Anti-Texass Legion: Protest of some free men, states and presses against the Texass rebellion, against the laws of nature and of nations Page: 40 of 72
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W. SLADE.
But Mr. S. could assure them they were entirely mistaken. It was
not over; very far from it, and he thanked the gentleman from New.
York, (Mr. Linn,) for rousing the attention of the country to the
subject. What had they seen during the last year ? Not only did
the public press of the south and south-west come out openly for an.
nexation, but several of the states had passed official resolutions to
the same effect; and when brought into the House of Representa-
tives, how were they treated ? Not as the abolition resolutions even
from state legislatures were. They were not only received, but or.
dered to be printed, that they might be considered and acted upon.
The same thing had been done at the other end of the capitol. All
this was done with the intent of forming public opinion, and, so far,
it was all fair. But if a northern abolitionist should attempt any
means to counteract such opinion at the south, by arguments how-
ever strong and however reasonable, he must straightway be seized
and hung to a lamp post. [A laugh.]
The American people never could be drawn into any such mea-
sure as the annexation of Texas; it would be utter ruin to the union
of the states. Mr. S. would not give a snap of his fingers for this
union from the day such a measure was effected. It would be dis-
solved ipso facto from that moment. He was a friend to the union;
he desired to see it preserved, and therefore he deprecated a scheme
that must dissolve it.
He would say, in general terms, that he believed it arose from a
desire to extend and to perpetuate slavery. That such a desire did
exist was a fact beyond dispute; it had been manifested with greater
or less distinctness for the last forty years ; in its practical effects it
had trampled on all the safeguards of the constitution, and lengthened
the cords and strengthened the stakes of slavery in this land. The
general expectation at the adoption of the constitution, was that
slavery would be abolished in less than a quarter of a century; but
half a century had elapsed, and instead of being abolished it had in-
creased three-fold. This process began with the purchase of Louisi-
ana, or rather, with the toleration of slavery in that state, and it
had been extended in the free states since formed out of the Louisiana
parchase. Mr. S. considered this as having inflicted a deeper wound
on the constitution than any other event that had ever happened since
its adoption.
,Mr. S. could show, did time permit, how slavery had governed this
land; how it had chosen our presidents for a succession of forty
years, while there had, since the foundation of the government, been
a president in the chair from the free states but for twelve years and
one month. And of these, one never would have been president had
he not been " a northern man with southern principles." A review
of the individuals who had filled the speaker's chair of this house
would show the same thing.
He might refer to the fact that five out of six of those who had
filled the mission to Mexico, had been gentlemen from the southern
states. Of the reason of such a selection there could be no doubt.
He need not say how impossible it was to carry on important nego-
tiations with almost any government, and especially with Mexico,
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Anti-Texass Legion. Anti-Texass Legion: Protest of some free men, states and presses against the Texass rebellion, against the laws of nature and of nations, book, January 1, 1845; Albany. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth2356/m1/40/: accessed April 20, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.