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The Green Bag
cratic party in its platform pledged itself to maintain the compromise of 1850, but notwithstanding this pledge the Kansas-Nebraska bill was introduced, which became law, and territory as
signed as free under that compromise was then open to settlement by slave
owners accompanied by their slaves. Then followed the scenes in Kansas which embittered both North and South. Deep called unto deep as with in creasing recrimination each section ap proached the line of cleavage.
No one
will accuse Judge Curtis of being an alarmist, or as viewing great public questions
or movements
other than
sanely, but in April, 1850, in an address of'welcome to Mr. Webster, after having
alluded to the American nation, its prosperity and glory, and that it was only under the Constitution that the union could be preserved for .posterity, he continued: Recent events have awakened our most painful attention to this great subject. You are well aware, sir, that it involves some important conflicting interests, and still more
conflicting opinions and feelings. Any at tempt to reconcile them must for a time at least be the cause of offending many honest men. But even they, ‘sir, can scarcely with hold their respect from manliness which dares to speak disagreeable things, and from the patriotism which seeks in a spirit of concilia tion a remedy for an inflamed and disordered state of the public mind.
In reply, among other things, Mr. Webster said, referring to the 7th of March speech:
gress. Neither you nor I shall see the legis lation of the country proceed in the old har monious way until the discussion in Congress and out of Congress upon the subject to which we have alluded shall be in some way sup pressed. Take that truth home with you, and take it as truth. Until something can be done to allay this feeling now separating men, and the different sections, there can be no useful and satisfactory legislation in the two houses of Congress.
The futility of attempting to convert a political into a judicial question was shown by the result in the case of Dred Scott. It is unnecessary to refer to the accusations of conspiracy of either himself or the majority of his associates with slave-holders, or with the President, or his alliance with motives that were unholy or infamous in the administration of the judicial office. All these charges have long since been exploded and shown to have no basis of fact upon which to rest. He had said in his opinion :— It is difficult at this day to realize the state of public opinion in relation to that unfortunate race which prevailed in a civil ized and intelligent portion of the world at the time of the Declaration of Independence, and when the Constitution of the United States was framed and adopted. They had for more than a century been regarded as beings of an inferior order, altogether unfitted to associate with the white race in social or political relations, and so far inferior, that they had no rights which the white man was bound to respect, and that the negro might justly and lawfully be reduced to slavery for his benefit.
The phrase “that they had no rights I have felt it my duty on a late occasion to make an effort to bring about some amelior ation of that excited feeling on that subject, which pervades the people of the country everywhere North and South, and made an eflort also to restore the government to its proper capacity for discharging the proper business of the country, for now, let me say, it is unable to perform that business. That it may regain that capacity there is necessity for efiort both in Congress and out of Con
which the white man was bound to re spect" was wrenched from its context, seized upon, and promulgated through
out the North until it is no exaggeration to say that in the mind of the masses the name of Taney was-the incarnation of injustice and judicial infamy. Ornate perhaps in expression, but no less severe, were the comments of Seward, of Sumner,
