The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1860-07-13
4olitital.
Tho Issues: Tho Dred Scott Deci-
sion: Tho Parties.
SPEECH OF
Hon. Israel Washburn, Jr.,

SPEECH OF
Hon. Israel Washburn, Jr.,
OF MAINE,
Delivered in the House Of Representative,
May 10. 1890.
Mn. CHAIRMAN;
"Queeu Elizabeth equipped two vessels ~
her own sole profit, in which two vessels, e.
corted BY the feet under the command Of Haw.
kins, we're the frst unhappy blacks inveigied
20 end their lives In s-rsitsde. Elizabeth vss
avsrieioas and cruel, but . small segment OF
her heart hal q brief sunshine ON Il, dzrting
obliquely. We are under King lGeorge lll)
potoriously more ayaricious; one Who passes
without q shudder the gibbets hs sign-manual
has gsrnished, one Who sees on the helds OF the
most disastrous battles, battles In which he or
Iercd his people TO fight his people, nothing
else 20 be regretted than the loss Of horses and
saddles, of haversaeks and jackets In this In
sensAte and Unsuitable man even hears that
Queen Elizabeth vas slave-dealer, he will IS.
sert the inalienable rights OF the Crown. and
swamp your motion"
I have read from an "Imaginary Conver'
satioH" between Rcmilly and Wilberforcc
by Walter Savage tandor, the statement ol
an actual fact. The words are understood
to have been spoken by Romilly.
In the original draft Of the Declaration Ol
Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote:
"He George III) has wsged cruel war against
human nature itself. violating its most sacred
rights Of lie aud liberty, in the persons OF q
distant people. who never offended him, capti-
waiting and carrying them into slavery In an
.ath k.,, nkar mr. IN incur miserable death
In their transportation thither. This piratical
warfare, the opprobrium OF inhdel Power, Is
the warfare OF the Christian King OF Great
Britain. Determined 10 keep q market where
men should be bought and sold, he has at
length prostituted his negative for suppreSsing
any legislative attempt to prohibit and restrain
this eIeersble commerce"
Thus we learn that under the authority
and by the aid Of the soyereigns Of Great
Britain, from Elizabeth 30 the third George,
black men were brought from Africa TO the
British American colonies, and reduced To
the condition Of slaves. And thus, at the
close Of the Revolutionary war, chattel slave
ryeIistsd in all the States but one that were to
form the new Coniederacy. IL was an un-
doubted evil; indeed its removal was one OF
the great objects for which the war wascom-
mcncsd and prosecuted. Under the influence
of the truths which 20 filed and informed
the minds Of men at that time, and by the
authority OF the new sovereignties, it was
scarcely doubted in any quarter that the sys-
TEN, 80 inexpedient and full OF evil, % un-
profitable and wrong, would die out or DO
exterminatcd. IL could not, men thought,
De otherwise. In consequence Of the unset
tied aud Impoverished condition Of the coun-
try. il would no doubt, take some time 10 ac-
complish an end ~ desirable and 50 certain
but the will and the determination should
not be wanting; and 50 our ancestors, when
the war was over, set themselves nc work
earnestly and in good faith to effect the ame-
lioration and ultimate extinction Of this evil.
by an ordinance which Mr.. Webster said
should make its author immortal, they e1-
cluded slavery from all the territory OF the
Government lying north and west OF the
Ohio river. They framed Constitution "to
establish justice" and "sccure the blessings
of liberty" for themselves and their posteri-
ty; and among those by whose vote" the
Constitution was adopted, and for whom, as
well s others. 1t must have been intended,
were colored men Of African descent residing
in several of the States south and north. In
that Constitution they scdulously excluded
the idea that men were, or could rightiully
be made property; they would not dishonor
that consummate fruit Of their tolls and sac
rifces by the use Of the words "slave" and
..seryitude;" :" they treated human beings as
persons-men, and not rs things they pro-
yided for the abolition of the slave trade at
the earliest practicable mdment. While
they recognized no distinction Of color or
race, and, In the numeration Of persons for
purposes Of Federal representation, counted
alike members Of the European and African
races, they discouraged the system Of seryile
labor, by imposing upon the States which
continued IL, terms in respect 10 such repre-
sentation, which IL was supposed would tend
to bring it into disiavor, and so hasten its
abolition. Sir, the men Of that day did the
best they could; they were sincere, and they
were earnest. They gave to liberty all the
securities and threw around slavery all the
limitations and disabilities in their power
They worked hopefully for the hour when
emancipation was to begin in all the States;
they waited in faith and implicit trust, never
seeming 10 doubt that the time for their de-
liyerancc was near at hand. But the weak
ness Of tho country, just emerged from long
and eIhausting war, the condition Of its re-
lations with foreign Powers, the spoilations
OF its commerce, the embarrassments in its
trade, the necessity Of extending protection
10 It's frontier settlements, the internal striies
contingent upon the formation OF parties un-
der the new Government. furnished excuses
60 the States in which slayeholding was most
largely practiced, for postponing the work,
the wisdom and duty Of which they still af-
frmed. Their views rs 10 the impolicy and
wrongfnlncss Of slavery they protested were
unchanged: but the longer they felt COM
pelled by circumstances TO delay the work OF
abolition, the more formidable and difficult
did IL become. Louisiana was purchased in
1908, and Florida in 1919, by which acqui-
sitions the slsveholdiny territory of the Unit
ed States was largely e1panded' Mr.. Whit
ney invented the cotton-gin, and the produc-
tion VI cotton, largely increased in conse-
ouence thereof, gave employment TO aud en-
haneed the value of slave labor. Thus events
and circumstances unpropitious to the per-
formance Of what Was still acknowledged To
be q stern duty, succeeded one another. year
after year, until at length the system was 50
extended, and its proportions were 30 vast,
that thoss most interested in its overthrow
were the least ready to give their minds to
serious and practical consideration OF the
question. when and how this was to De ae-
complished. As the labor and diihculty OF
the Undertaking loomcd up before them, the
expediency and duty OF engaging in 1t became
less clear and dominant.
IL was not before q very general indifer-
cnce appeared among thsoayeholders in rr--
gard to the continuance Of their system-in-
deed, IL was not untioshey began to furnish
evidence Of q fred design to carry 1t where 1t
bad never been before, and to plant It upon
the free territory Of the United States-that
Northern people perceived how much they
were interested IN the question OF slavery,
and that they could notaiely or withoutdis