Liberty advocate. [volume] (Liberty, Miss.) 1835-1866, 1838-01-27

\ flied reprobation. The fugltlves were d.
rectly and positively charged with having,
leloniously enveigled, stolen, taken, and
carried away negro slave; with having,
after the commission of said felony, fled
rom the State; and that they were belize
we'd at the time to be within the limits of
| The State Of Maine. Is it for Que moment
to be presumed that the Governor Of the
State Of Maine was not aware that larce.
hpy is made, by the laws of every State in
l7he Union, felony; unless, indeed, it may
not SO be by those Of Maine? The State,
Indeed, may have, in tender mercy to
thieves and incendiaries, declared it other
wise; but this your committee does not,
and cannot believe. Whether, however,
felony or not, by the laws of Maine, is it
not crime? 1t is SO declared by the Pc
nal code Of the State of Georgia, which
fact was communicated 10 the Governor of
Maine, by the Governor of Georgia. Has,
I then, the Governor Of Maine done that,
which not only common courtesy, but JUS
tice, policy, patriotism, and imperative du-
| ty, required him to perform! has he
complied with the stern acquisitions oftho
Constitution of the United States, which
he has sworn to support and defend? No
but he has disregarded and violated all
The Act of Congress, passed February
70, 1898, prospecting fugitiyes from jus
tice, and persons escaping from the seryl-
ces of their masters"-an act passed in
! furtherance Of the second section of the
fourth article of the Constitution, which
says, "a person charged in any State with
treason, felony or other crime, who shall
he from justice, and be found in another
State, shall, on demand of the Executive
authority Of the State from which he fled,
be delivered up, to be removed to the State
having jurisdiction Of the crime"-ex-
pressly and pefemptorily declares, shat
whenever the Executive authority Of any
State in the Union, or of either Of the Ter
/ ritorics northwest or south of the river
Chic, shall demand any person as iugl
tive from Justice, OF the Executive author
ity Of any such State or Territory, to
which such person shall have fled, and
shall moreover produce the copy Of an in
dictment found, or an AFFIDAVIT made, be
fore magistrate of any State or Terrific
ry, as aforesaid, charging the person SO
| demanded with having committed treason,
felony or other crime, certified as authen-
| tic by the Governor or Chief Magistrate
Of the State or Territory from whence
| the person so charged fled, it shall be the
! duty Of the Executive authority Of the
State or Territory to which such person
shall have fled, to cause him or her to be
arrested and secured, and notice Of the
arrest to be given to the Executive author.
ily making such demand, or TO the agent
of such authority appointed to receive the
fugitive, and to cause the fugitive to be
delivered to such agent, when he shall
appears" and further provides, that if ''no
such agent shall appear within six months
from the time Of such arrest, the prisoner
may be discharged" &c. Now, by refer
ring to the document hereunto annexed,
it will appear that every requlsiton ofthe
above rccted act was strictly complied
with by the Executive of Georgia. Blu!
the Governor Of Maine, in his anxious de-
sire to find an excuse for not doing his du.
ty, says, so far as he has received any
information relative to Phllbrook and KEEL
eran,' their visit to Georga "was in the
course Of their ordinary business as mari
ners; their vessel being nj the South, they
nayigaled it homeward by the usual route,
and in the usual time. They had stated
homes TO which they openly returned; at
those homes they took up their residence;
and conducted their affairs without con
cealment, and in all respects conformably
TO the usages o. innocent and unsuspeciing
citizens. Whether such course Of con-
duct is to be fleeing from justice within
the meaning of the act of Congress, and
whether men so conducting are to be view!
ed as 'fugitives,' may present a question
of some Importance" which he does moi
deem it necessary for him to decide
Truly, most wise conclusion. But the
Governor of Maine seems to claim It as
matter Of right for him TO depend upon in
formation which he received for refusing
to deliver the fugtives; information, per-
haps false, against positive oath
Surely, then, your Committee, speaking
in behalf the people Of Georgia, if not \
the entire South, may be permitted also, to
rely upon information which they have
received, for reasons independent ofthose
already given) why they should have
been delivered. The vessels Of the iugl-
tiyes left, it appears, the port of savannah,
in the usual manner, she pursued the usu-
al track, that Of the broad ocean, (the only
one she could possibly pursue,) TO reach
her port of destination; she arrived IN the
usual time, and, as the Governor Of Maine
would have us believe, 'they took up their
residence at their usual homes. On the
other hand, your Committee is Informed
nnon GOOD authority, that when the owner