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Nation. if there be any one thing more than another, for which the
democratic Y'lmini-trations ol this country iorjtkc hist ten years de
serve the highest praise, it is for tiieii unwearying attention to the
interests of merchants .inti nia.i iners. in every treaty that has het n
made, in evetv new commercial aijaug. ment that has been enteied
into, the pecuniary interests el the one class and tin' personal safe
tv al the other, have eti r been the chief objects which received at
tention. Wiiv.t n ftbrde es baibarians, living in tin* remotest east,
plundered tint caigo and murdered a ponton of the crew belonging j
to one of onr merchant ships, the outrage was followed bv a most ,
signal punishment. A noble tiigatc, with an able commidei anti gal-
Lnt crew, was despatched to the homo of the s ivnges. w ho w ill nev
er lot get that visit. It is easy enough for the Re.J.stir to say that
they have forgotti n it, but the public, we think, vv ill demand ev itlence |
to prove the existence of such a state es feeling among the Malov-, ‘
other tha.i the interested assertions of men who, Living sul’eied i
from their ow n negligence, me anxious to lay their mislui times Io ■
the want of vigor till the part of the govei iiuenl, an I t ndoise the ;
statements made by the tools of an unprincipled cahil—i cabal that, 1
regretting the past and <l. s >ait ing of the futon , spits fo:ti e v enom
engendered from its disippoiiitc.l'uialii-io up n those whose success
has proved its ruin, mid ende iVors to acme so; its want of powerful '
argument by the magnitude of its libellous assertions.
There is another point, connected with this subject, on width we ,
wish to sty a few wotds, which may not be p'easae.t to all; liutjh > '
skilful physician consults not his patient's taste as to the medicines
which he orders him—h* looks only t o p esnlts. Oir manner ami!
motive are now the same, From all that we have tea I concerning !
the M divs, and from convers itions we hive hid with those who have i
visited their country , we have comejo the corn I •si.m, tliatj nine |
out of ten of the missaeres perpetrated by tlx m. might be prevent- i
el, it proper measures were l iken. Without stopping to implire
whether such feelings hid their might in the wrongs fust ptac-I
ticed upon them by foreigners, it is enough fur our purpose te knows
that the Malays are essentially a cruel and treacherous race whom
ever foreigners are concerned. Now, if' any of our merchants, wit i
• n avarice that defeats its own intentions, send among such people
vessels weakly manned, and if the officers of such vessels maintain
a slack discipline while trading witp them the constant destruction
• f life and property will be the very natural consequence. The
Eclipse appears not to have’had a crew of twenty men,
officers included, five of whom were on shore at the time of the attack,
■nd the state of tlcngs on bo»rd should have disgraced her, had she
even been lying in a pint belonging to the most civilized nation on
earth, while, ordinary prudencc|would have dictated th' maintaining
a vigilant armed guard, ready to act in any emergency. Wo should
be wanting in our duty to truth, did we not mention these unpleasant
things, and thus show where the blame really belongs, and prove the
falsity of the charge made by the whigs against the government.
Boston Morning Postm.
ABOLITION AND THE WHIGS,
Our remarks on Thursday, under this head, have elicited another
article on the subject of Abolition in the Columns of the Atlas. It
is made up principally, of denunciation of the Post, and fulntinations
• n Southern Slaveholders. ‘ Parasites,’ ‘ sattelites,’ ‘ whippers-in
tithe southern aristocrats and slaveholders,’ ‘subserviency’ to south
ern interests, and the like, compos® the matter of its argument the
whole affords ample proof that the Boston Adas with its aiders and
■ bettors, are re idy and willing to go all lengths with the abolitionists
to etiect their political purposes.
As northern citizens, who desire the continuance of ottr political
institutions—as friends of the Union, who would uphold and incrensi
■nd cement in a closer bond, the relations of amity and intercs
which hold us an united pec,pie, we earnestly deprecate this foul and
unjustifiable denunciation of southern slaveholders. Had this course
been adopted by our fathers when struggling for I lie it “inalienable
tights,” we never should have been a fn e people ; and after the I tit
tle of freedom had been fmglit, hi I even then been pursued, we ne
ver could have been one nation. When John Adams nobly a’dvoca
te.l th” appointment of Washington as Commander-in Chief of the
American forces t wised or to be raised by the Colonies, where would
have been our struggle f.r liberty, had a w hig of the Albis stamp
■rose inJhis.pLtce in Long'ess, and characterised the mover as ‘ a
whipper-m to southern aristocrats and slaveholders?’ Where would
have been our great Constitutional compact, had the northern mem
bersof the convention winch ft anted our present form of govern
men',denouncedevery con essiott of the non-slaveholding States to he
slaveholding States, as but subserviency to ‘aristocratic slavehold
ers ?
We repeat the sentiment—wc have no dread of an alliance with
the-.ptmctpl.'S of slaveholders. Look through the historv of our
country, and where has been found more exalted patriotism, mote
•omd principle, more efficient effort, than among si iveholders.”
Wc would not detract on-. jot or one tittle from the glorv of our
northern patriots of the revolution—but who labored more’ assidu
ously, more ably, more patriotically, for our independence than th ■
Washingtons, an 1 the Jeffersons, the Lees, the Pincknevs, and the
Rutledges, ol the South? Yet these were slaveholders, and these
were the mon whom our 1! incocks, and onr Adamses, Imitated not
to ciispiu the hands of friendship, and join in the maintenance ol
principle. And this, ton, without being taunted bv Atlas whirs'of
that day, with ‘being whippers-in to southern aristocrats •’ Bin we
suppose the Atlas will s:iy that their whiggism was spurious—it wa.
t noted by contamination with slaveholding subservience. We only
r-mm kth it, on the question of slavery, we stan I ready’ Io follow the
example of our fathers, and maintain the sacred compact bv forbear
ance and good f ith. In the language of our former article'w C would
arijliy to tigj-p.lit, Us -a. .i, die letter of the C.m.ui.mioii.
