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Show 286 Charles 0 Conor. from the North, they armed the bondman to ~ Jay his master, his master's wife, and bi" ma. ter's li ttle children. ( Groan ~ .) That is the occa ion that calls us togeth er. And immediately succeeding i t - at this v e~·y instant- what do we find to be the pe nd ing political question in Congr •:;;s ? A book, encouraging the same general course of p er "ecution again. t the South that has been long pursued, ha been ope nly recommended to circulation by six ty-eight members of your Congr ess. ( Cries of" Shame ! shame !") R ecommended to circulation by sixtyeight members of your Cong re s, elected fi·om the N orthern S ta tes. (Renewed cries of " Shame! " and " "\V e'll put them out! ") E very one, I ~ay, elected from N on- laveholding S tates. And with the ::vsistance of certain a ~ o ciat c~, ~ome of whom hold their offices by your votes, (<'ric· of H Th<:>y tihan't be the re long!") there is g reat danger that they will elect to the chair, where he will stand as a r epresentati,·e of the whole North, a man who united in cau ing that work to be d istributed through the South, carrying poi ·on and d rath in it pollu ted leave", (G roans, applause, and cries of " IGck him out of Con ~re.ss ! " ) Iti it not fctir to say that thi - g re:1.t and glorio us U nion is menaced when sueh a thing is a ttempted ? Is it r easonable to expect that our brothers of the South will calmly .. it down( cries of " No! ")- "'ill calmly it down and submit qnictly to . uch an outrage ? Gentlemen, 'vc g reatly exccccl the people of the South in numbers. The Non-slaveholding t)tates nrc by far the most populous. They arc increa;-;ing <laily in numbers and in population, and we may soon overwhelm the Southern vote. If we continue to fill the halls of Jeo-isla tion 0 with abolitionist , and permit to occupy the executive chair public men who declare them elves to be enlisted in a crusade again t Slavery, and again t the provi sion ~ of the Consti tution which ecure sJa,·e property-what can we r ca. onal>ly expect from the people of the South but that they will pronounce the Con titution, with all it.· ' g lorious as ociations - with all its sa cred memories - this Union, with its manifold present and Charles O'Conor. promised blessings, an unendur able evil, threatening to cr ush a nd destroy their mo t vital interest - to make their coun try a wilderne s? \ Vhy should we expect them to submit to snelL a l ine of conduct, a nd still r ecognize us a · brothers, or agree to the perpetuation of this U nion? ( Applau c.) I do not see, for my par t, any thing unju t, any thing unrea sonable, in t he declaration of Southern members. They tell us, " If y ou will thus assail us with incend iary pamphlets - if you will thus create a spirit in your country which Iemls to v iolence and blood;:;hed among us - if you will as ail the in, titu tion upon which the prosperity of our country depend · - if y ou will elevate to oflice over us men who a re plcdg •d to aid in such tra n actions, and to oppr c s us by ho·tile legislation, mnch as we r evere the Constitut ion, greatly as we est imate the blessing. which would flow from i ts f~li thfnl e nforc ement we can not longer depend on your compliance with its inj unction , or adher e to the U nion." ( Applau. e.) F or my par t, gentlemen, if the North con tinucs to conduct itself in the selection of repre entatives in the Cong rcs. of the U nited Sta tes, as, per hap , from a cer tain dco-ree of nc o-l io-cnce 0 0 0 and inatte nt ion, it lm heretofore conducted it elf the South I ' ' think, i - not to be censured if it withdraw fi·om the associa-tion. (Cries of " That is so," appla use, and "Three cheers for the Fug itive Slave L aw.") "\Ve arc not, gentleme n, to hold a meeting, and say tl1at "we love thi Union ; we delight in it; we arc proud of it; it ble se~ us, and we e njoy i t ; we shall fi ll all its offices with men of our own choosing, and, our br e thren of the South, you s!ta ll enjoy its glorious past; you shall enjoy its mighty r ecollection , but i t sha ll trample your in ti tntions in the du .. t." \V e l1a ve no r igh t to say it. "\Ve have no rig ht to exact o mueh; and an oppo_ite and entirely differ en t course, fello ·wcitizens, mu t be otu·s - must be the course of the o-teat North b ' if we would prc~erve this Union. (Applause, a nd erie;:; of "Good ! ") \Vhat must we sacrifice if we exasperate our br ethren of |
