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For The Signal Of Liberty

For The Signal Of Liberty image For The Signal Of Liberty image
Parent Issue
Day
28
Month
July
Year
1841
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

Pursuant to previous noUce, the friends of independent liberly notninalions assembied at the court house in Jaciison, on tho 17th inst. to make their nominations for ihis counly, for members of the State Legislalurc, and for a county commissioner. S. B. Treadwell, of Jackson, was unanimously called to the chair, and R. B. Rexford, of Napoleon, was clected Vice President. G. W. Clark, of Jackson, was nppointed Secretary, and L. B. Jones, of Grass Lake, aesistant Secretary. m On motion, the Chair appointed R. B. Rexford, Rev. J. N. Prentice, and Josiah Whilraau, Jr., a committee to make out a roll of delégales and organiza ihe convention. When the roll was completed the chair announced that the conventiou was orgunized and ready lor business. The followiug were the list of delégales reported : - Jackson.- S. B. Treadwel!, N. J. Fifield, N. P. Woods, W. R. Fifield, O. H. Fifield, G. VV. Clark, J. D. Cowden, Enock Fifield, Elias Vedder, B. I.Mather, J. Cole, Jr., J. S. Egerton. Leoni. - Wm. J.Iaxon, J. J. Maxon, N. Allen, A. C. Maxon. -llives. - H. Albro,R II. King, A. King, R. D. Hindee, J. M. Connell, J. VV. Cole, H. G. Cole, J. Crownover. Napoleon. - R. B. Rexford, Salmón Marton.Grass Lake. - Ï3aac Tyler, A. IV i tice, L. G. Jones. Columbia.S. S. Lovu, J. H. Burroughs, A. Case, Joseph Wighttna. Concord.- T. C. Gilbert, David Sraalley. Springporl. - J. Whilman, Jr. Ou motion, the chair then appointed a committee consisting of one Trom each town represented, to report ñames o the convention for nomination for candidatos for the ensuing legislnture ofthis State and for a county commissiouer. The fullowing gentlemen were nomina ted this committee: A. King, Rives; R. B. RexfoF4r-Nnpo- leon,J. S. Love, Coiumbin, Josiah VVhitman, Springport; B. I. Mather, Jackson. A. C Holt, Leoni; T. C. Gilbert, Concord. While the committee were retired. the convention was addressed with interest by G. W. Clark, upon the encouraging prospectsofour cause and the great importance of persevering in independent political act i on. The committee now returned and reported the n-.imes of S. B. Treadwell, of Jackson, ThcmasMcGee, of Concord, and R. B. Rexford of Napoleon, as candidatos for the State Legislature, and Rcuben H. King, of Rives, for coun:y commissioner. iOn motion, the report of the committee waá accepted and unanimously adopted by the Convention. After a few brief rcmarks from the candidates present, that they did not feel at Uberty to decline obeying the voice of the convention, they were declared by the Secreta ry to be unanimously nominatcd. On motion, the following series of resolutions were .hen presented to the convention, by S. B. Treadwell, chairman of the central committee for Jackson county - Atter remarks by a number of gentlemen, upon some of the resolutions they were all unammonsly and emphatkally passed by llie convention. Resolved, That it is the bounden duty of all the American people, wisely to a.ssociATEall their lawfo!, moral and political power, speedily to effect what the framers of the Constitution designed should ultimately be effected- the total abolition of slavery in the United States, in order the better"to provide for the common des fence, establish JUST1CE, and form a more perfect union." Resolved, That no community of men have ever tong regarded property in man, the same as pr.-perty in a horse, but that w heaever men have come to their senses on ihe subject of human righls, they have been ashamed of clussing iheir equal fellow man with 'four footed bcasts," and claiming htm as their property, and have torthwith let him go as unconditionally irce as his Creator made him when He endowed htm with an "inalienable right TO LIFE, LIBERTV, AND THE FÜRSUIT OP HAPPINE8S." Resolved, that it is self evident that slavery contravenes every principie of common law, oommon honesty, and common hurnanity, and can, in no case, be sanctioned, unless the exercise of the heighth of unjust, despotic, and absolute power by one man overanother, is justifiabie. Resolved, That if we had a right to buy and sell our innocent fellow men, and 10 harnes3 them and drive them before our carriages like beasts of burden, because we had power to do so, (which idea is abhorrent to every principie of our common nature.) The Slavsry in these Uuited States, a great engine ofpoLmcAL power, (voting as it does for all its slave property' vvould still be the most fearful source ot dooger in this country to every thing which a librety-loving people profess to hold dear. Resolved, That American Slavery con fiidered in its commercial, pecuniary, political as well as moral nfluence upon our national liberties, prosperity and honor not to say our national existence, mo6t m periously demands of the American people ihe immediate, wise and associated exercise of all their moral, and all their comtitutional political power for its spee dy and total overthrow. Resolved, That if the odious corn laws of Englandj (so rigidly supported by Eng liih noblemen and Americnn slockhold ers,) were at once repealed, and the indo lent, dishonest slaveholders of the South would first pay the people of the North the hundreds of millions they'honestly owe them, and then quit their human piracj and robbery, and go to work like the Northern people, every Bank in our country, even down to the red dog, raccoon am wild cats of Michigan, might soon be abundantly able (if they would) to redeem in specie, their present comparative worth less paper, and the industrious husbandmen might also again receive an ampie equivalent for all his hard earned products of ihe earth- the just reward of the sweat of his brow. Resolved, That we regard with fear anc alarm the fact that the body of our belovec fellow countrymen, as yet,a?peartosee no more danger to their liberties from the overwhelming slave power in this naiion than the Egyptians.the Assyrians, theT,ro jans.the Athenians, the Carthaginians, the