Martinsburgh gazette. [volume] (Martinsburgh, Va. [W. Va.]) 1810-1825, 1812-12-18

BILE. With my consent they snah heV0t Oe
exposed to it.
offer another consideration. The con
s~titution of the u, States, declares, IN It's
seventh amendment" Private property
shall rot be taken for public use, soiteo"s
lust concentration" Now of all the pro-
perty which the laws of the northern states
secures to the people of that coantry that
which consists in the labor of the MINOR,
and which, by our laws is sacred to the
guardian, master or parent, is perhaps the
most valued and most precious to our me-
chanics, manufacturers and yeomen. Yet
when the gentleman from New-York tMr.
Stow proposed to secure the wages and
bounty of the enlisting minor, to those 10
whom his service belonged, it was rejected.
What is this but a palpable violation OF this
provision of the constitution ? What IS 1t
but taking private property for public use,
without compensation
But, neither the pecuniary loss, nor yet
the violation of the constitution, is the evil
which | most deprecate. 1t is the infringe
ment of our moral rights, and the inroad
which the bill makes on the moral habits of
our quarter Of the country. know that
gentlemen are very apt to sneer, when they
hear any thing said about our religious in
stitutions, or moral habits, in the eastern
country. But l will explain what | mean.
1t is not our religious institutions, our sab
baths, cur fasts, our thanksgiving, nor
vet our schools, colleges and seminaries of
education, to which l refer, when | speak
of our moral habits. These are but means
md precautions. 1t is certain established
principles of life and conduct which with
out being noticed in general laws are often
the foundation Of them, and which always
rule and c~ontroul our positive institutions.
/ do not know for instance, that the extent
Of the moral tie, which binds the son to the
father, or the apprentice to the master is
precisely assigned by any of our laws. Yet
the principle, upon which all our laws on
this subject rests, is this That this tie is
sacred and inviolate. The law regulates,
but, except in case Of misconduct, never
sewers it.
| know it is said, that in our country mi
nors are subjected to militia duty. And SO
they are. Bat this very service is a proof
of the position, which | maintain. Their
obligation to service in the militia, is al
ways subject to the paramount authority of
the master and the parent.
The law says, it is true, that minors
shall be subject to militia duty. But it also
permits the father and the master to re-
lieve them from that obligation, at an es-
tablished price. If either will pay the fine,
he anay retain the service OF the minor,
free from the militia duty. What Is the
consequence of all this? Why that the
minor always trains not free of the will,
but subject to the will of his natural or le-
cal guardians. The moral tie is sacred. 1t
Is never broken. 1t is a principle, that
cases of misconduct out of the question: the
minor shall never conceive himself capable
of escaping from the wholesome and wise
c~ontroul of his master or father. The pro-
posed law cuts athwart this wise principle.
Il breaches infidelity, | makes every re-
c~ruiting officer in your country an apostle
of perfidy. 1t says to every vain, thought
less, discontinued or ambitious minor -
Come hither, here is an asylum from
"your bonds. Here are wages and bounty
" for disobedience-Only consent to go to
Canada-Forget what you owe to nature
and your protectors-Go to Canada, and
"you shall find freedom and glory.n-Such
is the morality of this law.
Take a slave from his master, on any
general and novel principle, and there
would be an earthquake from the potomac
to the St. Mary's. Bride an apprentice
from his master seduce a son, worth all
the slaves Africa ever produced from his
father, we are told it is only a common af-
fair. 1t will be right when there is a law
for it. Such is now the law in France
MIR. Speaker hope what am now a
bout to say will not be construed into a
threat. 1t is not uttered in that spirit, but
only TO evincc the strength of my convic-
tions concerning the effect of the provisions
of this law on the hopes of New-England,
particularly of Massachusetts. Bat pass it,
and if the legislatures of the injured states
do not come down upon your recruiting Of
f@icers, with the old laws against Eidnapping
and manstealing, they are false TO them
selves, their posterity and their country