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Page 3
These are the questions at issue between the abolition party and the
writer; and these are among the prominent questions discussed in the
following pages. It is true that I have hastily glanced at slavery in
all its bearings, but it was the fell spirit of abolitionism which
first attracted my attention, and induced me to investigate the
subject. It was its revolutionary designs and tendencies, its contempt
of all law, human and Divine, that first impressed my mind with the
necessity of prompt and efficient action on the part of the friends of
our country. It was the unparalleled circulation of Uncle Tom's Cabin
that aroused my fears, and excited in my mind apprehensions of danger.
If such productions as Uncle Tom's Cabin are to give tone to public
sentiment in the North, then assuredly are we in danger. Should Mrs.
Stowe's vile aspersion of southern character, and her loose, reckless
and wicked misrepresentations of the institution of slavery in the
southern States ever become accredited in the northern section of the
Union I fear the consequence. I sometimes survey the condition of my
country with consternation and dismay, and tremble in prospect of what
may yet occur. History records the rise and fall of nations. We read
of revolutions, butcheries, and blood. We have flattered ourselves
that our beloved country for ages to come, and probably forever, is
destined to escape these calamities. But, O God! how mortifying the
reflection that there are now, in our midst, religious fanatics and
political demagogues, who for a little paltry gain or notoriety would
plunge us into all these evils!
I have repeatedly, in the following pages charged the abolition
faction with revolutionary designs and tendencies. Some may doubt the
truth and justice of the charge; but I beg such persons to recollect
that abolition writers and orators have, times without number, avowed
an intention to overthrow this government; but it matters not what
their avowed designs and intentions are, for their lawless and
seditious course leads directly to that result. If they ever succeed
in carrying out their plans and schemes we know that revolution and
disunion will be the consequence. It was remarked by Mr.
Frelinghuysen, of New York, on a certain occasion, that "abolitionists
are seeking to destroy our happy Union." Chancellor Walworth says,
"They are contemplating a violation of the rights of property secured
by the Constitution, and pursuing measures which must lead to civil
war."
The union of these States is based on what has been called the slavery
compromise; and the Union would have never taken place, had not the
right to hold slave property been secured to the slave states, by a
provision in the Federal Constitution. Had not the free states
relinquished all right to interfere with slavery in the slave states,
no union of the slave and free states could ever have taken place. The
right to hold slave property, and to manage, control, and dispose of
that property in their own way, and at their own discretion, was
secured to the slave states by a solemn contract between the slave and
non-slaveholding states, and that contract binds every individual in
this nation, North and South. Slave property then, is held under the
protection of the supreme law of the nation, and any citizen invading
the rights of the South, is guilty of a civil trespass. Hence, all
interference with slavery by northern men, is a violation of the
spirit, if not of the letter of that constitutional compact, which
binds these states together. Any attempt by northern men, either
direct or indirect, to dispossess the South of her slave property, or
in any way to endanger or injuriously to affect their interests
therein, is a violation of the supreme law of the nation. It is an act
of bad faith--of gross injustice, and none but bigoted corrupt
fanatics, and low political demagogues, would be guilty of so base an
act.
It is clear then, that the slave states never will yield to the
requisitions of abolitionists, and should that faction ever become the
dominant party in the free states, dissolution of the Union will be a
necessary consequence _Intelligent men_, who will persist in a course
of conduct so unjust, so illegal, with a perfect knowledge of the
probable consequences; are to all intents and purposes, as truly
traitors to their country, as was Benedict Arnold; and as such, they
should be viewed and treated. Mark my words, reader, I say,
_intelligent men_, for nine out of every ten among those who have been
seduced into the abolition net, are objects of pity, and not of
contempt or indignation. Poor souls, they are ignorant; it is, I
suppose, their misfortune and not their fault.
In order that I may be clearly understood, I will reiterate tho
foregoing argument. Before the adoption of the Federal constitution,
the states were to a great extent sovereign and independent, and of
course were in a condition to settle terms on which to form a more
perfect union. The North and the South, otherwise, the slave-holding
and the non-slaveholding states met in convention to settle those
_terms_. The North in convention conceded to the South the right to
hold slave property; and the sole right of making all laws necessary
for the regulation of slavery. It was thus, we see, by a solemn
contract or agreement, that the South acquired exclusive right to
control domestic slavery within her borders. What right then, have the
citizens of free states, to intermeddle with it? They have none, as
long as the Federal Constitution is the supreme law of the land. The
union of these states is based on that instrument, and whenever we
cease faithfully to observe its provisions, the Union must necessarily
cease to exist. All interference then on the part of the North,
endangering the rights or injuriously affecting the interests of the
South in slave property, is a violation of the supreme law of the
nation. I need not say more; the argument must be clear to every one;
and I think the duty of all concerned equally clear.
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