lii.ll-fiTffl h-wv vii ir-icu-rised the the in
fl num itory harimgwrs, an ! the harsh’ denunciations of slaveholders,
as acti m, an 1 not discussion. And to this the Atlas replies ‘ There
never was a tyrant of any description who did not talk in the saint
way.’ Il by this phrase the Atlas means to say that those who talk
in this way are tyrants, then, but three years’ago, and the ‘whig’
camp was alive with them. It has not altogether passed from the
memory of man, that in 1835 there was a great slaverv meeting in ‘
Fam nil Hall. Then it was the good or ill fortune, of such ‘tvrants’
and ‘whippets in, to Southern aristocrats,’ as Harrison Gray Otis
P< leg Sprague, and Richard Fletcher, to denounce the proceedings
of our Northern Abolitionists as ‘ inflammatory in their character’
and as calculated to destroy onr Union. This great me. tine- was
Ir llto q det the South on the subject of slavery. Was it in obedi
ence !(* receipts from he id quarters, ’/Arn, that such ‘parasites and
xntelite,’chimed in wi h the Globe, the Richmond Enquirer, and the
.Southern prints generally , on the subject of interft ring with Southern
d> n --lie institutions? Then whiggism Ind nothing to gain bv de
ni m mg opp id ion to abolition proceedings as subserviency to
Southern aristocrats. President Van Buren then hid not delivered
his Inaugural Address? The cry had not then been raised about a
Northern President with Southern principles! And these ‘ whip- I
pers-in’ weie anxious to have the South believe that on the qm stion
of slavery the North was ready to maintain inviolate our nation il
compact. Then 11. G. Olis could say—‘ In this case the difference
between feeling and action is immense. The light of thought and
of speech, and of the freedom of the press, is one thing—that of
combining to spread disaff ciion in other St Hes, and poison”the sweet
fountains of domestic safety and comfort, is another. He could de
nounce the proceedings of the abolitionism, because tlmv had a ten
dency to ‘ bear directly upon the ballot boxes, and to influence the
elections.’ But we have not space to extract at large from the
•peeches delivered on this occasion. We commend them to the At
las as a for its next homily upon Southern slaveholders. We
intend at tiffs time only to allude to the message of Gov. Everett
the succeeding J.tmiarv. If the kilas wishes to see the cloven foot
of‘lyrinny,’ in a “w Lippi r-iu to Southern aristocratsand slave
holders of no common - imp,’ we refer him to this precious docu
ment. Il goes farther than democracy at the North ever did go, or
over can go. ‘ Every ihiug that lends to disturb the relation created
by this com .act, is .u war with its spirit; an I whatever, by direct
■nd necessary operiri.m, is calculated to excite an insurrection among
the slaves, his belli II Id bv respectable legal authority, tin offence
■gainst the peace ol this Commonwealth, and may he presented as
■ misdemeanor at co ninon law.’ Su said the whig Governor ol
M issach tsetts A. I). 1836. Wis not the Atlas then ready to echo
tlie sentiments of the speei lies of F.ineuil Hall and the address of
his Exci lien y? But then no parly purposes were in view. Presi
dent Van Buren had not issued his Inaugural Address! Abolition
■id was scorned !
Me r-rnnot believe that the iniidligcnco of the more sober and re
flecting portion of die whig party will uphold this insulting taunt to
ward t lie Southern si iveholder, or tire ready Io join lienrt and hand
with th“ violent aholiiionisis ev< ii to effect their political objects.
They regard ihe m lirneinme of the Union as more sacred than the
•uccess of their parly ; and wc doubt not, will cast an indignant frown
upon the re< klo-siiexs ol that p irty spirit w hi' li would league w ith such
■ n element ns abolitionism to insure its triumph. When, in 1835,
Abbot Lawrence refused to answer the questions proposed bv tie
■ ■iti-s! -.very party, he was commended bv 11. (i. Otis, sot his inde
pondence, lie then pri dieted the poliiiral bearing of übnlitimiisni I
with correctness. ‘Cm you doubt,’ h" s od, in th- speei h alreadv I
■ Hude I to, ‘ ibat these associations will act together for political pur- !
poses? Isit in human n time for such combinations to forbear? |
11, lle-u, lie-ir numbers .should be aug ented, and 'be s iccess thev i
■ nti< ip Il« in m iking proselytes lie ri ilized, how soon vou might see
■ majority in Congress teturned under the influence of these associa
tions? And how I ng d’terwards would thia Union list? Sir in'
th« e ir of imagination, I now hear the tolling of its mournful knell.’
Here, then is our r> •< ript for action. In the success of aboli'ion
or Atlas whiggism, the ‘ mournful knell’ of our Union, is ‘tolled ’
•nd to preserve it sa< re.l, wo won! I sound the tocsin of alarm from
one border of our ronn'ry to another. To its ro'ciie wo would sum
mon the patriotism of the people; and array this, in ; t ]| its mighty
power, against the selfishness of party or the z/ a! <»f fanaticism.
7'/ie Mal’tt/s. — There is good reason to believe that the Malays
have erothis, received a merited punishment for the piracy on board ‘
the Eclipse. The frigate t 'olumbi i and sloop of war John Adams,
under Commodore Read, sailed from Norfolk on the (ith of May, ;
■nd by the I itest advices from the Commodore, dalerl Julv 28th,
were to depart from Rio Janeiro (lie next day, on a cruise to the
Indian Seas. The effect of this -ecotid lesson will probabiy be as
enduring as that of the first, and no more so. Wc cannot expec :
the depredations of the barbarians to be discontinued until a force i
permanently »t.iti.»ned in theiie seas for the protection of our coni-
HroreW.—[.Salirin |{«vist«r.
I'nnß (he Itoaton
THE EIGH I’ll AT MARBLEHEAD.
I lie Ciii.rnrirx Soctf.TV celebrated the Bth of January, in the
Slone ( hurcli, by a Public Oration from Joseph 11. Prince, Esq., of
Sal, n>. Ihe Oration is spoken of by those who listened toil, as n
11 mpositi.m of uncommon merit, nnd as htn ing been pronunce 1 in
t >.<• nu .t h ippy sty le ot eloquence. A copv of the < Iration has been
requested by the Society for publication, lint whether the author will
turnisli one for the pm pose, or not, we do not know; we have been
favored, however, with the following extracts from it, relative to a
. subject of mudi interest at this moment:—
(EXTRACT.)
