Free Soil Banner, Indianapolis, Marion County, 25 August 1848 — Page 1

FREE SOIL BANNER.

EDITED BY W. B. GREER & L. WALLACE.

VOL. I.

“ HE IS THE FREEMAN, WHOM TRUTH MAKES FREE; AND ALL ARE SLAVES BESIDE."

[AT FIFTY CENTS FOR THE CAMPAIGN

INDIANAPOLIS, FRIDAY. AUGUST 25, 1848.

NO. I.

BUFFALO Free Soil Convention. Reported for the Com. Advertiser by Oliver Dyer.

FIRST DAY.

Wednesday, August 9th, 1848

half-past 8 o’clock.

Long before the hour for the organization of the Convention, an immense concourse had assembled under the tent

loved leader of the Whigs, why was he sacrificed ? (A voice, “slavery was the cause.”) Yes, both the great popular leaders of the two parties had been sacrificed to slavery. But now the people have taken up the question themselves, and they will never rest nor allow the country to rest till it shall be definitely settled. The Whigs had . nominated Gen. Taylor, who was “A Whig but not an Ultra Whig.*' My friends, what would you say of a. man who would proclaim himself a Chris-

couragements and exhortations to unity, and expressions of determination to to put the thing through,” “no giving up,” “no compromising,” “free soil and nothing else.” The various speeches

with loud cheers, and

. xi u , i- . /• . i tian hut not an Ultra Christian, “and m the I ark to listen to a few prelum- utt |v , 0 be an e nent of nary remarks and speecl.es, and en- chris ; ian principles ?” (Laughter.)-

Do you think he would be admitted into any respectable Church on such a confession of faith ? (No, no.) No, nor will Gen. Taylor get into the Whig

. ... . . - ,, party. He may get into a small porwere received w.th loud cheers, and jt i„t 0 that portion constituted excited great enthusiasm among the. of , nen w(|0 have s ^ ns for whom th vast assemblage. At length it was an- ] WJsh t0 t sn places ,_ whom the [, nounced that Giddings was present.- wis| , to s hnve * „ int ed Midshipmen; No sooner was tha name pronounced, | or , 0 some £ lhousond lucrative than a shout of enthusutsm burst tort!, | offices wkich to make the execu . sue , as we have seldom heard, end | l|v ^ whj J, ^ oud cries of -Guklmgs, -Giddings, [ hou l d ^ 0 f or TayCr, and Iliuikers y.'ddmgs,” re-echoed Iron, all sides. > ^ for t as ’. - but to the great disappointment of the | fi / e ; if ^ men assembly, it was found that Air. Gld-1 where , |ive and wlier( , we po| , i00

votes. (Laughter.) We must beg to

...... . - . . , differ from them. (Laughter.)the tollowing sentiment ior the adop-1 nt.- ^ * i „ „ ir ^ . 1 11ns convention must be a seli-sac-

tion ot the Convention:

“Let men of

There are the town

dings was not present. Mr. Peck, of Connecticut, offered

Mr.

Mr.

Peck,

, . . i . rifficing Convention. A crisis had arri-

. ,u ( ee P t -' puncipe ved when old jn-edjudices bad got to be mamiest the most profound condescen- i -- ■ •. 1 ®

sion, and exercise the deepest humility to-day, and posterity will honor them for the deed.” This sentiment was received with acclamations.

9 o'clock.

By this time the concourse had become immense. Everv available seat

laid aside—sacrificed upon the altar of our common country’s good. He had come here to lay down all his former predilections upon this altar—to strike hands even with those against whom he had previously battled. We mingle here with representatives from Ohio,

Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa and Michigan, thank God. Here they stood,

and foot-hold on the ground was occu- representatives from the fair fields of pied. The Ohio delegation came into the West—an empire in itself, from the tent with banners flying, and were which slavery had been blotted out by received with great cheering. The a resolution drawn by the great man delegation was welcomed by Col. Mil-of our independence. Slavery had ler, from N. H., in a neat and spirit-1 been excluded, and now the west had stirring speech, which was received become the rich granary of the world, with applause. He had came on with representatives Mr. Earle, of Worcester, Mass., fol- from New Jersey—that battle field of lowed in a few remarks which consist- the Revolution. And Pennsylvania, ed of a repetition of the charge against too, that glorious Old Keystone of Gen. Taylor, that he [Gen. Taylor] is the Union, is here—firm and true as opposed to the Wilmot Proviso. Mr.; steel—who cherishes within her boEarle read from Mr. Bott's address to! som the patriot Wilmot. God raised

of V

i

irginia

to prove

this up a David of old to slay the giant of Gath. So hath David Wilmot with the sling of freedom and the smooth stone of truth struck the giant slavery between the eyes—he reels—let us push him over ! Massachusetts is here—and it is fitting she should be. A son of

the people

charge.

Judge Nye, of Madison county, was here called for, and came forth amid great cheering. He said that he wished to make a few remarks in relation to this “Barnburning,” movement. He

was one that had voted for Polk in’44 /John Quincy Adams was here among and he was ready to confess that they/ her delegates. There was Samuel Adhad been egregiously taken in, but he/ ams, first among the statesmen of the trusted that repentance would wipe out / Revolution, and he rejoiced that Frantheir transgression. The Northern cis /P. Adams was in the front ranks of

cating self and traps from “wreck of matter and crash of boards.” and concluded to report no more of Mr. Husbands’ remarks, because we couldn’t.) We finally got a corner of the table on which the Speaker was standing, when “Stanton,” “Stanton,” was loudly called, and came forward amid loud cheering, and gave notice that the Convention would be regularly organized at 12 o’clock, and was about to sit down, when there was such an outcry for him to “just say something,” that he consented and said he would make a speech about as long as the ferule of

his cane.

He said that the motto of this Convention should be that of the French Republic, “ Liberty, Equality, Fraternity." (Cheers.) They had come up to contend against a movement, on the part of the slave interest, to extend that cursed institution which takes the image of Almighty God on the immortal soul, and blots it therefrom by legislation and stamps in its place, by legal enactment, the name of brute, beast, and property; that that institution now struggling for existence on its own soil, shall be extended to territories where the lower morality and feebler republicanism of Mexico has abolished it.— This is the issue which the South tenders to this country at the noonday of the nineteenth century. Waiving all my peculiar views, I am for joining issue with the South on that great cause. 1 am for trying it this.year before the American people, and I am for getting a verdict, and entering up judgment, taking out an execution, and levying on the slave power, and taking possession of it, and hanging it up between the Heavens and the Earth where the winds of execration shall whistle through it. (Cheers.) In order to fight this battle successively we must he united, and again I say let us adopt the glorious motto of the new-horn French republic: “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.” (Cries of good, good, that’s it, go

it, give it to ’em.)

The great loadstone principle which has brought us here from the Mississippi to the Aroostook, for it has been ascertained in general committee that all the Northern tier of Slave States are represented in this Convention, [Good, good,] is the the French motto, Liberty, the sun of this great movement, around which the other departments revolve, bound to it by the law of gravitation and from which all other subordinate movements receive their light and their heat. Then, sir, we come here to carry out that other principle of the French republic, Equality. Whigs, Democrats and Abolitionists, all parties

ry now free, is to prohibit its existence in all such territory by act of Congress. Mr. Noble was unanimously confirmed by the Convention as the representative of the District of Columbia, and a resolution was passed to the effect that a Committee of one from each State and one from the District of Columbia, be selected to dtaft a plan for the permanent organization of the Convention, and that each delegation appoint its representative. The. States were called and the following gentlemen were appointed as the committee: Maine.—Jabez C. Woodman. New Hampshire—George T. Fogg. Vermont—E. D. Barber Massachusetts—William Jackson. Rhode Island—Wm. G. Hammond. Connecticut—Thaddeus Wells. Neio York—Preston King. New Jersey—H. M. Conger. Pennsylvania—Joseph Neide. Ohio—S, P. Chase. Michigan—Isaac P. Christiancy. Wisconsin—Hans Crocker. Illinois—Isaac N. Arnold. Iowa—William Miller. Indiana—Joseph L. Jarnigan. Delaware—Jacob Pusey. Maryland—William Robinson Virginia—George Craig. District of Columbia—L. P. Noble. The Committee retired to the Court House for the purpose of deliberating upon business to be presented to the Convention—nominating permanent officers, &c. A committee of five, consisting of John R. St. John, W. Larimer, jr., Dyre Tyllinghast, Ralph Farnsworth, and John P. Hogeboom, was appointed to select and appropriate seats for the the several delegations. The Convention then took a recess until 3 o’clock.

