The above is unblushingly urged upon the people by some portions of the Democracy as being eminently conservative, and, above all, a middle ground, upon which all patriots should be willing to stand or fall for the Union; but as for me I am entirely unable to see that there is any middle ground about it. What can we understand by this proposition? Is it not granting all the South have ever asked? When, and wherein, have they asked more? Could Mr. Yancey himself have made out a stronger document? And yet, we are told that the South are making great concessions when they submit to this measure, and cease to commit treason against the government. In the name of enlightened reason, I ask, could there be a greater insult offered to the free men of this nation, than to demand of them the sanction of the above proposed amendment, and thus engraft it into the Constitution of this government, claiming, as we do, to be the freest government in the world.
Upon an examination of Mr. Crittenden’s proposition, it will be perceived that he irrevocably consigns to slavery all the Territory that we now have, or may hereafter acquire, south of thirty-six degrees and thirty minutes, north latitude, and north of that line he leaves the matter for the people to decide when they come to form a State government. By comparing this measure with the Missouri Compromise, it will be perceived that Mr. Crittenden proposes to leave the northern territory in the same condition that the Missouri Compromise left the territory south of said line.
But let us view this beautiful document of Mr. Crittenden’s a little further, and see how modestly the people of the free States are asked to pay for Sambo whenever he gets it into his head to emigrate northward, provided some one or more of his sable brethren should chance to advise those whose duty it may be to invite Sambo to return to the “Sunny South,” to make tracks with the heels towards the shanty, and allow Sambo to remain where the winters are longer. Yes, we are asked by Mr. C. to pay for Sambo whenever the marshal, whose duty it is to arrest him, is intimidated. This sounds most beautiful. Let the people once agree to this and we would soon have the privilege of paying for hundreds of thousands, I might say millions, of the refractory portion of the slave population, and in order to understand these fully, the consequences of adopting Mr. Crittenden’s amendment, it will be well for us to estimate the probable number of the slave population in the future, as well as their inclination to escape.
It is a well known fact, that if the slave population should increase for the next eighty years as fast as they have for the past eighty years, they will amount to between forty and fifty millions of inhabitants. Now let us imagine that number of slaves, with the natural increase of intelligence, together with a corresponding decrease of the preponderance of African blood in their veins, and it will not take a very strong imaginative individual to perceive that the number of fugitives will increase at a fearful rate, and to such an extent that it would impoverish the whole nation to pay for them. By a careful examination of Mr. Crittenden’s amendment it will be perceived that it provides for recovering the value of the slave, by the United States, of the county in which said violence, INTIMIDATION, or rescue was committed.
Now let us suppose that this should become a part and parcel of the Constitution of the United States, and some one or more of the States should pass laws nullifying said provision, and at the same time demand a revision of the Constitution in such a manner as to annul said clause, as a condition that they would remain in the Union, will our Union-saving friends be willing to meet the case by granting the demand, or will they stand up for the enforcement of the laws and the preservation of the Union? If so, then why not assist in enforcing the laws against South Carolina or any other State that proposes to nullify the Constitution and the laws made in pursuance thereof. Partisan prejudice cannot prevent any person from seeing that if one portion of the people have the right to make a demand for concessions, then any and all other portions are entitled to the exercise of the same right, and where such demands have been complied with in one case, there is no rule whereby they could justly be denied in another. Is there not great danger that by granting the South what they are now demanding, especially since the demand is accompanied with threats of such a grave character, we will establish a precedence that will sap the very principle upon which our government is based? In all Democratic governments it is the duty of every individual to submit to the laws duly enacted by a constitutional majority; and whenever one portion of the people rebel against said laws they become not only traitors to their country but to the very principles upon which self government is founded. In view of this, it is clear to me that to make any concession, under the existing menacing threats, would be to offer a bounty to all future conspirutors against the government, and thus endanger the peace of our country for all time to come. Such being the case, why talk about compromises and concessions. Let us enforce obedience to the present government before we talk of compromises. To treat with men who bid defiance to the supreme law of the land, who are now engaged in open and active treason against the government, would be humiliating to every true American citizen, and a disgrace to us as a nation, besides showing to the world the most positive evidence of our weakness; but on the other hand let firmness and justice be the order of the day, and although war may ensue let the consequences rest with those who are trying to overthrow this great temple of freedom, and we shall outride the threatend storm and transmit to posterity, unimpaired, this sacred legacy, bequeathed to us by our forefathers and sealed by their blood. We will then have shown ourselves worthy of the free institutions we have inherited, and our children’s children will be stimulated by our example to extra exertions to perpetuate and strengthen the bonds that is to preserve this nation in all its destined magnificent grandeur.
In conclusion, let me exhort my fellow-countrymen to stand or fall by our country. Let us not forget that our fathers, as well as we, loved peace and abhorred the calamities of war; and although the most of them have long since “gone to that bourne from which no traveler returns,” yet when they were called to their country’s service, they were surrounded by all the endearing ties which we now enjoy. Many a son received the mother’s last parting blessing, and bid her his last farewell this side of the grave. Husbands bid their wives an affectionate adieu, to meet no more on earth; and many a bitter tear has flown from the weeping eyes of the loved ones in that lonely home, bereft of a father, husband, or brother who has fallen in the deadly struggle for the liberties we have inherited. And should we prove recreant to our trust, the immortal spirits of those noble-hearted, self-sacrificing patriots who fell while struggling with a powerful tyrant in front, and a deadly savage foe in the rear, to gain the freedom of this our beloved country, would rise up from their graves and rebuke us for our low, cringing cowardice. No, my fellow-countrymen, you will not be found wanting for courage—you will not allow this temple of freedom to be destroyed—you will stand by the Constitution and the Union, and prove yourselves worthy of your noble ancestry.
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