I! tv.■ we not, then, on this occasion, something for reflection and
admiration I Shall we not look backward to our ancestors, and for
ward to posterity ! Shall we not consult the oracle to learn our
cormtiy s auspices ! Ought we not Io augur the signs of disunion,
and espy their approach at a distance? Far be it from me to in
dulge in any language that would tend to darken the bright prospects
o! the present hour, t'ar be the desire from me to explore the preg
nant vista ot the future, to point out signs and omens of danger and
di-astei. He must be a careless observer of the sensible horizon
J around him. who does not see the gathering cloud, and hear the
muttering thunder. Heaven grant that the Franklins of the Cviusli-
I lotion and tin I nion, may disarm it of its lightnings and conduct
them innocuous, harmless to earth. Are there not causes enough of
hostility and dissension between these States, growing out of rival
iuteiesis, that we must sin k in the infinite void of absitaclitins for
questions to touch, nay, to lacerate, the quick sensitive feelings of
file Sontlirtn portion of the Confederacy? .Are we so dead to the
operation ot mural causes? Are we such empirics in politics—so
infatuated w ith reckless fanaticism—that we are ready to join in a'
crusade against rights and institutions guaranteed by the charier of
the ( onstitution, sealed with the blood of the patriots
of the North and South I Have we gone through the war of the
Revolution, the contentions and difficulties incident to the old feder
ation—have we gone through the second war for independence, side
by side, shoulder Io shoulder—have we naturally compromised con
flicting claims of opposite interests, the irritating questions of protec
tive policy, to espouse now, to split upon, irt these halcyon davs of
the republic, a paradox, that presents itself in the shining garments
of humanity and philanthropy, to threaten the permanency of the
Union? The question of immediate emancipation of the slaves of
the SouHl, is no party question. It is a deep, a solemn, momentous
to all—as well to him who hails the flag of the Union at
the ba<-of the Rocky Mountains, as to him who counts the twentv
six stars i»i our glorious emblem on the wide sea-coast of Maine.
Fellow Citizens—l am no advocate for slavery—l would that all
men were free. I would have the boon of liberty extended to all
who are fit to receive it. I would have the appellation of slave, now
degraded by chance or malice from the signification of glorv to that
of servitude, restored to its original application. But I would not
disseminate the doctrines of imprescriptible rights, among a people
who have known nothing, who have felt nothing, save servile bon
dage, for more than two centuries. 1 would not give immediate,
unconditional emancipation to the slave, before he was capable of
appreciating and using liberty, as connected with civil government,
with laws, with religion. Nor do I believe, come emancipation w hen
it may, that the two races w ill ever live in a state of equal freedom
under the same government, so insurmountable are the barriers which
nature, habit and opinion have established between them. Such
was the beliet of the philosophic mind of Jefferson. Such, without
the vain spirit of prophecy, 1 believe will ba found the fact.
If we look into the historv of Virginia—l speak of Virginia par
ticularly, because the Old Dominion and Massachusetts were the
Nisusand Euryalus of there volutionary contest—we shall find that sla
very existed there when she was ■ Colony. Her Colonial Leoisla
ture enacted laws prohibiting the importation of more slaves. °The
m >ther co> ntry rejected these enactments. She was the first to in
struct her di legates to declare the Colonics independent. And the
prohibition of the farther importation of slaves was among the first
acts of her State sovereignty. She is not responsible for the institu
tion. She pities the infatuation, and arming herself in the panoplv
ofStatc Rights, she spurns at the interference of the abolitionists.—
Slavery is grafted on her society. It is the growth of centuries.
Her institutions, social and political, in all their combinations and
modifications, have grown up in conformity to the existence of a slave
population. It has moulded the manners of the South, and, para
doxical as it may seem, the spirit of liberty itself has been nourished
and strengthened by it. When I say that’ the spirit of liberty in the
South his been nourished and strengthened by the institution of sla
very, I advance no new theory. The assertion rests on no mean
authority. The fact is confirmed by history and experience. The
philospbical Edmund Burke who fathomed and penetrated the
springs and motives of human conduct and action, who studied deep
ly into the effects of institutions on character, in his speech on mov
ing his resolutions for conciliation with the colonies, in the British
Parliament, in 1775, says, that there is a circumstance attending the
Southern Colonies which makes the spirit of liberty still mere high
and haughty there than in those to the northward. It is that in Vir
ginia and the Carolinas, theyhave a vast multitude of slaves. Where
this is the case, in any part of the world, those who are free, are bv
far the most proud and jealous of their freedom. Freedom is to
them not only an enjoyment, but a kind of rank and privilege. Not
seeing there that freedom, as in countries where it is a common
blessing, and as broad and general as the ait, may be united with
much abject toil, with all the exterior of servitude, liberty looks
among them, like something that is more noble and liberal. These
people of the Southern Colonies are much more strongly, and with
<> ami moie stnuhorn spirit, a tached to liberty, than those to
the northward. Such were all the ancient Conimonweatlhs; such
were our Gothic ancestors ; such, in our days, were the Poles; and
such will bit the masters of slaves, who are not slaves themselves.
In such a people, the haiightin>-ss of domination combines with the
spirit of freedom, fortifies it, and renders it in vincible. The histoiv
of both Colonial an I Sovereign Virginia is a practical comment on
; ihc sentiment of B irke. The historian records her as the fust State
in the world, comp >sod of separate boroughs, diffused over an exten
sive >'tr‘ace. whose government was organized on thepiinciple of
universal sufftage. What soil produced your Washington, your Jef
fers >n, your Patrick Henry, your Madison? The soil of Virginia,
whose whole history is the history of the struggle for freedom, and
the indomnitable spit it of liberty.
\\ ith the eager eye of enquiry we consult antiquity, the democra
cies of the ancients, their system of civil polity, the structure of their
society ; we pieserve the ruins of their temples and their monuments
that we may connect the history of the arts with the historv of man
kind. We read that Athens, and Sparta,and Rome, were republics,
and that in these, civil slavery and the fierce spirit of liberty were
co-existent and practicable. We read that the latter feared to dis
; criminate her slaves by a peculiar costume, because it wimld acquaint
them with their own numbers. Wc read in feudal history that tenure
in villeinage, which answers to modern slavery, graduallj’ wore out
in the greater part of Europe by the co-operation of the owner of
the skives on the one hand and of the sovereign on the other. We
read in the annals of these northern colonies and states, where slaverv
once existed, that the transition from servitude to freedom was grad
ual. I adore, said the elder Adams, the idea of gradual abolitions.
But who shall decide how fast or how slowly these abolitions shall
be made? But the abolitionists of the nineteenth century, some of
whose puritan ancestors, by their traffic in the slave trade, contrib
uted to swell the slave population of the South whose ancestors sought
refuge from Protestant intolerance and Protestant persecution in a
Catholic sanctuary of a slave-holding colony, are wiser in their gener
ation. It has been reset ved to them to discover the great Matchless
Sanative, which is to effect an immediate cure of the disease in the
political and social constitution—immediate abolition. The know
no nice extremes. They stop at no consequences. Their remedy
is the distemper of remedy. For the most part, they are the writ
meaning mrn, who at home legislate for individuals and classes, for
sumptuary laws, for exclusive privileges, and selfish monopolies, and
take “periodical doses of mercury sublimate, and swallow down
repealed provocatives of cantliarides,” to show their love to the
poor slaves. They regard no law. With them the Constitution is
a fraud, and State sovereignty a cheat. They merge the great prin
ciples of government, the social order, the merit of public men, in
the reservoir of abolitionism, by pledging themselves to vote for no
man for civil office who is trot in favor of immediate abolition. Are
you a patriot, and have you bled in the fight for freedom? Are you
a statesman, and have you in the councils of the nation discharged
your high trust with credit to yourself and glory to your country?