Buffalo Free Soil Convention.

[Reported expressly for the Morning Herald, by J. V. Smith ]

their transgression. The Northern Democrats made a great mistake in ‘44, when they admitted the two-thirds rule. They ought to have met the issue at once. [Cries of yes, yes.] Mr. Van Buren received the majority of

cis P. Adams was in the front ranks of

this great moral revolution.

He hailed this time as a glorious era. He liked this agitation. It was an augury of better things to come. He liked this mingling of heretofore dis-

the votes of that convention, and ought cordant elements—drawn together by to have been the democratic candidate the great sympathetic cord of freedom, for the Presidency. But he was sacri-Vermont, New Hampshire, Missouri, ficed to the Moloch of Slavery. In’48 and Delaware, are here. And he was the Jeffersonian democracy of the told that Maryland was here, and it was State of New York assembled at Uti- a fact of deeply momentous importca, to send 36 delegates to the Balti- ance, when in the South they begin to more convention. He was one of the talk of the evils of slavery. Virginia, “36.” They went down there, but the i“the mother of Presidents,” was here, doors of the convention were closed The feeling is extending, expanding, against them. There was another band not only at the North, but at the South.. of delegates there from New York. If we are wrong on the Tariff, it can who claimed to be democrats, hut they he righted in twelve hours. If we are had no more title to the designation wrong on Banks, it can he righted by than the devil has to that of christian. legislation. But if we are wrong on! [Laughter.] These men were ready/ the subject of slavery, it never can be ' to bow down and accept the pledge / righted. It will reach down to posterrequired by the south before it was /ity, inflicting curses and misery upon presented to them. [Applause.] Mr./ generations yet to come. Let, then, Yancey, of Alabama, said the demo- no preference for men distract our crats of New York had raised that| councils. Let all meet upon a com-Union-killing question, the “Wilmot/ mon platform, to accomplish a great—

Proviso” and they had better be kept out / a noble purpose.

of the convention, and they were kept /Mr. Husbands, of Rochester, took out. The omnipotent south could carry / the stand and informed the audience ' the Presidential candidate triumphant-/that he was one who had had his head | ly into the chair, without the aid of the / taken off politically in ’44 for rnain''little'' State of New York.’' New York; taming the principles which they were was thrust out of the convention. She | now assembled to advocate. He had had no voice there. She was not heard /stood by the side of Judge Nye and but once, when Daniel S. Dickinson, /had been decapitated with him. His with face elongated to its utmost ten-/ heart was in this convention and he sion, got up and said that if this indig-/was glad to see the respectable portion nity should ever be offered to New/ of all parties. And why was this?— York again, it would excite even the /Why did he see Frederick Douglass indignation of Hunkerism. [Laughter.] here? (Three cheers for Douglass.)— The ''36''came home and made a reg- /Why did he see the Whig party here,

the respectable portion of it. And why did he see the Democracy here in its strength? Because they were all determined to curb and bridle and drive hack and overthrow the proud and aggressive slave power, and he trusted that the people would now unite and shoulder to shoulder, fight in firm array till they should triumph, (Here the staging on which we sat went down with a tremendous crash, capsizing ink, paper, table, reporters and all, spoiling our gold pen, rasping the epidermis from our shins, and committing sundry other outrages of a similar nature. We finally succeeded in extri-

Wednesday, Aug. 9, 1848. AFTERNOON SESSION. The Convention was called to order by the temporary President, when Preston King, from the committee on organization, made the following re-

port :

