National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1884-02-11
THEY RETURN TO THE CHARGE.
10 The Editor.

In his answer of the eighth to our article
of the fifth instant, IAN Abolitionist," evil
IDENTIFY friend of Garrison and Phillips does
not claim that those gentlemen were original
abolitionists, and admits that they were
peaceful secessionists" and refused ito recog-
nize the national constitution, vote under
it. pay taxes under it, invoke its protection,
or in any way own allegiance to it," They
charged it with sustaining, favoring, and
protecting slavery. Wendell Phillips pre-
pared n book to prove that the constitution
was "pro-slavery compact" 1t was small
octave of POS pages, and copy of the third
edition of it is lying now on our writing
desk. In this view of the constitution Gar
rison and Phillips agreed with the wing and
democratic parties and were opposed by the
anti-slavery political party known as the
liberty, free soil or republican party. and
also by the original American Anti-Slavery
society.
The position of the society and party Is
fully expressed in the following resolutions of
the Buffalo free soil convention in 1Sis,
forming part of tho platform there adopted (:
Resolved, That our fathers ordained the con-
stiuion Of the United States, in order. amongother
great national objects, to establish justice, promote
the general welfare. and secure the blessings Of lib
eTty, but expressly denied to tho federal govern
ment which they created, all constitutional power
TO deprive any person of life liberty, or property
without due legal process.
Resolved, That in the Judgment of this conyen.
ton, congress has no more power to make n slave
than TO make king; no more power to institute
or establish slavery than to institute or establish
u monarch; no such power can be found among
those specifically conferred By the constitution or
derived by Just implication from them.
The views of Messrs. Phillips and Garrison,
the wings and democrats, were refuted by
Lysander Spooner, of Boston, in his excellent
book entitled The Unconstitutionality of
Slavery" by William Goodell in similar
work, and by sundry other free sellers in
pamphlets. Their views are those of all the
abolltiOnists in the United States except the
very small faction that followed Wright
Foster, Phillips Pilsbury, and Garrison.
We call this faction because of its petty
number. In 1889 the original Massachusetts,
A. S. society declared in a public manifesto
that they doubted whether one-hundredth
part of the members of the society held the
peculiar views Of Mr. Garrison. (See Good
ellis history. page 462) 1t is probable there
were not in 1871 moro than one or two hun
dred non-resistants in all New England.
The members of this faction did their best
to prevent any voting against slavery, not so
much because they were hostile TO the ma
tional constitution, as because they were nom
resistsnts and opposed to all human govern
ments whether civil, family, or ecclesiastical.
They believed that it was sinful to employ
force for any purpose; to resist an injury, TO
punish an insult, to restrain malefactor, to
| whip child. They seriously insisted upon
the abolition Of all forms of force, including
slavery, war, criminal courts, and penal laws,
and as human government could exist by force
| only, 1t should be dispensed with altogether,
and society should depend on the moral power
of love 10 protect IL against rutiians and crimi-
! mails. Hence nOn-resistants could not take
any part in politics. They were speculative
tEanscendental, aud Grating abolitionistSl