Have you pleaded and defended the great cause of civil and political
right? That country will no longer want you. She will not again
elevate you to public honor and civil distinction. You are not an
abolitionist. You must be catechised by a self-constituted anti
slav ly committee, and if you answer their letters missive as they
would have you, your passport through the gate of the capitol is
mile. On the wide sea of federal legislation, abolitionism must be
I your compass—abolition must be your pole-star.
“ I’ool; fhali in wh ru Is fear to tread,”
| with iinlmly hands to build up an obstruction on the mins of the
j Cons itution and the fragments of the Union.
A late I'rem h author, who has exhibited a clear and correct in
; sight of our institutions, speaking of slaverv says, that the greatest
j dillicnhy in antiquity was that of altering the law; among the mod
: eras, it is that ol altering the manners, and as far as we are concern
! ed, the real obstacles begin where those of' the ancients left off.—
I his atises from the circumstance that among the moderns, the ab
| strai t transient fact of slavery is fatally united to the physical and
permanent fact ol color. The moderns, then, lie says, after they
have abolished slavery, have three prejudices to contend against,
which are less easy to attack and far less easy to conquer, than the
mere fact of servitude ; the prejudice of the master, the piejudice
ol tlie race, and the prejudice of color. But on the scheme of the
abolitionists, whose theory, in proportion as it is mctaphysicallv true,
is practically false, no obstacle interferes between their wish and its
j accomplishniotit. Physical causes are nothing. Climate is nothing,
j I lie cultivation ol the great staples of cotton, tobacco and sugar
| cane, the great sources of Southern wealth is nothing. The effect of
a change in the Southern system of cultivation on the trade and
; commerce of the North, is nothing. All these are no impediment
to the execution of their designs.
The abolitionists fortify their doctrines, and provoke their sympa
thies, bv a precedent drawn from British emancipation in the West
India Colom s, between which and the mother country, leagues of
. ocean roll. Tlr® precedent i« false in it® application. Th® armlogy
| is decepiive. 11 is geographically, politically, socially, morally, false-
If a slave population, such as that of tlie South, bad existed in the!
■ “last anchored isle” for more than two centuries ; if England had a ,
I, written Constitution, v» !;i< h recognized that population as persons!
i ai d property; it that country was composed of twenty-six indepen- I
> dent sovereignties, whee constitutions were foi med by associations
' of individuals, revolvin ' round a central government formed by |
H associations ot sovereigns, a government full and plenary for ail
! purposes, but a perfect political entity in regard to its foreign rcla- j
tions and as between the States to adjust their differences as mem- I
hers ol those state sovereignties, and shorn of all power to interfere
with their municipal tegulations; if the British I’ailiament, by a le
gislative interpretation of that written central constitution had dis
claimed all power over slavery in all time to come, it would not have
i been left to Chief Justice Lord Mansfield, to decide that the air of
i England istoo pure lor a slave to breathe in, nor would the abolition
| isfs ol the North have had the authority of a precedent w hich serves
! more to captivate and deceive than to illustrate. The British gov
j ernment fixed slavery in the Southein colonies, against their consent.
| 1 he British crown negatived every measure of their colonial assetn
] blies to prohibit the importation of slaves. The voice of the phil
! anthropic YV ilbei force resounded loud and long in her I’arliament,
i before she abolishi d the slave trade, and in a treaty with this country,
, she has admitted slaves to be property, has paid for them as such,
I and thus solemnly admitted the principle ol slavery.
Are there not in the haug.ng gardens, in the green houses of the theo
, rists ot the Ninth, indigenous plants upon w hich they may try their sys
tern ot horticulture ? We at the North have m> slaves. Slavery with
us is abolished, but the etornal badge remains. We have in Massachu
setts one nt gro in one hundred inhabitants. Here then the abolitionists
have a lair field lor the exercise of leal philanthropy, and an opportu
nity to experiment ou the doctrines of imprescriptible rights. For the
exercise of that charity, which, in this case, should begin and eml at
home—for admiiiistering to the physical wants and comforts of the
black, that his moral and social condition may be made better—are
the Abolitionists ready to carry out their theories in their own circle of
latitude ami longitude? Let the negro of the North set by the side of
their mothers and daughters in the stage coaches—let him in that pa
geant train of cars moving ovei yonder railroad, occupy a car in style
and finish equal to those of the white passenger—let him be enrolled iu
the rauks of your militia, for the common defence—let him bo impmi
nelled on a jury of his country—strike from your statute book the law
forbidding the contract of marriage between whites and colored people,
and then they may arm themsolvos agaiut the Constitution ami State
Sovereignty, in a crusade against the Smith in the holy cause of imme
diate emancipation.
Vi bilst a regard to the peace and security of the w bite population of
the slave holding States, demands on our part not only the, observance
of a scrupulous neutrality, but also a detnoustiation of a disposition to
uphold their authority over their slaves, the history of federal legislation
admonishes us that we of the North have no right, to interfere with
their municipal legislations. It is for those who own the slave popula
tion to decide how and when they shall get rid of it. hen the South
invites our aid, then aud then only will be the time to give it. 'i'he
General Government has, at all times, fiom the first Congress, disclaim
ed all sort of jurisdiction over the emancipation and management of
slaves. A resolution, disclaiming ou the part of the General Govern
ment, all jurisdiction over the emancipation aud treatment of slaves,
was entered on the journals of the first Congress. It was a resolution
declaratory of the true interpretation of the Constitution. If we look
at the proceedings of Congress at that time, we shall find that such was
the repugnance of many of the Southern members to the mention of the
subject, that they voted against the declaratory resolution. Afterwards, j
,sever*l societies of Quakers memorialized Congress for some legislative ,
actioß ou the subject of slavery.
The committee to which the memorials of the Quakers were referred, j
relied <>■ tin declaratory resolution to satisfy them t 1 at Congress had
no jurisdiction to interfere w ith slavery at all. 'l'he Quakers, it seems,
were satisfied; and they agreed that if Congress would pass a law to
prohibit the citizens of the I'nited States from supplying foreign nations
with slaves, they would pledge themselves, and the societies they repre
sented, never to trouble Congress again on the subject. The law did
pass, and the Quakers for some time adhered to their pledge. Subse
quently, an act was passed, in which the principle es non-interference
was again touched in a more specific form, the object of w hich w as (as
stated by the chairinan of the committee to which the subject was refer- ■
red) to draw a distinct line of demarcation, between the powets of Con- I
giess, for prohibiting the introduction of slaves into the United States, |
and those of the individual States and Territories. It was thi n decid- j
ed l y a unanimous vote, that w h'-n slaves were brought within the lim- j
its of any State, the power of Congress over them ceased, nnd the ;
; power of the State began the momeut they became within those limits, j
i 1 beg leave here to advert to a fact, illustrative of the evil consequences •
,of fanaticism aud misguided philanthropy. I advert to it more partic- !
