That this bloody threat may not seem to stand alone, I add two others.
In 1836, Mr. Hammond, of South Carolina, now a Senator, is reported as saying in the House of Representatives:—
“I warn the Abolitionists, ignorant, infatuated barbarians as they are, that, if chance shall throw any of them into our hands, he may expect a felon’s death!”[115]
In 1841, Mr. Payne, a Slave-Master from Alabama, in the course of debate in the House of Representatives, alluding to the Abolitionists, among whom he insisted the Postmaster-General ought to be included, declared that
“He would put the brand of Cain upon them,—yes, the mark of Hell; and if they came to the South, he would hang them like dogs.”[116]
And these words were applied to men who simply expressed the recorded sentiments of Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin.
Even during the present session of Congress, I find in the “Congressional Globe” the following interruptions of the eloquent and faithful Representative from Illinois, Mr. Lovejoy, when speaking on Slavery. I do not characterize them, but simply cite the language.
By Mr. Barksdale, of Mississippi:—
“Order that black-hearted scoundrel and nigger-stealing thief to take his seat.”