Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1864-04-19
g be Gr&emon u .
ReYerdY Johnbon's sneeoh.

Our readers will notice how apply these col
servatiyes," when they move against Slavery, cor
the arguments lorg familiar to an'i..hyery mel
Mr. johnson said
Remember, now the question Is, can that il
sutu lon which deals with humanity as propert
which claims to shackIe the mind, the soul 40
the body-whch bring, to the 'eyel Of the but
portion Of the race Of man--oease 10 be With
the reach Of the polilieai power Of the people G.
The Uuied States, not because j was not at on
line within ther power but because at that tim
hey did not exert the power' Whist says III
preambleP How pregnant wuh conclusive an
saer is the preamble 70 the proposition that Sa
very csuno. be abolished. W Nhat dee. that pre-
amoIe state 10 have been the chie. objects tha
lhe great, and wise, ind good men hla at hear
10 recommending the Constitution, with the pre-
amble to the odopton of the American people
rhl, Justice might be established that Tranquil
~ might BE- preserved; that the common defence
sud general liberty mightbe maintained and, las
a chief Of all, that liberty might be secured
Is there no justice IN putting an end 10 human
Slavery Is there no danger to the tranqIili',
O the country in It's existence? May it NOT 10
lerlere with lbe common defence add genera
welfare? And, above all, s it consistent witt
any notion aLcs the mind Of man can conoey,
of human liberty? The very clause under which
We seek to put on end 10 the institution, The
ameudatry clause, may have been, and, IA OIL
probability va, inserted 10 the instrument from
conviction lLat The line would come When justice
would call So loudly for the ex ioclion OF lhe in
sti.ution that her cal. could not be disobeyed
wheu the peace aud tranquility Of the land should
demand in thuadlr-lCnss the destruction Of the
institution as Inconsistent with such peace and
n nquiYily; and when the sentiment OF the world
woIId become shocked with the existence Of &
condition Of things .n the only free government
upun The face Of the globe, as far as Tie vhitt
man is concerned, and founded upon principle,
utterly inconsistent with any other iolm Of gov
ernmenl than government which secures free.
dom-Bhen the sentiment Of the world would be
.hocked by the continuing existence Of human
bondage, and We should become the seoff and
scorn Of Chrslendom.
an Dot to be told, Mr.. President, that our
Jlhels looked to this race merely because they
differed in color from ourselves, ns not entitled
to Vie rights which themselves they declared
t4 We inaierstIe. There was not one Of them
from the most humble, intellectually and morally
Ii there were any tumble IN that great bod,
which formed the convention that recommended
the CQ1Nituton OF the United States TO the
adoption Of the American people-Nbo would
not have been shocked If be had been told that
there vls q righ to make slave Of any human
being The advocltes Of Slavery now in our
midst Dc not mean here, but in the South,
aud iu some Of the pupiIs o! the North say
lh4t Slavery OF The black race is Of divine origin.
Scdptural au boriy for Us existence and lis per-
pgtJai existence from time 10 time til, as think,
The moral mind had become nauseated BY the
declaration, los oeeu vouched for lis sanc,iiy and
is perpetual existence. The Savior Of mankind
did not put an end to it by physiral power or by
the declaration OF any existing lllegallty Of word.
lis mission upon toe earth was not to propagate
Ills doetices by force. lie came to save, not 10
conquer. Ills purpose was not 10 mach armed
,eg0us throughout the habliable globe, securing
the allegiance Of those fer whose safety lie was
striving. He warred by other influences. lie
aimed 3i the heart principally. lie iucu,cated
lis cliines, more ennoDliDg than anv that the
world, enlightened as the world Was bei,re iis
advent upon earth, had been abs 10 discover. lie
taught to man the obligation Of brotherhood. lie
announced that the true duly OF man was to do
TO Others as he would have Others DO g. him, tc
al men the world over and unless some convert
10 the modern doctrine that Slavery itself inds
not only gu rlutee for It's eXis euee, but tor IL
legal existence, IN he Scripture, excepts out OF
tie operation Of the Influences which hls moralit,
brought TO bear on the mind Of the Christian
Serd, the black mau. and shows that il was mol
intended to apply TO black men-then il is not
true, il eanno, be true, that lie designed Iii, doc.
Ir.ne not to be equally applicable to the black and
90 sre white, to the race of man as he then ex-
isled, or as he might e1is, 10 all after time.
Is it to be supposed, because Of the present
condition Of this degraded population, that they
are not proper subjects for the enjoyment Of hu-
man fIeedome Are they by nature, aud in spite
of whatever education tyranny may have lett
them, so mentally and morally deficient tha, the,
do no know what are the blessings Of human
irt edom2 Wnst DO we seeP Wherever The
dag Of the United States, the symbol Of human
liberty, now goes, under II, rom their hereditary
bondige, are TO be found men, women, and chi
dron, assembling and craving It's protection. Is
ii because they expect greater physical comfort,
and that they Obtain itp he mele physical con.
diuon Of the man, in many cases, while under,h
control OF master, was better than that which
he l. ceyed after coming under the protection OF
our ilAg but in the one the iron vi oppression
had pierced Ills soul, aud 10 the other be is
ghddsntd by the light Of hberty? It's idle 10
deny, we feel il in our own persons, how with
-, hal all h.
Look to the illustrations which the times now At.
lofd how 10 the illustration Of that sentiment do
we differ from he black man lie is willing 10
incur every personal danger which promises TO
rt suit in throwing down his shackes and making
him tread the earth which God has created iot
all as man, and not as sleye, II is an instinct
OF the soul, Tyranny may oppress il lor sges
and cen utles the pail OF despotsm may hang
over II but the sentiment is EVER there; il kin.
dies into fame in the yely furnace Of utllclln.
aud 1t ayails Itself OF the very FIRST oppor,uui,,
that offers promising the least chance Of escape.
and wades through blood and slaughter to achieve
it, aud whether Il sueoee s or tails demonstrates
Nindioates u the very effort, the nexunguishable
right to lberty.
Then, MIR. President, If, as all men, | thhk,
must admit, who permit themselves to consider
tue question fairly, all prejudice apart, that Sa-
very is sin, is a wrong, cues Tor redress, should
be rtdreSed, the o, ly practical difficulty which
stands in our way, IN my judgment, is, can it be
done Without Introducing Norsa evils than will
result from is present continuance? In my judg.
mtn', the continuance Of the right aud aulhoril,
OF this Union and Government, administered up
on the principles to be found incorporated IN the
Constitution Of the United States, is much more
important to the welfare Of the human race, and
to our own portion Of the human race, than is
the continuance Of Slavery. Can the two 20 on
together nowp
There was time when believed that for ages
and ages they nigh, 20 oni that the abolition
OF the institution would be the result Of peaceful