The committee of one from each State on the permanent organization of the Convention, unanimously recommend CHARLES F. ADAMS, of Massachusetts, as President : That there be one Vice President from each State represented in the Convention, and one from the District of Columbia, to he selected by the delegates from the different States. (The Vice Presidents were subsequently appoint-

ed.) That

C. B. Sedgwick, N. Y., Charles V. Dyer. Ill., Thomas Bolton, Ohio, Ralph Butler, jr., Me., J. E. Snodgrass, Md., A. M. Johnson, N. J., F. Tyler, Penn., he Secretaries of the Convention: That the following he recommended as the mode of representation to be adop-

ted by the Convention :

This convention is assembled in pursuance of a recommendation of the State of Ohio, held at Columbus on the

are broken up and resolved into their /20th day of June last,

original elements. Then there is that/That Convention recommended the other word, Fraternity, completing the /appointment of six delegates at large trinity of principles against which the/ for each State that should choose to be united despotism of the world cannot/represented, and three delegates from

stand, [Cheers.] Now, gentlemen, I /each congressional district,

hope we may not divide. [Cries of/ Several States have followed that good, good, we wont, we wont.] / recommendation, as to the number of

Here a very fat gentleman rested/ delegates, while in other States, coun-

his abdomen on our right shoulder in / ty and district meetings have appointed

such a manner as rendered us wholly

incapable of recording a word which the speaker uttered. It took us some time to arrange matters with our rotund friend, and just as we got ready to resume our labors, Mr. Stanton concluded his speech by declaring that he

J. Mills, Mass.,

A. M. Collins, Conn.,

David L. Rogers, N. J. M. A. Kartland, N. H.,

E. D. Gazzam, Pa„ N. Spindler, Ohio, Sam’l J. Lowe, Ill., J. W. Wright, Ind., Byron Kilbourn, Wis.. Wm. Miller, Iowa, R. S. Wilson, Mich., Robert Gardner, Md., George Craig, Va.,

W. R. Danforth, R. I., A. H. Dickinson, Del.,

L. S. Noble, Dist. Col.

The Convention being organized, the President invoked the attention of the audience to the following appeal to the Throne of Grace by the Rev.

Dr. Tucker :

“ O God, our heavenly father, upon this very interesting occasion we would desire to invoke thy special blessing to rest upon this great multitude, assembled to deliberate upon subjects of momentous importance to our country. Thou hast watched over us with kindness ; thou hast been our God and our father’s God—the father and protector of our country. We bless thee that in thy providential government over our world thou didst reserve this country as an asylum for the oppressed in this latter day, that here the afflicted of every nation under the whole heaven can find a country and a home ; a land of bibles and of bible freedom, with the exception of that dark and foul stain upon our escutcheon, the slavery of one portion of our fellow-men ; but we rejoice that in His good providence such a great host have assembled from all parts of this great confederacy to wipe out that dark stain upon our country, and to proclaim liberty throughout all

the land.

We bless thee, that when our fathers were oppressed in the land of their childhood, thou didst open them an asylum in this western world—a land that was sung of by the poets and foretold by the prophets of ancient times —a land far towards the setting sun, the El Dorado of human freedom and human greatness, where man was to obtain his whole statue, physically, mentally, and spiritually, and where he was to be a perfect being ere he left his pilgrimage below. Thou didst turn away the prow of every Spanish vessel that they might plant it with the pure seed of republicanism. Thou didst watch over our colonies in their infancy, for they obeyed, loved their God and sought him in prayer—they sought his guidance, and so became great among the nations of the earth. And thou hast made us a bright and morning star for the universal emancipation of man everywhere, so that in this very day thou art overturning the despotism of the earth. Thou art causing men to turn their eyes and their attention to this western world and to copy our example. O, we pray thee to give us wisdom to

ty and district meetings have appoint-

ed a much larger number than that/we pray thee to give us wisdom to proposed and in some a smaller num-/ walk in the light of that word thou ber. The committee appointed by the/ hast ordained as the light to our path, delegations of the several States to /and. that we may be that people that confer upon the subject of orgnniza- /1shall know the joyful sound. tion and representation, have had the /And now that thou hast blest us in subject under consideration and beg / times past, O be with us now, especial-

was ready to go for anybody, with any- /leave to submit to the Convention the /ly while in the commencement of this

body, in favor of the free soil movement, and against anybody that is op-

posed to it. [Great cheering.]

