New-York daily tribune., 1861-02-19
Personal LIBERTY LAW.
SPEECH OF GERkrr SMITH, FErA 6, 1861,
IN TIE CAPITOL,

for Personal lbcrty law LOT tDis opportunity 10
speak for them. Yourcourtesy and kindness in grant
ing are all the greoer because your arduous abors
and the demands upon all your time.
Men eoncede that Massachusetts should govern Mas
sachusetts the United States the United States, and
England England. But they seem not yet to have
learned that it is the right of the world TO govern the
world Nevertheless il is solely in virtue of this right
that Massachusetts, the United States, and England are
entitled to their respective ursdicons The govern
ing or taking care of the whole world by the Whoie
world ia natural aud absolute right The governing
or taking care Of part by part Is but conventional
arrangement for the more convenient and eectuaI eA-
ecuiiOn Of that right.
All men are made Of one blood and In the image Of
their Maker The human Is not merely one fdInl-
ly. 1t is n unit Our fellow man is hot merely our
brother. He is another self. Not the jew only, bnt
the Samaritan also is neighbor Of the Jew. To lhe
right there are no partition walls between tue
bond and Free the circumcision and nnclrcumclslCD,
the jew and Gentle. "Go ye into all the world"
said Jesus to his disciples No State lines were to
bound their symyathjes No Dational governments
were to arrest their abors. Every is every other
mans keeper. Tie Chinese and the Americans are az
absolutely in charge Of each other contiguous
peoples; as absolutely as thcse who dwell under the
zane civil government.
meant, by conventional arrangement, civil gov.
ernmen. Such arrangement or government 10 to be
regarded no, only az subordinate 10 the worlds gov
ernmen, but agency appointed by il, or at least
authorized or peruiIied by it.
This woIldgOverhmeDt has no right Of abdicatioD.
The whole world l. iu,rusedto the ping Ofthe whole
worl1 Not one human b.ng may 1t discharge from IFS
universal This vide goyernmen, ID omui present 10
supervise its agencies civil govenen,s TO enconr-
ace and urge them to the faithful performance Of their
duties; TO them from their deinqutneies; or,
after all patience with such Of them as nevertheless,
became uuendurably and ireclain ably opprcssye or
peryerse, 10 resume the power IL had delegated or al
lowed TO unworthy hands and TO do itself in the ca
Of i..l trht M Ip
done aud what there was no longer any ground ot
hope that its unf, trustees would do.
ibis worl-goyernmenJ Is not to take decisive steps
IN view OF every wrong. The EnciSa GoYernIsem L
might be gully Of oppresiu It's subjects, and me
rd.govemnent be bound but 10 demonstrate WIN
IT, and to seek to ebgLten and reform it. Should IT,
however, fl to muTderog its subjects, or sboOld IL
suffer them murder each other then mutt tie world
government dismiss the wicked agent, and prOyi'e
righteous government for this outraged portion of the
human brotherhood. Let the French Government
compel its men whose stature falls below five and
half feet 10 be The slaves Of It's men above thGt night,
and here too q case would have arien for the resump-
tion Of delegated power after duly patient and yet rmt
less remembrance for the abuse Cf it, Tie wordgoy'
ernment would summon tho ncgLtoTng nations % the
work If providing better government for tie French
portion Of its world wide subjects.
Tie doctrine that national government is supreme,
and not amenabe beyond It's own lu'isoictiOn for any
however grea, wrong il may do To lis own subjects,
can fnd favor with him who truly believes III the
unity Of mankind.
1t must uot be assumed that such interference az
have supposed would necessarily he attended with
much, or even with any bloocsLed-that poorest OF AL
remedies for human wToDgs. moFever, Il most not be
assumed hat such nteTffe ce would frequently,
or, ind,el, ever necessarily. Let the world-goyern-
ment WELD moral influence TO the extent It should do
for the redrestng Of wrongs, aud slil more for
their prevention and It's subordinate or civil gov
ernments would seldom If ever, Iced TO DO thrust
aside TO make room fOr better.
Ardthis word-govonment is 10 be present small
well as on TeltOccasions m!nin I,s city won't TO
vent bis i'll temper upon his wife aud children. This
would justify The interposil1n Of that government.
lie falls upon em with fst and club. Nor even then
would il be justified provided fnhfgl protective
police were at hand But civil government and its
insrumenialiiies all failing the odgOveTnuelti is
pr mptly TO supply tie Lack. In other words, the
neghbors Of this brutal man are, without waiting TO
inquire whether the civil government will bear them
out in il, TO rush into hs house, and in the of the
whole human brotherhood and Of Almighty God, TO
restrain the of,nder and protect bis family.
A slave is a man thrown down into the category of
brutes He is still man, though denied all the rights
Of "A man, though not owning his child nor wife,
himself. Why are there ia the Southern half Of our
country four millions like him Because the world.
government, which stands back Of all other earthly
governments, and is bound 10 supervise them ALL and
supply the final lack Of them ALL has, 10 very guilty
extent closed Us and and heart TO u is maic
less wrong. IL is because tue human brotherhood has
proved filbless 10 this outraged poli)n Of ITSELF IL
is because have refused 10 be keerers Of their
feHow-men. do not say that this wOfld.govemment
should have rescued these slaves by force. Ii could
have rcscned them by reslaOns and protests purely
moral. Nay, had it been what II should have been,
none Of lis subjects woull have d4rd, indeed
have been disposed to perpelIa'e this immeasur-
bic crime against their fellow.subjects.
l do not forget that President Buchanan says that
the people Of our Northern States not responsible
for Slavery in 80 Ithern States. lie says that they
are no responsible for il than they for Slavery
in Brazil Ros,h. We almost afford 10 let Lis
nonsense. that they responsible in the one
IN tIa 9th fnra lin In
fact they are largely responsible for Slavery in
Brazil and Russia. Tie people OF the Northern States
being part Of the human brotherhood responsible
for SlIyeryn whatever portion OF the human brother
hood, and being part Of the world-goyernneut, are
responsible for putting il down wherever it may exit.
President Buchanan speaks foOli,bly, IA indeed do
all who presume to speik OF human lions, whilst as
vet they know not what ia lumsn nature-knOw not
OF it's oneness aud saeefness, and keepnot their hearts
in loving and ele Fri communication with the men Of
every cline aud comp lsAion, and especially with the
trodden down and outraged partakers Of that immortal
and godllke nature.
Deeply guilty before God Is this worldgovern-
ment-is the human brotherhood permitting Amer
lean Slavery. Not oar Southern and Northern States
ONLY are guilty for it, but France and England aud
all The nations. The dwclers tie opposite eide OF
the globe are TO remember our Southern bOndmen 'as
bound with them In regard 10 those most defiant
from m as well as those nearest TO him. every man
il bound TO excaim wi h tho spOste: "Who is weak
and am not weak Who is offended, and burn
notl"
And not only of permitting American Slavery are
Southern States, have sustained it, and enlarged its
borders Pdrtioeps crimns in this matter have we
made ourselves in ten thousand ways, socially eccle-
siasiiclly, commercially, politically. We have not
only suffered the fleeing slave TO be hunted DO WI In
thi; State but her citizens have hell ed hunt him
down. Tie great State OF NewYork has furnished
facilities to this exceedingly guilty end. do not
overlook the two imposing excuses for this cIiae,