Year: 1862

As preliminary remark here. we would
say that slavery is an evil. 1t is an evil, civ
il, social, NATIONAL moral and religious; an
evil that is vast, giga ntic and unmitigated-
The man who can deny this is mo1o-maniac,
made 50 by his early education, prejudice or
self interest. No would be slave him
self, or have his brother, son or daughter to
be ONE. No matter how incompetent, igno-
rant or shifess that brother, son or d4ughter
might be. Freedom is his birtl-right 1t Is
Gods gift, and before it should be taken away
from friend CT relative of his every man
would say, war to the knife blood to the
knee. Now, no man would himself be a
slgve, npr have relative or friend of his
slave, s. it can not be right to make any other
one a slave. The color of the skin, intrinsic
ally considered, has just as much to do with
this question as the color of the eye, a scar on
the face, or hump on the back All the right
that there is in slavery, ever was or ever can
be, is the right of power, and that right of
power is no more justly exercised by the slave
holders, than the right Of power is justly exer=
cised by the ravisher, highwayman, murderer,
or pirate, But the abscenee Of right is an evil.
/ is evil and only evil; evil at all times, in
all places and in every way. Foley. expedi-
ency, or any thing of that kind in this connec-
tion is only the devils first bait with which he
first catches and then destroys the simple and
wicked.


Now if slavery is an evil, aud evil only we
cannot suppose that it is TO continue always.
We shudder at such an erroneous thought. =
10 Do so would be like supposing that man
could have Il fever burning up his system, and
growing worse and worse, and yet expect that
man can live forever or that he can have a
cancer growing into his very vitals and yet the
system Is never to he worn out by it. The
idea is simply absurd, Cure tie fyver or die from
its effects. Remove the cancer or be tortured.
racked and wasted by its power. Cut short
the existence of slavery or it will cut short our
existence as a nation. This is as sure rs there
are laws in nature, and those laws operate in
dependent Of any will or power of ours.


One of two things must be set down as a
certainty: Slavery must be ended by legal
aud righteous means, or it will end in violence
and blood. Between these and these alone
have VIC to choose. If we discard the former.
we may for certainty not only dread but
anticipate the latter. The present contest is
going to have an influence on this peculiar in-
slitution." 1t has done so already. It bas
rocked and sbivered it as tie tQEna q rocta
and shivers building and yet leaves it stand
ing, and it may be that it will SO injure it that
it will soon tumble down by itself. But sup
pose it should be otherwise. Suppose peace
should be restored to US Ia forlorn hope) and
slavery be left thing that is and all hands


be called upon to patch and plaster, and hold


this thing up as in days gone by: will the ef-
fort succeed? 1t may for time, out it cannot
eternalize the mighty wrong. Nature win not,


in perpetuity, tolerate 'Fuch a grosa violation


of her laws. The corrupting and deteriorating


influence will still be going on with the domi-


nant class. Their habits Of incidence, profit