The National Government Must Abolish Slavery: For The Signal...

Messrs. Edjtors;- The Liberty party cannot accempHsh, by their political power, the entire abolition of slavery in the United States, without an amendment to the Constitution tliat shüll prohibit the cxistence of slavery in any of the statcs. It is nof pretended by nny, (or at most but by very Few), that under the present Constitution the Liberty patty, witb the entire control of the General Government, cnuld abolish slnvery wit hin the limita of the original Stotes; wliile it is admitted by all that the Constitution requirea the government of the United States lo suppreES insnrrcelions n any of the Saté?. To set this matter in üb true lighf, let us 6uppo.e 'hat the Gévernment of th8 United States shall abolish slavery inthe District, in Florida, and in all the new slaveholding Staten, and the inter State slave trade, by Land and Sen; then skvery wili slill rema in in the oJd slaveholdittg States, as completely out of the power of the Government as if these States had never belonged to the Union. The power of the United States Government is now expended, and six slaveholding States rernüin, in whicb frora 1,000,000 io 3,000,000 persons may be kept in lavery for any Jength of time, with the whole power of the United States pledged to quell ny insurrection íh which the s'aves shall endcavor to obtain their liberty. Thus jt is plain that if the Liberty party tvere to come irnmediately into power and do every thing fhat they claim the ri;!it to (]o under the Constitution,they wonld be unde: the slavehoiders com mand, and obliged to go at his cali, and assist him in öuppressing the liberty of his slave3; the Government would be then, as it is now, & tooi within hia power to be used by him vhenever necessily might require it. I know it is belioved by many that if the trade between the States ia prohibitcd, the Northern slaveholding States wil! become overburdened with the number of their slaves, and be obliged to emancípate; but thispoöed inobility to maintaia a dense skve pop ulation fn these States is an unsafe dependence for emancipation. ii doea not appear that there is great difficulty in slaven to work; and consequent Iy all that is necessary to support a deDse populaüon of slaves i& to direct their labor with ekill, to useful and profitable eroployment. Knowledge, skill, judgment and discretion are neceesary acquirementa of the owners and managers of claves, to ronder their labor profitable; with these acqnirements I have no doubt that the barren and worn out lands of Virginia, MaryJand, aud the Carolinas, might be renovated, and tx comoratively dense population euppor'ed even by 6lave labor. Thinking men can readily perceivc that the slavebolders miglit yield to the Government of the United Stateg every thing that the Liberty party itself would claim, and then shield themselvcs under the protection of the very power that opposed them, and maintain slave ry without the least difficulty. The matter wouJd then be set'.Ied, the Governmefit would have token from ihem every privilege thatmey cjaimea a ngm to taue, and they would have ampie power left to maintain elavery by State Jaws, and the guarantee uf the protection of the United States Government in cases of insurretion. Under ihis 6tate of thinjrs, elavery rnight exist for centurics, and could not be abolished by all the political power of all the non-plaveholding Stetes under the present Constitution. Then oneof two things must be done by the Liberty Partyj they must limit their political efforls to the aboütion of slavery in those parts of the country where Uie Government of the United Statee haa con9titutional powers lo abolish it and depend on moral suasion to raise up an antislavery political party in each of the eiave holding States that will abolieh slavery by State Legislatioji; or they must unite their own legitímate political powers, and make the necessary amendment lo the Consiïlulion of the U:;iied States. There are many reasons why the latter course should be puríued,some of which are (he folio wing: 1. Slavery can. be abolished in this way,wlien three fourthe of the States are opposec to i', vvliile i the ether wcyit cannot bc abüiithed until all the States are opposcd to 4fcii.iiiiii" ■'' 2. It is much easior to "Induce four of the slaveholding States in addition to the fretStates, to assent to nn amendment of tlit ConttilütÍ0D, tima to induce thirleen States to abolish Blavery by Lpjrislation. 3. The field of our efforts will bo conflncd to much less territory, lh:in by to moral -auasionize the vhule of the Southern State?. 4. ff we sPnd our Lectnrers to the Southern slave StateSjthey vvili b 1 -nched and hunguliercas Sf vve confine our efforts to the freo and Northern slaveholding Stale?, no sach dif ficuities wil] arise. 5. Theicis much more certainty ofsuccess in abolitionizing fourslaveholding States tlian tbirfeen in the saine time. 6. It will prevent our opponenls from con stantly saying as they do, "you cannot abolish slavery after you acquire all ihe power of the Government.' 7. If Texas shon!d be annexed and ndmi'tec as a slaveholdincr State, eeveral new States might be filled witli slaves the slow process of abolishing slnvery in ono state at at a tiníe, while this process will do the work at once. o. This conrse s mote tangible and simple aud certain in ts operation. than any othet course that can be pursued by the Liberty Party, and will be so regarded by the slaveholders; thcy will dread it more than all that has vet been done. 9. The promulgation by the Liberty Party of their determ'nalion to obtain an amendment to the Constitution that will abolish elavery at once throughout the whole coantry, will, in the present state of the public feeiing, cany with it the conviclion that they will succeed, and prepare the public mind for the re.ult.