they will not admit this enemy of peace to their embrace; that they will esteem it a scorpion; a viper, whose fangs are deadly, and whose breath is pollution. We hope and trust, as we have before remarked, that there are some of the descendants of such men, who, when the battle becomes fiercer, and their aid is required, will not be backward in showing their true colors. We know there are some, and we hope their numbers will be much greater than we can even anticipate, who have not bowed down to this golden calf, and who have not been deceived by the false show that it exhibits to a superficial observer. But, while we would rejoice at the stand made by some individuals at the South, let us not forget that, while they expressed themselves horrified at slavery in the abstract, yet they hugged with extreme pertinacity to the slaves they then held. How to get rid of them, how to lose their property, which they thought they held in slaves, they knew not; or shall we be less charitable, and set it down to their perversity, and say that all the arts and contrivances of which they were capable were put into requisition to secure to themselves the labor of the slave, while they would exhibit to the world a face on which no spot or wrinkle could be found? South Carolina and Georgia wanted laborers: the white man could not work in their fields; and the people of that day could think of no way, by kind treatment, to induce the colored man to come to our shores; and, forsooth, they must permit his forcible introduction, and by all the arts in their power attempt to cover up their meaning, so that it would require deep study to know what was meant by their acts. When men attempt to do wrong, how hard it is to be plain of speech! But was this so ? It might have been with some no doubt it was; and, by their persevering endeavors, they undoubtedly made the Constitution speak a different language than it would have done had the majority been able to have spoken as they wished. The subject in the Confederacy was manifestly out of the control of the people generally; in the Constitution, it was brought within the control of the people of the United States; and, being so, it was made a subject of congratulation, and they rejoiced they could point to a time when they thought slavery would be at an end; but, in the mean time, they seemed to be willing nothing should be done by the general government to disturb the relation of master and slave. They looked to the abrogation of the African slave-trade to put an end to slavery, as is shown by the observations of these gentlemen. But when we find the stopping of the foreign slavetrade has had no influence to destroy this system, but that it is more firmly fixed upon the country, what should be the course we should now pursue, if we mean to make this land a land of liberty? Evidently to take such steps, consistently with right, as will put a stop to its longer continuance ; and the powers of the government, if the States will not do it when asked, should be put to the utmost stretch effectively to secure to every individual his individual rights. This and this only can heal the wounds, so far as our government is concerned, that have been inflicted upon our land, and restore the Constitution to its true and legitimate meaning, and harmony to the different portions of our country. But Mr. Iredell says expressly that the power of congress does not extend to the freeing the slaves then in the country; and perhaps there was then no specific power by which it could be done, excepting under the phrase "the general welfare; " but it must be remembered that amendments were made to that Constitution, which, if the language was not sufficiently plain in the original, the amendments made to it has effectually, and in as distinct language as could be used in such an instrument, secured to every individual his rights. The reason for bringing forward these amendments, or at least some of them, was well understood; and it was well known they meant to apply to the slave, if not by one portion of the country it was by the other; and all the amendments proposed were made to conform, as Mr. Madison expressed it, to one principle, that was of liberty: it would not answer to have two opposing principles " in the same in strument. It is to be remarked, how singular is the idea advanced by Mr. Galloway, and which we often hear expressed at this day: "If we set our slaves free, what shall we do with them?" and we cannot live with them, if free;" as if the slave could not take care of himself, and that there would be more danger and degradation in residing at the South among free colored people than among slaves. It seems to us strange how such notions for this Mr. Galloway seems truly to entertain them could ever enter the human mind. A person can live in contact, and in daily communication, with individuals, if they happen to hold certain relations, without one word of complaint; but, if they happen to hold certain other relations, then they are horrified at the very sight of them. Can this be sincere? We can conceive of nothing that can produce this effect, except that it is thought, by the persons who entertain these sentiments, the negro is a brute, or a savage, and requires the whip to keep him orderly. The general fact, however, that they are men, that they are rational beings, should be enough to refute this charge. Yet we need not depend upon this general considerations, but can refer directly to the experiment in the British West India Islands, as demonstrable proof that the colored man is as teachable, as ready to live in civilized society, as ́any other race on the globe; and consequently, if persons will look into the facts of the case, these fears, if they have been or are now honestly entertained, may no longer be so. The whole of the observations that follow are worthy of special note, particularly as they come from North Carolina. "Mr. Iredell said, I believe the passion for liberty is stronger in America than in any other country in the world here every man is strongly impressed with its importance, and every breast glows with ardor for the preservation of it. Every jealousy, not incompatible with the indispensable principles of government, is to be commended; but these principles must at all events be observed." 1 Mr. Spraight, in answer to a question put, why was the restriction made in-the first clause of the 9th section, — said, "There was a contest between the Northern and Southern States; that the Southern States, whose principal support depended on the labor of slaves, would not consent to the desire of the Northern States to exclude the importation of slaves absolutely; that South Carolina and Georgia insisted on this clause, as they were now in the want of hands to cultivate their lands; that, in the course of twenty years, they would be fully supplied; that the trade would be abolished then; and that, in the mean time, some tax or duty might be laid on. 992 "Mr. McDowall replied, it was just such an explanation as he expected, and by no means satisfactory to him; and that he looked upon it as a very objectionable part of the system." 993 Mr. Iredell rose to express sentiments similar to those of the gentleman from Cravan. "For my part, were it practicable to put an end to the importation of slaves immediately, it would give me the greatest pleasure; for it is certainly a trade utterly inconsistent with the rights of humanity, and under which great cruelties have been exercised. When the entire abolition of slavery takes place, it will be an event that must be pleasing to every 1 Elliot's Reports, vol. iii. p. 93. 2 Idem, vol. iii. p. 96. |