Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1880-09-29

4
Of heterodoxy. 0neinstance is worthy
OF special attention. Lawrence South.
wick and his wife were Quakers, and
accused at the same time with many
others of attending Quaker meeting
or "saying with Quakers" and "absent
ing themselves from the public ordi.
nances." The Southwicks had previ.
ously suffered SO much in their persons
and estates from this kind of persecu.
ton that they could no longer work OF
pay any more fines, and, therefore, the
general court, by solemn resolution,
ordered them to be banished on pain
of death. Banishment, you will not
fail to notice, was IL itself equivalent
to a lingering DEATH The parties were
poor and feeble; Tor u meant merely
driving them into the wilderness "a
starve with hunger and cold. South.
wick and his wife went out and died
very soon. But this is not all. This
unfortunate pair had two chiidren--a
boyand girl( Daniel andProvided) who,
having healthy constitutions, would
bring good price in the slave market
The children were taken from the
parents and ordered to be sold in the
West Indies. 1t happened, however,
that there was not shipmaster in any
port Of the colony who would consent
to become the agent of their iranspor.
tation and sale. The authorities being
thus balked in their views Of the main
chance, were fain to be satisfied in
another way they ordered .he girl to
be whipped. She was lashsd accord
ingly, in company with several other
Quaker ladies, and then committed to
prison, to be further proceeded against.
History loses sight of her there. No
record shows whether they killed her
or not.
This is one case out of great many.
1t is very interesting and instructive
when taken in connection With your
speech, for it shows the "germ Of the
idea which your party acted on when
it kidnapped and imprisoned men and
women by the thousands for believing
in American liberty as guaranteed by
the Constitution. The QUakers and
Baptists had no printed organ in that
day through which their private judg.
ment could be expressed, else you
would no doubt have cases directly in
point to justify your forcible suppress.
sion Of 250 newspapers.
Enmity to the right of private judg-
ment comes down to the party OF Ply
mouth ideas by consistent and regular
succession. 1t is woven like dirty
stripe into the whole warp and woof
of their history. As soon as they got
possession of the Federal Government
under John Adams they began TO use
it as an engine for the suppression of
free thought. Their alien law gave
the President power to Danish or i'm
prison without trial, any foreigner
whose opinions might be obnoxious to
his supporters. Their sedition put
every Democratic speaker and writer
under the heel Of the administration.
Their standing army was used, as it
now is, to crush out their political op-
ponents. If you come into Eastern
Pennsylvania, and particularly into
the good county OF Berks, you will
learn that the people there still think
with indignation of that old reign of
terror when Federal dragons kidnap.
ped, insulted and beat their fathers,
chopped down their "liberty poles" 4"
broke to pieces the press OF the Read
ing Eagle, and whipped its venerated
editor in the market house. The same
spirit broke out again in the burning
Of nunneries and churches under Maria
Monk, and under John Brown the
whole country swarmed with spies and
kidnappers. When you abandoned
the harlot and rallied TO the standard
of the thief, you changed your leader
without changing your principles.
The slave code planted in Massa-
chusetts was the earliest in America
and the most cruel IN all its provisions.
1t was pertiEacously adhered to for
generations, and never repented Of, or
formally repealed. 1t was gradually
abandoned, not because it was wrong,
but solely because it was found, after
long experiment, to be Improbable.
The plan of keeping twenty negroes
as cheaply as one white servant did
not work well for in that climate q
negro thus used would infallibly die
before his labor paid what he cost.
They sold their stock whenever they
could, but emancipation was forbidden
by law,unless the owner gave security
TO maintain the slave and prevent him
from becoming a public charge. To
evade this law, those who had old or
infrm negroes encouraged them to
bring suits for their freedom, and then
by sham demurrers, or other collusive
arrangements, got judgments against
themselves that tho negroes were free
and always had been. Females likely
to increase the stock were advertised
to be sold "for that fault alone"
Young ones, because they were not
worth raising, were given away like
puppies Of superabundant litter. In
this way domestic slavery by degrees
got loose in practice, simply because 1t
would not pay--but the principle on
which one man may own another
whom he suddues by superior strength
or cunning was never abandoned, re.
pudiated or denied. That principle
was cherished, preserved and trans.
mitted to you, their initiative and
loving disciples, and you have applied
it wherever you could as tyrannically
as they did.
You say that "war without an idea
is simply brutality" submit to your
Judgment, as Christian man, whether
war is redeemed of its brutality by
such ideas as you and your political
associates entertain OF it's purposes,
objects and consequences. In all your
acts and measures, and by all your
speeches and discussions, you express
the idea that the logic of blows proves
everything you choose to assert that
a successful invasion of one people by
another has the effect of destroying all
natural right to, and oil legal guaran.
tees for the life, liberty aud property
of all the people 80 invaded and con.
querod that after trial by battle the
victor may enter up and execute what
judgment he pleases against his ad-
versary that the crime which weak
community are guilty of when they
attempt to defend their lives, their
property and their families against in.
vaders who come upon them TO kill,
destroy and subjugatc them, Is so un.
pardonable that the whole body of the
offenders, taken collectively, and all
;ndividuala who partakc avon naeaivelv