ment of an American Congress? I do not forget Appius Claudius, the tyrant Decemvir of ancient Rome, condemning Virginia as a slave; nor Louis XIV., of France, letting slip the dogs of religious persecution by the revocation of the edict of Nantes; nor Charles I., of England, arousing the patriot-rage of Hampden by the extortion of ship-money; nor the British Parliament, provoking, in our country, spirits kindred to Hampden, by the tyranny of the Stamp Act and the Tea Tax. I would not exaggerate; I wish to keep within bounds; but I think no person can doubt that the condemnation now affixed to all these transactions, and to their authors, must be the lot hereafter of the Fugitive Slave Bill, and of every one, according to the measure of his influence, who gave it his support. Into the immortal catalogue of national crimes this has now passed, drawing after it, by an inexorable necessity, its authors also, and chiefly him, who, as President of the United States, set his name to the Bill, and breathed into it that final breath without which it would have no life. Other Presidents may be forgotten; but the name signed to the Fugitive Slave Bill can never be forgotten. There are depths of infamy, as there are heights of fame. I regret to I regret to say what I must; but truth compels me. Better for him had he never been born! Better far for his mem

ory, and for the good name of his children, had he never been President!

"Surely the love of Freedom cannot have so far cooled among us, the descendants of those opposing the Stamp Act, that we are insensible to the Fugitive Slave Bill. The unconquerable rage of the people in those other days, compelled the Stamp-distributors and inspectors to renounce their offices, and held up to detestation all who dared to speak in favor of the Stamps. And shall we be more tolerant of those who volunteer in favor of this Bill?-more tolerant of the slave-hunter, who, under its safeguard, pursues his prey upon our soil? The Stamp Act could not be executed here! Can the Fugitive Slave Bill?

"And here, sir, let me say, that it becomes me to speak with peculiar caution. It happens to me to sustain an important relation to this Bill. Early in professional life I was designated by the late Mr. Justice Story one of the Commissioners of the Courts of the United States, and though I have not very often exercised the functions of this post, yet my name is still upon the list. As such I am one of those before whom, under the recent Act of Congress, the panting fugitive may be brought for the decision of the question whether he is a freeman or slave. But while it becomes me to speak with caution, I shall not hesitate to speak with

plainness. I cannot forget that I am a man, although I am a Commissioner.

"Did the same spirit which inspired our fathers, inspire the community now, the marshals, and every magistrate who regarded this law as having any constitutional obligation, would resign rather than presume to execute it. This, however, is too much to expect from all at present. But I will not judge them. To their own consciences I leave them. Surely no person of humane feelings, and with any true sense of justice-living in a land 'where bells have tolled to church'-whatever may be the apology of public station, could fail to recoil from such service. For myself, let me say that I can imagine no office, no salary, no consideration, which I would not gladly forego, rather than become in any way an agent in enslaving my brother man. Where for me would be comfort and solace, after such a work? In dreams and in waking hours, in solitude and in the street, in the meditations of the closet, and in the affairs of men, wherever I turned, there my victim would stare me in the face; from the distant rice-fields and cotton-plantations of the South, his cries beneath the vindictive lash, his moans, at the thought of liberty once his, now, alas! ravished from him, would pursue me, telling the tale of his fearful doom, and sounding in my ears, 'Thou art the man!'

"Sir, I will not dishonor this home of the Pilgrims, and of the Revolution, by admitting-nay, I cannot believe that this Bill will be executed here. Individuals among us, as elsewhere, may forget humanity in a fancied loyalty to law; but the public conscience will not allow a man, who has trodden our streets as a freeman, to be dragged away as a slave. By his escape from bondage, he has shown that true manhood, which must grapple to him every honest heart. He may be ignorant, and rude, as he is poor, but he is of true nobility. The Fugitive Slaves of the United States are among the heroes of our age. In sacrificing them to this foul enactment of Congress, we should violate every sentiment of hospitality, every whispering of the heart, every dictate of religion.

"There are many who will never shrink at cost, and notwithstanding all the atrocious penalties of this Bill, from efforts to save a wandering fellowman from bondage; they will offer him the shelter of their houses, and if need be, will protect his liberty by force. But, let me be understood, I counsel no violence. There is another powerstronger than any individual arm-which I invoke; I mean that invincible Public Opinion, inspired by love of God and man, which, without violence or noise, gently as the operations of nature, makes and unmakes laws. Let this opinion be felt in its

Christian might, and the Fugitive Slave Bill will become everywhere upon our soil, a dead letter. No lawyer will aid it by counsel; no citizen will become its agent; it will die of inanition-like a spider beneath an exhausted receiver. Oh! it were well the tidings should spread throughout the land, that here, in Massachusetts, this accursed bill has found no servants. "Sire, I have found in Bayonne honest citizens and brave soldiers only; but not one executioner,' was the reply of the governor of that place to the royal mandate of Charles IX., of France, ordering the massacre of St. Bartholomew.

"But it rests with you, my fellow-citizens, by your works and your words and your example, by your calm determinations and your devoted lives, to do this work. From a humane, just, and religious people, shall spring up a public opinion, to keep perpetual guard over the liberties of all within our borders. Nay, more, like the flaming sword of the cherubim at the gates of Paradise, turning on every side, it shall prevent any Slave-hunter from ever setting foot in this Commonwealth! Elsewhere, he may pursue his human prey; he may employ his congenial blood-hounds, and exult in his successful game. But into Massachusetts he must not come! And yet again I say, I counsel no violence. I would not touch his person. Not