Press enter after choosing selection

Liberty Address: To The Freemen And Voters Of The Tenth Cong...

Liberty Address: To The Freemen And Voters Of The Tenth Cong... image
Parent Issue
Day
30
Month
June
Year
1845
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

FüLLOW ClTlZK.NS: - It beco'nes our duty, and we deem ir n privilege, to nddres3 you upon tlic Pnncipl&nndñm of the Iiberty Party, nnd lipón he measures by which ve hope to attain lliese objeci.--. ín doing Ibis we will Hof nt-j tempt to conceul (Voin oursekes or yon tlie ; iact tliut we liave a musí ard.ious undertakinjr. for we are toell aware tliat when we atiempt. j no nmtter for hmv eogíint reasons, to euakr lite tiee and brtnk uvvuy frotn nll previous politicai qpn.ñéxioni-', t tear asmuler ihose cliords tlial have, from infuncy almo.t, bound U8 to oiiü or the otber of tliu greát jiolitlcéi parlies of thu duy, by sympathy, :imhc, unJ prrjndice, ovir tnk a almost líeiculeati. Bul ndopting tlie motto tliat truth is mrglUy jind wil! prevail, we fcarles=ly go íorward in a tluty which every principie of patriot itm, j ticcand true domocracy Iiuí devolved upqp up.Wc ask no pardon, we inftka no apology for tiius clnitiiing your alteiition. A more important subject caniiot occopy ii . ís tle pulity of our GDverument, the continunnce uf its republicati form, ilie spread of Ihose gloiiout j principies upo'i whicli i', is lounded, our nitional prospcfi.y, any iiun; to you? The listen, fur oiiriit)jct c;nceri)e them u!l. We hold tiiid 10 lie u self-evident trutli, American ciiizens have a riglit to act poliiically, pgpn any and every subject, restrained only by their own setiíe of what is meet und lit for sncli aciion. To deny this, is to set j over tlmt fountaiti of all power in our land, tliejieople, n power slill higlier, whicli shoukl n'gtilate ihut founlain, and guide 'he currenls proceedinsr Trom it, to miike tlie Sovereigr) tne Hubjfíct. To dony this is to pi-il uut the foundation tono of our hcauliful republicun edilíce. Takitij: this right tlie us concei ed, we procecd. . Where a queslion comes up for our conBideralion, mvolving lite hnppine.8 of our nalinn, nltliough in a iiinor poiii! of view, we considur it iwppdieiit 10 exercite tliat right, and do so bv custing our vote uud onr indu - Bride npon one side or the other of tliaí. queslion. Bu; if thiñ minor queátion chunge lis pha6e, nnd becomes the all absorbing questio:i of Üic day,involvng iu its decisión, the present and future welfare of milüons of our felknv citizens, and the OJííátentíe of Governmonl ileclf; tben the expediency of act.on becomes lost; and the dvly of such aciion presses with overwhelmin force upon all; avoid it wc cannot; evetyvvhere it meets us, nnd act we munt. Tlut qiiestion is now, we 1 elicve, be fore you, and is, "Slml Slavery continue to exibt and rule in our land?" It is needless for us to nsisf, to those w hom we oro now addressing, tliat Slavery is a moral ev"il; the time is past, wherein the contrary opinión among you could obiaio u lodgihent. Even those who are po'tffThg out the vials of their wrath upon the Liberty mhn's devoted head, are cureful iu tihnott every breath to assurc you they are "Antislavery men." Why so? Bccuuse even to iheir benutnbed consciences, the enormities of Slavery are too gross, too apparent to be uphelr?. And felluw citizens, we rejoice to see, thai recently, at least one of the oíd parties has becon.eso far convinced that tliis is and must be the greai, the absorbing question in our fu ture poütical career, that pfforts are making, nnd great concebsiotis to our prinriphs ssiltnitted to fur the ptifposé of drawing in onr voters to the mpport ó'F thfiir rotten cause. - Witnops the lener of L,. G. Thompson, Ksqr. of 7th Muy 'íiyt, in whicli liestrongiy teorobates the Internat Slqve 'Tradf, tkc Jhiacxationof Ttxus, and uvows the power ofCongress to abolish Slavery in the Federal District, nnd pledgcs hunself to ue any power or vote he may have for the nboüiion of the InternalSlave Trade, Slavery in Columbia District, and to opposethe Annexation of Texas. Fellov citizens, all this U well and wo are rejoieed, that so aoon, even in 1L15, a Whig candidate is forced, no matter frotn what motive, (and we are to concedo froii the best of motivesj to adopt eo mnch Liberty sentiment. But you will perceive by ex.amiumg bis letter that it is written in answer to certain questions propounded to him (we wiH not now 6top to discusa the questionable wisdom or propriety of such questione,) by