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61

drink of American Slave-masters.

The blaspheming madness

of the witches in Macbeth, dancing round the cauldron, and dropping into it "sheltered venom sleeping got," and every other " charm of powerful trouble," was all renewed. But Mr. Giddings, strong in the consciousness of right,

He knew

nity of his position.

that

it is

knew

the dig-

honorable always to

serve the cause of Liberty, and that

it is a privilege to suffer for Eeproach, contumely, violence even unto death, are rewards, not punishments and clearly the indignities

this cause.



which you

can excite no shame except for their authors. Besides these eminent instances, others may be mentioned, offer

showing the personalities to which Senators and Eepresentatives have been exposed, when undertaking to speak for Freedom. And truth compels me to add, that there is too much evidence that these have been aggravated by the circumstance that, where persons notoriously rejected an appeal to the Duel, such insults could be offered with impunity. Here is an instance. In 1818, Mr. Hale, the Senator from New-Hampshire, who still continues an honor to this body, introduced into the Senate a in the District of Columbia,

bill for

the protection of property

especially against mob-violence.

In the course of the debate that ensued, Mr. Foote, a Slavemaster from Mississippi, thus menaced him " I invite the Senator to the State of Mississippi, and will tell him beforehand, in honesty, that he could not go ten miles into the interior before he would grace one of the tallest trees of the forest with a rope around his neck, with the approbation of every virtuous and patriotic citizen, and that, if necessary, / should myself all

assist in the operation." «

That this bloody threat may not seem two others. Mr.

Hammond,

as saying in the " I

warn the

of South-Carolina,

now a

abolitionists,

in 1841,

Senator,

is

add

reported

House of Eepresentatives ignorant, infatuated barbarians as they are, that

chance shall throw any of them into our hands, they

And

to stand alone, I

may

expect a feloris death

I

if

"

Mr. Payne, a Slave-master from Alabama, in

the course of debate in the to the Abolitionists,

House of Representatives, alluding

among whom he

insisted the Postmaster-

General ought to be included, declared that "

to the

—

put the brand of Cain upon them yes, the mark of South he would hang them like dor/s."

He would

came

hell

—and

if

they