would ever have been so extensively diffused
but in the interest of slavery. It must have
empire, and sought it through every channel,
and, in my judgment, it has found it ! The
empire of the tomb.
I moreover am in favor of a reunion be-
cause the whole country is mine and yours.
It is my heritage and yours, and it shall be
bequeathed as inviolate and unbroken to our
posterity as it was received by us from our
fathers. But the demon that eats at her
vitals must die!
See what she was and what she is! She
was the admiration of the world ! Her left
hand grasping the rising and her right the
setting sun. The blasts of winter fanned her
temples in the north, and orange groves and
ever-greens adorned her foot-stool in the
south; the ample folds of her banner like the
wing of a protecting angel, floated cover every
sea; and the nations of the earth in one
voice exclaimed to the young mistress of the
west:
" Macte novum virtute; sic iter ad astra."
Such was our country, mine and yours,
from the icebergs of the northern coast to
the burning sands of the Gulf.
Now what is she? Her maimed and bleed-
ing heroes meet us on every highway. Her
standard is torn and trampled in the dust,
Her sacred temple of liberty is profaned by
the breath of treason unrebuked. The ruth-
less foot of the " Nephew of his Uncle" treads
the soil of our south-western BORDER=0; and we,
poor, sore-stricken sons of our fathers, dare
not smite the intruder to the earth.
What has brought us to this, fellow-coun-
trymen? Fellow-heirs of this heritage, what
shall we do to redeem it? Our answer is the
answer of every patriot heart—SLAVERY MUST
DIE!
Mr. BERRY, of Prince George's. Mr. Pres-
ident, I approach the discussion of this ques-
tion with great diffidence, more so perhaps
than I have ever felt in entering upon the
discussion of any question presented to my
mind for consideration; and this is not so
much on account of the vast pecuniary inter-
est of my section of the State in the particular
institution, which will be affected by the
passage of this measure, as the great change
which will be made in our domestic institu-
tions, the striking down of the whole of the
productivity industry and source of wealth of
the agricultural portion of the State, and
the violence and injustice with which it is at-
tempted to be brought about by the majority
of this Convention.
The magnitude of the question involved,
and the paramount interest as affecting the
future welfare of the State, must inspire the
members of this body with an interest that
will not be felt in the consideration of any
other question which will claim our attention
here. |
The people of my portion of the State have
ever since the formation of your State gov-
ernment, and even before, been so intimately
connected with this institution, (for the ex-
istence of which they are not at all responsi-
ble,) and are now so largely interested in its
maintenance that it is with great difficulty
I can approach the discussion of the question,
either upon the grounds of morality or State
policy; when I consider the proposition as
reported by the committee, and the unjust,
violent, and inconsiderate course pursued by
the majority of the Convention on this sub-
ject, without a feeling of indignation and
disgust which I do nut desire to exhibit in
this body.
We look upon this effort to abolish slavery
as an outrage upon our rights, such as never
before has been perpetrated upon any people ;
not demanded by either the advance inciv-
ilization, morality or the present condition
of the country, but the promptings of a fa-
naticism which had its origin in the North,
and which has been so diffused among the
people of this State as to upset their reason
and render them incapable of a just appreciation
of the blessings of republican institu-
tions.
It is a question which, if discussed fully,
must necessarily involve the consideration of
all of those fundamental principles which un-
derlie republican institutions, to the mainten-
ance of which the citizen is most vitally in-
terested, and without which no government
can expect that free, full, and hearty support
which all good and patriotic citizens desire
to render to their government.
Not only do you propose to destroy a do-
mestic institution, but to take from us forty
millions of dollars worth of property without
being able to assign one sound reason found-
ed in fact why this gross outrage should be
perpetrated upon the slaveholders of Mary-
land.
It will not be denied, I suppose, by gentle-
men on the other side, that this is entirely a
domestic institution. Mr. Lincoln so regarded
it in his inaugural address, and several of
his messages afterwards sent to Congress,
and he further declares that the Congress of
the United States had no power to interfere
with slavery in the States. His consistency
in this respect yon can fully appreciate when
you consider his course toward this institu-
tion in the BORDER=0 States, and the reasons
now assigned for a continuation of the
war. It is not only upon his authority that
I claim it to be a domestic institution, but
upon the authority of all the treaties upon
the subject, and of the statesmen of the past,
and never until this unfortunate condition of
things did Congress attempt to legislate upon
the subject except for its preservation and
protection.
In the formation of societies the citizen
was required to yield to the government cer- |