President Mahan, of Ohio, took the stand, hut owing to the necessity of re-building the platform previous to the regular organization of the Convention, the audience was requested to divide into four parties, and each party to retire to a corner of the Park, where temporary stands had been erected, and where there were speakers ready to entertain them. The audience did

accordingly, and we left.

The “36”

ular democratic nomination, and the democracy of New York and the friends of liberty throughout the vast extent of our country were rallying to their support. [Cries of yes, yes. You shall be supported.] They had nominated the victim of the slave power in ’44, Martin Van Buren. [Cheers.] But he would now speak of another Convention. The so-called Whig Con-

vention [illegible] at Philadelphia. There

was another noble son of liberty sacrificed on the altar of Slavery. Henry

Clay-at the sound of his name the

st enthusiastic cheers burst from the mbly, the old, and tried, and be-

12 o’clock. ORGANIZATION OF THE CONVENTION. Judge Stevens of Indiana called the meeting to order, and proposed NATHANIEL SAWYER, of Ohio as President of the Convention pro tem. Unanimously confirmed. Mr. Sawyer came forward and ordered the stage to be cleared ; and the stage was cleared. The President nominated Charles P. Wells of Illinois, and Calvin W. Philleo, of Connecticut, as Secretary. Confirmed. Hon. Preston King came forward, amid great cheering, and offered the following motion. He said that it was suggested that a committee consisting of as many members Jrom each State as they have electoral votes, should be appointed to draft resolutions, and recommend certain propositions for the consideration of the Convention. The first thing for us to do is to unite. [Cheers.] He would read a resolution which the committee unanimously agreed upon. There is nothing binding in the resolutions. They are for the consideration of the Convention : Resolved, That it is the duty of the Federal Government to relieve itself from all responsibility for the extension or continuance of slavery, whenever that Government possess Constitutional authority, and is responsible for its existence. Resolved, That the States within which Slavery exists, are alone responsible for the continuance or existence of slavery within such States, and the Federal Government has neither responsibility nor constitutional authority to establish or regulate slavery within the States. Resolved, That the true, and in the judgment of this Convention, the only safe means of preventing the extension of slavery into the territo-

following rules to remedy, as far as / convention, when questions ol deep possible, the inequality that would a-/ interest, affecting the very vitality of rise from voting in mass, per capita or /the country, shall be proposed.

by States.

1. Each State shall he entitled to six conferees, to he composed of its delegates at large if it have them in sufficient numbers, if not they shall be appointed by the delegates in attendance from said State. 2d. Each congressional district of a State represented, shall be entitled to three conferees. The regular delegates of the district shall he such conferees, if enough are in attendance ; if not, the number may be supplied by the delegates from said State, from any persons attending from said State. 3d. The said conferees shall constitute a committee of conference, and shall have full power to sit during the sittings of the convention, and to ascertain and decide finally any question referred by the convention, or any question that shall he originated in said committee of conference, and shall have full power on the subject of representation. 4th. Any question in the Convention shall he referred to said committee, for its final action upon the demand of one hundred members. The Report was unanimously adopt-

ed, when

A committee of two, Messrs. Rathbun, of New York, and Chase, of Ohio, was appointed to inform Mr. Adams of his election and conduct him to the chair. The President took his seat amid deafening applause. The following gentlemen were named as Vice Presidents : Wm. Bradbury, Me., L. Brainard, Yt.,

O God, we pray thee to give harmony and kind feelings in all the delegates; and though their political feelings shall be as different and various as the physical complexions that compose this convention, we each possess a unity in the spirit and purpose for which this convention was assembled. Grant to guide its presiding officer— grant that the mantle of his father may rest upon him, now that he has been gathered to his fathers. O, may the son rise up with his father’s piety; may he fulfill the destiny and the condition and the circumstances his father held in the eye and the councils of his country. May the officers be able to direct all in harmony. Grant that the delegates may come to that result that may receive the favor of all the people. And now we pray thee, our Heavenly Father, to give them calmness of deliberation—may they act as one independent man, and yet be willing to give his private interest to the common good. Into thy hands we commit the cause that is sought to be advocated through these deliberations. God in his mercy cause the sublime result for which many prayers have been offered and much toil endured; and from the breaking up of this convention may the trumpet sound go forth, proclaiming liberty throughout all lands. Into thy hand we commit ourselves. May we love each other as thou hast commanded us, and may we love this beautiful country thou hast given us, and these institutions thou hast given us. And when we shall have accomplished each our duty and our destiny,