1 ularly, because I Lave read in a late message of the Executive of Ken- |
i tucky. that the emissaries of Abolitionism in Ohio have recently gone
into Kentucky, and incited aud assisted ths slaves in that State to escape ;
| fi om their masters.
It is not many years since, that the same fanatical desire was preva- I
, lent in Ohio, to meliorate the evils of slavery by improper nnd illegal ■
’ interfence. She invited the slaves to a sanctuary —to an asylum with- j
jin her own borders. Mark the result. She very soon discovered that !
the philanthropic invitation was rife w ith mischief to herself; and he- I
coming very suddenly unmindful of the doctrines of imprescriptible rights, '
she passed a law requiring that all colored persons within her jurisdic- I
lion should give security for their good behavior, beynnd their means to
obtain. Thus it is that evil turns, to plague its inventor.
Fellow-Citizens: Relying on your flattering confidence, and trusting
to the characteristic candot of a people who have been alway s ready to
rebuke the spirit of disunion, I have attempted, but too feebly, to point
out the dangers to be apprehended from the impending question of
immediate abolition of Slavery. I have -spoken with that freedom 1
which every one should leel who stands on ground where liberty finds i
a temple in every house—-ami altar in eveiy heart. Let us check, then, j
with timely vigilmco and effort, al] disorganizing theoties in their germ, ;
ere visioirtrv, fanatical propagandists, disguised in the robes of human- !
ity and piety, shall creep upon the unguarded sentinel of the Constitu- 1
tion. Before the political empiric shall have violated the sanitary cor- '
don of State sovereignty.
A VISION.
XV hen I was a wanderer, I was once in Surat, where I made the '
I acquaintance of a Brahmin who was so liberal that he had much con I
i verse with me, though according to his creed I was of an impure ;
' caste, and it was in Brahminical strictni ss, a pollution for him to
■' perm tme to approach within ninety-six feet, lie was a dirt ctor in
the Banyan hospital where sick and wounded animals are attended
I with as much care as is sometimes thrown away in mote enlightened ’
i countries, upon ungrateful men.
| ‘ Young man,’ said the Hindoo philosopher, for such he was, ‘what j
motive has led yon at these years sj> far from your home, and w hat !
. compensation do you expect for such a sacrifice of the affections?’ I
. ‘ I have but one motive,’said I, ‘ that isemiositv; which, ifstiictly
analyzed, may be found composed of a desire to escape from scenes
where I ceased io be happy, and to find in distant lands a substitute
, for happiness in a change of scene and in the emotions of noveltv.’
*lt is a vain pursuit,’ said the Brahmin ; he continued, ‘ I have j
I been better instructed in a vision. I saw in a dream an aged and
, sage-like man, bis brow was not smooth, neither was his eve at rest.
I It seemed that be was familiar to me, though I could not remember
f! where I had seen him before. He looked intently on me and said—
. ■ ‘Motta), I am as thy shadow. I have been near thee from thy
| biith. I shall be nearer through life, and will not quit you till deatli.
, i Death only can divide ns 5 but thou wilt erdeavor to fly
1 and wilt sometimes think that thou hast escaped me. Yet lam not
I I thine enemy, though I have little that thou wilt love. Thou art bound
t i to a country where! cannot go, hut thou wilt be better received there
. i far what thou shalt learn of me in thy journey. If for a season thou i
t avoids! mo, thou wilt find nothing that'will not so remind thee of me
, that thou wilt, though disappointed, again return to me as thy com
panion through life.’
s ‘ I was soon attracted to a being of far more enticing aspect. He
. was flushed with youth, and crowned with a chaplet of flowers. ‘ Fol
low me,’said he, radiant with smiles, ‘ I am Pleasure, and 1 know
him from whom thou wonldst escape. His name is Care blithe
I cannot breathe where every odor is a perfume and every sound is !
r music.’
I For a while I followed Pleasure ; but the society soon became so
1 tasteless that 1 felt I could even prefer that of Care.
, ‘ Disappointed an I sorrowful, yet with a mind attuned to the sofl-
s est emotion, I approached a damsel who was sitting by a fountain,
pleased with the reflection of her beauty, even while her tears were
! falling in the stream.
, ‘ Maiden,' said I, with our oriental abruptness, ‘ why dost thou
, weep, and what is thy name?’
! ‘ 1 weep,’ she replied, in a voice broken and murmuring like that i
] of the fountain, ‘because I am most happy while I weep; and my
t name is Love.
I ‘ I will follow thee,’ said I, ‘ through every path: and should the
! thorns lacerate my feet, 1 will not leave thee with whom it is better
, to weepthan to smile with pleasure; and in following thee 1 may
the farther remove from Care.’
v ‘ Alas,’said Love, ‘thou little knowest. ‘Listen—for though I
# am not wise, lam at least sincere. I have learned from my uncles,
p Wisdom at <1 Experience, that neither Love not Pleasure can escape
from the pursuit of Care, lean only promise that in my society
thou shall the less regard him.’
Here the Brahmin addressed me, saying, ‘Stranger, return there
fore to thy country and follow the footsteps of Love, for the affections
confer more happiness than the intellect. Happiness is not the off
( spring of Knowledge ; but to be good is to he happy.’
THE PALACE OF HEROD.
