Year: 1860

masters in slavery, henoeforth and forever. ItS
la question of the mightiest magnitude. But the
reason why call your Honors' attention to its
IN agni;ude is this that you may contemplate 1t in
the connection in which my learned friend has
presented it: that is as a siE--as violation OF
natural Justice and the law Of God-that it is q
monstrous scheme Of iniquity for defrauding the
laborer Of bis wages of those sins that crieth
aloud daily to heaven for vcngeance--tbat 1t Is
course of unbridled rapine, fraud and plunder, By
which these millions and their posteri,y are to
be opposed throughout all time Now, is it a sini
Is This outrage against divine law and natural
justice If it be such an outage, then, say il
is a sin of the greatest magnitude-of the most
enormous and fagitious character that was ever


presented to the human mind. The man who does


not shrink back from it with horror IS utterly un-


worthy Of the name Of man. 1t is no trivial Of


fence, that may he tolerated with limitations and


qualifications, that we can excuse ourselves ior


supporting because we have made some kind OF


bargain to support it. The tongue of no human


being is capable of depicting its enornity 1t Is


not in the power of the human heart to form just


conception Of its wickedness and cruelty. ana


what | ask is the rational and necessary oonse-
auenoe if we regard it to be thus sinful. thus un-
Just thus outrageous Look at this question as
American citizens as members of this great re-


public-consider it as patriots. l ask you what


ought to be the effect if this system of slavery is


sinful and uni Why, its existence under our


system OF law, supported by our Jurisprudence,


sustained by the fundamental law of the land is q


public and crying reproach against the whole na-


tion. Ought just, enlightened, honest French


man or Englishman to meet shake hands with,


or entertain at his table Of these Southern


Shareholders Certainly not. There would be


no more proprieiy in his doing it than in one OF


our fair countrywomen, Of pure life aud morals,


associating in public with Jne who was the most


unworthy of her sex. There would bo no more


REopriety in it than u one Of your h5nors, associ-
atng with O hghwayman or pickpocket, merely
because in the village OF his residence there was


a bad police or no law to bring him TO justice,


say we arraigu our Southern brethren at the


bar Of human society, totally unfit to associate
with any honest European gentlemen. And
should like to know what have to say about our


own pious selves, here at the North. Our South


ern neighbors have been brought up with this in


s,ituton in their midst having been taught that il
r was Just and proper, they indeed might have the


excuse of 'inyncible ignorance and they might
tolerated.
t and in error,


= But what think you Of the inhabitants of the
. free States, who know it is wicked, who say it is


Nicked, who write upon their statute books, IN


their supreme sovereign capacity, that IL wiokedr


and who yet live under Constitution and oom'
pact by which they agree to support and sustain


it to the full extent of whatever is written in that


COM pact, and who, if any one of these unhappy


victims should escape from the slavery to which


he is consigned and fly hither for shelter, would


seize and return him or at least would permit his


master to come here, seize him and carry him back


into bondage Why, we have no excuse. We


know it is wicked and perncious, if it be SO and
vet we sit down and live under a system of law
4 which compels Its support to this extent; ana
whenever one Of US is elected to public Office he


puts his hand upon the sacred book and pledges
, himself to be in all things faithful to that law and
. to support that constitution Why, say, free


and enlightened European might excuse benign


ted Southerner but il he has sense OF honor,


if he has a sense of justice, if be has due


selfrespect he will turn hisback on The


willfully offending Northern man, asihe vilest


of the vile. The patriot must contem plate


his country as whole, q unit, and him
self as houored in being enrolled among its cit-
zens. Can he be q patriotic American who joins
S in the cry of Exeter Hall against his country's
Constitution who joins with the foreign adversary
in denGuncng it a foul reproach to the name of


humanity, as an outrage against common decency,
thing which exists in defiance of natural juStice
and the law of God ? Why l have only to say,
f initiating the language of Him whose words are


recorded in the Sacred Volume- land / suppose,


in an humble way, we may strive to initiate what,
ever we iud in his example) II say for North
ern friends who have fallen into this fatal delu-
: sion, Father, forgive them, for they know not
8 what they do"


a 1t is all that can be said for them Certainly.
s the sentiment Of patriotism which made the gal
a LIANT Decatur declare that he would "stand by his
country, right or wrong" must be pretty efectus-


lly east out from the bosom Of every American who
It can join in the outcry of the stranger, the rival
# and hater prohouncing the Constitution of his
It country league with iniquty,an instrument which
by it's terms and letter unjusy and cruelty holds


three millions Of human beings, we'll entitl
1 ed to liberty 10 hopeless and intolsra6c bondage
Y said in my opening, that did not see how suy
J. honest man could understandingy believe that
J. gro slavery is thus wicked and unjust and yet
tain in his bosom the sentiment of fidelity 10 this
70 Constitution. now add l see not how any man
Sc can have lively, proper, just solid sentl,
lr mont of patriotism unless it is that patri
8 otism which confines itself to his native village,
40 and shuts out the great and glorious present and
in future of our vast country and join in the outcry
ed against the Constitution Of his country, and
re against the established and existing institutions
ut Of SO large portion OF itas is formed by those
. | IC. lzll IL uha
,s men look to the law of God or to the principles OF
3D. natural reason and Justice whether they look 10
ly the exalted and manly spirit Of patriotism that


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