certnin professed Libcrlj' men, one of which (jueetions is, "are you in favoi of theelevation of elavcholders to office?' To this most vital question, Mr. Tlioiinson bae vouchenfed uo answer whatevcr, and it raus', bc obuoxious ata glancethut Mi. T., supposing hini tobe elected to Congress, for which station he is now in nninináUon, may honestly corry out ond fulfil all tlje pledges lie has mode, and jet acting the oíd principies of the Whig party, elect a Slavcholder president of the U. States, who will veto ony net of Congress, no matter by what unanimily short of a twothirdu majority it may be passed, to carry out either of the above measures - nay, wbo will fill (lie federal offices, such ns the jtidgéfl üf the United States courts, the Cabinet, the fnreign Ministers, Charges and Consuls, the Military nud Naval departments, with Sloveholders and ilipir opologists. We would aek thoinin all candor, wbalas u practical matter, is the effect of these concession, without gonr a step furiher. Precise'y nnthing nt all. f we are akd why we are strenuous against the chvalion of Slaveholders to office, we reply in adaition to the reasone above expressed, l. That every principie of American Slavery i.s at war with the golden rule - "all things whatsoever ye would that men should do unto yon, do ye even so to them." L. It is at war with republicanism. 3. It is at war vilh truc Democracy. 4. It is at war with our profession. Can ve coneistently vote for men for office that thus deliberatcly trample in ilie dust all thrse principies ofrightand righteousnebs? Can we consistently elect to office tho vileHt practical deepot undor the wiü? But let os examine the cffects of slavery a linie niore in detail, in its hearings upon our moral, political and social interest?, and charactors. Wc aro apt to look upon the enormities, tho cruelties of American Slavery. as things which mayand may not belong to it - asOcrc&enctb nptirí the body, which stricken awny, would - 1 i 1 1 leavu it iinhurt and w hole, bul such is not ■he cui-e, they are inseparable. Tne oruelty, the enormity, ihe wickednesq lie in the principie, al Uie foundation. The man is made property, the deed s done: blovp, sliipes (etters and chains, are but additional drops in the cup of rniseiy already full. That God who li-is framed ilio eternal íaivs of truth, has mide all tho all virtues mutually sustoin one unother. He has so imerwovcn and 111tertwined them, that to tuke away a componenl part must weaken all. The standard about which they eniwine, and which supports them is Justice - having inscribed upon it, "Jus suvs cvique tribuendi''-tilhe giving 10 each onc lus owü rigiit." Slavery strelen es out its polliited hand, and lears away this standaid: as well expect wlien thesturdy oak s fellod to the eurth, that the beautiful ivy wiiich clung to 11 for support, will still lift in inid air, lts drooping In ad, and benr finnly up oeforo the blast, ca that vvbgn Juotice is tramplei under font, theother virlties shall remam (it)injured. Would to G.jd ihat this conclusión of our roason was not tustained by facts, but po il is not: no one in the least ac, quainled with soutijcrn society can deny thal every violent pas.sion, every base desire, every criminul indulgcnce s paudered to by this "Putnarchal Insli'ution." Look at thedisreirard of human lifa which every where in liie slavc laúd i.s rife, and is even blrptching over our poriion of the country its gloutnv, death deuling .shadow. "Wc long lo &ee the dny," saiil üie Governor of Kentucky, in his message o the Icgislature of 13S7, ♦'vvhen the law will ussert its majtí.-ty. and stop the waiuon destruc ion of life, which alrnost daily occurs withi.) the juriisdiclion of this Comntonwcalth. Men slaughier eich other with perfect impu nily. A species of cominon law has grown up in Kenlucky, which were il written down, would, in all civilized countries cause her 10 be rechrisienod 111 deribion the Lnnd of Blood." Siiy.s Judge Cunonrre, in an address, at the opening of the Crimiuul Court in New Or l:ni)f, Nov. 4, 18S7, "Asa Louisianian Parent, I reflecL with terror that our beloved children reared to become honorable and beloved citizens, m.iy be the victims of ihese volaries of vite and licentiousncss. Without some powerful ai.d certain renicdy, our etreets will become birtcheriesj overilovvmg with the blood of our citizens." Pages inight be fdled wilh such quotations as the above, bul why detuin you with them when almost every newspaper is fllled with tales of mur.ler and