slaves, and of accumulating property through their agency; and that this object and design was kept in view, either among themselves or their descendants, from the time of the first introduction of slavery till the adoption of the Constitution; and that their influence was felt through these successive periods, and manifested itself in the acts of the men who promulgated the Declaration of Independence, who formed the confederation, and, finally, of those who adopted the Constitution. We have seen how that influence has been extended from that time to this, and that by false arguments and false reasonings they have produced the results we now witness.

But that the great body of the people who came to this country, either before the declaration of independence or since, or of those who took a part in the proceedings of the revolution, were men who favored slavery, we think cannot for a moment be admitted. Perhaps it may not be necessary to quote from the principal men of that day, or to go into a long and labored argument to show that they were on the side of freedom, because it would seem like arguing a point that every one admitted, and that it was too plain and palpable on the face of our history to be denied ; and perhaps it may be said it is not denied; but yet, when respectable journals, and men in high authority, say our revolutionary fathers guaranteed slavery to the South, or left it in such a manner, that, while each and all of the different States were bound to suppress, or help suppress, an insurrec

tion that might occur among the slaves, they put it out of their power to say or do any thing against its continuance, or left no way by which it could be brought to an end by the courts, we cannot conceive it in any other light than the admission that, while the men of that day made the strongest professions in favor of liberty, they were, at the same time, preparing the country for the vilest system of bondage; in other words, making them the greatest of hypocrites, a character we do not think they deserve.

It is certainly evident our Pilgrim fathers, with the advice of Robinson, came here to enjoy their civil and religious privileges, and that they did introduce into their government these great principles. Although, in the course of time, many of these principles may have been disregarded, as in the persecution of Roger Williams and the Quakers, and in some of their number holding slaves, yet, after proper discussion, and seeing the bearing to which their actions tended, they gave up the contest; and the apparent result of every trial of this kind fixed deeper, broader, and stronger, in the minds of our fathers the love of liberty; so that no persecution of the same kind has ever taken place a second time. However much individuals might have wished a different order of things, or however much they may have been mistaken in any of their works, no sooner was the result of their actions understood by the general mass, that the great doctrine of general or individual liberty was endangered, than they

at once rallied with all their powers of opposition, and caused the obnoxious measures to cease. The refusing of civil privileges, excepting to church members, was one of these laws; but, as soon as it was found to interfere with individual liberty, it was done away. Penn, with his followers, certainly entertained the same notions, and came here for a similar purpose.

The German population, also, that settled in New York and Pennsylvania, entertained, in a greater or less degree, the same idea: this we think is evident in the attachment which the German population in the State of Pennsylvania still manifest towards what is called the republican party in the United States. Wherever and whenever they become convinced that one party, rather than the other, embodies the republican principle, there they are sure to side; and, in fact, it is appealing to this principle alone, and convincing them that the persons who would obtain office will maintain their sentiments, that any have the most distant hope of success.

1

Mr. Haynes, in a speech made in the senate of the United States, January 21, 1836, said:

The people whom I represent are the descendants of those who brought with them to this country, as the most precious of their possessions, an ardent love of liberty; and, while that shall be preserved, they will

The result of the past election, we cannot but think, was in part caused by appealing to this very principle.

always be found manfully struggling against the consolidation of this government as the worst of evils."

The State of North Carolina was settled for the most part by Quakers, and the people of that State. have been, from the beginning, less attached to slavery, if we can judge from the proceedings of their public bodies, than most of the Southern States. At the time of the formation of the Constitution their delegates received no instructions on the subject of slavery, while those from South Carolina and Georgia did. The delegates from this State were left to act according to their own judgment on the subject, and it may be it was through the influence of the Quakers they were so left.

Now while it may not be questioned that many came to this country as needy adventurers, and for the simple purpose of making money, let the mode of making it be what it might, yet there can be no question but that a great proportion came here, though they may have wished to have bettered their condition, for the purpose of avoiding the tyranny practised in the old world. It was uncomfortable to them, and they wanted to live in a situation where they should not be under so much restraint; and, considering the smallness of the island of Great Britain, it may be presumed that those who came from thence in a great measure sympathized with one another in this thirsting after a greater civil liberty than they there enjoyed; and though they separated far and wide when they arrived on these shores, yet the same

spirit animated them, and the same thoughts filled their breasts. In all their controversies with the mother country, this spirit was ever uppermost : it manifested itself at the time of William and Mary, of Chromwell; and finally it broke out, in its distinctive character, at the time of the revolution. At this time it had gained, if we may so speak, a form and substance. The repeated discussions on the subject throughout the colonies, for a series of years, had matured and brought out the idea in prominent relief. The idea this land should be the land of the free, that this great continent should and ought to be governed by impartial laws, and not by that system of favoritism, tyranny, and misrule, that was so general throughout the kingdoms of Europe, was fully developed. They meant to establish a government of peace and good-will to all men, and where every one might "sit under his own vine and fig-tree without any to molest or make afraid." We find them in all of their proceedings, however much they may have been opposed by individuals, or however often they may have been prevented in so doing, laboring to carry out this idea to its fullest extent; and it is evident that one of the obstacles in the way of obtaining this universal liberty was the trade and traffic in slaves. They felt its injurious effects; and Mr. Jefferson made it one of the grounds of complaint in the draft of the Declaration of Independence-and it was approved by the committee who were appointed to make this draft— that Great Britain should have forced these people