Gentlemen, That declaration--that the Statute supersedes natural Justice, and that the only "Standard of Morality" by which the courts are to be guided is "that which the law prescribes"--deserves your careful consideration. "He that squares his conscience by the law is a scoundrel"--say the proverbs of many nations. What do you think of a man who knows no lawgiver but the General Court of Massachusetts, or the American Congress: no Justice but the Statutes? If Mr. Curtis's doctrine is correct, then Franklin, Hancock, Adams, Washington, were only Rebels and Traitors! They refused that "Standard of Morality." Nay, our Puritan Fathers were all "criminals;" the twelve Apostles committed not only "misdemeanors" but sins; and Jesus of Nazareth was only a malefactor, a wanton disturber of the public peace of the world! The slave child Med, poor, fatherless, and unprotected, comes before the Supreme Court of Massachusetts, claiming her natural and unalienable Right to Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness,--if not granted she is a slave for ever. In behalf of her wealthy "owner" Mr. Curtis resists the girl's claim; tells the court she "is now a slave;" there is "no practical difficulty" in allowing the master to keep her in that condition, no "theoretical difficulty;" "slavery is not immoral;" it may be the duty of Massachusetts not only to recognize slavery at home, but also "even to interfere actively" to support slavery abroad; the law is the only "Standard of Morality" for the courts; that establishes slavery in Massachusetts! Gentlemen, what do mankind say to such sophistry? Hearken to this Hebrew Bible: "Wo unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed, to turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the Right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and _that they may rob the fatherless_." Let the stern Psalm of the Puritans still further answer from the manly bosom of the Bible. "Judges who rule the world by laws, Will ye despise the righteous cause, When the injured poor before you stands? Dare ye condemn the righteous poor And let rich sinners 'scape secure, While Gold and Greatness bribe your hands? "Have ye forgot, or never knew, That God will judge the judges too? High in the Heavens his Justice reigns; Yet you invade the rights of God, And send your bold decrees abroad, To bind the Conscience in your chains. "Break out their teeth, eternal God, Those teeth of lions dy'd in blood; And crush the serpents in the dust; As empty chaff, when whirlwinds rise, Before the sweeping tempest flies, So let their hopes and names be lost.