Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1860-03-10


lts decision is impertinent, and with the Courts !
of Georgia, say, / bold It in bitter contempt |
and If there ever was a decision on Coils earth |
that would warrant any private man or Senator |
saying, 81 hold it in contempt" it is that Dred
Scott decision. What was the case An old
negro proseoutes for his liberty in the Federal
Courts. Old Dred Scott sued for his freedom,
and the plea was put in that being the descend
ant Of Africa he could not sue in that Court
The Court decided that a man may be 30 mon
sbrous low that no cannot sue for his life, and
believe this is the first nation on Gods earth
that ever put q being in human form upon so
/ low a level as that. But the majority of the
Court said that Dred Scott being a negro,
descendant of African ancestors, who
having been slaves he could not maintain suit
in that Court, because he was not citizen.
ask if that was not the end of that easel Then,
in the name Of God, Judge Tsney, why did you
retain il any longerl Il was settled upon eve-
~ principle of adjudication, and no Court, has
held 10 it more solemnly than that one. All,
then, the Court may say beyond the case was
mere talk and might just as well have been
uttered in a bar-roOm az in a Court The ma
jorily of that Court are interested in that
decision, and, strange as it may appear, those
who complain of Northern aggression have had
a majority Of that Court on their siGe. | will
not say Il a. is the reason why the decisions
are magnifed to such importance The very
men Of the very party who, few years ago,
held these decisions of no effect, have turned
around of late and have found virtue in that
Court that can ride triumphantlv over every
other part of this Government. Such heresy,
if persisted in, can result in nothing but con-
solidated despotism. And if the dcta, or talk
of such Court should be established, we will
have the weakest despotism that ever failed on
Gcd Almigbty's earth; for the doctrine iB so
absurd, it cannot stand. When did they get
the Constitutional power to carry slaves into
the TeTritoriesl 1t is said now, that the Terri
tories being the common properly of the States,
each State has a right to go into them with
any kind of property. l deny the pOstulate.-
These Territories do not belong to the States,
they belong to the peop'e Of the United States;
i and Congress is the trustee for them. Suppose
for instance, the Senator from Illinois (Mr.
| Douglas) should own plantation in Mississip>
pi, and should wish to take the slaves into
Territory, let me ask which State in It's sover-
eighty is affected! That where the negroes
are, or the State where the slaves are owned!
On the same grouud we might say, suppose, as
will probably be the case, we should annex the
Fejee Islands to this nation, and suppose the
Senator from the State of Fejee should appear
in this body, where believe they not only hold
/ pert oil LnelI pOpuldLlOu III Slavery, DuE Iney
hold to eating portion Of them. supp1se he
should take his chattels to our Territory and
claim the protection of our country, thai he
might practice csnnibalism there, it is plain yol
would he bound TO protect him, else the State of
Fejee would not have her equal rights with the
other States. He might say it is the law of
my country. We have a right to roast and eGt
this property, and if you don't protect US in it,
we will pull down the pillars of this Re-
public and involve all in one common ruin. I
suppose the Senator from Illinois would say the
Territories have perfect right to have canni.
balism or not, and | don't care whether they
have it or not; they are perfectly free. Another
Senator says they have right to bring them
there, and be protected by the laws of Congress.
Another man says that Congress has no right
to pass laws, but the Courts, which are now
omnipOtent, can proclaim law, and we must
all bow down to it. There is just this differ
ence of opinion on that side of the Chamber,
but all agree that Slavery should be spread to
the ends of the earth. But suppose another
case. Suppose Brigham Young should come
from Utah to Kansas, or any other Territory,
with forty wives. Brigham says these are my
property, and / must have a right to bring
them in here, or the State of Utah will not have
her equal rights. Away with such doctrine
There is no guarantee in the Constitution for
any such position as that. Our safety consists in
keeping close to the Constitution, and the mo-
ment we do stray from this we endanger the
harmony of our action. But, waiVing the Con-
stitutional law, will suppose that you have a
right to take your slaves into the Territories
and hold them there, Still Sir, is it expedient,
right, and proper to do it! And that briugs me
to consider a question that has been incident
ally brought up. The fathers of the Republic
believe without dissenting voice, agreed that
slaveholding was against the common right of
man, and was wrong in itself, and should not
be cherished. But we find they did not under
stand it. And now the slaveholding States
have found out that Slavery is the normal con-
dition of the black race and blessing to
society, and therefore ought to be extended
That is the only issue / wish to make, because
know your determination to extend Slavery
arising from this new philosophy, that Slavery is
the normal condition of the laboring man, & that
it is right just land proper, not necessary to the
happiness of all concerned If you are right in
that 1 will go with you. Let US extend it, and
let US employ missionaries to preach the glory
Of Slavery, and induce the whole world to turn
shareholders or slaves. am glad at last to see
this great question placed on a solid foundation
for every man knows that no political principle
can be placed on anything short of eternal
Justice and right. The Senator from Georgia
may tell US that Slavery is the basis on which
society has been founded for thirty CENTURIES
Sir, it is discovered that it is sandy founda-
ton, which is fast washing away with the ad-
vance of mankind in civilization and knowledge.
II is principle that is deemed barbarous, and
which is passing away. On that issue let us
stand. If Slavery is right, let us extend it if
it is wrong, let it die the death. 1 hardly
know how to meet this issue, for have been
in the habit of believing, with the fathers, that
liberty was the gift of God to every being, and
had supposed that this was self evident If
there is any one here who will not for him
self respect the old sentiment" Give me
Liberty, or give me Death !'-let him speak
Who would not rather follow friend or relation
to the grave than into the shambes of eternal
Slavery knew it is said the African is an
inferior race and cannot defend his own rights.
But my ethics tell me that so far from this
giving the right to ens!ave him, it should teach
men to be more scrupulous of his rights.
know he is still human being they are still
men and women, and there are thousands now
in bondage who are much more white than
black. But whether white or black they have
the same joys and sOrrOws, and are actuated
by the same motives as we are. They were
treated like brutes, their souls may be ignored,
| YOU may whip and trample them down, but as
E they are human beings they will rise from the
utmost degradation and stand forth in the
image of God, the conscious candidates of
immortal life. This gives them full con
seriousness OF their manhood, that stands as an
eternal proof that they are not always tob e
slaves. But if it is right, why this perturba-
ton and fear at the South lest their institutions
should fall! Why is it that you withhold
knowledge from the slaves ! What means this
persecution of Northern men who 60 there p
What is this fear of the Helper booki If
slavery is the normal condition of the race, do
you fear that the handiwork Of God will be
overturned by these frivolous means Soci-