Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1861-01-31

turbance, coming from Northern fanatics, . |
hundred probably . thcdsand, come nom
Southern men and from their political allies |
Of the North. The circulation of abolition
publications is prohibited by law, and scdu-
lously guarded against; abolition emissaries,
If such there be, act at the imminent peril
Of their lives So far as the minds of the
slaves are concerned, little can possibly be
effected by those agencies. Whereas South
ern papers, and those Of the same political
party from the North, circulate freely
through the South. Those papers TEEN
with extracts from the extreme anti-slavery
publications. They labor to convince those
who read them, that the North, with its
eighteen millions of people, is of one mind
that slaveholding is a great crime. They
constantly endeavor to prove that the Re
publican party is pledged to abolish slavery,
to interfere with the peculiar institutions Of
the South. Who read those papers? The
colored people read them. Their contents
spread from mouth to mouth-exaggerated
and distorted. You might as well fire can
non from one end of the country to the 9th
or and complain of the slaves hearing them,
as to allow such papers to circulate and ex-
pect their contents to remain unknown. We
verify believe that it would be less dangerous
to the South to allow unrestricted circulation
to the Independent than to the N. Y. Herald
or the Journal Of Commerce. If disunion
is to come, If the South is to experience the
horrors Of servile instructions, it will be re-
ferable more to the inAammatory and de-
famatory character Of such publications,
than to any other proximate cause. Besides
the evil done by such publications, exciting
public speeches are made in almost every
town and village. In these speeches Nor
thern men are denounced as enemies. They
are spoken of with contempt These orators
labor to convince the people that property
in slaves is in danger, that the North is
sending emissaries through the land to pro-
mote emancipation that the success Of the
Republicans would be the triumph Of aboli-
tionism and, if not resisted, the death-blow
to slavery. Who hear those speeches? ? The
slaves hear them, and believe them, though
nobody else my. Southern planters also do
not hesitate to discuss all these questions
around their dinner tables, while their slaves
are standing at their elbows. We have
heard and seen this with our own ears and
eyes. Southern men say that they are living
in powder magazine, and resent the show
of combustibles, thousand miles off, and
yet daily disport themselves with fireworks.
1t is miracle of mercy that an explosion
has not long since occurred. We maintain
that so far us dissatisfaction or disposition To
sevile insurrection exists, it is attributable
far more to Southern papers, speeches, and
table talk, and to Northern anti Republican
papers having free circulation at the South
than to all the efforts Of fanatical abolition
lists. 4"
"a third prominent grievance Of which
the South complains, is that the provision o
the Constitution requiring the restoration o
fugitive slaves, has been, and is openly dis
regarded, and set at nought.
On whom does the obligations to restor
such slaves rest? Upon the Federal Gov
ernment, or upon the State authorities
Upon the Federal Government, according t
the solemn decision of the Supreme Cour
Of the United States, our highest judiciu
authority.
Has the General Government refused t
perform that duty? II is the party ON whor
: the Obligation rests Has it failed to dii
!. charge that obligation? Not at all. Strir
gent laws for carrying into effect that pa
!, of the constitutional compact have been pas
u ed by both houses Of Congress, and appro,
; cd by the President. The whole judici
! and executive power Of the Government
u pledged to their execution. In not one i
) stance have the judicial or executive Office
+ charged with this duty failed to perform
: So far from it, the judicial officers have n
Z toriously erred on the other side. Tn
u have sent free men to the South as slave
l. who have been returned on their hand
Y They have shocked public justice in thu
70 zeal to carry out the law. The United Stat
Ne troops have been called out to secure its G
at ccution. Slaves have been restored to- tn
r. masters, in some instances, at an expense
as twenty, thirty or forty thousand dollars
al the Government; Educated mon, profess
&c in our colleges, have been condemed to /
DC prisonment for attempting to interfere W
the execution Of the slave law, At this n
d. ment; if any Southern men can point on
sts slave living in Massachusetts, or Vermo
mt he win be restored, though it should COS
an hundred thousand dollars, or even 9
ss. war. The Federal Government, the pa
it bound, has never failed to discharge to
nse utmost constitutional obligations in
ics matter. It is not true, therefore, that
md national compact has been broken.
the North, as represented in the Federal G
en-, ernment, the only organ through whic
ave can constitutionally act in the promises,
the not only been faithful in this matter, b,
= has carried its fidelity TO the verge servi
the Contrast the zeal of the General Govemn
nee in carrying out the provision Of the Co
in xx:,,. =. ~afavov,..o A., fnsysfsva oIovos,