The Duty Of The Free States

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Excerpt from Duty of the Free States: Or Remarks Suggested by the Case of the Creole This statement of the case of the Creole is derived chie y from the testimony of the officers and crew ofthe vessel, and very naturally falls under suspicion of being colored, in part, by prejudice and passion. We must hear the other side, and compare all the witnesses, before we can understand the whole case. The main facts, however, cannot be misunderstood. The shipping of the slaves at Norfolk, the rising of a part of their number against the officers of the vessel, the success of the insurrection, the carrying of the vessel into the port of Nassau, and the recognition and treatment of the slaves as free by the British authorities of that place; these material points of the case cannot be questioned. The letter of our government, stating these facts as grounds of complaint against England, is written with much caution, and seems wanting in the tone of earnest ness and confidence which naturally belongs to a good cause. It does not go to the heart of the case. It relies more on the comity of nations, than on principles of justice and natural law. Still, in one respect it is de cided. It protests against, and complains of, the British authorities, and calls loudly for redress. It'maintains, that it was the plain and obvious duty of the authori ties at Nassau to give aid and succor to the officers of the Creole in reducing the slaves to subjection, in re sumlug their voyage with their cargo of men as well as of tobacco, and in bringing the insurgents to trial in this country. It maintains, that the claims of the American masters to their slaves existed, and were in force in the British port, and that these claims ought to have been acknowledged and sustained by the British magistrate. The plain inference is, that the government of the United States is bound to spread a shield over American slavery abroad as well as at home. Such is the letter. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."

Excerpt from The Duty of the Free States, Vol. 2 I insist on this, because the feeling of individual re sponsibility is very much lost in consequence of the excessive deference of the private man to the govern ment under which he lives. On the subject of slavery in particular, the responsibility both at the North and South is shifted very much from the individual to the State. The private conscience is merged in the public. What the government determines, the multitude of men are apt to think right. We do not exercise our moral judgment, because it has been forestalled by the consti tution and by the laws. We are members of a com munity, and this relation triumphs over all others. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.