The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1863-03-05

Davis came out in 1850, in the debate upon
what was called Bells compromise-ac compro-
mise that was endeavored to be made upon
what was called squatter's sovereignty, which
may explain 10 you if have time. Upon
that he said In the Senate: Never will con-
sent to any compromise which shall forbid
slaves from being taken into the territories at
the option Of their owners On the 23d of
Jnly, 1850, he moved-"That all laws existing
in the said territory which deny or obstruct
the right of any citizen to remove or reside in
such territory with any species of property
legally held In any State OF the Union be and
hereby are declared null and void" He was
then appointed Secretary Of War to Mr.. Pres
ident Pierce, and as Secretary of War, and
throwing the force of the Federal Government
into the struggle in Kansas, he sent troops,
turned out the free Legislators, and, had 1t not
been for John Brown and such men as he,
slavery would have been established in Kan
sas by Mr.. Jefferson Davis. Then came the
| question OF the re-openng of the slave trade:
and, whatever may be-said in England, can
| prove TO you that one OF the things that Is as
clear as the sun at MONDAY is that the South
! ern Shareholders. whatever they say now, have
been for years In favor of the re-opening of
the African slave trade. Well, upon this occa-
sion in 1859 to which am alluding, Mr. JEFF
| ferson Davis, though he declined to vote in
| the State of Mississippi for the re-opening as
far as that State was concerned, yet carefully
| guarded himself and said, 81 have no coinci-
| dence OF opinion with those who prate of the
inhuDanty of the slave trade" In 1860,
when this question was imminent, he moved
in the Senate, by way of an amendment to the
Constitution Of the United States
''That it shall be declared by amendment of
the Constitution that property in slaves, rec
ognized as such by the local laws of any State,
shall be on the same footing as any other spe-
cies of property, and not subject to be divest-
ed or impaired by the local laws Of any other
State"
The meaning Of that is. that the Southern
Shareholder might take his slaves into New
England, and then they could not be interfer-
ed with. tHear) Now l have taken YOU
shortly and rapidly through the career of this
representative of the Southern States, and l
say that there is not an act of his life which
has not been opposed to the sacred cause of
freedom. Hear, hear.)
/ won't detain you further, except to say
that in lS59-the year before secession, at
Vicksburg, in Mississippi-the States Conven-
ton passed resolution for the reopening of
the African slave trade by a large majority
One more fact In the Arkansas State Legis-
lature IN the same year, the motiea disapprov-
ing the reopening of the African slave trade
was lost by majority of twenty-one. Hear,
near One word more as to the state of
things just before secession. Every man in
America, especially the men concerned in pol
itics, saw that great split would come unless
something could be done. Accordingly, Con-
gress appointed Comm ttee OF the Senate and
Representatives TO consider what could be done
by way OF altering the Constitution SO as TO
keep the Union together. This Committee
broke up hopelessly, and came to no conclu-
sion. The majority sent in resolution; but
rom the beginning to the end of their pro-
har xvas sLs
only, considered-slavery. And to show YOU
the temper of the South at that time-which
temper has not been improved since by
the war-Mr. Adams, the present Minister to
this country, the son and grandson of eminent
men, arman as distinguished for his modera-
ton as any man in the United States-Mr.
Adams, being member of that Committee,
and anxious by any means he could to retain
the Union, signed at first the resolution Of the
majority. Finding, however, that no conces-
$40 would do for these men, he sent in a spe-
clai report and protest alone, one part of
which was,
THAT no form Of adjustment will be salts
factory to the recusant States which does not
incorporate into the Constitution of the Uni
ted States a recognition of the obligation TO
protect and extend slavery, and to that will
never consent" Loud cheersl
Wen, now, have In my hand all the ordi-
nances or the secession States, but l won't
trouble you with them because my time is Just
up. tGo on.l But will say this--that have
read those documents, and tell you that not
one, nor two, but all of them take up the
ground, and that ground only, for seeding
that slavery was 10 be put down in the South
ern States. Now, what are the people?
nave given YOU specimens OF their leading
men. have given you specimens of the pub
lie acts OF that government which we are told
TO recognize as government In favor Of free
Al
people are quite worthy of the government
and OF their leaders. Wlnt said their chief
Judge In that accursed judgment which he pro-
nounced in the great slave case brought be-
fore him? That the African race are so much
inferior to white men that they have no rights,
and may justly be reduced to slavery for the
white mans benefit. tLaughter.l That is
decision OF the chief judge of the highest
court in the United States, a man who Is at the
head of the legal body there; and that princi-
pie seems to have been ground into the Amer
lean people. You have all read what has been
written by the special correspondent of the
Times newspaper--("Ohw and laughter)-on
this question. What does Mr.. Russell say
about the South? That in every CITY dogs
are employed to catch runaway slaves. Both
the people and the government are as deadly
set against the freedom of the human race as
any men that ever lived on the face of this
earth. (Cheers.) or course in a meeting of
this sort, and in twenty minutes, you cannot
prove your case, but only say this-I chal-
lenge any friend of the South to name one
single leader there who is not pledged over
and over again to slavery. l ask them to
name one public act, one single Southern Con-
federate State, which is in favor of human
freedom. Well, i, an Englishman, find such a
case as this. /, an Englishman, an inhabitant
Of a country of free thought Of free words,
and OF free men, am asked to endorse such a
state of things. / am asked to endorse peo-
pie who do these acts, who have expressed
these opinions, and to say that their cause is
the cause of freedom. say on the contrary,
as said when / first stood up before you,
that the cause OF the South is the most hate
full, the most enslaving, the most debasing ty-
ranny that has been on the face of the earth
| for thousand years. (Cheers.l
have done. i will only put the case to
You as 1t has been put by the great antisla-
very poet, Mr.. Lowell, in his poem called "Jon-
athan to John; or an address to England"
We know we've got cause, John,
That's honest, right, and true;
We thought 'twould win applause, John,
1 If nowhere else, from you. q
The south cry poor men down. John.
| And all men up cry we,
Black, yellow, white and bown, John,
Now which is your idee!