in the morning of the resurrection may we ascend with the just. Amen.” At the conclusion of the prayer, which was listened to with profound silence, the President addressed the convention as follows: Fellow-Citizens:—It is a matter of deep and heartfelt gratitude to me that I have been selected as an unworthy instrument to preside over the deliberations of this great body. I would apologise for my unfitness were it not that I see in the multitude of speaking faces before me, and I feel in the mass of sympathizing hearts around me, some security that you will all contribute to make my labors light. Fel-low-Citizens, you have all assembled here to-day out of pure devotion to a principle—that principle clothed as it has been, in technical terms, which do not express the idea, has yet a regard to its support. The multitude that I see before me, give me assurance of the intelligence and the virtue of the people which I never doubted. When the Wilmot Proviso went out their instincts told them that human liberty was in danger, and the answer is that they see here. (Cheers.) I have been told, fellow-citizens, by those who do not sympathise in this glorious movement, that the Wilmot Proviso was, after all. nothing but an abstraction. Well, to a certain extent, it is an abstraction. But I am willing to say what it is not. It is not bread and but ter—it is not roast beef and two dollars a day—it is not a nice provision under government as a reward fo. party services. (Laughter.) No: the Wilmot Proviso rises above all these things. It is an abstraction, hut so was Magna Charta, so the declaration of independence: so it is with truth, and the idea of GOD an abstraction. Bu it is this abstraction that raises mankind above the brutes that perish. It is this that raises a people, and, fellow citizens, it is on these abstractions that we are now rallied to save the country and restore it to that possession which it has deserted. Fellow-citizens, for my part, I re. gard the Wilmot Proviso as covering a great deal more ground than you imagine. I regard the Wilmot Proviso as a struggle between right and wrong, truth and falsehood, between the principle of liberty and the rule of slavery. Now, fellow-citizens, is the accepted time, when we all come together to represent what our position is. and how far the government has drifted from the ancient landmarks which our fathers set up. Now is the accepted time, when we are taking a new observation of the national ship —and if she has drifted from her course, we will try to put her back again. (Applause.) The question which is now before us is one which involves the question whether we shall adhere to the solemn principle of the declaration of independence—whether we shall deduce government from the consent of the governed, and whetherwe shall extend this government which promotes justice or injustice in the territories of the west. Why, fellow-citizens, these questions rise above all mere common law! Man, by a principle of natural law, and by a principle of the law of God, is free. No people are authorized knowingly to SOW THE SEED OF MORAL EVIL, (Great applause.) The Constitution of the United States never contemplated that we, as a people, should create a system of injustice; yet it is a fact that the solemn principles that we have professed for several years have been called in question by men in high places—they have been pronounced to be abstractions. Yes, they have been pronounced actually false! It is highly incumbent upon us, if we mean to stand by what our father’s taught us—if we admire the principles of Locke and the characters of Hampton and Sidney, to resist a system which will carry us back of the writings of Sir Robert Fellow-citizens, it has some to this, that we are to be tested on these points and upon the results of this election. I firmly believe that the world is about to know whether we are really the devoted sons of liberty, or whether we are going to give up the whole of this western continent to men who denounce our principles. Fellow-citi-zens, we are obliged, under a necessity which we would resist, to denounce the organization of the old political parties, as no longer worthy of the confidence of a free people. (Prolonged cheers.) They have shown by their actions that they have no system of policy except fighting with each other to get place as the price of the struggle. They are united in one thing, and that is, to put down the principle of liberty and stifle its existence on this continent. We know the result of the action of these bodies, and now that we have seen and understand what it is they are contending for, we come forward [Continued on Fourth page]