The palace of Ilercil stands on a table of land, on the very
- summit of the hill, ov< rlookingevery part of the surrounding country;
I and such were the exceeding softness and beauty of the scene, even
/ under the wildness and waste of Arab cultivation, that the city seemed
, smiling in the midst of her desolation. All around was a beautiful
• valley, watered by running streams and covered with a rich carpet
■ of grass, sprinkled like an open book before me, a boundary of
■ fruitful mountains, the vine and the olive rising in terraces to their
, very summits; there, day after day the haughty Herod had set in
s his royal palaeo : and looking out upon all these beauties, his heart
. had become hardened with prosperity ; here, among those still
- towering columns, the proud monarch had made a supper for ‘his
f lords and high captains, and child’estates of Galilee., Here the
I daughter of Herodias, Herod’s brother’s wife, ‘danced before him,
I and the proud King promised, with an oath, to give her whatever
she asked, even to the half of his kingdom.’ And while the feast
■ was going on, the ‘ head of John the Baptist was brought in a charger
1 and given to the damsel.’ And I’erod has gone, and Herodias,
I Herod’s brother, has gone, and ‘ the, lordsand the high captains, and
■ tiro chiwf W'tatfut of Galiloa' are gone, but the ruins of the palaces
.ntn.,),,.,.,,,,,.,, ■ ..J.i ... _gj.uminL._j
111 which they feast' d are still bore; the mountains and valleys which
j belli Id their revels are here ; aud oh, what a comment upon the
i vanity of all worldly greatness—a Fellah was turning Ins plough
around one of the columns. I was sitting on a broken capital under
| a fig-tree by its side, aud asked what were the ruins that we saw •
and while his oxen were quietly ctoppine the grass that grew amone
! the fragments of the marble floor, he told me that they were the ruins
ol the palace of a king, he believed of the Christians, ami while
I pilgrims from every quarter of the world turn aside from their path
to do homage in the prison of his beheaded victim, the Arab who I
was driving Ins plough among the columns of his palace, knew not
the name of the haughty Herod. Even this distance oftime I look
back with a feeling of uncommon interest upon mv ramble among
those rums, talking with the Arab ploughman of the king who built
n, and leaning against a column which perhaps had of ten supported 1
the haughty lierod, and looking on from this scene of desolation
and at ruin upon the most beautiful country in the Holy Land—
btephrn's 1 ranch. " J :
STATE RIGHTS ami I'NITED STATES RIGHTS.
of
- i
THE fHLE ISSUE.
" f;<> CA7>‘N.V//;A7' OF THE BANKS, or a GOK
()t'' ’ ViIE PEOPLE/ Shall we have a CONSTI
'TREASURY, or an UNCONSTITUTIONAL NA-\
HmK? Shall we have a CONSTITUTIONAL CUR
i>lA> C > Y AXU si i. ven, or one of IRREDEEMABLE PA-
/ t.K / Shall we live under the despotism of a MONIED ARISTOC- !
/f.IC'K, or under the safeguards of a EREE CONSTITUTION /
I Washington <' hronicle.
I & '■< H Wilt & 8 :
TUESDAY fIIOICNINU.
WHO SHALL GOVERN?
This is a question which, we reluctantly confess, augurs no good for
the institutions of a country having their foundation upon the intelli-'
gence and the will of the people, but it is one which the circumstances '
of the times are rapidly forcing upon us.
The efforts of the money power to govern the public will, arc of a
character se alarming as to excite the apprehensions of every man who |
desires to preserve ami perpetuate the principles of our government in i
their original purity. The giant struggles of the United States Bank, '
and the subsequent exertions of itsfiiends to link the government to the j
■ State corporations, should arouse the people to a true sense of their sit- '
! nation, ami arm them with a determined spirit to assort ami maintain
i their own supremacy.
We adopt the above text from the Washington Chronicle, as a motto,
and accordingly place it at the head of our paper, that the true issue
may be kept continually before the eyes of onr readers.
POLITIC A Is ABOLI’I IOMSM.
We have asserted again and again, that the Abolitionists, as a body,
were hostile to Mr. Van Buren, and would oppose his re-election on
account of his Southein principles—and here is. the proof, direct and
| unequivocal.
1 he Emancipator, published at New-Y'ork, speaks in the following
language of the late intermarriage Fictwecu Major Abraham Van Buren
ami Miss Singleton, of South Carolina :
“Married, on Tuesday, 27tli of November, by the Rev. Mr. Con- ;
| verse. Maj. Abraham Van Buren, eldest son o’s the President of the !
I United States, to Miss Sarah Angelica Singleton, youngest daughter of,
Mr. Richard Singleton, at her father’s house, in Sumpter District, South
i Carolina.
“ Who then can wonder that the President should go with the slave
| holders at every hazard. For even if he should disgust and lose the
whole of the free States—being a large majority of the people, ami thus
j fnil, as be must, of a re-election to his high office ; yet if he can settle
j his sons !>y marriage on the rich plantations oftbe South, with gangs of
I slaves and tons of cotton, what should he care for the North? Well
! may he saj to Calhoun and ths nullificrs. in the words of one of old : ‘I
' am resolved w hat to do, that, when I am put out of inti st-wardship,
THEY M\Y RECEIVE ME INTO THEIR HOUSES.’
“ The effect on the ministry, of having a son married to a cotton plan
tation, is seen at Andover, 'i’he effect on the government, of the same '
influence, is seen at Washington. ‘ Come out of her, mv people. ”
Thus speaks the infamous Leavitt, of the South, her people and insti- '
i tnti'iiis—and wc ask, who is there amongst us, that w ill join in the cry
to put down a President thus abused and slandered, for his stern adhere- I
. mice to our rights—for his faithful and unwavering support of the con
, stitutiou of his country. 'l’he question may not be answered just nowi
by every one, but the day is not distant when it will urge itself with irre
sistible power. Mr. Clay—Mr. Webster, or Mr. Harrison, will one or
the other be nominated as the whig opponent of Mr. Van Buren the
abolitionists will take sides wilh the individual selected, and the South
will be left to sti Hggle w ith the most fearful combination which has ever
threatened her. She must then speak, and speak the language of a
people united as one man, and firmly resolved to “sink or swim, live
or die, together.” Read and ponder upon this matter.
WHO IS A FEDERALIST?
The man who contends fora broad construction of the constitution,
and claims for the general government powers not delegated by the in
strument. Such a man is Henry Clay.
He contends that Congress may lay duties upon foreign merchandize
to an unlimited extent, in the form of a tariff for the protection of do
mestic manufactures—that the general government has power to squan.
der the people’s money in works of internal improvement, within the
limits of the States, and to incorporate Banks—in fine, to do any thing
and every thing she may deem necessary.
In old times, such a man would have been branded as a FEDER
A LI ST.
SALUTARY INFLUENCE OF "BUCKETS.”
The wagery of our Southern boys has produced, it would seem, an
effect, if not upon the judgement, at least upon the nerves of Mr. Ad
ams, w hich the logic of our statesmen had not accomplished.
The impotent violence of Mr. A. upon the question of aboliou ha s
induced a number of the lads to addresss him, what is termed in these
parts “ Bucket Letters,” which have so operated upon his ‘'better part
of valor,” as to draw from him an open recantation upon the floor of
Congress; and so it is, that the man ‘who not having the fear of God
before hiseyes, but being moved by the instigation of the devil,” has a 1
length ‘sung out” to the Bucket family, as will be seen by the proceed
ings of Congress on the 21st inst.