violence? Your daily dish. es of new8 are garniahed with these boquets of ihedevil. Why is thi?, do you ask? Because in&n 'ö but property, and bones and mímeles, and bluod are weighcd out at so inuch per pound. The following will illustrate the bearing of slavery upon a nother point of morality. Be- longing lo a certain Presbyterian church in Kentucky were a slaveholder and Ifuj two slaves, a husband and wife. The husband, by the commund oí' thu master, was teiuoved to üiiDihcr plantation 100 miles distant. - Tliere he níso united wilh the church andtnarried again. In the courto of a few yenrs, the slave with his new wife, was recalied by the muller to ihe former plantution, and wilh tequiar letters was admitted to the former clnirch. The fïrst wife complained to the church who decided, and their decisión was confirmad by the Presbytery, that a removal toa' plantation 1Ü0 miles distant, was equiva lent to death, and ut an end to the marriage contract. The same decisión was also made by the Supreme Court of Kentucky upon an indictment against the 6lave for a dultery. What more terrible comment upon the moral influence of Slavery can you ak? - Pour out your indignalion, not upon those who made this decisión, but upon that state of society which has made such n decisión necessary. Of the universal practical amalgamation, which prevails at the Soulh, wo say not hing. Your ears are already paiocd and eick "wilh every days report of wrong and outrage." This, Ft'llow Citcns, is tbc institution which is held np ío you asa Putriarchul Inslilulion.' Oh spcak it not loudly lestham hear it, and upo tlie tearless plains of Heaven, weep for the prostitution of the worde. Hitlierto we have spoke of Slavery only in a moral point of view; and y et why need we say tliis? The evils abuve mcntioned ore PoI'UíchI ovils of the direst magnitude. We de ny the diátinction so ofien made between moral ond political evilö. Point us, we aik you, to an oilènce ogainst the great moral law of the universe, which does not at the same time aim a blow at the slabilily ofevery good Government. But the Liberty party rests not the propriety of their political oction upon this ground alone, though they beheve it sufficiently broad and sure to abide the test of the severest sciutiny, ond we now turn lo that división of oor subjectwhich mny be considered political. Ilere wc shrink back appalled at he task beforo us. Wliere 6hall we bogin, or whero end, in the enumeración of the dungerous influenceu of Slavery upon our free "nstitutions. Into tlie private caucus, into the Ballot box, iiito the Legislative Hall, into the Cabinet chrmber, into the Presdential Chair, and under the judicial Ermine, have they crept, and theresu nestled in their filth. We ask you to consider the folio wing facts: lst. The ignorance which Slavery enloila upon those witliin is influence. The last census shows thal of the free white populaiion jver 20 years of age, in tho Free Slates, one out of every 106 cannot read, in t!ie Slave States l out of every 17Ü Governor Clarke of Kentucky, in hia Alessage of 1837, say6: "By the computation of those moát familiar with the subject, one lliird of the ndult popolation of the State are unable to write their Biiies. Dut a short time ago, the Hon. Mr. Wise, from his sent in Congress, announced in a une ot' rejoicing, that not a single newspaper waa published in lis district,'1 and that one of the oldest districts in the Union. We nu longer wonder at Ihe gentleman' s election. The slavetolding oristocracy of tlie South know that knowledge is power, and therefore ihey desire in every way to repress education, not only among the elnves but among ile non-slaveholding whites. Have we of tho Norlh, fellow citizens, as sustainers of its free institutions any too much virtue, intelligence and educaliou? lfnot, what have they of the Soutii? 