Babylonians, the Macedonians, the Ro mans, the Swiss, the Batavians, and numerous other people, saw cause of alarm for the safety of their fancied liberties when the ron yoke of despotism, meanvvhile was firmly faslening upon thejr bowed and degraded necks. Resolved, That whether the slaveholders in this nation, while their despotic hands unyieldingly hold the reigns of this Government, shall consent to have a national bank, a national sub-treasury, or any other sysiem of national finance, they wilt be sure to hold the key and, at their pleasare, Iock and unlock its northern treasures, to support their usual indolence, extravagance, and dissipation. Resolved, That the policy of the indolent slaveholding drones of the South in order to riot unmolested in the honey, galh ered principully by the industrious bees of Ihe north, has ever been, to bind up togethcr and equalizo northern with southerii credit by some system of national finance of their own choosing and that they have ever adhered to such systems, till their own extravagance and Bankruptcy have ruined these systems. Resolved, That there never was a greater and more dangerous delusion practised upon an abused and deceivied peopie (han the one that the elavery óf the eouth contributes in any sense to the cred t benefit or prosperity of the north. Resolved, That we regard the 250000 slaveholders in the nation as so many, 'sturdy paupera who by their doing no rind of work but "head work" have thus managed by the help of a few servile norhem tools, and by their unjustly voting for their 3,000,000 of human chattels," o get the government of this nation into heir own despotic hands and by whipping one half of their support literally out of the backs of their outhern black slaves and the other half politically out of the pockets f their northern white slaves, theyi ave thus long dishonestly succeeded in supporting their princely pomp, splendor, extravagance and dissipation, which is eo rapidly nnd certainly,(whateversystem of national finance may be established,) reducing ihe laboring porlionof this nation to a degraded vassalage to a set of slaveholding despots and their no less unprincipled abeltors whether in church or state. Resolved, That a set of indolent and indigent slaveholders mpudently threatening to coromit high treason by leaving (or dissolving) the unión unless they can govern it i all respects to their own liking and interest, is like a lot of town paupers threatening to leave a town unless they can be "clothed in purple and fine linen anH fare sumptuouslj every day." Resolved, That it has ever been the too successful policyof southern slaveholders, to establish from time to time some system of national finance, by which they could supply the great deficiency of their 'peculiar institution" to meet their extravagant support from the availsof northern industry; and as far as they have thus plundered the financial resources of the laboring hard-handed yeornanry of the r.orth, a universal failure ofour financia], institutions have ensued, and bankruptcy and distiess have extensively followed, whcn the slaveholders, (ever changing the policy of the government from bad to worse for the North) have again declared for eome new or renewed system of national finance by which the ruin they had caused, might for a time be forgotton and northern and southern credit for a time, ngain be equalized and bound up together. Resolved, That our principies and our rneasures highly commend themselves ta the best interests of every class of laboring people in our country, and that it is a source of pain and regret to us that we have not the means rapidly to disseminate among this respected class of our feliow ciüzens, the maoy important facts and ar-s guments which would convinco ihern. oC this. Resolved, That the constant rivalship by various methods, among a few national' leaders of both the pro-slavery parties to suppress the full and free discussion of slavery, and the slave power in congress and through the public press, that (he peo, pie may 6ee and understand and act for tbemselves on the subject in the clear light of truth, shows that such leaders are totally unworthy the confidence of a profe?sedly free people, and that they are playing the despot, unwilling to trust the "dear and sovereign people" wilh a full knowledge of their own affaire. Resolved, That the most extraordinary fifteen day's speechifying and manoevreing in the jpte extra congress and the final compromitling to slaveholders, the reception of all petitions not specified in the President's message, professedly for the purpose of gaggijYg down the rising spirit of liberty under the name abolition may well be denominated a Wholesale gao, and is but anoiher striking and fearful evidence, that liberty and slavery in this country as elsewhere, are sworn antagonist and that their warfare with each other has ever been one not of conquest merely, but of utter extermination !! Resolved, That the fully expresed sentiments of many of the leading members of ihe late Congress, and a number of preceding ones, as well as from the repeated recorded votes, it is plain, that the ukimato object of both the pro-slavery parties is, to "kill abolition dead" by terminaiingthe Jast nspiraiions of true liberty in this country (but by entirely different means) - the one by a bold stroke at the right of petition, with the excisión knife itself, the other, with an apparent kindly,butdeadly opiate, by 'respectfuUy' receiving these petitions, (when the crying child can be pacified no longer) mafco a pro-slavery report upon them, by a pro- slavery committee, (the offspring of course of a pro-slavery speaker) and thus earn and receive a richer reward from the oppressor, than any pro-slavery party ever befare received at his hands, being that "well done thou good and faithful servant" enter thou into the fond embrace of slaveholders forever. Resolved, That tkose northern members of congress who recently voted wtfti the slaveholders in favor of the previous question to suppress discussion üprn the slavery question upon the pretext that they had "more important business to attead