, even indirectly, i'm plies that the meaning and application of these general terms are to be restricted by any considerations of race or lineage. No, sir, not one; and those who go about to find such restriction are compelled to resort to in- direction and outside interpretation to ac- complish their purpose. Every page of the Constitution of the United States is radiant with the light of universal liberty. He who would find there pretext or excuse for bond age, must turn his back upon that light, and grope his way among the shadows of distort- ed and doubtful construction.
 Why, sir. what were the statesmen of the last century about, when they affixed their signatures to the instrument that severed the political ties which had bound the colonies to Great Britain? What were they doing when they framed this Constitution about which we dispute SO much? "Our institu- tions," answers Reverdy Johnson, in his pamphlet, are redolent of freedom. For freedom our ancestors contended during seven years of trial. It was her teachings that inspired and supported them during their fearful struggle" Freedom, I ask, then-for whom, or for what? For the own CTS of capital, or the possessors of the soil, alone? Not at all, sir; not at all. The freedom whose teachings inspired and sup ported our ancestors was the freedom of asan, of all races, in all ranks, and of every line age. It is the distinguishing characteristic of our revolutionary war, that it was fought upon this principle. Universal equality in political rights, and the indefeasible title of all men to social and civil liberty, were the foundations of the great argument by which it was justified. Other nations. in ether times, had contended for the rights of kings and princes. The wars which history re- counts, had been the struggles of Gorerm- ments for conquest or defence In their be- ginning and ins their ending, little thought had been taken for the masses who bore their burdens; the causes of both lay hidden in the caprice of moDarchs,. the pride of aris- tocracies, the ayarice of capitalists, or the exigencies of commerce. -..t.ez am.
 With our fathers the case was very differ ent. From whatever causes of u,justi6able taxation the collision may originally have oc- cured. in the solemn document which they put forth as their justification for taking up arms, they based everything upon the right of man, by virtue of his humanity, to polit- ical equality and civil liberty. It has been said that the language used had no reference to any other than the white race I can bring you, sir, hundreds of expressions in the writings of the revolutionary fathers and of the framers of the Constitution, wherein sla- very is spoken of as antagonistic te the prin- cpIes of the Declaration every one of which expressions is utterly meaningless, un- less those principles were intended to be as universal in their application as the race of man. The doctrine of the Declaration has been called a "gkttering generality ;" but two of those to whose bands was committed the drafting of that instrument were Ben jamin and Roger Sherman; and neither the shrewd sense of the Boston printer nor the sterling judgment of the Connecticut shoe maker was likely to be betrayed iuto the adop- tion of rhetorical formulas In all nations, and in all ages, the masses of mankind have been, as they ever must be, composed of those wbo live by the labor of their hands; the theory of kingly and aristocratic rule has been, and of American Democracy now is, that for those masses servitude is the normal, fitting, and safe condition; the theory of the statesmen of l176 and of the Republicans of 1860 is, that for those masses liberty is right, and safest, and best. 4.,s,'. ss. s,..t. B.-a
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