guarded with jealousy by their political institutions, the slaveholders of the South rest their claims to property in man But, sir, there are claims anterior to all human laws, and superior to all political institutions, which are immutable in their nature,—­claims which are the birthright of every human being, of every clime, and of every color,—­claims which God has conferred, and which man cannot destroy without sacrilege, or infringe without sin.  Personal liberty is among these, the greatest and best, for it is the root of all other rights, the conservative principle of human associations, the spring of public virtues, and essential to national strength and greatness.

“’The monstrous and wicked assumption of power by man, over his fellow man, which slavery implies, is alike abhorrent to the moral sense of mankind; to the immutable principles of justice; to the righteous laws of God; and to the benevolent principles of the gospel.  It is, therefore, indignantly repudiated by all the fundamental laws of all truly enlightened and civilized communities, and by none more emphatically than by that over which, Sir, it is your honor to preside.

“’The great doctrine, that God hath “created all men equal, and endowed them with certain inalienable rights, and that amongst these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” is affirmed in your Declaration of Independence, and justified in the theory of your constitutional laws.  But there is a stain upon your glory; slavery, in its most abject and revolting form, pollutes your soil; the wailings of slaves mingle with your songs of liberty; and the clank of their chains is heard, in horrid discord with the chorus of your triumphs.

“’The records of your States are not less distinguished by their wise provisions for securing the order and maintaining the institutions of your country, than by their ingenious devices for riveting the chains, and perpetuating the degradation of your colored brethren; their education is branded as a crime against the State—­their freedom is dreaded as a blasting pestilence—­the bare suggestion of their emancipation is proscribed as treason to the cause of American independence.

“’These things are uttered in sorrow; for the committee deeply deplore the flagrant inconsistency, so glaringly displayed between the lofty principles embodied in the great charter of your liberties, and the evil practices which have been permitted to grow up under it, to mar its beauty and impair its strength.  But it is not on these grounds alone, or chiefly, that they deplore the existence of slavery in the United States.  Manifold as are the evils which flow from it—­dehumanizing as are its tendencies—­fearful as its reaction confessedly is on its supporters,—­the reproach of its existence does not terminate on the institutions which gave it birth:  the sublime principles and benign spirit of Christianity