2. The influence of slavery upon ihe pros- pent y and enterprise of the South. Reason teacher us, tlmt, in the words of the celebrated Montesquieu , '"Even the Earth itself, vvhich teems with prifusion under thecultivating hand oif the free bom laborer, would shrink m'.u barrenness from the contaminaling sweat of a Slave," and reason's voice is cchoed ond re echoed, by every mountain and forest, every village nnd hamlet of the South. Mr. Clowney of Soutii Carolina, thus speaks upon the Hoor of Congress: "Look at South Carolina now,with houses deserted and faliing ro decay, her once fruit ful fieldts worn out and abandoned for want of timely improvement and ekilful cullivation, nnd her nnllions of ucres of inexliaustible lande, slill promising au ahundant harvest to the industrious husband man, lying idle and neglected." Senator Prestol' from t!ic same State, strikes a similar note n the dolelul minor key: Ilere (at ihe South) the face ofthe country wears the aspect of premature oíd age, nnd dezay. - No improvement is seen going od. Nothing is clone for posterify.1' "In Virginia the finger of desolntion is heekoning the Fox and the Wolf to those liiirs from which the hand of cultivation drove ihem more than a century since. How is it as to inercose of population? In 1790, Virginia and New York starled in the race for naiionol grentness, the former with a population of 749,303, the latler 344,120. In half a century's trial how do they stand1 Virginia boasls of ,34,894; New York 2,423.921!!! Why is Virginia thus distanced? The clog that has stuid the marrh of her people, the incubus, thut hr.s we'ghed down her enterprise, ptrangled her commerce, kept senled her exhaustlefö fountains of universal wealth and paralized her aits, nianfuctures, and improvement is negro slavery. Thomas F. Marshall of Ky., compared Kentucky and Ohio. In 1790 Kentucky had a free population of 61,227. Ohio was a wil derness. In 1840, Kentucky had a Cree and ilave population of 779,828; Ohio, 1,510,407 Freemenü! Why is this difierence? One of Kenlucky's own 6ons, in o short but significant sentence, proclaimed the reoson - "Ohio is a Free State: Kentucky is a Slave Slate." That State or Nation which sustaining or cherishing slavery, woold prosper, must tirst put forth its lynchiug hand, hurl the Kmg f Heoven, the Lawgivcr of the universo from his throne, and abrógate the eteraal rules of cause and effect. 3. The uttcr weakness of tbe Slave States. In this wc include noi the danger arising from Slave insurrectiorife, very greut thougb it be. For so long as Southern tyranny is snpported by Northern bavonets, wielded by Northern Freemen, it is hardly possible for a successfuj rising to tnke place, even llmugh our arres were blunted by tho though t that, "he is thrice urmed that hath his quarreljust." We only refer to the cuso of foreign invasión. - Who does not see the South lies at the mercy of any respectable force which shuuld choose to land on its shores Sc procfnim "Liberty to the cnptive," nnd especiallv if Ihat force should be accompanied by black regiments. The following extract from the secret journal of the continental Congreso speaks volumes. "Morcli 20, 1779. The Cnmmiltoo nppointed to take nlo considenuion the circtimstances ofthe Southern Suu-v, jiud tlie ways and menns for their safety and tlolcnce, re port, That the State of South Carolina, as represented by the delégate oK said State, and by Col. Huger, who luis come hilhor at the request of the Governor of said Slote on purpoee to explaiathc circumstances thereof, is unable to makc any cflec'.ual cflbr'.e. wiih -.1Mililia, by reason of the great proporlion of citize:is necessary to remnin at home, to prevent, iusurrection nmong the negroes, uncí prevent the desertion of' thcni lo th enemy. Thot ihe State of the country and the great numbers of tliose people among thein, expone the nliabitants lo great donyer iroin the endeavors of thn eneniy to excite Uien to revolt or desert. Vol'. 1. Page 100." Is that danger lessened any now, when from being 33000 lcss than the VVhiles, those people have increased to C5,450 more? If 60, iow long must ihcy continue to increase ere there will be perfect security. Hear what the Honorable A. P. Upshor, Secretory of the Navy, in lus anmiul rcpurl for 1841, sDea!cin;r ,f 0 war bet ween the Unied Suites, and any considerable utaratine power, saye: 'The firat blow would be sUuck at us through our own institutions.- . An enemy so dispo.-ed and free to land on ony jart of our soil, which might promise success o 1)13 enierprise, would be armed with four fold power of annoyunce." We need say nu more on this point. The vrhifiet weakness of ho South is as apparent aa their bluslering )arking. But it may bo nsked, what is the ignorance, the desolaiion or the weakness, of the South to us? We answer, in the words of Madison, upon the floor of Congress, May 17th, 1789, "It isa' necessary duty of the General Government, to protect every part of the empire, against danger, as well internal as external. Everythingtherefore. which tends to increase the danger, though il may be a local affair, yet if it involves National expense or safety, it becomes of concern to every part of the Union, and is a proper subject lor the consideraron of those charsed with the general administration of the Government." 