"Mr. ADAMS then said he had a large number of petitions to present
I on the subject of abolition, and asked leave of the House to explain the
. position he occupied, and to state the reasons of his adopting the course
j he had done in presenting petitions of this character. He further asked
I this courtesy of the House, because he had received a mass of letters
threatening him ss ithassassination for this course. His real position, he
was convinced, was not understood in the country.
Objection being made to Mr. A’s making his statement.
Mr. GRENNELL moved a suspension of the rules.
Mr. BOND called for the yeas and nays; which, being ordered, were
yeas 117, nays 58, as follows;
YEAS—Messrs. Alexander. Hernan Allen, John W. Allen, Andrews,
Aycrigg, Ber.tty Bicknell, Biddle, Bond, Borden, Bouldin, Buchanan,
William B. Calhoun, John Calhoun, Carter, Casey, Chambers, Cheat
ham. Childs, Coffin, Cranston, Crockett, Cushing, Darlington. Davee,
Davies, DeGraff, Dunn, Edwards. Evans, Everett, Ewing, Richard
Fletcher, Fillmore. Fry. Rice Garland. Giddings, Goode, XV illiam Gra
ham, Grantland,Graves, Gry, Grenncll, Haley. Hall. Harper. Hastings.
Henry, Herod, Howard. Jenifer, Henry Johnson, William Cost Johnson,
Nathaniel Jones, Kemble, Kennedy, Klingensmith, Lewis, Lincoln.
Marvin, Samson Mason, Maury, May. Maxwell, Robert McClellan.
McKennan, Menifee, Milligan, Mitchell. Moore. Calvary Morris. Naylor.
Noyes, Barker, Parmenter, Pearce, Peek, Phelps, Plumer, Pope. Potts,
Pratt, John il. Prentiss, Sergeant S. Prentiss, Putnam. Ratiden, Reed.
Rencher, Ridgway, Edward Robinson. Rumsey, Russell, Sallonstall,
Sergeant, Sheffer, Shields, Sibley, Slade, Snyder, Southgate. Stuart,
Stratton, I aliaferro. Tillinghast, Toland, I nderwood, V ail. X anderveer,
Albert S. White, John White, Whittlesey. Lewis XXJHiams, Jitred XV.
XX illiams, Joseph L. Williams, Christopher H. XX illiams, and Yorke—
NAYS—Messrs. Anderson, Banks. Beers. Birdsall. Boon, Bronson,
Chaney, Chapman, Coles, Conner. Crabb, Deberry. Dromgoole, Dun
-1 can, Farrington. James Graham. Grant. Griffin, llamt - , Harrison, llaw
| kins, Haynes, ilolsoy, Holt, Hiildcy, Robert M. T. limiter. Ingham,
Joseph Johnson. Logan, Lyon. Mallory, James M. Mason. McKay.
Abraham McClellan. Mercer. Miller. Montgomery, Morgan. Samuel XV.
Morris. Murray, Nolde, Parris, Petrikin, Richardson, Rives, Sawyer.
Augustine II Shepperd, Sheplor, Spencer, Stanly. Stone, Swearingen,
Taylor, Turney, Sherrod XX illiams, XVord, and Yell—sß.
So the rule was suspended.
Mr. ADAMS then made his statement, in the course of which he dis
tinctly averred that, though he had so earnestly advocated the right of
persons to petition for the abolition of slavery in the District of Colum
bia. yet he teas not himself prepared to grant their prayer. On the con
trary, if the question w ere presented at once, he should vote against it.
He knew not what change might be wrought upon his mind by a full
and fair discussion; but as yet he had seen no reason to change his opin
ion, though he had read all that had been w ritten and published on this
subject by tho Abolitionists themselves. Mr. A. then went at length ■
into his reasons for offering the resolutions of inquiry on the controversy |
between Messrs. Stevenson and O’Connell.
Mr. A. having concluded his explanatory remarks at three o’clock,
proceeded to present Io the House his numerous petitions, praying for
the abolition of slavery, for tho repeal of the resolutions passed by the [
House on the 152th December upon that subject, and also that the mo o; I
of the same receive a vote of censure for introducing them into the I
i I House. Also, petitions praying for the recognition of the independence
i i ol Hayti, and against the admission into the Union of any new Stato
tolerating slavery. Ako, petitionsjiraymg for the establishing a con
. ! gross of nations.
In sober earnestness, what is the world coming to ? John Quincy Ad
ams who has been no better than a firebrand in the House—w ho has
■ advocated the abolition of slavery any where and every where, and
w hose answer to an invitation to dedicate the Hall in Philadelphia,
. w hicb was burned down last year stamps upon him the indelible seal
of fanatic ami incendiary, to stand up in the face of Congress, and
the I num, and declare that be is not prepared to vote for the abolition
of slavery iu the District of Columbia ; ami in the very next breath is
urging the Government to recognize the independence of the ‘negro’
’ Government of Hayti, and pouring into the House, a mass of abolition
petitions.
, Wc would ns soon confide in the man who should attempt to sustain
the Christian religion by arguments drawn from the Alcoran. Mr. Ad
ams has been for years, prepared to vote for the abolition of slavery,
not only in the District of Columbia, but in all the States ami Territo
ries ot the Union. But we understand him. He is not in truth, much
alarmed at the anonymous letters he receives, but ho is alarmed nt the
. political bearing of the question, and the separation which must inevit
itably take place between the Northern and Southern whigs, unless the
aspect of the question can be so modified, as to hold them together for a
tiriic.
Such we believe to be the settled and vindictive hostility of Mr. Ad
orns to the principles of Democracy, that he would resort to any mean,
m Ins power to overturn them. Nor is he alone in the crusade against
the sacred principles of our Government, -and if onr conjectmes a.e
well founded, the country may soon expect to hear the same time from
the lips of the Everetts, the Slades, and their abolition associates, bo
cause something must be done to conciliate the Southern whips, or the
game is up.
But will the wings of the South believe them sincere? Will they b®
gulled, humbugged and cheated by the hollow professions of men who
would glory in their destruction ? No ! it cauuot be. The Smuh can
not divide upon a question involving her deepest stake. She cannot act
j with men who arc lighting the torch for their dwidlings, ami whet
ting the knife for their throats. Mr. Adams may sound his recantations
, —lns associates In iniquity may echo the cry—but we never will trust
them. 9
MIS 81S Sll'l ’ 1 ELECTIONS.
1 lie late elections in Mississippi to fill some twelve or fourteen vacan
cies in her Legislature, have resulted in a glorious triumph fur ths
Democracy.
GRADUATION BILL.
The bill to reduce and graduate the price of the public lands, which
passed the Senate of the United Slates, has been lost in tlie House of
. Representatives by a small majority.
