Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1860-06-29
THE BARBARIsM OF SLAVERY,
In the United State. Senate, june 4. 1850

/ subject should suppress the emotions natura
to such an occasion, If did not declare OF
the threshold my gratitude to that Suprem,
Being through whose benign care am en-
abled, after much suffering and many changes
once again TO resume my duties here, and K
I speak for the cause which is so near my heart
To the hOnOred Commonwealth whose repre-,
sentative am, and also 10 my immediate as
sOciates in this body, with whom enjoy tn,
| fellowship which is found ia thinking dhk
concerning The Republic, owe thanks which
| seize this moment TO express for the indul-
gence shown me throughout the protractet
seclusiOn enioincd by medical skill and
trust that it win 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 triumphed over his disap.
pointments,
When last entered into this debate, it be-
came my duty to expose the Crime against
Kansas, and to insist upon the immediate ad-
mission Of that Territory as a State Of this
Union, with Constitution fbrbidding Sla-
very. Time has passed; but the question re-
mains. Resuming the discussion precisely
where left IL am happy TO avow that rule
Of moderation, which, il is said, may venture
even to fix the boundaries of wisdom itself
have no personal griefs to utter; only a
barbarous egotism could intTude these into
this chamber. Ihave no personal wrongs to
avenge; only barbarous nature could at
tempt to WELD that vengeance which belongs
10 fhn frIg. Fhnk .,,1,
and the tombs that have been opened since |
spoke, have their voices too, which cannot fail
to hear. Besides, what am what is any man
among the living or among the dead COM
pared with the Question before US 7 II is this
alone which shall discuss, and open the
argument with that easy victory which is
found in charity.
The Crime against Kansas stands forth in
painful light Search history, and you can
not find its parallel. The slave-trade is bad
but even this enOrmity is petty, compared
with that elaborate Continuance by which, in
a Christian age and within the limits Of
Republic, all forms Of constitutional liberty
were perverted; 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
wiekedness, detestable in ITSELF becomes ten
fold more detestable when its origin is traced
to the madness for Slavery. The fatal parti-
ton between Freedom and Slavery, known
as the Missouri Compromise; the subsequent
overthrow Of this partition, and the seizure
Of all by Slavery; the violation of plighted
faith; the conspiracy to force Slavery at all
hazards into Kansas the successive inva-
siOns by which all security there was de-
sTrOyed, and the electoral franchise itself was
trodden down; the sacrilegious seizure Of
the very polls, and, through pretended forms
of law, the imposition of foreign legiSla-
turs upon this Territory; the acts Of this
fOrtifyiRg the Usurpation and,
among other things, establishing test-oaths,
calculated to disfranchise actual settlers
friendly TO Freedom and securing the privil-
eges Of the citizen 10 actual strangers friend
ly TO Slavery, the whole crowned hy, stAt
Ute, "the be-all and end-Rll of the whole
UsnrpatiOn through which Slavery was not
only recognised on this beautiful soil, but
made to bristle with 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 permission Of
the Senate, propose now to supply.
Motive is to Crime as soul to body, and it is
only when we comprehend the motive that
we can truly comprehend the Crime Here,
the motive is found in Slavery and the rage
for its extension. Therefore, by logical ne
cessity, must Slavery be discussed; not indi-
rectly, timidly and sparingly, but directly,
openly and thoroughly. Il must be exhibit
cd as it is; alike in its influence and in its aL-
imating character, so that not only its out
side 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 announce
that they resist slavery on political grounds
only, and remind US that they say nothing Of
the moral question. This is wrong. Sla-
very 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 it any
strife of rival factions of White and Red
Roses, of theatric Neri and Bianchi; but it
. q oOlNlAu DusLAI BGAWGCAA anu W LDllkg
between Good and Evil Such battle can
not be fought with excuses or rose-Water.-
There is austere work TO be done and Free
dom cannot consent to fling away any of her
weapons.
If / were disposed to shrink from this dis
cussiOn, the boundless assumptions now made
by Senators on the other side, would not al
low me. The whole character of slavery as
q pretended form Of civilization is put direct
ly in issue, with pertinacity and hardi-
hood which Danish all reserve on this side
In these assumptions, Senators from South
Carolina naturally take the lead.
Following Mr.. Calhoun, who pronounced
the most safe and stable basis for
free institutions in the world" and Mr. Nc
Dufie, who did not shrink from calling it
'the cornerstone of the republican edifcs,"
the Senator from South Carolina Mr. Ham
mond] insists that 'its forms of society are
the best ia the world" and his colleague Mr..
Chestnut takes up the strain. One Senator
nom Mississippi Mr.. Davis adds, that Sla-
very 'is but form Of civil government for
those who are not fit to govern themselves
and his colleague Mr. Brown1 openly vaunts
that It 'is great moral, social, and political
blessing blessing to the slave and bless
ing 10 the MASTER"
One Senator from Virginia, (Alr. Huuter.)
in astudied vindieation Of what he is pleased
TO call ''the social system of the slavebolding
States, e1alts Slavery as ''the moral con-
iitiOn Of human society y stbenefeial 10 The
non-slaye-owner" "-''best for the happiness of
both races" and, in enthusiastic advocacy
declares, 'fhat the very keystone Of the
mighty arch which BY its concentrated
strength is able to sustain our social super
structure, consists in the black marble block
81 African slavery Knock that out, he
says, ''and the mighty fabric, with all that it
upholdsl topples and tumbles to its fall."-
These were his very words, uttered in de-
bate here. And his colleague, Mr.. Mason,
who has never hesitated where Slavery was
IN question, has proclaimed that It is i'eRno6-
ling TO both master and slave word |
which, 90 far as the slave was concerned. he
changed, on 4 subsequent day, TO uelevating.n |
assuming still that it Is "ennoblinqD ~ he /
is simply new version of |
IN old assumption, by Mr.. McDufie. Of Soutb |