4th, the controlling power which Slavery has ever exerted over our Government. lst. Through the ratio of Federal Representatie], by the Constitution of the United States, we have stipulated, that our Congressional Representad ves shall be nppointed equally among the Statesaccording lo their free population, providcd that five slaves shall be considered equal to three freemen; or in other words.acitizen of the South holding five slaves shal] have power equal to four Northern freemen. Look at the practical operation ol this. The South with a free population of 3,823,398, have had during the last lü years 100 Represent;.üves in Congress. The North with a free population of nearly doublé, (7,003,451,) have only 142. Thus giving to Slavery 25 members more than lts equal proportion Twenty-jive Representati ves upon the Hoor of Congress, whose only constituents are dollars and cents. 2nd. In the Presidential Canvass, the Electoral vote being equal to the number of Senators and Representatives in Congress, of each State, a moment's glance will convince you of the immense power beyond its due proportion which Slavery wields in this department of our Government. The States of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, pol led at the Presidentiul election in 1S40, 447,585, and cast 89 Electoral votes, while the State of New York alone, casting 448,331 votes, only had 42 Electors!!! Michigan, with 50,000 votes has only 5 Electors, while South Carolina, with only 25,000 volers, has 9 Electors. When we reflect in connection with these facts, that !he South upon every question which, in the remotest mnnner, affectsits peculiar institutions, stands firm, and united, and that a united minority can ahvays govern a diviJed majority, we cease to wonder at the controlling infiuence which Slavery has exerted over U9. 3d. Our Lcgislation has' ever been the sport of slaveholding caprice. The free Labor of the North, and the slave Labor of ihe South, are, and ever must be, in direct opposition in As the one goes up, the other goes down, and we cannot blame Southern men for using their best endeavors, for the proteciion oflheirowu interest. We only blame the freemen of the North, who, with the power in thoir hands, havo suilered ihemselves to be hoodwinkod and blindod, and to play cat's paw for ihe Southern monkey. TarifTs have beon made nnd altered, and repealed, nnd unmade, and realtered and re-iepealed ta suit Southern Interest. - Twice has a United States Bank been pulled inlo existence, and when the South becamesomuch indebted to it that paying it was impossible, the Legislative wand. guided by Constituüonal scruples, ha.s swept both debtor ana creditor into nonexistence. Practical knowlcdge has given way to theory, and the experience of years to fancilul imaginings of Southern brains, vacillation, personified bas held the helm, while every wind of heavcn has by turns filled oursails. 4th. Slavery conlrols theofiicersof our nntioi. The Presidential Chair bas been íilled 4G out'of 58 years by slaveholders, nnd 4 out of tb.o remaining years by a Northern man with Southern principies,thus plf.cing in slaveholding hands tlio power of (ippointing all Heads of Depart ment, Judges, Foreign Ministers, Military and Naval Offieers, District Attorneys, U. S. Marshal, Post Masters, and the thousanJ minor offices of the nation. And lov has this power been exercissd? inthevariousdepartmentstheNorth : iiave had the control 22 years, the South 35. Of the last 12 Judges of the I preme Court,10 have been from the South, c 2 from the North. Do you wonder that Judicial Decisions aretainted with ' ry - that the right oC trial by Jury, is ' lied to the poor wandering lugitive from z Southern Happiness? Of the 30 foreign ninisters last appointed, the South have ïad 27, the North 3Ü! Consuls, 18 from he South, to 5 from the Norlh, Chief offi:ers of the army,28 Southern, to 8 Northïrn, while of common soldiers since the Revolution, the North have furnished L,422,465, and tho South, 283,733; of ibe 52 Chief Naval officers last appointed, 17 have been from the South, and 5 from ihe North. And here a passing remark Jpon the Navy claims our attention. - Are you, freemen of tho North, aware that by the law of the land, a common sailor in our Navy, can never arise to a commissioned office? That whalever thcir merit, their knowledge, or theirskill, they