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Show 10 :l'JRST DAY-MORNING SESSION, Letter of Ho>t. Thaddeus Stevens of the Stale Legislature. GETTYSBURG, May 4th, 1838. Gentlemen :-I have delayed ans~ering your leUer o~ the _I Oth of. December last, until this time, that I might be able to dectde wtth certaul_ty, whether I could comply with your invitati_on, to_ be pre~cnt at the opem_ng of the "Pennsylvania Hall for the Free Dtscusswn of Ltberty, and equality of Civil Rights, and the evils of Slavery." . I n:~gret that I cannot be with you on that occ~swn. I know of no _spe~lacle which it would give me greater pleasure to wttness, _than the dechca~wn of a Temple of I~iberty. Your object should meel wtth the approbatton of every freeman. ll will meet with the approbation of every man, wh~ respects the rights of others, as much as he loves his own. Interest, fast~w.n, f~lse religion, and tyranny, may triumph for a while, a~1d rob man ~f Ius wahen~ able rights; but the people cannot always be rlccetved, and wtll not always be oppressed. . . . The slaveholder claims his prey, by virtue of that Constttutton wh~eh contradicts the vital principles of our Declaration of Independence. But while it remains unchanged, it must be supported. If his heart exacts the fulfilment of the cruel bond, let him take the pound of flesh, but not one drop of blood. This we must yield to existing laws, not t<! our sense of justice. I can never acknowle~ge the right of sl_avery. ~ \~til bow down to no Deity, however worsh1pped by professmg Chusuans-ho~ever dignified by the name of the Goddess of Liberty, w_hose footstool.Js the crushed necks of groaning millions, and who rejoices 111 the resoundmgs of the tyrant's lash, and the cries of his tortured victims. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, THADDEUS STEVENS. Samuel 'Vebb, and otbcrs,-Commitfl!t. WASHINGTON, January 2d, 1838. Dear Sir :-I have had the honor to receive a communication signed by yourself 3nd another, a committee in behalf of the Pennsylvania Hall Association, requesting me to be present at the opening of the Hall, and deliver an address on that occasion . In the invitation thus extended to me, I have an evidence of the confidence of those of my fellow citizens of Philadelphia whom you represent, not Jess gratifying than it is unexpected. To be thus associated, by those who have engaged in the noble enterprise of erecting a Hall con~ecrated to free discussion, with the solemnities of its opening, is an honor whose value can be est im ated only by that of the noble object with which it is associated-an object identified with the dearest rights and highest interests of man in his social existence. Nothing could give me greater pleasure than to comply with your invitation; but my duties as a representative in Congress seem to forbid me the gratification. I feel my incompetence to do justice, under any circumstances, to such an occasion as that suggested in your letter, but especially amidst the various and engrossing duties of the station which my fellow citizens have assigned me here. I must, therefore, regpectfully decline a compliance with your invitation. Be pleased to accept for yourself, and your associate committee, and those whom you represent, the assurance of the sincere and respectful regard of Your fellow citizen, Mr. Samuel Wt:bb. WILLIAM SLADE. LETTERS ~lEAD. II The following letter from ex-president ADAMS W3S received by the audience with much applause: \VASHINGTON1 19th January, 1838. Snmucl Webb a11ll William II. Scolt,-Philatkfphia: My respected Friends :-1 learnt with great satisfaction, by your letter of the 18th of la~t month, that the Pennsylvania Hall Association have erected a large building in your city, wherein liberty and equali ty of civil rights can be freely discussed, and the evils of slavery fearlessly portrayed. The right of discussion upon slavery, and an indefinite extent of topics connected with it, is banished from one-half the states of this Union. lt is sw1pended in both houses of Congress-opened and closed at the pleasure of the slave representation: opened for the promulgation of nullification sophistry; closed against the question, WHAT IS SLAVERY? at the sound of which the walls of the capitol staggered like a drunken man. For thi11 suppression of the freedom of speech, of the freedom of the press, and of the right of petition, the people of the FREE states of this Union (by which I mean the people of the non-slave holding states) are responsible, and the people of Pennsylvania most of all. Of this responsibility, I say it with a pang sharper than language can express, the city of Philadelphia must take to herself the largest share. And this consideration would compel me to decline the invitation with which the Managers of this Association have honored me, to deliver an ada dress at the opening of the Hall, were it otherwise in my power, as it proa bably will not be, to auend at the time proposed. My friends, I have a long-standing, high, respectful, and affectionate attachment to the city of Philadelphia, and its inhahitants. It dates from the day of the Declaration of Independence, and if 1 were to addrrss them on the opening of your Hall, I should comment upon some of its self-evident truths. Now a great multitude of the present inhabitants of your city have grown sick of the sound of these self-evident truths, and exceedingly adverse to hearing any comment upon them. If I should make any practical use of my freedom of speech, some would say, he is doling out a farrago of abstractions. Others, what is the. use of commenting upon self-evident truth~1 Others,-not a few,-would kindle into indignation, and say, he is intermeddling with the peculiar institutions of the South; that's unconstitutional! What's that to him? \Vhat's that to us? He's a fanatic, he is an incendiary, he is an abolitionist! he is attacking the rights of the states, he is provoking the people of the South, and, Lord have mercy upon us, they will dissolve the Union! All this I could hear and endure with composure,-all this I have heard before, and shall hear again. Dut if, while I should be discoursing, a native citizen of Philadelphia should rit:e, and say, What right have you, sir, to come here, and dogmatize with us upon the rights of freedom and the duties of freemen? Is not this the city of William Penn, and do you come here to lecture us upon freedom of conscience? Is not this the city whence issued the Declaration of Independence, and do you come to teach us the doctrine of inalienable rights ? Have we so far degenerated from the virtues of our fathers, that we must go to Plymouth for our political creed? Have we no native sons of our own city, capable of explaining to us the principles of human liberty, as well as you? My true-hearted friends, I should have no answer, satisfactory to myself, to give to such inquiries. 1 rejoice that, in the city or Philadelphia, the friends of free discussion |