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Show George B. Cheever. traitor~ again:;;t ( ~od and pirates ngain t man, wllC'IH'YC't' nnd whl'rc\·er they do not oppo~c such wi ck cdn c~. , but willingly olwy it aml ;;upport it. They willingly walk af't ,,. the commandment, eiloo ·i11g to obey the statutes of Ahab nnd Omri, rather than the tatutcs of the Almighty. II ' l' Jaw~ are of 110 lllOrC force OL' validity than the Ja W:::l of :111 a~sociation of Thug~, or a brotherhood of thi c Y c~, or a regim ent of countcrf ·iter:;. Commodore Decatur might with a ' much propriety have been tried, and entcnce<l, and hanged f'Jr tr •:1son in Algier::;, as John Brown for treason jn Virginia, f()r ~John Brown owed no more allegiance to Virginia than Decatur owed to Algi c r~. John Bro\\'n was a-; properly enrrarrcd in . o n s ·eking the delin!rance of the enslaved, and the breaking up the sy ·tem of Slavery, as Commodore Decatur in ~ecking to IJrcak up the piracy of the Algerines. This event must open up the subject. It must be ripped up to the bottom. Either SlaYery is absolutely ri(...r., ltt or wrong ; either sar1etionc·d or Gou, and jus t. l>y ht1m:m law, or l(>ruidden of' Gocl, nnd impiou:·dy unlawful. Eithc•r s la,·c~ are the mo·t sacred of all property, or the mo~ t <liabolieal of all roul1 ·ry. If slaveholding i - irupiou:::, a goy ·rnmt:nt grounded On it, protecti11g it, making 1:1\\' !:) in it::; uehalf~ i.-; an eXa:-'peratiOll of villat"ry infinitely atrociou5, making not only . la\'es out of freemen, but villain out of its own citizen:-:, uy it:-: 0\\'11 b\\'s. There can be 110 sanctio11, no ju ·tificntion, for ·uch wickedne~~, and the attempted ju ' ti{ication of it by la\v is no ucttet• than if adultery or murder were j u~ tillecl by 1a w. The whole world is rightfully at war with uch ini<IIlity, inju ~tiec, and cruelty; no man can po ..- , ibly commit trea=-'on in "eekin~r to I . 0 ovcrt_u·ow 1t, and to r •1cnse the victim of uch tyranny. A man I ' bound to do eYery thing in his power for their relt::re, and for the abolition of uch a sys tem. If the abolition of the goYcmm ·nt were ncee .. n ry for the ovcrl!Jro\\' of the sin if it were certain tlmt the in could uc overthrown in n~ other way, then the . oon 'r the o·o,·crnmcnt i:-3 abolisht·d the Letter. It were infinitely better that three humlreu tllou;-;anu George B. Cheever. 157 :-:l:tn• hohl .; r~ were abolished, f;truck out or xistence, than th:tt ft>t lr million huntan l>t.:irtgs, with their po~tcrity f(n· .,.<·r, should be e n ~lav <'ll untl •r th ·m, eomlemn ·<1 to a perpetual system whieh i · the p •rpetual violation of God's Jaw. The SlaYt·ry sweep both the victims oC it, nnd 1 he tyrants, to pl' rd it ion. It is death to the slaY ·!told ·r;:;; so that what is call ·d trv:ts.ott, is in f~tct the highe.t nwrcy to them. TltPir f(>rC' ilJle lT<ll'mption from the gra. p oC tlti~ siu, V<'n by in. urrcetion, \r ottltl be a blcs. ing, ·incc their . oul:1 might be sa n·d ; but, c·ont inuing in thi:'l g uilt, they must he ~ hu t out from hea\'vn; :-o tl tn t J ohn Drown i ' in rc•:dity th ei r ~r(• at c·st, kindc:-t l'ric·nd. T l1<~ angel that kno('kl'll Pc:tl'r's chains l'rorn him in the· pri:-:ort "a:-; not more truly his fri •nd, th ~111 .John Brown, in c·rHI<·a,·oring to knoek the f·tt 'I' ' from the sian·, i · tntly the friend of t!IC' slan.·ltolder. Any man st riving to abol i-.h Slavery, i.-; th <' :-:Ian·ltoltlcr': g reatC'st fri cnd. Any man prolc<'tin~,:tnd ddi.·rHlirJg, <IIHl cmleaYoring top •rpctuate Sin ve ry, is the slaveltold<·r' · gn·:ttt';-;t enemy. Any church !-':tnelioning tltis cri rn f', is ju ~t S<':tling up it:-; meml>er · fur penlition; ju,.;;t mnking out or tit • elturdt a gn·at pr '!-'erYe of f'nttl'd gnmc for~ 'atan ; the profes::;ion of' any rel i1rion that has !-'in lor it~ elt•mcnt h<'ing a · a f: .J(:.~ea li ng <'an < of swectnwat: for Satan's profit a ncl u;-;c. It is wontlt•rful to bl· hold the c·ye~ of the w !tole nat ion turrw<l upon ou • ohl m:tn, <·onc1c·rnnNI to die upon the gn llows lor au action which mullitudes of' men stand in doul>t wht>ther to pronounce a g reat crime or one o'f the most heroic, disin-tere.-; tcd, virtuou:;:, and noble c.leed ..; ; of oue<lience to Gocl antl benevolence to man, rcconled in the century. There he i;-;, in modern E gypt, a g reat ·r riddle, a g r<'nt ·r· Sphinx for men'~ opinions, thnn ancient Egypt e\· ·r ·aw. Thc·rc lte i ~, :t:-' iC Oliver Cromwell hn<l ri ·en from th' <1 •n(l, ~ hnkin g the gory h<;acl of the tyrant in the fa ce of a nnt ion of opp r<'!~:-:ors. lie is (;}od's hanuwri ting on the wall of Slav ·ry; nnd the klt t•es uf the whole South knoek together at the apparition. John B rown is God's own pro t e~t against thi.- ty ranny, ngainst the unright ·ous laws that sanction it, aga.iust the men and 'tates 14 |