mast always remain at the beek and nod of a Midshipman? Yet such is ihe fact. Why is this? Ah, were it not so, the hardy intelligent Tars of New England would drive from the quarter-deck, the proud scions of Southern aristocracy, and then how should those be provided fcr vho cannot dig, "and to beg are ashamedü" If any confirmation of this is needed, it may be found in the list of Naval officers. Of 738 Lieutenants, passed Midshipmen, and Midshipmen now in service, Massachusetts has 40, Virginia, 128, Maryland 59!! Of 32 Midshipmen appointed in the early part of 1842, not one is from afree State!!! Are the South as monopolizing in regard to sailors? Virginia furnishes 560, Maryland 383, Massachusetts 5,150. Néxt tothe Presidential office, the most important one in our Government is the the Speakership of the House of Representatives. Holding in his hand the power of construclingall the comrnittees, he exeris an untóla influence over the legislation of our country. Is a committee like to have under its consideration, subjects inolving in any wise, the Peculiar interests of the South, and opposed to the Peculiar interest of the North? The chairman ancj a majorily of such committee must be Southern men. IIow is this efFected? The records of that body tells us since theyear 1811, a slaveholder has filled that office all but 'J years: it is by this means that your eflbrfs ;o benefit the wheat growing interest have been stifled, while the sugar, cotton and slave business has been fostered and chcrished. It is by the eilbrts of slaveholding diplomatists, under the direction of slaveholding Prestdents.backed up by slaveholding Congressional Committees,appointed by slaveholding Speakers, that the ports of Northern Europe have been shut up to our Wheat, and opened to their Cotton. Lastly, we ask you to look at the cost of Slavery tothe North. It is found upon accurate calculation, that in the State of Massachusetts, with all the facilities Por lnbor which Yankee ingenuity can invent, combined with the most untiring industry, one person by bis labor is able to support two, himself and another, and make an annual addition of 4 per cent, to the capital employed. In the slave ! States there nre about 4,000,000 who are entirely dependent upon slave labor for subsistenee. Only 1,000,000 are engaged in producing - one slave then has to support upon an average 4 persons, and he at the same time destitute of every Facility for sodoing, except the sweat of hts own unpaid toil. Can he do it ? Every severa] grain of nian's cummon sense cries ouf, No! NOÍ! Whcncc then do they draw their support? From you.' AVithin the last ten years you with otlier portions of the North have pnid into the great pauper fund, tlie capital of the U. S. Bank fwned at the North and sunk by Southern stocks, debts and cotton, 21,000,000 In carrving on the Florida wafjth'át great Nrgro Hunt, 40,000,000 In umount paid Southern oiïice holders per year, in ten years, 1,000,000 For the support of the soutb ern Post office whicl runs itself in debt every year $571,000, (while the North mnkes S600,' 000) in ten years past, 5,710,000 In bad debts which havo been lost at the South, by Eastern manufacturera and merchants & ivhieh the North and Westhavelo pay in ii.crensed prices put upon gooda sold tliem to make up losses, 200,000,000 riuis you see you have paid in the last ten yenrs O207,710,000 For the support of slaveholders, averiging per year $26,771,000. This is the pnce, fellow citizens, you ay for slavery. Ah, let us ask you, :an you afford it? Ís toil so sweet to ron, that you will still toil on, for the ■nonster's support? Is the scorn and deision of Kurope's despots so deartoyou, is to bc purchased at such a price? Do jroans, and sighs, and clanking chnins, ind cracking whips make tuch sweet muic in your ears, as to be bought wilb such i sum? Then toil on, and soon will the rediction of your Southern masters be ulfilled, that the laborers of our whole :ountry,bleached or unbleached, must and hall be slaves. It should seem that in view of all these ivils, moral and political, which Slavery s heaping upon us, not one word more leed besaid - thal every Patriot, Philanhropist, and Christian, would as ono man inile to pluck away this cáncer, and yet t is not so. A sleep deeper than that vhich enwraps the grave has brooded over he land, and upon the brink of our Naions tomb, have we been nodding in anciedsecurity. "O that my tongue were n the thunders mouth; then with a passion would I shake the worlil, and