The oration concludes with the following words of consolation and advice, which individuals and nations would do well to regard: 66 And, finally, let a confidence in the Progress of our race be, under God, our constant faith. Let the sentiments of loyality, earth-born, which once lavished itself on King or Emperor, give place to that other sentiment, heaven-born, of devotion to Humanity. Let Loyalty to one Man be exchanged for Love to Man. And be it our privilege to extend these sacred influences throughout the land. So shall we open to our country new fields of peaceful victories, which shall not want the sympathies and gratulations of the good citizen, or the praises of the just historian. Go forth, then, my country, 'conquering and to conquer,' not by brutish violence; not by force of arms; not, oh! not, on dishonest fields of blood; but in the majesty of Peace, of Justice, of Freedom, by the irresistible might of Christian Institutions." At Springfield, September 29, 1847, Mr. Sumner made a powerful speech at the Whig State Convention of Massachusetts, on Political Action against the Slave Power and the Extension of Slavery. In this address we find the following just and noble sentiments, which are well worthy of the serious consideration of all American citizens, north and south: "And is not strange, Mr. President, that we, in this nineteenth century of the Christian era-in a country whose earliest charter declares that ' All men are born equal'-under a Constitution, one of whose express objects is, 'to secure the blessings of liberty' is it not passing strange, that we should be now occupied in considering how best to prevent the opening of new markets in human flesh? Slavery, which has been expelled from distant despotic States, seeks shelter here by the altars of freedom. Alone in the company of nations does our country assume the championship of this hateful institution. Far away in the East, at 'the gateways of the day,' by the sacred waters of the Ganges, in effeminate India, Slavery has been condemned; in Constantinople, the queenly seat of the most powerful Mahomedan empire, where barbarism still mingles with civilization, the Ottoman Sultan has fastened upon it the stigma of disapprobation; the Barbary States of Africa have been changed into Abolitionists; from the untutored ruler of Morocco comes the expression of his desire, stamped in the formal terms of a treaty, that the very name of Slavery may perish from the minds of men; and only recently, from the Dey of Tunis has proceeded that noble act, by which, 'In honor of God, and to distinguish man from the brute creation'-I quote his own words-he decreed its total abolition throughout his dominions. Let Christian America be willing to be taught by these despised Mahomedans. God forbid that our republic-' heir of all the ages, foremost in the files of time,—should adopt anew the barbarism and cruelty which they have renounced or condemned! "The early conduct of our fathers, at the time of the formation of the Constitution, should be our guide now. On the original suggestion of Jefferson, subsequently sustained and modified by others, a clause was introduced into the fundamental law of the Northwest Territory, by virtue of which Slavery has been forever excluded from that extensive region. This act of wisdom and justice is a source of prosperity and pride to the millions who now live beneath its influence. And shall we be less true to the principles of freedom than the authors of that instrument? Their spirits encourage us to constant and uncompromising devotion to its cause. With the promptings from their example may properly mingle the words of that evangelist of Liberty, Lafayette, who, though born on a foreign soil, by his earnest labors, by his blood shed in our cause, by the friendship of Washington, by the gratitude of every American heart, is enrolled among the patriots and fathers of the land. His opinions of Slavery have only recently been revealed to the world. From the pen of the philanthropist, Clarkson, we learn that his amiable nature was specially roused on this subject. He was a real gentleman,' says Clarkson, and of soft and gentle manners. I have seen him put out of temper, but never at any time except when Slavery was the subject.' To Clarkson, Lafayette said expressly, 'I would never have drawn my sword in the cause of America, if I could have conceived that thereby I was founding a land of slavery.' Shall we, whom his sword helped to make free, now found a new land of Slavery? * * * "With every new extension of Slavery, fresh strength is imparted to the political influence, monstrous offspring of Slavery, known as the Slave Power. This influence, beyond any other under our government, has deranged our institutions. To this the great evils which have afflicted the country-the different perils to the Constitution-may all be traced. The Missouri Compromise, the annexation of Texas, the war with Mexico, are only a portion of the troubles caused by the Slave Power. It is an ancient fable, that the eruptions of Etna were produced by the restless movements of the giant Enceladus, who was imprisoned beneath. As he turned on his side, or stretched his limbs, or struggled, the conscious mountain belched forth flames, fiery cinders, and red-hot lava, carrying destruction and dismay to all who dwelt upon its fertile slopes. The Slave Power is the imprisoned giant of our Constitution. It is there confined and bound to the earth. But its constant and strenuous struggles have caused, and ever will cause, eruptions of evil to our happy country, in comparison with which, the flames, the fiery cinders, and the red-hot lava of the volcano are trivial and transitory. The face of nature may be blasted-the land may be struck with sterility -villages may be swept by floods of flame, and whole families entombed alive in its burning embrace; but all these evils shall be small by the side of the deep, abiding, unutterable curse of a act of national wrong. "Let us, then, pledge ourselves, in the most sol. emn form, by united exertions, at least to restrain this destructive influence within its original constitutional bounds. Let us, at all hazards, prevent the extension of slavery, and the strengthening of the Slave Power. Our opposition must keep right on, and not look back: Like the Pontic sea, Whose icy current and compulsive course In this contest, let us borrow from the example of the ancient Greek, who, when his hands were cut |