At the last meeting of the Board of Commissioners of the Western
! and Atlantic Railroad. Jesse C. Farrar, of De Kalbcouiity, was elected
j Secretary ami Book-keeper.
fi./*’ I’hose indebted to the Standard of Union are notified that Mr.
M. Judd, our former Collector, is no longer such; of which all interested
will avail themselves of this notice.
Mn. Editor—l hand you the charge of Judge Hill, furnished
by himself, in compliance with the request oftlic Grand Jury of this
comity, for publication. Please publish it, and oblige,
Your obt. servt.,
TIIOS. RAGLAND,
Foreman G. Jury.
Milledgeville, January, 1839.
To Tuns. Ragland, Esq., foreman, &c.
j Bir : I’he man who is insensible to praise or censure, is unfit for
I society, much more for office. I cannot, therefore, but be filled with
the mingled emotion of pride and gratitude by the fl ittr-t ing notice
I taken by your respectable body, in connection with the bar of tlje
i Circuit, of my first official act among you. It would be unkind in
ime to refuse your request; though it is no affectation of modesty to
declare, that I fear your call for my charge for publication, was rath
er the offspring of kindness to the author, than an appreciation of the
merits of the production. I have hastily written it out, as well as
my recollection would enable me, aud herewith furnish it pursuant t®
request.
With sentiments of high regard,
I am, sir, vour obedient servant.
- ’ EDWARD YOUNG HILL.
Mr. Foreman and Gentlemen of the Grand Jury :
It was a remark (and perhaps a correct one) of one of my distin
guished predecessors, that the Judiciary of Georgia, with one excep-
I tion, to wit: the want ofa tribunal for the correction of errors, forms
the most perfect model of Republican jurisprudence, known to the
world. I Ik: addition ot this feature would, in his opinion, have reu-
■ deted it complete. Had he lived to the present day, how would his
proud and candid mind have contemned the puerile <ri/?tng of nnoth-
> er department of this Government, which, by an alteration of your
•: Constitution, has liewn out and fashioned the capstone to this moral
. I fabric, and thenTeft it lying mouldering at its base. Os this system
!! your body forms a most important component part. And youi du
ties, as the grand inquest of the county, are not only supervisory and
I inspective, but of an active and operative character. Incident to
the former is your right to enquire into and report upon the condition
1 of your public roads, your comity prison, the records of your respec
tive county offices, taxation, &,c., and also toteport upon the conduct
of the officers severally connected with, or having charge of the same
—the dread of the censure and the hope of the approbation of the in
i telligent and virtuous, being tlie strongest incentives to mot al rccti
i Hide. The general state of the morals of your communitv, the prac
, lice aud toleration of idle, profligate and vicious habits, and the ope
! ration of the lawsand policy of the country, in permission or restraint
I thereof, demand your patient investigation and faithful exposition.—
I You are, also, general conservators of the peace and good order of
: society—a term which explanation cannot render more plain or in
| telligible. How far you may be bound, gentlemen, or how far you
! may even have the judicial right to notice political measures of vour
General or State Governments, the Court will not now decide ;’ but
will venture the opinion, that inasmuch as your body is impartially
drawn from the most intelligent and respectable portion of our citi
zens ; as your deliberations are usually free from all improper bias ;
and as it is not only the privilege but the duty of the constituent to
make known to the agent or functionary, his views and wishes upon
all matters connected will) the delegated trust oftbe agent, you may
very properly (as an index of public opinion impartially expressed)
declare your sentiments upon such measures, and impress them with
1 the seal of your approbation or displeasure.
Under your active and operative duties are comprised those of
which your oath contains an epitome. But first, as to the mode of
I your organization and deliberations, permit me to remark, that vour
I body cannot consist of less than eighteen, nor more than twenty
t three. A concurrence of twelve, however, is sufficient for a finding.
Your oath prescribes, that “ you shall diligently enquire and true
presentment make of all such matters and things as shall be given
you in charge, or shall come to your knowledge,” &c. By the ex
pression “given in charge,” are meant the special subjects referred
to in the opening charge oftbe Court and bills of indictment present
ed you by the prosecuting officer of the State. “Or shall come to
; your knowledge ;” by which the Court understands such violations
of the penal laws of the State as shall be committed in your presence,
sight, or heating; and not of such as you may have been informed
by letter (or otherwise, not under oath) to have occurred. A prac
tice has grown up in some of our Circuits, of dropping anonymous
billetdoux in the way of the Grand Juries, notifying them of the ex
istence of offences and misdemeanor.-, and pointing out witnesses to
be called into Court. Such irresponsible charges are usually intend
|ed to hoax the Jury, orare founded in malice. For surely no indi
vidual so hostile to ctime as not to tolerate its secret existence, can be
afraid or ashamed to avow himself the open advocate of virtue and
good morals. In order to have the aid of the Court in bringing wit
nesses to testify before your body, the Court is of opinion, that your
application must be founded on indictment, or legal presentment,
stating the specific charge and name of the accused—otherwise we
should be vested with inquisitorial powers unfriendly to liberty. As
to the time when your obligation to present oflences arises, there was
and is a doubt; explained however by statute at preset t, declaring
that you are not bound till qualified. By this statute, Grand Jurors
are not bound to present oflences coming to their knowledge anterior
to qualification ; but are distinctly notified that it was not the inten
tion ofthe Legislature thereby to restrain the power of presentment
or direct the operations of conscience. And though not obliged as
Giaml Jurors, yet as good citizens, the friends of order and morality
you have, the right and are even indirectly enjoined to bring offenders
to justice. Thus much for oflences in general. But there are yet
certain oflences which the General Assembly has branded with the
eminent distinction of infamy and turpitude, and requiting the pre
siding officers of the Superior Courts, respectively, to give them in
special charge to the Grand Juries, at the opening of every term. I
refer to the statutes against trading with slaves, and against gaming,
and keeping gambling houses. These statutes tire no doubt familiar
to your body. The former you will find in Prince's Digest, late ed
ition, page 646. This statute, though so important for die harmony
ofa community like ours, is often violated ; the violation seldom de
tected, and still more seldom reported. The consequences of the
violation of tl.is act will strike you at once. 'Flic corruption of tho
morals ofthe slave, insubordinate insurrection, and an ultimate dis
solution of the relation of master and servant—the main pillar of
j Southern influence in our political fabric. The selling or delivery of
spitituous liquors to slaves, is particularly designated as a violation of
[ this law, and as productive of all the consequences above referred to
—asunder their demoniacal influence, the rudder of reason is un
-1 shipped, and the storm of passion impels the mental bark against the
breakers of indiscretion and crime. 1 will not detain you "entle
men, by a detail ofthe well known but awful consequences of <rami n <r
I Ils influence is leveled against the youthful, the indiscreet and