rouse from sleep that feil Anatomy." Now the inquiry forcea itself upon us, how shall we rid ourselves of these evils? Not surely by sleeping on. For half a century we have tried this, and the result has been to strengthen an hundred fold the bands of Slavery. Shall we still rely alone on moral suasion? We are not among those who would underrate the power of truth, when clearly presented to the conscience,norof those who would dissuade from the diligent use of this means: but for 12 y ears have we been fighting with these weapons, and we have now come to that point when others must also be used. Shut out from the use of the of the Southern mail, as we in a great measure are, moral suasion reaches not the heart of the slaveholder. and if it did, think you they would consider us much in earnest in opposition to Slavery, while by all the polhical power we possess, we were aiding to place in the hands of slaveholders, the power of Government? The Ballot Box, fellow citizens, is a freeman's weapon, and by the ballot box must Slavery be slain. In the Legislative hal must Liberty 's voice be heard, and Líber ty's vote be cast. The hand of Legislation has scrawlec the infamous label of ckaltcls upon the image of God, and by the hand of Legislation must that label be torn oway. - By the ballot bo.x we can put into the Presidential chair a stern opponent of oppression in every form. Through him the various offices of the nation will be filled with Liberty men, and the influence of our Government at home and abroad be thrown against Slavery. Thebench o our Supreme Court, as fast as its seats became vacant, would be filled with a proper proportion of Northern men, anc thus our judiciary besevored from Slavery 's influence. Through the ballot box a majority of Liberty men may be obtfiined upon the floor of Congress, and with a Vice President favorable to Liberty, Slavery should no longer clank its chains in our Capitol. The banner of the free should no longer float in mockery over cofiles of slaves. We stop not now to argue the power ol Congress over Slavery in the District ol Columbia. It has been too often conceceded by the South, to be now questioned. The internal slave trnde, with all its horrors, would be abolished, and Slavery ctnse to be the Peculiar Institution of our Territories. The free labor of the North should be suitably fosiered, and freemens petilions not contemptuously trampled under foot, but considered and acted upon. In our own State, that provisión of theConstitulion should be blotted out, which makes a mans skin aml rot his mind, the qualification of citzenship. Those cruel and barbarous laws should be swept from our Stahitu Book which impose heavy penahiesupon her peaeeable citizens for e.piüising theecmimon dutiesof hospitality. Fclluw oiti'.ens, the subject is overwhelming, nnd we confess thai we trcmble for our country! Shall we sleep on while wcarc npproaching that great Maclatrom, where the Natiousofíhe JEaríh oneafter another have perished, orshnll we arise in our strength and use all our influence to arrest tho impcncling ruin? We closerour nddress, Fellow Cilizons, with tho encouraging nssurnnce llint our cause is clearly and largely on thre incrouse, in nomber,character and respectability; andaltbough the proslavcrv papers are constantly ringing the charges that wc are dyirrg away, it is a subject ofdeep felicitation that if we are indeed dying out, such glorious numbers yearly attend the política! funeral. And this is the more gratifying, as we may sooner, nay wc are even now in ihe position to say to Annexationists, that if they insist upon persevering in their foul, unconsthutional plot against Anïerican Liberty by Joint Resolution, the day is not dïötant when we can and will repeal, rescind, and unannex. For the same majority which now annexea Texas can constitutionally undo their dark doing, even were they strictly within the admitted powers conferred by the Constitution, and the act perfec:ly wilhin the avowed object of the Constitution. How mucb more when the avowed object is to perpetúate unconstitutionally ihe vilest, foulest inkjuity the sun ever shone upon? Fellow citizens, we invite you all to unite with us in the great and glorious cause oi' Human Righls - in arresting iinpending calamity, and in securing for us and onr posterity those inalienable Rights and Privileges so dcar to us, and in giving o the Southern States of our beloved Union the inestimable blessings of Liberty.

Article

Subjects
Signal of Liberty
Old News