4 toil and their patriotism, as precious relics, worthy of our ceaseless veneration and our ardent and devoted imitation. These relics constitute the pure fountain of freedom, from which our constitutional liberty flows, and will continue to flow through all time, unless fouled by the tread of the slaveholder and his free-state confederate. The firstgeneral congress which ever assembled in the colonies of British America, convened in Philadelphia in 1774. One of its earliest and most earnest efforts was, to put an end to the African slave trade. This wa's attempted openly and boldly, as a necessary preliminary to the abolition of slavery itself. Sir, those glorious old men, so deeply imbued with the spirit of the Bible, had at that time discovered no divinity—no Bible sanction to the wicked institution. But hark! Let us listen to the solemn and truthful voice of that first old continental congress. Blessed old fathers of our institutions—gone to their graves, full of years, and full of honors I But still they speak to all of us who have ears to hear, or hearts to understand—men whose fame will only grow brighter with the lapse of ages ; and whom it were an everlasting joy to call our fathers, were it not that their integrity to human liberty, has become the bitterest reproach upon our apostacy from, and treachery to, the holiest interests of our country and the human race. But listen again to the voice of the fathers, oh, ye sham democrats ! Hearken also, ye republicans! for their instructions are to all such as revere their memory, and follow in their footsteps. The first general congress assembled in Philadelphia in September, 1774, resolved that “ The abolition of domestic slavery is the ‘ greatest object of desire in these colonies, where ‘ it was unhappily introduced in their infant ‘ state. But previous to the enfranchisement of ‘ the slaves, it is necessary to exclude further im- 1 portations from Africa. Yet our repeated at- ‘ tempts to effect this by prohibitions, and by im- ‘ posing duties which might amount to prohibi- ‘ tion, have been heretofore defeated by his Majesty's negative; thus preferring the immediate ‘ advantage of a few African corsairs, to the 1 lasting interests of the American states, and ‘ the rights of human nature, deeply wounded by ‘ the infamous practice.”—American Archives, 4th series, vol. 1, p. 696. So “his Majesty”—thick-skulled, but mulish old King George III, was perversely bent on forcing slavery upon the colonies, against their most earnest remonstrances—against reasoh, common sense, and common humanity—and just so now, our modern dull-headed, dough-faced, and sham democratic party, following in the perverse footsteps of its illustrious prototypes, old King George and Lord North, is doing the samfein- famous and ruinous work for the ill-fated and oppressed people of Kansas. In the eyes of King George, the interests of a score or two of slave-trading pirates, was sufficient to break down the interests, and “ to crush out,” if possible, the principles of three millions of his subjects; and so noio, in the eyes of the sham democracy, the pretended, but not actual right of a mere handful of slaveholders, to saddle their atrocious and ruinous institution of slavery upon the free people and free territory of Kansas, against the most earnest remonstrances of that people, in breach of a solemn and time-bonOred compact, and at the hazard of civil war, and the overthrowing of the union, completes the parallel; and 1 leave it to the historian to say which should bear the palm, whether old King George or modern democracy, in this rivalship in wickedness and stupidity. Again, sir, I revert with gratitude and pride, to those venerated men who, in view of perils which would have daunted the boldest not armed in a panoply of righteousness and truth, and quote to the confusion of the combined, but recreant democracy and slavencracy, the bold, and yet holy resolves of the fathers whose memory they dishonor. I quote from the articles of association, formed by that first congress of 1774 : “ We do for ourselves and the inhabitants of ‘ the several colonies whom we represent, firmly 1 agree and associate under the sacred ties of ‘ virtue, honor, and love of our country, as fol- ‘ lows: * * * “ 2. That we will neither import nor purchase 1 any slave imported after the first day of Novem- 1 ber next, after which time we will wholly dis- ‘ continue the slave trade, and will neither be ‘ concerned in it ourselves, nor will we hire our ‘ vessels nor sell our commodities or manufactures 1 to those who are concerned in it.” * * * “ 3. That a committee be chosen in every ‘ county, city, and town, by those who are quali- ‘ fied to vote for representatives in the legisla- ‘ ture, whose business it shall be attentively to ‘ observe the conduct of all persons touching ‘ this association; and when it shall be made to ‘ appear, to the satisfaction of a majority of any 1 such committee, that any person within the ‘ limits of their appointment has violated this ag- ‘ sociation, that such majority do forthwith cause ‘ the truth of the case to be published in the ‘ Gazette, to the end that all such foes to the ‘ rights of British America may bepubliely known. ‘ and universally contemned, as the enemies of ‘ American liberty, and thenceforth we, respect- 1 ively, will break of all dealings with him or 1 her.” * * * “14. And we do further agree, and resolve, ‘ that We will have no trade, commerce, dealings, ‘ or intercourse whatever—-with any colony, or ‘ province, in North America, which shall not ac- 1 cede to, or w'hich shall hereafter violate, this 1 association; but will hold them as unworthy of ‘the rights of freemen, and as inimical to the ‘ liberties of this country.” “ The foregoing association, being determined ‘ upon by the congress, was ordered to be sub- ‘ scribed by the several members thereof; and ‘ thereupon we have hereunto set our respective ‘ names accordingly. “ In Congress, Philadelphia, October, 20, 1774. “PEYTON RANDOLPH, President.’- (.Archives, Ibid.) Mr. Chairtnan, that was the bold, stern language in which our fathers denounced slavery— the “ sum of all villanies.” These were some of
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