Slavery Question in Oregon. 237 emancipation and the great advance of altruism since, the peoplv-^ of the United States do not believe it now. Some do. That ^ the best we can say. The moral protest against wrong is ever with us and ever in the minority, until the reflex con- sequences become damaging to self, then reformation begins. The slaughter of the negroes in Georgia seemed to be a tide without an ebb, until the bank clearances of Atlanta showed a decline of millions and other business was prostrated, then began a protest against injustice to the negro. So it ever is; we learn by experience that honesty is the best policy, and that the practice of injustice reacts upon ourselves. And that was all that Judge Williams tried to teach the Oregonians of 1857, and thus save them the expense and turmoil of experience. One of the Salem "clique," speaking recently of the reason for the omission of the Judge's "Free State Letter," or any descriptive mention of it by the writers of Oregon history, said it was because of its being only a campaign document in the interest of his candidacy for the United States Senate. Such an allegation, by an opponent of the Judge, might have answered a temporary purpose at that time, but at this late date H must be considered a humorous sally at the Oregon historians or a thoughtless remark scarcely deserving serious refutation. For it is not supposable that a person having the requisite accomplishments for writing history would leave out an important fact in the trend of events because the motive of it did not come up to his altruistic standard. If all human actions containing an ingredient of selfishness were to be excluded from history, its pages would consist mostly of blanks. True, there are actions free from selfish purpose— oh, how few! But there is no such history, and that society may consider itself far in advance where human actions are mixed half and half. Let us admit, as the Judge has, that he aspired to the United States Senate, and then inquire why his ambition should affect the value of such a document at such a time and in such a crisis. There is no question as to its pertinence,
