[Newspaper Article – Typed]
It is not true,
Joseph Barker published in the Liberator, a note addressed to us by Lysander Spooner, Esq., and says, the note “was sent by Mr. Spooner to the Commonwealth, and rejected.” This statement is entirely untrue. If the editor of the Liberator will inquire of Mr. Spooner, he will learn that we did not reject his note. He showed it to us, and we certainly should have published it, if he had decided to leave it with us. To this we will add that we have the best authority for saying, that Mr. Barker had no direction or permission from Mr. Spooner to publish the note, or to make any such use of it, or any such statement in regard to it. The note in question is as follows: -
To the Editor of the Commonwealth :
As your paper of this morning published my name among the “Free Democratic, delegates to the Convention to be held for the purpose of remonstrating against the passage of the Nebraska bill, I trust you will allow me space to say, that I decline the appointment; that I habe never been a member of the “Free Soil party”; that I have never adopted its absurd and contradictory motto, “Freedom National, Slavery Sectional”; that I have no sympathy with the pusillanimous and criminal statement, “If slavery will let us alone, we will let it alone”; that I am in favor of neither making nor keeping any compacts with slavery, in regard to boundaries; that I am glad to see that slavery intends neither to make not keep any such compacts with freedom; that I do note believe the Constitution authorises any such compromises; that I am glad that all excuses for the discussion of such compacts are likely soon to be swept away; that I hope the Nebraska bill will pass; and that I hope then to see freedom and slavery meet face to face with no question between them, except which shall conquer, and which shall die.
Yours respectfully,
Lysander Spooner